Debut Author Interview: Joanne Rossmassler Fritz and Everywhere Blue Giveaway

Happy Monday Everyone! Today I’m thrilled to have debut author Joanne Rossmassler Fritz here to share about her contemporary MG Everywhere Blue. I’m super excited to have Joanne here because we’ve been blogger friends since I started reading blogs over 10 years ago. It’s thrilling to see her debut as an author. And I can’t wait to read her book. Maddie sounds like a fantastic character, and I’m curious to learn how the story addresses mental illness and the climate crisis—which are both so relevant right now.

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads: 

A brother's disappearance turns one family upside down, revealing painful secrets that threaten the life they've always known.

After twelve-year-old Maddie's older brother vanishes from his college campus, her carefully ordered world falls apart. Nothing will fill the void of her beloved oldest sibling. When her parents fly out to Strum's college to search for answers, Maddie is left in the care of her sixteen-year-old sister, who seeks solace in rebellion and ignores Maddie. Drowning in grief and confusion, the family's musical household falls silent.

Though Maddie is the youngest, she knows Strum better than anyone. He used to confide in her, sharing his fears about the climate crisis and their planet's future. So, Maddie starts looking for clues: Was Strum unhappy? Were the arguments with their dad getting worse? Or could his disappearance have something to do with those endangered butterflies he loved . . .

Scared and on her own, Maddie picks up the pieces of her family's fractured lives. Maybe her parents aren't who she thought they were. Maybe her nervous thoughts and compulsive counting mean she needs help. And maybe finding Strum won't solve everything--but she knows he's out there, and she has to try.

Follower News

Before I get to my interview with Joanne, I have Follower News to share. Reonne Haslett has a new tween book that just released, JAKE/GEEK: Quest for Oshi. Here’s a blurb and a few links:  

Gripping story of a 15-yr-old cyber-genius whose best friend, Oshi O’Malley, disappears. Jake enlists the help of his sister, Sara, and his protégé, Paulie, to help find her. Using psychic cloaking, an implanted microchip and spyware from the Paranormal Research Lab at Stanford, they overcome obstacles that lead to Oshi. Jake’s beliefs are shaken to the core when he enters the particle transmutation pod and is transported into the World Wide Web.

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1737057301/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58196715-jake-geek

Website: www.reonnehaslett.com

Interview With Joanne Rossmassler Fritz

Hi Joanne! Thanks so much for joining us!

Thank you so much for having me here, Natalie! It’s an honor. I’ve been following your blog for years.

1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.

I’ve been writing most of my life. I remember writing secret little stories when I was 8 or 9 years old but I never told anyone back then that I wanted to be a writer. In high school and college, I wrote a lot of angsty poetry. But I never got serious about writing until I survived my first brain aneurysm rupture in 2005. Between that first rupture and the second (in 2017), I managed to write at least a dozen picture books and five novels.

2. You wrote a lot of books since then. I’m impressed. Where did you get the idea for Everywhere Blue?

Quite a few ideas came together to form what would eventually become Everywhere Blue. I started with a poem I wrote in 2013, about taking oboe lessons, and hating the early darkness in November and December after the lesson was over. Then in 2014, my husband and I were fortunate enough to go on vacation to the island of St Martin, where we visited the Butterfly Farm. I always knew I wanted those blue morpho butterflies to be in the book. Other threads included: being raised by classical music fans, my lifelong passion for the environment, and an unsolved missing person case in my hometown (although to protect the family, I changed all the details).

3. What made you decide to write Everywhere Blue as a story in verse rather than prose?

It actually started out in prose in the spring of 2015! But after writing three short chapters, I knew it wasn’t working. I had already read quite a few novels in verse, but had one of those “aha” moments, after reading yet another novel in verse. And right away, I realized I already had what would eventually become part of the first poem in the book, the poem I wrote back in 2013 about oboe lessons! I’d never attempted anything like this before but it felt right from the first moment.

4. That’s great that it fell all in place for you. It sounds really hard to me. Every word counts when you write a story in verse. How did this affect your drafting and revision process?

The draft that got me an agent and a book deal was only 22,000 words. My wonderful editor, Sally Morgridge, guided me to add another 3000 words, with more poems about Strum, and about Maddie’s best friend, Emma, more flashbacks, and even a few more poems about the climate crisis. She even had me add a few lines to some of the existing poems! Because it’s a verse novel, some stages of editing were very brief. An additional word here or there, or a word change here or there. We were even going back and forth about one word, out of the entire book, in the last pass of page proofs.

5. This is a very character-driven story. Share about Maddie’s character development and two of your favorite things about her.

Maddie started out a lot like me, and then changed over the years of revision. It’s one of those mysterious things that happen when you write – the characters take over and become real people to you! At first, she was obsessed with the birth and death dates of classical musicians! That disappeared by draft 3 or 4. During revisions, I realized I had to keep giving her more positive characteristics, like her love of math, and her love of reading.

Two of my favorite things about Maddie: She’s a math genius (I am definitely not!), and she’s a very loyal friend.

6. I’m so not a math whiz either. Everywhere Blue is also in part a mystery because Maddie is trying to figure out what happened to Strum. How did you plot out this aspect of your story?

Once I realized my story idea involved a missing person, I seized on the mystery aspect of that. I hope it added an element of intrigue. That was one of the aspects Sally liked in the first place. Plotting it out wasn’t that difficult. I always knew the climate crisis would be a big part of Strum’s disappearance, so I decided I needed to have Maddie make some assumptions about where Strum would go. Since polar bears play a part in this book, it seemed natural for her to assume at first that Strum would head north. But then there are those butterflies…

7. Your agent is Barbara Krasner. How did she become your agent and what was your road to publication like?

Well, actually, as of May 2021, Barbara is no longer my agent. She’s decided on a different career path, so she quit being an agent at all! Therefore, I’m now agentless, and will be studying your extensive list of Agent Spotlight interviews, Natalie! It’s a wonderful resource.

As for my road to publication, Barbara and I both attended two Novel in Verse Workshops in 2016 and 2017 at the Highlights Foundation in Honesdale, PA. She didn’t become an agent until 2018, but because of my extensive illness in 2017-2018, I didn’t learn this until 2019, when I was corresponding with another Highlights Attendee. I submitted my complete manuscript to Barbara during the summer of 2019. She made me revise it first and then offered representation Sept 24, 2019. She sent the manuscript out to several editors, and Sally Morgridge of Holiday House made an offer Oct 22, 2019. So it sounds really fast! But since I’ve been writing for more than 50 years, it really wasn’t fast at all.

8. So sorry that your agent changed career paths. I hope my agent spotlights help you. You’re a member of The 21ders. How has this helped you as a debut author?

Oh, the 21ders are fabulous! So supportive! They can serve as a shoulder to cry on when things don’t go well, but mostly as a cheering squad when things do. We all support each other’s social media posts. We read each other’s books and review them on Goodreads and Amazon. It’s an absolutely lovely group of people, many of whom I’m now proud to call friends.

9. How else are you planning to market your book? What advice do you have for other authors who are planning the release of a book?

I’m fairly active on Twitter, which has a large kidlit community. I’m not at all comfortable with Zoom, but I’m appearing on quite a few other blogs, either answering interview questions or writing guest posts, throughout this summer. And there are lots of giveaways going on. My publisher, Holiday House, is targeting indie bookstores and parenting groups, especially. 

My advice for other authors planning a release? Take notes! Keep a notebook (or a document) with everything that happens during the process, from the book deal on, everything you’re learning about making your debut. You’ll find there’s such a wealth of information, it might be difficult to remember and/or absorb. Join a debut group. It’s invaluable. Also, take full advantage of your publisher’s marketing department. They arranged several of my blog interviews and guest posts. Others I arranged on my own.

And if you’re planning to order bookmarks or stickers, don’t leave that until the last minute!

10. That’s all such great advice. What are you working on now?

I don’t want to say too much, because nothing’s finished yet (I’m a slow writer!), but I’m working on a YA novel in verse and another MG novel, that’s NOT in verse!

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Joanne.  My pleasure, Natalie.

You can find Joanne at her website: https://www.joannerossmasslerfritz.com/

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoanneRFritz

The 21ders website: https://the21ders.com/about/middle-grade-authors/

Giveaway Details

Joanne has generously offered a hardback of Everywhere Blue for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by June 26th. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog and/or follow me on Twitter, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. The giveaway is U.S. and Canada.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his blog.

Upcoming Interviews and Giveaways

Wednesday, June 16th I’m participating in the Dad-o-mite Giveaway Hop

Monday, June 21st I have an interview with debut author Mike Thayer and a giveaway of his MG fantasy The Double Life of Danny Day

Monday, June 28th I have an interview with Sacha Wunsch, founder of As You Wish Literary, with a 5 first pages plus query critique or 10 first page critique giveaway

Thursday, July 1st I’m participating in the Sparkle Time Giveaway Hop

Wednesday, July 7th I have an interview with debut author Kate Norris and a giveaway of her YA contemporary When You and I Collide

Monday, July 12th I have an interview with debut author Cliff Burke and a giveaway of his MG contemporary An Occasionally Happy Family

Hope to see you on Wednesday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agent Spotlight: Katherine Wessbecher Interview and Query Critique Giveaway

Today I’m thrilled to have agent Katherine Wessbecher here. She is a literary agent at Bradford Literary Agency.

Hi­ Katherine! Thanks so much for joining us.

About Katherine:

1. Tell us how you became an agent, how long you’ve been one, and what you’ve been doing as an agent.

I joined Bradford as an agent in 2020 (right before the pandemic!), but I’ve been working in publishing since 2011, and was formerly on the other side of the desk as an editor at Putnam (an imprint of Penguin Young Readers) where I worked with authors such as Sherri L. Smith, Keir Graff, and Maggie Hall.

When I left NYC a few years ago I wasn’t sure whether I’d find my way back to the world of book publishing, but found that I missed it: the thrill of getting swept up by an amazing story in my submissions pile, collaborating with authors to hone their writing, working behind the scenes to champion books to the people who could help get them in the hands of readers. I was fortunate to get plugged into the vibrant agenting community in San Diego when we moved here, and now have the privilege of being part of the Bradford team and partnering with talented authors and illustrators across genres.

About the Agency:

2. Share a bit about your agency and what it offers to its authors.

Bradford Literary Agency was founded by Laura Bradford in 2001. Bradford’s philosophy is to form lasting partnerships with authors that extend from writing the first draft through the length of the author’s career. We don’t just sell clients’ books to publishers but come alongside our authors as listeners, advisors, troubleshooters, and advocates.

As a boutique agency, we’re a flexible and collaborative group! We share resources and wisdom (and submissions when we come across projects that feel like a better fit for a colleague). We also partner with the intrepid Taryn Fagerness who handles foreign subrights for our clients. 

What She’s Looking For:

3. What age groups do you represent—picture books, MG, and/or YA? What genres do you represent and what are you looking for in submissions for these genres?

I work with children’s authors and author-illustrators across the board (PB, MG, YA, graphic novel), and adult too! My genre interests are pretty broad—I’m a history geek, so I have a soft spot in my heart for historical fiction; fantasy was my favorite genre as a kid, so I’m constantly on the hunt for the next generation of fantasy and speculative writers. But I’m hungry for nonfiction, contemporary, magic, and everything in between.

The best way to narrow it down would be to say I’m looking for fresh, distinctive voices, for writing that surprises me somehow—this is probably not as helpful for queriers, but I know it when I see it. 

4.  Is there anything you would be especially excited to seeing in the genres you are interested in?

I was obsessed with the Dear America series as a kid (anyone else?) and I’ve been an epistolary novel enthusiast ever since. Pretty much any story that plays with format and unexpected narrative techniques—I want to see that. I’m also a fan of stories that blur the line between genres, or that tell stories the history books left out. 

Also: humor! I’m an absolute sucker for a well-executed funny voice. I loved the dark comedy I, Tonya and would love to find stories that encapsulate that odd blend of subversive and over-the-top ridiculous. Insert humor into any of the above genres and I’m going to be intrigued (a.k.a. comedic, revisionist history in the vein of My Lady Jane or a goofy STEM picture book like I’m Trying to Love Spiders).

What She Isn’t Looking For:

5. What types of submissions are you not interested in?

In the picture book realm, I’m not the best fit for rhyming texts and I generally prefer shorter word counts. I like story/character-driven texts over concept-driven ones. Familiar genres like bedtime stories, picture book biographies, etc. really need to break the mold in some way for me to be able to take them on. (But please send your weird and/or nontraditional biographies my way!) 

More generally, I would also say that I’m probably not the best fit for projects where the moral or the message overshadows the story and characters.

Agent Philosophy:

6. What is your philosophy as an agent both in terms of the authors you want to work with and the books you want to represent?

My story probably isn’t so different from a lot of those who write or work with children’s books: I was a voracious reader growing up, and I’m on a mission to turn more kids into voracious readers. I truly believe a lifelong love of reading is most often forged in childhood, and I’m forever chasing that high from the books swept me up when I was twelve, the ones kept me awake reading until 3am on a school night.

I hope to play a small part in cultivating the next generation of lifelong readers by championing books that cultivate empathy, awaken curiosity, challenge preconceptions, and offer an escape (from lame homework or boring summer vacations—just kidding). I’m looking for authors who share those goals.

Editorial Agent:

7. Are you an editorial agent? If so, what is your process like when you’re working with your authors before submitting to editors?

Obviously, my number one goal is to help my clients find editors who will be that editorial partner to help them fully realize the story. So I don’t want to get in the way of that special editor-author relationship! But before we go out on submission, clients can expect to do a round (or more) of revision with me to give their project the best possible shot at finding a publisher.

Before offering representation, I always like to hop on the phone with prospective clients to gauge their openness to revisions, and go over some of my revision ideas to make sure we’re on roughly the same page.

Query Methods and Submission Guidelines: (Always verify before submitting)

8. How should authors query you and what do you want to see with the query letter?

Ideally, your query letter will quickly give me a sense of the flavor of your project. The online form I use breaks out a lot of the key information into separate fields (e.g. word count, your publishing history, etc), but if this information is also incorporated in your query letter, that’s totally fine.

Most importantly, the query letter needs to tell me: what’s the hook of this story? How will it make me feel? Feel free to use books, movies, and pop culture as a kind of shorthand here (“my MG novel combines the family dynamics of The Incredibles with the tragic irony of A Series of Unfortunate Events…”)

At the end of the day, it comes down to the pages. At any given time, I have several hundred queries in my inbox, so I’m not just looking for “flawless” query letters; I’m looking for pages that feel truly fresh and exceptional.

9.  Do you have any specific dislikes in query letters or the first pages submitted to you?

Not really! My number one advice: send me your very best work. Ask yourself: if I were browsing in the bookstore, would this excerpt make me want to keep reading? Does my query letter give the reader an accurate and enticing sense of what to expect from the story?

Also - the Query Shark blog (https://queryshark.blogspot.com) is a helpful (slash funny, if blunt) resource for writers looking for query letter tips.   

Response Time:

10. What’s your response time to queries and requests for more pages of a manuscript?

Getting responses out within 8 weeks is my goal, but sometimes life gets in the way, and I’m always grateful for a querier’s patience! You can expect a response from me even if it’s a pass.

Self-Published and Small Press Authors:

11.  Are you open to representing authors who have self-published or been published by smaller presses? What advice do you have for them if they want to try to find an agent to represent them?

Certainly! With small press– or self-published books, unless we’re talking mega-huge sales, the number of copies sold isn’t going to be persuasive (or discouraging) to an agent. Also, I wouldn’t recommend querying agents with, say, book 2 or 3 of a series where the first installment is already published. And please don’t query me with already-self-published projects. You really need to be going out with something new. 

12. With all the changes in publishing—self-publishing, hybrid authors, more small publishers—do you see the role of agents changing at all? Why?

One thing is certain—between consolidations, new publishers, and the ongoing digital revolution, publishing isn’t getting any simpler. Authors have many options and paths to publication that don’t require a traditional publishing deal.

But in my opinion, for authors looking to be traditionally published, agents are as vital as ever in navigating this complicated world—the book deal and beyond. There are a few independent publishers that accept unsolicited submissions but if your goal is to work with a traditional publisher, your best bet is still going to be finding an agent first.

Clients:

13. Who are some of the authors you represent?

I’m new enough to agenting that my clients’ books aren’t out yet, but they are all stars! The Bradford website has an up-to-date list.

Interviews and Guest Posts:

14. Please share the links to any interviews and guest posts you think would be helpful to writers interested in querying you.

You can read an interview and first pages critique at Kathy Temean’s blog: https://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2020/06/12/agent-of-the-month-interview-part-one/

If you want to see even more of what my thought process is like when I evaluate first pages, check out the Authoress—I was a Secret Agent on the blog in August 2020: http://misssnarksfirstvictim.blogspot.com/2020/08/secret-agent-unveiled.html

Links and Contact Info:

15. Please share how writers should contact you to submit a query and your links on the Web.

I take queries exclusively via Querymanager (please don’t query me via email). Check out my profile on the agency website for instructions: https://bradfordlit.com/about/katherine-wessbecher/

More details about what I’m looking for can be found at my manuscript wish list profile:  https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/katherine-wessbecher/

Finally, I tweet (rarely) @KatWessbecher, and you can find news about all of Bradford’s team @Bradford_Agents.   

Additional Advice:

16. Is there any other advice you’d like to share with aspiring authors that we haven’t covered?

Write because you love it! At the end of the day, you don’t have to have a book deal with a traditional publisher to be a writer. And find your community—whether online or IRL—the people you can meet up with to write and critique each others’ writing. Writing and querying can be lonely work, but having friends in the trenches can help keep you sane (and make you a better writer) in the process.

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Katherine.

­Katherine is generously offering a query critique to one lucky winner. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment through June 19th. FYI Katherine will not contact you until sometime the first two weeks of July because she will be out-of-town the end of June. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. If you do not want to enter the contest, that's okay. Just let me know in the comments.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. This is an international giveaway.

Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or e-mail me at natalieiaguirre7@gmail.com

Note: These agent profiles and interviews presently focus on agents who accept children's fiction. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying an agent. The information found here is subject to change.

Guest Post: Agent Janna Bonikowski and Debut Author Casie Bazay and Not Our Summer and Query Critique Giveaway and IWSG Post

Happy Wednesday Everyone! Hope you’re having a great start to summer, which is right around the corner. Today I’m excited to have debut author Casie Bazay and her agent Janna Bonikowski here to share about Casie’s YA contemporary Not Our Summer. It sounds like a great story about families and summer trips that I’m hoping to read this summer.

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

Five trips, two cousins, one family feud, and a summer that will change their lives forever.

It's bad enough that estranged cousins Becka and KJ see each other at their grandfather's funeral, but when he leaves them a bucket list of places to visit together over the summer, so they can earn their inheritance, it seems like things are about to get much worse.

However, with each trip the cousins complete -- like riding mules into the Grand Canyon or encountering a bear and a hot tour guide at Yellowstone -- they steadily learn about and begin to trust one another. That is until the truth behind Grandpa's bucket list, and their family feud, is revealed, testing Becka and KJ far beyond their limits.

 Before I get to Casie’s and Janna’s guest post, I have my IWSG post and also want to let those of you who follow by email know that I switched my email subscription service to follow.it because Feedburner is no longer going to be supported by Google. This is my first major change on the blog since Casey left the blog. She used to handle all these things. So if you're getting two email notices of posts, please delete the Feedburner one. Hopefully, you won't be getting those emails anymore.

IWSG Post

 

Posting: The first Wednesday is officially Insecure Writer's Support Group Day.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

The awesome co-hosts for the June 2nd posting of the IWSG are J Lenni Dorner, Sarah Foster, Lee Lowery, Rachna Chhabria and me. I’m so excited to co-host this month.

First, Yvonne Lewis at Nashville Cats asked me to let everyone know that her laptop broke during a thunderstorm. She got it working, but Blogger isn't working anymore. She'll be back as soon as she gets it fixed. She's a poet and has a great blog that I encourage you to follow.

Optional Question: For how long do you shelve your first draft, before reading it and re-drafting? Is this dependent on your writing experience and the number of stories/books under your belt?

I’ve only finished one manuscript so far and am moving towards finishing my current one in the next four or five months. I think it’s a good idea to put it away for a few weeks before tackling revisions. It makes it easier to see the manuscript with fresh eyes. I’m also planning to take one of my turns in my critique group and see what overall revisions they suggest since they will have read all or most of the first draft as I wrote it.

What about you? Do you wait after you write your first draft before revising?

Casie Bazay and Janna Bonikowski Guest Post

A little about how I came to sign with Janna Bonikowski at The Knight Agency:

My path to signing with an agent and getting published wasn’t the traditional one because I actually got the publishing offer first. This occurred after an editor from Running Press Kids favorited my pitch for Not Our Summer during #pitmad in the fall of 2019. I had previously queried about sixty agents with this book (my fourth completed manuscript), and though I had quite a bit of interest, all the queries ultimately ended in rejections.

However, after getting the publishing offer, I still really wanted an agent to help guide me through the process of signing with a Big 5 imprint, so I did one last round of querying. I ended up receiving two offers of representation and decided to sign with Janna in January of 2020!

Instead of doing the usual tell-about-ourselves blog post, Janna and I decided to each share about a personal summer road trip experience since road trips and traveling are a major part of Not Our Summer. So here goes!

Casie:

Most of the road trips I’ve taken have involved camping, either in truck bed camper, RV, or fifth wheel. I grew up camping with my family quite a bit, and now, my husband and kids and I take the occasional camping trip in our teardrop trailer as well. I’ve traveled to many places over the years and have also been to three of the destination that KJ and Becka travel to in Not Our Summer: Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, and Key West. They are, in fact, three of my favorite places ever, but for the purposes of this post, I thought I’d pick a road trip unrelated to the story.

The summer between my 7th and 8th grade year, my family and I packed up our late 1970’s model RV for a two-week trip to Florida. Our ultimate destination was Disney World, and even though the beloved theme park was absolutely amazing and definitely defied my expectations, some of the other places we visited along the way were just as memorable.

One such place was Manatee Springs State Park, near the Suwanee River in Florida. The spring itself was crystal clear, and bald cypress trees draped over the bright teal water, giving the area a swampy but magical feel. My family and I walked along a lengthy boardwalk through the trees, which allowed us to venture across the marshland and toward the Suwannee River. We hoped (and also feared) that we might see an alligator along the way. To our disappointment (and relief), we didn’t. Nor did we see any manatees in the area either, but it’s still a place I will never forget.

After visiting Disney World, we then spent a week at the beach near Tampa where we splashed in the waves, built sand creations, and developed sunburns. I had been to the beach at Galveston, Texas as a small child, but visiting the beach in Florida was the first time I actually remember seeing the ocean and realizing just how small we are in comparison to this great big world. It, too, is a memory that has stuck with me.

On the way home, our RV broke down at one point, and I remember spending the day in a church parking lot somewhere in the South, exploring the small, adjacent cemetery while my dad worked on the vehicle. It was hot and humid and we’d had our fill of sightseeing, but it was just one of those hiccups people sometimes deal with while on a road trip—especially when driving an old RV. We eventually made it back home to Oklahoma, eager to get our photos processed and relive those two magical weeks. I’m fairly certain my parents and my younger brother would also say it was one of their favorite vacations as well.

Janna:

I have been on so many road trips, they all blur together into one rear-end-numbing, out-the-window-staring, are-we-there-yet-hearing lump. I have family on all four edges of the US, and I logged many summer hours in the back of my mom’s old blue station wagon visiting them. More still in my own car as an adult with my kids “are we there-ing” in the backseat. 

I’ve driven through snow in Flagstaff, Arizona to play in the Pacific Ocean on Christmas Day. Driven through entire towns that smell like feedlots. (“The smell of money,” according to my cattle-ranching father.) I’ve seen Mt. Rushmore, Old Faithful, the Taos Pueblos, the White House, and the World’s Biggest Windchime. (Why not?) 

Johnny Cash could have been singing about me with “I’ve Been Everywhere.” Or I could be singing it. (On second thought, no. No one wants to hear that. Especially on a long car ride.)

But KJ and Becka’s road trip to Key West reminded me of one road trip in particular. It was a summer tradition for my brother and I to travel to North Dakota to visit my grandparents. Most years, my dad would drive us halfway and we’d meet my grandparents, finishing the two-day trip with them. But on this trip, my older brother had just graduated, had a driver’s license and a car, and we were teenagers with freedom.

I was mainly concerned about getting lost—trust my older brother to navigate? No thank you—and whether his hand-me-down car would make the trip. He was mainly concerned with talking to truck drivers on the radio.

We drove up US Route 54 through Dalhart, Texas and Liberal, Kansas, making our way on two-lane roads up through the center of the country. We stayed overnight at a hotel in the aforementioned town that smelled of feedlot. He drove, dodging every state’s main summer crop—the orange barrel––and I picked out cassettes to play when we couldn’t find a station.

Dodge City. Salina. Sioux Falls. It isn’t the most scenic drive. Certainly not vacation destinations. But we were on our own, and the freedom from parental oversight had us getting along for the first time in our history.

Maybe it’s shared memories, or just being inside your own four-wheeled bubble, but there’s something special about the bond you form on a road trip.

Thanks for sharing, Casie and Janna!

Casie’s Bio

Casie Bazay is a former middle school teacher who now works as a freelance writer, editor, and author. In her spare time, she enjoys exploring the great outdoors, spending time at the barn with her horses and goats, reading, and watching movies. Casie lives on a hay farm in Oklahoma with her husband and two children but loves traveling to new and exciting destinations whenever she can.

Twitter: @casiebazay

Instagram: @Casie_Bazay

Facebook: @casiebazayyaauthor

Website: casiebazay.com

Janna’s Bio

Janna Bonikowski joined the Knight Agency in 2016 with several years of experience as both an independent editor and a freelance editor for Lyrical Press/Kensington. She holds a bachelor’s degree focused on business and economics, but her passion for books made a career in publishing inevitable.

Janna’s clients have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Indie bestseller lists. She is actively building her list, focusing on finding authors with unique viewpoints and fresh, engaging stories to tell.

Agency Website: https://knightagency.net

Twitter: @Jannabonikowski

Giveaway Details

Casie has generously offered a hardback of Not This Summer and Janna has offered a query critique for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by June 19th. If you do not want to be included in the critique giveaway, please let me know in the comments. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog and/or follow me on Twitter, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. The book giveaway is U.S. and the query critique giveaway is international.

Upcoming Interviews and Giveaways

Monday, June 7th I have an agent spotlight interview with Katherine Wessbecher and a query critique giveaway

Monday, June 14th I have an interview with debut author Joanne Rossmassler Fritz and a giveaway of her MG contemporary Everywhere Blue

Wednesday, June 16th I’m participating in the Dad-o-mite Giveaway Hop

Monday, June 21st I have an interview with debut author Mike Thayer and a giveaway of his MG fantasy The Double Life of Danny Day

Monday, June 28th I have an interview with Sacha Wunsch, founder of As You Wish Literary, with a 5 first pages plus query critique or 10 first pages critique giveaway

Hope to see you on Monday!

 

 

 

Berry Good Giveaway Hop

Happy Tuesday Everyone! Today I'm excited to participate in the Berry Good Giveaway Hop hosted by MamatheFox. I hope you all excited for the start of summer and lots more time for fun and reading.

Before I get to the giveaway I'm offering, I want to let those of you who follow by email know that I switched my email subscription service to follow.it because Feedburner is no longer going to be supported by Google. This is my first major change on the blog since Casey left the blog. She used to handle all these things. So if you're getting two email notices of posts, please delete the Feedburner one. Hopefully, you won't be getting those emails anymore.

Here are the newly released MG and YA books I'm offering in this giveaway hop. You can also choose another book in the series by these authors. You can find descriptions of these books on Goodreads. Here are your choices:

If you haven't found a book you want, you can win a $10 Amazon Gift Card.

Giveaway Details

One lucky entrant selected by the entry form will receive a book of their choice listed above or a $10 Amazon Gift Card. Open to entrants internationally as long as Book Depository ships to you for free, 13 years and older. Open for entry from 6/1 – 6/30/2021 at 11:59 pm EST. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. The selected winner will have 48 hours to respond to the notification email to claim this prize or a new winner will be selected.

Please note that you must be a blog follower and leave a blog comment to enter the contest. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Upcoming Interviews and Giveaways

Tomorrow, June 2nd I have a guest post with agent Janna Bonikowski and debut author Casie Bazey with a query critique giveaway by Janna and a giveaway of Not Our Summer, and YA contemporary by Casie and my IWSG post

Friday, June 4th I'm participating in the June 2021 of Books Giveaway Hop

Monday, June 7th I have an agent spotlight interview with Katherine Wessbecher and a query critique giveaway

Monday, June 14th I have an interview with debut author Joanne Rossmassler Fritz and a giveaway of her MG contemporary Everywhere Blue

Wednesday, June 16th I’m participating in the Dad-o-mite Giveaway Hop

Monday, June 21st I have an interview with debut author Mike Thayer and a giveaway of his MG fantasy The Double Life of Danny Day

Monday, June 28th I have an interview with Sacha Wunsch, founder of As You Wish Literary, with a 5 first pages plus query critique or 10 first pages critique giveaway

Hope to see you tomorrow!

And here are all the other blogs participating in this blog hop:

MamatheFox and all participating blogs are not held responsible for sponsors who fail to fulfill their prize obligations.