Author Interview: James Ponti and Hurricane Heist Giveaway

 Happy Monday Everyone! I’m so excited to have James Ponti here to share about his fantastic career as an author and the release of Hurricane Heist, the second book in his Sherlock Society series. I had already read The Sherlock Society, and James’ Ponti’s publisher provided me with an ARC of Hurricane Heist to prepare for James’ interview. I really love this series. The characters are all likable and relatable, and they must solve real-life mysteries that matter in their world. 

If you’re a writer or author, I really recommend you check out James’ website (link at the end of the interview). It’s so cool and engaging. 

Here’s a blurb of Hurricane Heist from Goodreads:

 

When a hurricane uncovers new information in a cold case, the Sherlock Society investigates a decades-old heist in this second book in the action-packed and funny New York Times bestselling Sherlock Society middle grade series from Edgar Award–winning author James Ponti!

When a category three hurricane hits Miami Beach, it uncovers a body buried at the renowned Moroccan Hotel. The body is identified as the man who served as the hotel’s bell captain sixty years ago…and the presumed culprit of the million-dollar jewel heist that took place just before his disappearance.

Since the bell captain clearly didn’t take off with the goods as had been long believed, the Sherlock Society sets their sights on uncovering the real culprit of the theft. But when the thief may also be implicated in the bell captain’s murder, even sixty years later, there are people who want the truth to stay buried.

Hi James! Thanks so much for joining us. 

1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer since you say on your website that you didn’t like to read as a kid? 

Hi! First of all, thanks so much for having me. I’ll give you fair warning, my answers may live up to the site’s name and ramble a bit.

As to becoming a writer, I’m on my third different writing career, so hopefully this one sticks. I studied screenwriting in college and got my start writing kids’ TV. Then, I started producing cable tv shows (which includes a lot of writing) for channels like History Channel, Spike TV, and Golf Channel. Now, I write middle grade fiction, which is by far my favorite of the three. (Along the way, I also did some freelance magazine and newspaper work.)

I decided to be a writer in fifth grade and never wavered from that. The question was what I would write. Like you said, I was a reluctant reader as a kid because everyone else seemed to read so much faster than I did. That’s what drove me to scriptwriting. Over time, I fell in love with books. (Although, I’m still not very fast.) Midway through my TV career, I started dabbling by writing some novelizations and intellectual property books on the side. That helped me develop some tools and about fifteen years ago, I decided to really give it a go and see if I could become an author. Five years ago – in my mid-fifties – I finally made the jump to doing it full-time.

2. It’s so cool that you never wavered from wanting to write for your career. Where did you get the idea for this series and Hurricane Heist? 

My first three series were set in New York (Dead City), Washington, DC (Framed!), and around the world (City Spies). I thought it would be fun to write a series where the kids had a childhood similar to mine. I grew up in a beach town outside of Jacksonville, Florida, decided to relocate the series to Miami, because I thought it was a more mystery-rich environment.

Your Writing Process 

3. When you started this series, did you go into it knowing the plots or storylines for Hurricane Heist and future books in this series, or just the first story? 

I’ve never mapped out a series out in advance, so I only had the idea for the first book. That said, I knew I wanted to have a hurricane in either the second or third book because they are such an important part of life here in Florida. 

4. Tell us about how you picked the crime to solve in this book and your plotting process. How do you decide how much danger is okay to put Alex, Zoe, Lina, and Yadi in since they’re kids? 

I’m always on the lookout for a plot that provides high stakes and manageable danger. A hurricane is perfect for that. It’s scary, but there are things you can do to protect yourself. I’m always trying to balance the stakes and danger because I don’t want them to be too risky or for the characters to make unsafe decisions. I was a careful kid and that carries over into the books.

From a mystery standpoint, I love the fact that a hurricane creates a diversion for criminals because it occupies everyone’s attention. That’s what gave me the idea of doing a heist. Also, because readers have really responded well to the character of Grandpa, I thought they might enjoy seeing him when he was twelve years old, just like the main characters in the book. That’s why I went with two hurricanes sixty years apart. One covers evidence of a crime and the other uncovers it.

5. Alex, Zoe, Lina, and Yadi all have unique talents that help in their investigation. It’s brilliant! Plus, they are all very likable characters that kids can relate to. Did you decide on this before you started the series or as you were writing?

When I was developing the series, my editor, Kristin Gilson and I talked about just this. She pointed out that she thought a big part of the appeal of City Spies is that there are enough characters with different traits and backgrounds, that most readers can identify with one. We wanted the same here, so I really tried to come up with real kids who hard varying strengths and weaknesses.

I didn’t want to reverse engineer them, so I came up with those strengths, passions, and interests first. (As well as their insecurities and concerns.) Then I tried to figure out how those traits might help in an investigation. For example, I gave Yadi my love of movies and filmmaking because it was something that I knew and felt at his age. Now, as I write, I look for ways that the cameras and equipment could help solve a mystery. Alex is awkward like I was, which makes it harder for him to be decisive and take charge while solving a case.

6. It’s awesome that your editor and you worked on the character development before you started this series. Alex and Zoe’s grandfather is a cool grandpa and integral to the story. Is he based in part on your grandfather or someone else in your family?

I did not have warm and fun-loving grandparents, but my mom was a great grandmother to my sons. That was part of the inspiration. Ultimately, I think Grandpa is based on how I would like to be when I’m a grandfather. (Or, if I’m being honest, how I wish my grandparents were with me.)

Your Road to Publication

7. How did you get your agent? Was the process hard or easy?

I got very lucky when it came to finding an agent and even luckier because she is absolutely amazing. I got into publishing through the side door of having worked in television for twenty-plus years, so it wasn’t a traditional path. I was unestablished as an author, but I was still a professional writer. A friend who made the leap from TV to books before I did, recommended I send my first manuscript to her agent, Rosemary Stimola. I certainly didn’t wow her with my first manuscript because I thought I was writing YA and it was really MG. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but over the next eight or nine months I rewrote and resubmitted it to her as MG. This time, she went for it right away and I signed with her. Fourteen years later, she’s still an essential part of everything to do with my career. She gives great advice and I follow all of it.

8. Rosemary Stimola is an awesome agent. You’re the author of 13 books in four series. Many have won awards and been on the New York Bestseller list. Many authors would love your career. How has your career grown over the years? Do you have any advice for other writers on selling multiple manuscripts and growing their career as you have?

It’s funny because I was talking about this to my agent just yesterday. We’re both thrilled with how the career is going and I think a big part of the success is that we’ve never been in a rush. We’ve tried to build a strong foundation. Part of that was not trying to get big advances, because we wanted the books to earn out. Another part was staying committed to a single publisher. I have built an amazing relationship with my editor and everyone at Simon & Schuster. It’s just been this steady climb built on consistency by all of us.

As far as advice, I just did a podcast with the wonderful Pam Muñoz Ryan, and she gave an excellent piece of advice that I’ll share. Focus on writing, not publishing. By that, I think she meant that we can easily get sucked into trying to figure out the business side of things, but that the real attention has to be on the work. I completely agree with that. I think it’s good to allot your time to something like 80% writing and 20% the other stuff. Interestingly enough, that continues after you’ve been published and are established. I still spend about 20-25% of my time doing things that aren’t writing the books.

Promoting your book

9. That’s great advice. How did you promote your books earlier in your career? Do you leave most of the marketing to your publisher now?

I’ve always been pretty tireless when it comes to marketing. As my books have grown in popularity, there are more and more resources available, but I still like to play a big role in it. My approach has always been to tap in to the experience gained from my other aspects of my professional life. For example, after twenty-five years of television, I feel like I can make a great book trailer, so my publisher lets me do that.

I also believe that there are a number of constituencies that writers need to pay attention to: readers, booksellers, librarians, bloggers, and other authors. (The last is to help build a sense of community that is essential.) I try to do things that help and engage all those groups, whether it’s responding to reader mail, promoting bookstores on social media, creating materials that are free for educators, and so on. These aren’t directly marketing, but I think they help elevate the books and enhance marketing efforts.

10. What are you working on now? And if it’s not the next book in this series, are you planning to write one soon? I hope so!

I write two books a year, so there’s always a lot of jumping around. At the moment, I am working hard on Sherlock Society #3, while also prepping for the release and tour of Hurricane Heist. City Spies #7: Europa comes out in February, so there are still some tweaks to that, and when I need to think about something new, I try to come up with the basic concepts of City Spies 8, which I’ll begin working on soon.

Thanks for sharing all your advice, James! I really appreciate you agreeing to let me interview you. You can find James at Jamesponti.com, SherlockSociety.net, @jamespontibooks on IG, @jamesponti on X, and @jamesponti on Bluesky.

Giveaway Details

James’ publisher is generously offering a hardback of Hurricane Heist 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 September 6th. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from 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 other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or follow James on his social media sites, 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. This book giveaway is U.S.

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

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops 

Monday, September 1st I’m participating in the Glam and Glitz Giveaway Hop 

Wednesday, September 3rd I have an interview with debut author Skyla Arndt and a giveaway of her YA House of Hearts and my IWSG post 

Monday, September 8th I have an interview with author J.A. Dauber and a giveaway of his MG Press 1 for Invasion 

Wednesday, September 10th I have an agent spotlight interview with Ashlee MacCallum and a query critique giveaway 

Monday, September 15th I have an interview with author Christine Virnig and a giveaway of her MG Phantom Academy 

Tuesday, September 16th I’m participating in the Falling Into Leaves Giveaway Hop 

Monday, September 22nd I have an interview with author Anita Fitch Pazner and a giveaway of her MG  Words Matter: The Story of Hans and Sophie Scholl and The White Rose Resistance 

I hope to see you on Monday!

 

Literary Agent Interview: Shelly Romero Interview and Query Critique Giveaway

 Today I’m thrilled to have agent Shelly Romero here. She’s an agent at Azantian Literary Agency.

Status: Shelly is currently closed to queries but hopes to open to submissions later this year. Check the agency website to find out when she reopens. Shelly is providing a special link for Literary Rambles followers to query her until 9/3/2025:  https://QueryTracker.net/query/shellyromero/Literary_Rambles 

Hi­ Shelly! Thanks so much for joining us. 

About Shelly: 

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

I’ve been an agent for about four months now, but this August I’m celebrating 8 years in the publishing industry. 

I did the whole editor-to-agent transition that a lot of editors before me have done. I started in children’s books at Scholastic. There I assisted on series such as The Bad Guys and Goosebumps while also acquiring titles for my own list. I rose up the ranks from Editorial Assistant to Associate Editor before I left to work for a book packager, and later becoming a freelance editor.

It’s been a very non-linear path, but I began thinking about the switch to agenting over a year or so ago. 

In these past four months, I’ve opened and then closed to queries after receiving over 1,100 in just over a month. I’ve signed-up two lovely clients who are currently working on edits for their projects. I hope to open up again later in the year but right now, I’m reviewing queries from May and from pitch events I’ve participated in. 

About the Agency: 

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

I work at Azantian Literary Agency (ALA) and to be honest (and of course, biased), it’s an amazing place to be both an agent and a client at. Jen Azantian, our agency head, is someone who I’ve known since the beginning of my career, and I’ve always admired her work. I still very much do, of course. 

What separates ALA from other agencies is simply the agents that work there, their publishing goals, and their passion. We’re all incredibly passionate, nerds, who deeply care for our clients. And we’re also all huge genre fiction fans. 

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 represent middle-ground and young adult fiction. Like my previous editorial lists, I really do love working on a large gamut of stories. But I’m definitely known for being a huge fan of horror and other genre fiction. I’m definitely looking for horror, sci-fi, and grounded/contemporary fantasy. I’m more of a “magic in our world” than a second world-fantasy person. A lot of what I’m looking for is reflected in the projects that I worked on as editor such as: THE WITCHERY by S. Isabelle; LAST GAMER STANDING by Katie Zhao; SCAREWAVES by Trevor Henderson; and JOIN THE CLUB, MAGGIE DIAZ by Nina Moreno. 

I’m also big on comps to not just books that I’ve loved but also movies. I’m a cinephile and I feel like there’s always so much inspiration in movies and TV. 

For a more in-depth look of my MSWL and anti-MSWLs, check out my page on ALA’s site. 

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

I’m Honduran-American, I am always looking for more Honduran and CentAm authors. We have such a gap in the already small pool of Latine authors when it comes to authors from Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. 

I’m also a fan of found footage movies so when books use a mixed-media format to tell a story with framed narratives and potentially unreliable narrators, I’m immediately excited to dive in. One YA title that I really enjoyed from several years ago that used that format is THE KINGDOM by Jess Rothenberg. Another example is SCAREWAVES by Trevor Henderson is a MG who uses both prose chapters as well as radio transmission transcripts from a DJ who helps the kids in the novel. 

What She Isn’t Looking For: 

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

I’m really not looking for stories that emphasize and reflect real-life political events such as mass deportations, etc. I don’t ever want to be queried with a submission that’s been “written” by AI. Stories over 100,000 words (which should not really be a thing for kid lit) are a huge yellow flag for me. Kids, and adults too if we’re being honest, do want shorter books to read. 

I am also not looking for stories about BIPOC (as the main characters) that are not written by BIPOC. We have a huge discrepancy in these numbers* and I want to see BIPOC write the books that are going to be “mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors” as Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop wrote. 

I’m not the best fit for “Issue” books. It's not that I don’t want stories where characters are facing realistic struggles or hardships. I do. But I don’t want the whole story to be about that. Marginalized people are more than just our struggles and we have so many other stories to tell. 

*The Cooperative Children’s Book Center publishes these diversity statistics yearly. 

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 goal as an agent is the same goal I’ve had since I started as an editorial assistant…my priority is to sign BIPOC, queer, and other traditionally marginalized authors. So, I’m always excited to see writers from these backgrounds playing with genre and format as well as the tropes that cis-het white authors have always gotten the opportunity to publish. We are always needing these stories. 

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? 

Absolutely! Since I was a previous acquiring editor, I bring that experience and skillset to agenting. Every book, even from the same author, is a different beast to tackle. I always do a dev edit and line-edit with each project. I’m constantly communicating with my authors. 

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? 

Via QueryManager only, please! I do not accept any pitches via DMs or through my website’s contact form from authors who are not my clients and to be honest, it will make me way less inclined to work with you. 

As for a query letter, more information is always best for me. I love knowing the who, what, why, and where. I love seeing the themes, comps, and tropes you’re working with in them. 

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

Sometime that immediately turns me off from a project is terrible comps or none at all. It suggests to me that you either don’t know the market that you’re wanting to publish in or you’re too lazy to do that research. I’ve seen more queries than I’d like that have said “for anyone who likes to read” or [insert classic novel here]. Sometimes, there’s even no comps at all. 

Response Time: 

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

It really depends. Currently, I’m averaging about 90 days for most queries. As I mentioned, I received over 1,100 queries in my first month and so and my priority is my signed clients. It’s quite a lot to get through and I do reply to every query. So even if you haven’t heard back from me in a while, it’s still under consideration. No answer is no answer. 

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? 

Absolutely!

And my advice would be the same as for debut or trad-published querying authors: do your research on that agent. Be sure to read their MSWL and anti-MSWLs thoroughly. It becomes incredibly clear in query letters when you’ve just seen my QueryManager/Tracker page and decided to just throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks. 

Clients: 

12. Who are some of the authors you represent? 

Currently, I represent two authors: Amber Clement and Sheryl Stein. 

Interviews and Guest Posts: 

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

You can find all of this and more on my website’s News tab: https://shellyromero.com/news 

Links and Contact Info:

@shellyromero - BlueSky
@shellyromerobooks – Threads/Instagram

@_smromero – Twitter/X

shellyromero.com 

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

Please find our Submissions guidelines on our site prior to querying me or any ALA agent. I only accept submissions via QueryManager. 

Additional Advice: 

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

I’ve got three main pieces of advice that I am always repeating like a broken record. 

1)    Read recently published titles in whatever age category and genre you’re wanting to work in. Knowing the market is incredibly important and I don’t want to see only classics or modern tentpole titles like THE HUNGER GAMES or SHADOW & BONE as your only comps.

2)    Publishing is a very slow industry. Please be patient and please remember that agents are humans too. Lots of agents have day-jobs. We have personal lives, family, and we may face illnesses or have disabilities that prevent us from being able to reply with the speed of light. We are not villains who are gleeful to reject your projects. More often than not, we can be slow in our responses, but it’s because we know how much work you’ve put into your writing and want to give it the consideration it deserves.

3)    Finding your author/writing community can be incredibly beneficial, but your path is going to look different from your colleagues or friends. Not every publishing journey looks the same, even for the different books that you write and hope to publish throughout your career. Your journey is your own journey and constantly comparing yourself to other creators does not do anyone any good. 

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Shelly.

 Giveaway Details

­Shelly 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 August 30th. If you do not want to enter the contest, that’s okay. Just let me know in the comments. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

If you follow me on Twitter or 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 email 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.  

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

Monday, August 25th I have an interview with author James Ponti and a giveaway of his MG Hurricane Heist 

Monday, September 1st I’m participating in the Glam and Glitz Giveaway Hop 

Wednesday, September 3rd I have an interview with debut author Skyla Arndt and a giveaway of her YA House of Hearts and my IWSG post 

Monday, September 8th I have an interview with author J.A. Dauber and a giveaway of his MG Press 1 for Invasion 

Wednesday, September 10th I have an agent spotlight interview with Ashlee MacCallum and a query critique giveaway 

I hope to see you on Monday!

 

 

 

 

 

Debut Author Interview: Ryan James Black and The Dark Times of Nimble Nottingham Giveaway

 Happy Monday Everyone! Today I’m excited to have debut author Ryan James Black here to share about his MG The Dark Times of Nimble Nottingham. I love stories that mash fantasy and historical fiction, and I’m excited to read it. 

Here’s a blurb from Ryan’s website: 

Set during World War II, a twelve-year-old orphan who accidentally unleashes a shadow monster onto the streets of London must team up with unlikely allies to hunt it down.

Surviving on the streets of World War II London alone certainly hasn’t been easy, but Nimble Nottingham has perfected the art of going it alone—and that’s just how he likes it. The only friend he needs is his beloved dog, Winnie. To pass the time between rolling blackouts and bombs falling through the air, Nim spends his days fence-climbing, roof-jumping, and gargoyle-perching…that is when he’s not scrounging for food to stave off the ever-present hunger the war has brought to London.

 

So when opportunity strikes in the form of a bomb falling onto the notoriously creepy Gravenhurst Manor, Nim knows he has to get inside and find whatever spoils he can get his hands on to sell for food. Get in. Get out. Quick as a flash. At least, that was the plan until Mouse—a member of a local street gang called the Dead End Kids—shows up and invites himself along for the heist. 

Inside, Mouse and Nim encounter far more than just crumbling walls and shattered windows. Beneath Gravenhurst Manor lies a secret room and inside that room is a locked safe. Nim, inspired by the Hardy Boys adventures he used to read at Waifs and Strays orphanage, knows that something this protected has to be valuable, and so he cracks the safe and unknowingly unleashes a monster. 

A shadow creature is now loose on the streets of London, and it’s up to Nim, Mouse, and a band of unattended children to end its reign of terror. 

Followers News 

Before I get to Ryan’s interview, I have Follower News to share.

 

Samantha Bryant released Change for the Better, the series ender for her Menopausal Superhero series, a five-book series featuring women "of a certain age" with superpowers! Here’s a blurb:

Something is off about Jessica “Flygirl” Roark. With Dr. Cindy Liu safely in custody, unable to hurt anyone with her experiments, a new husband at home, and a team of friends working to save the citizens of Springfield, it should be smooth sailing through a cloudless sky. But Jessica is being secretive, avoiding spending time with her family and teammates. Rumors of a mole, relationship drama, and injuries leave our heroes unsure of who among them can really be trusted. Is this the end of everything they’ve built? Or can they forge a new way forward? Here are a few links: Amazon series link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CHNLQ2 Website: https://samanthabryant.com

 

Jemima Pett released The Quest For Orichalcum. Here’s a blurb: The Quest for Orichalcum tells how it all started – the revolution that transformed the galactic economy, let alone space travel. How did a postgraduate student–a refugee from an obscure planet–change galactic communications? Why did a talented software engineer take up asteroid mining? Which girls influenced their choices in life? And how did they hit it rich in asteroid mining anyway. Here’s some links: ~~Amazon~~ ~~Apple iTunes~~ ~~B&N~~ ~~Kobo~~ ~~Smashwords~~

Rebecca Douglas has a new release, Edited Out, coming on 8/25/2025. Here's a blurb: Working part-time at the local inn is fun, until everything goes sideways. When a uniformly disliked writer-in-residence turns up dead, the local police ask Seffi to use her botanical knowledge to figure out what killed her. And could she hurry up, before the inn’s business tanks, and takes the bakery down with it? And here are a few links:

https://www.rebecca-douglass.com UBL: https://books2read.com/u/bMMM58

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FLB4MDN2

 

Interview With Ryan Black 

Hi Ryan! Thanks so much for joining us. 

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

Hi! I’m Ryan, writer and book lover, born and raised in rural Manitoba, Canada. I grew up loving stories in all forms – books, comics, movies – and after discovering Dungeons & Dragons around eleven years old, I began writing stories of my own. Fantasy and horror, mostly. The writing ebbed and flowed as I got older, but I always returned to it. 

2. It’s great how Dungeons and Dragons inspired you to write as a kid. Where did you get the idea for The Dark Times of Nimble Nottingham? 

I got the idea for The Dark Time of Nimble Nottingham after hearing a scary story about a killer who prowled the dark streets of London during the Blitz. The story stuck with me and got my wheels spinning. The idea of a ‘horror within a horror’ was something I found very compelling, and planted the seed for my book. 

Your Writing Process 

3. Many books are set in WWII. What made you decide to set your story in this time period, and what research into the war and life in London during it did you have to do?

I set my story during the Blitz because I find this time period fascinating, and I think it’s an amazing example of the power of the human spirit. So many people lost so much, yet night after blacked-out night, they refused to give up. They persevered. Also, the idea of a city that is literally lightless at night has a fantastical element I enjoyed writing about. I researched quite a bit about how children fared during the Blitz, the geography of London – including some of the city’s spookiest spots – and ancient London history. 

4. What was your writing process like? How long did writing and editing your manuscript take before you decided you were ready to query? 

I wrote this book fairly quickly after an initial lightning strike of inspiration. Re-writes however, were a different story. I applied for and was fortunate to be chosen for Author Mentor Match (an online writing program in which writers are teamed with mentors to help polish their manuscript) and had the benefit of having the wonderful Cristin Williams (her debut novel, The Whisper of Stars is coming November 6, 2025!) help me work through re-writes and edits. I took this book apart and put it back together again several times before I was finally happy with it. All in, I’d estimate it was two years or so from the initial draft before I sent out the first query letter. 

5. Congrats on winning the mentorship contest. After being alone much of his life, Nimble must learn to work with Mouse and his gang. Share a bit about Nimble’s emotional ARC since he was a loner and didn’t have any friends before meeting Mouse. 

Nim’s had a hard life. He never knew his parents. He grew up at Waifs & Strays orphanage where he never felt he fit in. When he runs away to be on his own, he tells himself he doesn’t need anyone. He armors himself against the world, convinces himself he’s better off alone. After he meets Mouse and Abby and spends some time with them, he begins to understand the power of connection, friendship, love. They give him something he’s never had before; kindness. Ultimately, Nim realizes that people need people, even loners. 

Your Journey to Publication 

6. How did Peter Knapp become your agent? What was the querying process like for you? 

I queried Pete in the typical way (query letter and sample chapters) and he offered me the opportunity for an R&R (revise and resubmit) which I happily accepted. Pete and his amazing team gave me some really insightful feedback on my book, and after another round of edits I re-submitted and Pete offered to represent me. 

7. What was going on submission for the first time like? Did anything about the process surprise you? 

Submission is stressful! Once I had a literary agent I felt like a marathon runner a just few strides from the finish line. But those last few strides are tough! I found rejections really stung because I felt like I was so close to realizing my dream. The only thing about the process that really surprised me is how many times in a day I can check my inbox! 

Promoting Your Book 

8. How are you planning to celebrate your book’s release and promote it afterward? 

I’ve been dreaming of finding my novel on bookstore shelves for well over a decade, so first thing I’m going to do is a local bookstore tour on debut day with my family just to prove its real, look at it, pick it up, and maybe even sign a few copies. In September I have an official book launch at a local bookstore where I’m looking forward to celebrating with family and friends. After that, well, I hope to visit schools and libraries and share my book with kids and book lovers. 

9. Have you learned anything about marketing your book from watching other debut authors in the Middle Grade Escapes group who have already had their books released? 

I’ve learned to not be too hard on myself when it comes to social media and specifically self-promotion. Also, to take the time to really enjoy the debut process. This is the realization of years of dreaming and hard work. 

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

I have a second book coming from Penguin/Nancy Paulsen in 2026. It’s a supernatural whodunnit about the World’s most haunted town and supernatural tourism destination, three weeks after all the ghosts inexplicably go missing. At the same time, I’m working on another middle grade historical horror adventure that I’m really excited about! 

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Ryan. You can find Ryan at ryanjamesblack.com and @ryanjamesblack on all socials! 

Giveaway Details

Ryan is generously offering a hardback of The Dark Times of Nimble Nottingham 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 August 30th. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from 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 other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or follow Ryan on his social media sites, 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. This book 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, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops 

Wednesday, August 20th I have an agent spotlight interview with Shelly Romero and a query critique giveaway 

Monday, August 25th I have an interview with author James Ponti and a giveaway of his MG Hurricane Heist 

Monday, September 1st I’m participating in the Glam and Glitz Giveaway Hop 

Wednesday, September 3rd I have an interview with debut author Skyla Arndt and a giveaway of her YA House of Hearts and my IWSG post 

Monday, September 8th I have an interview with author J.A. Dauber and a giveaway of his MG Press 1 for Invasion 

Wednesday, September 10th I have an agent spotlight interview with Ashlee MacCallum and a query critique giveaway 

I hope to see you on Monday!