Author: sljauthor

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NEW BLOG FOCUS! Today’s children’s book recommendation: BREAKOUT by Kate Messner – Middle Grade Contemporary Fiction (ages 9-14)

The focus of this blog is shifting! While I will still occasionally share writerly updates, mostly I will be sharing recommendations for fabulous children’s books that spark wonder and help curious kids learn about the world! So, welcome to BOOKS FOR CURIOUS KIDS!

Today I want to talk about Breakout by Kate Messner. This is a contemporary middle grade fiction novel, which means that while it is a made up story, it takes place during modern day times and it is geared toward readers, ages 9-14.

The fun part of this one is that the entire story is told through letters, poems, text messages, news stories, and comics that the kids are gathering for a time capsule project. You would think that the story would come across disjointed, but it’s cleverly done and the character development and narrative tension build beautifully.

The book’s plot centers on how a community changes when two convicts escape prison. The three main characters, Nora, Lizzie, and Elidee, see first hand how fear can change people in surprising ways. Messner handles heavy topics like criminal justice and racial bias with grace and sensitivity and at an age-appropriate level for her audience.

If you’re interested in a deep dive of how this book came together, check out Messner’s blog series, “Countdown to Breakout.” She has 23 blog entries on her research and writing process, and it adds a lot to the story to know how it all came together!

Happy reading!

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I Have An Agent!

Sometimes life takes over despite our best intentions. To say the last few months have been hard would be a massive understatement–so much so, that I have sorely neglected this blog! Thanks to a pitch I made at the ANWA conference, I’m happy to report that I’ve signed with Literary Agent Extraordinaire Lynnette Novak! I’m thrilled to be working with her!! She is beyond lovely and super on top of things, so stay tuned for all my fabulous upcoming publishing deal announcements! 🙂

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My People

I don’t remember ever meeting an author as a child. No visits to my elementary school, or even standing in line at a bookstore to get a signature. So, even though books were always my passion, I never considered becoming an author a legitimate career path. I majored in professional writing at college, but still only dabbled from time to time in fiction.

Fast forward through a job as a technical writer at IBM, starting a family, and working in tourism communications. It wasn’t until years later that I gathered enough courage to show up at a writing conference without knowing a single soul. My mind was blown and my heart filled by being around such like-minded souls–sensitive people who love story and language and all the writerly things.

I joined this community whole-heartedly and continue to be so grateful for the guidance and friendships I’ve found along the way. Becoming an author is not an easy journey, and finding those who truly understand and encourage is crucial.

This weekend I was able to attend ANWA 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. It was my second time at this conference, and I loved it just as much. I won a couple more B.O.B. writing contests, and I met some wonderful literary agents who were interested in my work.

The theme from the keynote speaker, Sara B. Larson, was “You were made to create.” I truly believe that. I came home from the conference motivated and inspired! I’m writing 1-2k words each day, and it feels so good.

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A Meadow of Wild & Beautiful Ideas

It’s that time of year again–Storystorm time! I love brainstorming new writing ideas, and Tara Lazar’s event makes it easy with its daily inspiration. There’s something so refreshing about a good brain dump, plus there’s prizes! Jump over to this post to read about when I first discovered Storystorm.

Today, my 9-year-old son snuggled up to me, wanting to know what I was working on. I read him my Storystorm ideas, and he promptly shared his own ideas to add to the list. My 12-year-old overheard us and wanted to add an idea as well, only it was too complicated to tell me, so he took my laptop and typed up a couple of paragraphs, outlining a super cool underwater fantasy world.

And that’s what I love most about creativity–it’s contagious! As soon as we open our minds to new ideas, they’re everywhere. Many people are eager to share “bestselling” book ideas with authors, but what they don’t realize is that that’s the easy part. Most creatives are absolutely inundated with their own ideas. It’s the careful selection, cultivation, and follow-through that’s the tricky part.

But January is the perfect time to set aside the hard finishing parts of writing for a few minutes each day and frolic among my own wild and beautiful ideas. I’ve got the whole year ahead of me, and brand-new, shiny resolutions to get me there. Here’s to 2023!

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Digging Back In!

Writers, and all creatives really, are subject to tremendous self-doubt. One minute you’re high as a kite, feeling like your words will delight and inspire the world, and the next minute like they need to be ground to a fine dust and flushed down the toilet.

So it was both validating and humbling to be awarded 5 Beginning of Book Awards at ANWA 2022. ANWA stands for American Night Writer’s Association. It was the first time I’ve attended this organization’s conference, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Turns out, they welcomed me with open arms, and teased me mercilessly for winning so many awards.

This last year has been one of transition for me personally, involving a big move across the country, and lots of changes in our family. ANWA was like a reset for me on my writing journey, giving me the kick in the butt I needed to dig back in.

While I was at the conference, I pitched my sci-fi novel to an editor of a big publishing house, and she wants to take a look! So, I’m hurrying to polish it up a bit before I send it off. I also received really insightful feedback from the contest judges on my B.O.B. entries. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that there are no limits on improvement. One’s creative work can always get better.

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Taking the Leap!

Stick figure standing on What We Are cliff wondering if he should take the Leap of Faith to get to What We Want To Be cliff.

I’ve been so busy this spring doing a major overhaul on my middle grade sci-fi novel. I changed the point of view from 1st to 3rd, fleshed out the characters, fixed overall plot structure, and made the ending so much better. I’ve been getting feedback as well, and doing lots of revision based on that. And I’m SO excited about how this manuscript is shaping up!

My kids have been going nuts wanting to finish reading it. I read the first part to them when I was drafting it during NaNoWriMo, and then stopped because I wanted to wait until it was done. But I’m not sure “done” is a thing in the writing world. It can always be better! Then, a couple days ago my youngest confessed he’d snuck one of the pages out of my office garbage bin and read it on the sly! So, I guess he’s getting desperate! LOL

Anyway, I just sent off queries for it to a few agents. As scary as it is, it’s finally time to see if I can drum up any interest in the publishing world for this project. I know this can take years and 100s of queries, and may never happen, but it for sure won’t if I don’t try! All I can do is keep moving forward, challenging myself, and taking those leaps of faith.

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Nonfiction for Kids

Nonfiction: Real books that tell, inform, teach and explain.

More than ever before, kids are choosing to read nonfiction.* This often under-appreciated genre of kidlit has broken away from the straightforward, “textbook” styles of the past, and exploded with compelling structures and engaging tones. I mean, who can resist Melissa Stewart’s book titled Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers: Celebrating Animal Underdogs, or Steve Sheinkin’s Lincoln’s Grave Robbers that follows the thrilling true story of how counterfeiters tried to steal Lincoln’s coffin in 1875. Another gripping narrative can be found in Christina Soontornvat’s All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys Soccer Team. The biggest draw to these books is that they’re filled with things that are real. Kids like that more than adults realize,** especially given what we’ve all been through. Some people turn to fiction to escape during hard times; others seek refuge in facts and truth. Kids often try to get a better understanding of the world around them.

It’s been just over a year since a writing conference opened my eyes to this dynamic area of kidlit, and I’m still learning so much. In February I participated in Nonfiction Fest. Each day had challenges to develop my research skills, inspire new ideas, and engage with the nonfiction writing community. I loved it, and it gave me some great ideas for future projects! I also won Jennifer Swanson’s Astronaut/Aquanaut: How Space Science and Sea Science Interact–another fabulous MG nonfiction book from an author I’ve come to go a little bit fangirl on. 🙂

It was a lucky month for me as I also won Leslie Bulion’s Spi-Ku: A Clutter of Short Verse on Eight Legs through a Twitter contest. My boys and I have had so much fun reading her lyrical spider poems that are chuck full of cool arachnoid facts. Whether your interest lies in reading or writing, I urge you to invite more nonfiction books into your life. They just might surprise you!

*See this Washington Post article for more on this.

**See this Publisher’s Weekly article for stats that show how juvenile nonfiction experienced 3X the growth in sales in 2020 than juvenile fiction.

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Picture Book Party

I LOVE trying new things, especially when it comes to writing. But with all the middle grade projects I’ve been working on, the last thing I needed was a whole new audience to write for. At least that’s what I kept telling myself every time the thought of writing picture books peeked around the corner.

But then I discovered, Storystorm 2021. It’s an annual event where for each day of January, Author Tara Lazar has picture book authors post about generating new story ideas. Their words were so inspiring, it was exhilarating! Lauren Kerstein’s post especially spoke to me. Now picture book writing wasn’t just peeking around the corner, it was sticking its tongue out at me–daring me to give chase!

I couldn’t resist. I immediately put Kerstein’s method to work and came up with a great idea! I couldn’t stop there, so I continued on to draft my first picture book. Picture books are short–500 words or less for fictional stories, so many people think they’re easy to write. But the truth is, this is the very reason they are so challenging. Every word counts, and you have to accomplish a whole lot within that time. Now that picture books had my full attention, I dove headfirst into learning the ropes–taking some online courses, and studying Ann Whitford Paul’s Writing Picture Books.

Another fantastic resource I found is Julie Hedlund’s 12X12 challenge, where the goal is to draft at least one new picture book each month during the year. It has been just the motivation I needed. Not every draft I write works out, but each time I sit down to brainstorm a new one, the anticipation is just like I feel before going to a party. My own little picture book party!

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New Year, Same Goals!

I am a goal person. A list person. A write it on the list just so I can check it off person. It keeps me focused and motivated. Without them I ride high on ambition and bottom out on follow-through.

Since I last posted I’ve been busy writing children’s nonfiction. It has been so much fun! I really love the middle grade age group, and it is super handy to have a few kids in that range to give my manuscripts a test run.

My goal from last year was to write and submit, and it’s still the same. That doesn’t dishearten me in the least. The more I write, the better I get. I know it’s a process. In fact, I enjoy the process. I’m like a kid digging in the dirt just for the fun of it. In the end, if I end up with a few mud pies to my name, all the better.

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Writer’s Academy – 2nd Place for my Flash Fiction!

On a whim, I signed up for the UVU Writer’s Academy that takes place throughout the month of October. As a part of the program, they have a short story contest that I’ve been having so much fun with. They give you a genre, a setting, and a random object to incorporate and limit you to 1,000 words. There are 4 rounds, with the final two being elimination rounds. You also only have a few days to write each piece!

When the scores were posted last week I was thrilled to see I’d tied for Second Place on the first round! Woohoo! This weekend I had a blast writing the second story. I don’t know if I’ll make it to the Finals, but I’m very grateful for this challenge. I’ve learned so much about storytelling and fiction these last two years, and I can see the progress in my writing. And that is the best prize of all!