Dear O'Abby: What do they mean by "voice"

 Dear O'Abby,

I have been querying an MG novel and have had several requests for the full manuscript.  Unfortunately none of these have turned into offers.  I've been lucky enough to get some feedback from the rejecting agents and almost all of them say something about the "voice" in my book.

Can you shed some light on what "voice" means?  It's pretty hard to try and fix something when I'm not sure exactly what they mean.

Yours,

Challenged

Dear Challenged,

"Voice" is a tricky one because it can refer to several different things.  There's your own authorial voice which is to do with your style as a writer - your choice of words and the rhythm of your sentences etc.  Then there is the voice of your novel which is more to do with your characters and the way they express themselves.

The two are obviously linked, but I feel like in this context the agents are more likely to be commenting on the voice of your novel.  MG is especially tricky in this respect because the voice can't come across as too young, or as too old.  Kids in that MG age-group have a unique way of expressing themselves and of seeing the world around them.  They can also differ wildly in terms of their maturity, so it's often difficult to figure out exactly where to pitch your voice.

My suggestion would be to read widely in the MG sphere so you can get a good understanding of what MG voices sound like.  Spending time with kids in this age-group would also beneficial.  Kids often  won't speak freely in front of an adult if they know they are being listened to, so I like to do it on the bus or at the mall or library.  I put headphones on so they don't think I can hear them, then listen to the rhythm of their speech, the words they choose and the things they feel are worthy of conversation.

Once you have a good feel for what  MG sounds like, you can go back to your MS and see if what you have written would fit authentically within their syntax and world view.  Make sure conversations flow the way real kids talk to one another and that they way your characters react to situations is realistic.  Kids can be pretty worldly, but their understanding of things may not yet be complete.  Don't be afraid to let your characters get things wrong, to misunderstand things that would be obvious to an older person.

But also don't talk down to them.  Nothing will turn off a young reader more than being condescended to and making your character act or talk too young will turn off readers as much as making them act or talk too old.

Hopefully this will help.

Good luck with any revisions you make and your on-going search for an agent.

Best, 

O'Abby.

Synopsis Critique #5 - MG Contemporary

And now, it's time for this week's synopsis critique! The author of THE LAST DOUBLOON, a 36,000-word MG Contemporary, submitted this synopsis. My in-line comments are [blue and in brackets], and I'll include a summary at the end. Feel free to comment below!

If you'd like a primer on how to write a synopsis, see my posts here and here. And if you want your synopsis critiqued on this website, fill out the form here, or email your 1-2 page synopsis to me at operationawesome6@gmail.com, and I'll post one critique per week (NOTE: I'll email my critique to the author as soon as I'm done, so the author won't have to wait to see his/her synopsis on the site). Thanks for participating!

Synopsis

The day before twelve-year-old ANTONIO MORA flies from Spain to Florida [this set-up is a little confusing. Is he going by himself? Is it just to visit? Is he moving there permanently? A tiny bit more detail here would help], his mom shows him an old silver coin she found on her parents’ property in Florida, and a letter belonging to old neighbors. It takes Antonio only two minutes to realize that finding more valuable coins could help his unemployed dad. It could even get his recently separated parents together again. But Antonio’s dad has his own plan and takes off to Melilla [is this a city in Spain?] in search of work the same day Antonio leaves for Florida. [This is a good start. Antonio's mom giving him the coin seems to be the inciting incident, and Antonio is making a plan based on it. Just a little clarity with why and for how long Antonio is going to Spain will help orient the reader here.] Once in Clara Springs [Is this in FL?], Antonio bumps into two kids MOLLIE and TATE who happen to be new neighbors and in Antonio’s mind, potential witnesses of his treasure search. [What does it mean to be a 'witness' of a treasure search? Do you mean they're his helpers? Or are they hindering his search?] Antonio is happy to enlist his old friend, JULIANNE MENDES, in his search, but she is now friends with Mollie who Antonio doesn’t trust. [Why doesn't Antonio trust Mollie?] The last thing Antonio needs is the news of a tropical storm approaching Florida, cutting his digging time short. [Has he already started digging? How does he know where to dig? Where does he start? Perhaps lead with a sentence explaining how he's putting his plan into action, then introduce us to the other kids] After several failed attempts at finding coins, Antonio grows frustrated. When he learns of the sinkholes that opened during the winter, he suspects they could have sucked in the coins, and feels puzzled and discouraged. Then he starts reading the old letter [this is the letter his mother gave him, right? If so, add that here to remind the reader] about the 1715 Spanish treasure fleet that shipwrecked off the coast of Sebastian Inlet. According to it [the letter], some of the surviving sailors stole coins and riches, and Antonio believes his coin was part of the stolen bounty, but finds no clues in the letter about a buried treasure. Instead, he finds and [an] old picture belonging to his mom showing her friendship with Mollie’s dad. Antonio realizes Mollie and Tate aren’t exactly new neighbors but the old ones his mom had talked about. [Why is this significant? Does it show that Mollie and Tate might be looking for the treasure too?] [Who is Antonio living with while he's in FL? Is he with his mom? If so, wouldn't he talk to her about the letter, the coin, and his search?] When Antonio confides with Julianne about his dad, she tells him that her papa is at the hospital, and her family can barely afford the hospital bills. Antonio realizes that her family is in a worse situation than his, and she’d benefit from finding the coins, too. Before the hurricane makes landfall, Antonio talks to his mom and he finds out his dad has settled down in Melilla. Seeing his dad in the future is going to be really hard. [So did Antonio move to FL permanently? Or is Melilla far from where Antonio and his mother live in Spain?] At the library, they find more information about the fleet, but Antonio also figures that his coin, a silver real, it’s not the valuable coin he had dreamed of. [Why does he think this? Does something in the library give him the impression his coin isn't valuable after all?] He wonders if he’ll be able to help his dad at all, let alone share with Julianne if he finds anything. The hurricane makes landfall on the Florida coast, but spares Clara Springs. Unfortunately, two tornadoes cause havoc in the county and partially destroy Antonio’s and Julianne’s properties, including her chicken coop, built by her papa. By an uprooted tree Antonio spots a rotten box with a bunch of coins and crystals inside. The crystals happen to be emeralds, and since they were on the property line, Antonio splits them to help pay for Julianne’s hospital bills. [So did it turn out the silver coin wasn't important after all? Does he ever find out who the box belonged to or why it was buried?] Antonio figures the letter had belonged to Mollie’s dad. Since he passed away, Antonio returns it to Mollie, considering if some of the coins and gems may belong to her. [Does he give some of them to her? Earlier, you mention that Antonio is suspicious of Mollie and Tate, but it isn't really mentioned again. It's worth a sentence or two explaining what happened to Mollie and Tate and their relationship to Antonio.] Finally, Antonio hears news from his dad, and feels hopeful about seeing each other soon at the end of the summer break.

Summary

This synopsis is well-written and takes us through the main plot nicely, with a true beginning, middle, and end. Antonio has a clear goal, and a plan to achieve it. As it's a short synopsis, if you're trying to keep it to one page, you won't have a lot of room for revisions. However, I did have some questions I believe merit answering for reader clarity:

1) Why is Antonio going to FL, for how long, and who is he living with while there?

2) What does Antonio specifically do once he decides to become a treasure hunter? For example, does he buy maps, shovels, other supplies? Does he make a plan for when and where to dig? Is he digging on the beach, around people's houses, etc.? How much time does he spend digging? Does Julianne help him?

3) Why doesn't Antonio ask his mom, who gave him the coin and the letter, for more information about the coin and the letter? Are his grandparents in the story? They might know more than Antonio's mom.

4) What's the deal with Mollie and Tate? Antonio seems suspicious of them at first, and it turns out they're the family that originally had the letter, but there's no real clarification of what happens with this subplot. Honestly, you may consider leaving them out of this one-page synopsis altogether unless you have the space to tie them a little closer to the main plot.

For a one-page synopsis, you've got a nice summary of the main plot. If you expand to two or more pages, you'll have more space for Mollie and Tate, and explaining more about their relationship with Antonio, history with the treasure, etc.

Overall, this sounds like a really fun story. Best of luck with the manuscript!

Wednesday Debut Interview: TREASURE AT LURE LAKE by Shari Schwarz

For today's Wednesday Debut Interview, Shari Schwarz will be talking with us about her debut MG novel, TREASURE AT LURE LAKE

First off, tell us a bit about yourself!
Thank you for having me on Operation Awesome! I love visiting this blog and even was a winner of one of your Mystery Agent contests a while back, so I’m a huge fan!

I’m a wife and mom of four boys ages 16, 14, 11 and 4. We live in Ft. Collins, Colorado and love being so close to the mountains where we like to hike and camp. I grew up in Batavia, IL, a suburb of Chicago, but my family would often vacation in Colorado, so I had a love for rock-climbing, mountain biking and hiking early on. Before I started writing in earnest, I coached gymnastics for several years, and then I got my teaching degree and worked as an elementary librarian and started a garden at the school. Now I stay home with our youngest, write and freelance edit.


Tell us about your book. What's your elevator pitch for TREASURE AT LURE LAKE?
If I pitch to someone who I know is a reader or writer, I say it’s HATCHET + IF I STAY. Otherwise, I say it’s about two brothers who have never understood why they don’t get along. They go on a backpacking trip into the wilderness with their grandfather, and when disaster strikes, the boys have to learn to work together to survive.


Is Lure Lake a real place? Is it based on somewhere in particular?
No one has asked me this yet! Lure Lake is not a real lake, but it is based on one of my favorite hiking destinations in the Northern Colorado Rockies: American Lakes. The hike up the trail that the boys take in the book is based on the Big South trail, but I set it heading in the opposite direction and further into the wilderness, because the Big South is too well-traveled. I needed something a bit more remote for Jack and Bryce.


Why middle grade? Is there a reason you choose to write to this audience?
I had been an elementary librarian previous to writing Treasure at Lure Lake, so I was working with this genre all the time. Plus, my own boys were reading MG books at the time, and I was reading a lot of them. I was hoping to write something that was a quick, easy read, but exciting at the same time.


Let's talk a bit about your publishing journey. How long as this process taken for you, from the first draft until publication date?
In total, it took two years and four months. I started writing the first draft on December 10, 2013. I wrote it in two months and to be honest, I had NO clue what was ahead of me in terms of revising, critique partners, and least of all, querying. But I jumped in with both feet, made a lot of mistakes, had a lot of wonderful people help guide me, entered a ton of contests, and met some amazing writer friends along the way. I kept a detailed log of all my queries and responses. In just over a year, I tallied up 100 rejections before my YES came! At the end of May 2015, I received a contract for publication through Cedar Fort. After a lot of questions to some of their authors and looking into the legal side of the contract, I said yes to them. It took me until September of 2015 to finish the first round of major edits with my acquiring editor, Ashley Gephart, and then my book comes out on April 12th, 2016. I’m a bit on the fast track with writing my first book, but I don’t have an agent, so it will be back to square one soon!


Every writer experiences some rejection and setbacks along the way. How did you learn to cope with them and move on?
Yes, there were some really hard times through the querying process and some rejections that stung much more than others. But the things that kept me sane were my critique partners who were amazing and kept cheering me on. Reading about other writers’ journeys here on OA and other blogs helped me realize that this isn’t easy for anyone. I also wrote two more books, several picture books and went for some long walks and hikes which helped clear my mind and gave me a new perspective.


What makes Cedar Fort Publishing and your editor(s) there a good fit for you and your book?
Everyone I have worked with at Cedar Fort has been exceptionally kind, responsive, skilled and helpful with each step along the way. They produce high quality books with gorgeous covers. My book is intended for national release which they are expanding into and not just for their LDS markets. The contract was great and they were willing to negotiate on a couple of points that I had questions on. I felt that they really had my best interest at heart. My editor, Ashley Gephart, is brilliant, kind and always got back to me with my hundreds of questions. I loved that my editor was so accessible.

Tell us about your cover. I love the rustic feel! How much say did you have in it? What do you want it to tell potential readers?
Thank you! I love it too! Before they ever created my cover, Cedar Fort gave me a questionnaire, wanting to know if I had thoughts, ideas, or opinions about how it should look. I love that I had some say in it, but it came out so much better than I could have imagined. I cried when I saw it. They sent me a few different versions to ask which my favorite was. There were also a couple of minor things that needed to be changed at that point. One was that the profile of the bear was a grizzly bear instead of a black bear. An easy mistake to make, but since there aren’t any grizzlies in Colorado, it had to be changed, which they were more than happy to do.

Was TREASURE AT LURE LAKE the original title you had in mind for this book?
No, it wasn’t. I had used the working title of THE LEDGE. I personally never intended for that to be the final title, but some people had become attached to it and reacted strongly when they saw the change. Cedar Fort wanted something more geared to the Middle Grade audience. But, I did work THE LEDGE into the book in the acknowledgments! I was happy about that.

Can you tell us about some of the things you’ve been working on between signing a contract for this novel and its release? What about the post-book-deal process been most surprising for you?
I have worked on another MG which I decided to shelve for now because my next big goal is to find an agent for my picture books. I’m pretty focused on wanting to go more in the PB world. I now agree with many writers that PBs are harder to write than anything. The most surprising thing about the post-book-deal process is how much work and how many people it takes to write a book! And book promotion…it is endless. Luckily, I have been able to team up with The Sweet 16s which is a debut MG/YA author group. I can’t imagine doing this alone! I thought that, because I am with a smaller publisher, I would have to do so much more work that the authors with large publishers have to do, but that’s not the case. We all have to promote our own books in many ways. Although Cedar Fort and the other publishers do some things to help, being in a debut group allows us to promote each other as well, which is wonderful!

How does it feel to finally have your book out in the hands of readers? Do you have any events planned you want people to know about?
It is, in equal parts, exciting, frightening, and surreal. I can’t believe that this is really happening at times. Other times, when my friends and family are celebrating with me, I’m thrilled that I’ve accomplished a life-long dream. And there are times when I am so nervous, because now my ‘baby’ is out in the world for people to read (yay!) and to judge (oh, no!). But my hope is that it will resonate with that one person who needs to read it. If that happens, it will all have been worth it!


Is there any other advice you'd like to pass on to others pursuing publication? Anything you would have done differently?
All the way through, I think it’s important to be kind and respectful and open to anyone who crosses your path. There are so many people who have helped me become the writer I am today…even that one guy who gave me a horribly mean critique on one of my first drafts. In the moment it was hard to accept, but I’ve learned to see what truth there was even in something like that. I’ve learned to be open to it all but not to let it all change who I am or the stories I want…no, need to tell. There are probably a thousand things I should have done differently, but when I think about redoing any of them, I think, no. Those mistakes are what got me to where I am today. They were all learning lessons, and hopefully, I can use them to help others in the future.


Excellent advice.
And, just for fun, which book in your own collection do you think your hero Bryce would most enjoy?
I’m going to answer this for both Bryce and Jack since the book is told in dual-POV. They both should read HATCHET by Gary Paulsen. Bryce would just plain-old enjoy it, the geek-survivalist that he is. Jack, on the other hand, really needs to read it to learn the survival skills from it.

Thank you so much for your participation in this Wednesday Debut Interview!

Wednesday Debut Interview: Survival Strategies of the Almost Brave by Jen White

It's time for another Wednesday Debut Interview and today we're chatting with Jen White, whose MG novel Survival Strategies of the Almost Brave debuted last week!

First off, tell us a bit about yourself! What's one thing people might not expect about you?
Hi, Wendy! I’m a native Californian. I love the outdoors, especially the beach. I also have five children. When I was little I wanted to be an actress, until my dad signed me up for acting classes, and I was so mortified over the thought of getting up in front of the class to do improv, that I cried the whole way home. Since that moment, I decided I wanted to be a writer. And that was a great decision because I can sit behind a computer screen and still connect with people through story.


How would you describe SURVIVAL STRATEGIES OF THE ALMOST BRAVE in one sentence?
Two sisters find themselves on an unexpected adventure home, after their long lost father abandons them at a gas station.


How long as this process taken for you, from the time that you began the first draft of this book until the date of its publication? How many novels had you written prior to this? 

Wow, it took a really long time! I began writing SURVIVAL STRATEGIES OF THE ALMOST BRAVE during my last semester of my MFA program in creative writing. After I graduated I finished my book, and then went to a writer’s conference where I met my editor, Joy Peskin. She read the first twenty pages and then asked for the full. Soon I received a very thoughtful letter that asked a lot of questions and made some suggestions. She wanted to see the manuscript again, if I would consider some of her suggestions. I was so excited! But, I was really stuck. It took me a long time to figure out what to do with SSOTAB. Years, in fact. I wrote two more books and had two babies before I could figure out how to get Liberty and Billie safely across the desert on their own. After I figured that out, I wrote the book quite quickly. I then sent it to Joy. She still remembered me and the rest is history. She is now my very, excellent editor at FSG/Macmillan.


You've had quite the publishing journey already!
I absolutely love road trips, and this sounds like a great road trip book. Were any parts of this book based on actual trips or locations you've been to? 

Yes, I used to go camping with my family all of the time. In fact, the idea for this book came from when I was vacationing with my family and was accidentally left at a gas station with my sister and my cousin. My parents didn’t see us climb out of the back of our camper truck to use the restroom. They thought we had fallen asleep and drove three hours to their destination before they realized we were gone.

We were so scared. Eventually, a policeman came and took us to the police station, where we were interviewed, and then sent to a foster home where we ate bean burritos and watched the movie Mary Poppins. After six hours, we were finally reunited with our family. I remember I looked out of the foster home window at the desert, and wondered if I had to live there. I could not figure out what had happened to my parents. I knew they wouldn’t leave us on purpose, but I couldn’t understand why they hadn’t returned. That raw emotion is what propelled me to write about Liberty, and her sister, Billie in SURVIVAL STRATEGIES OF THE ALMOST BRAVE.


What part of this book did you most enjoy writing? 

I really enjoyed writing all of the many characters Liberty and Billie encountered. I loved writing Star Wars Kid; he has a special place in my heart. And, of course, I loved writing the sisters, Liberty and Billie. They had such a great dynamic that was really fun to write. I also loved Lavender Lady and Orson (another sibling combo) because they made me laugh. And finally, I’d say, I loved Tattoo Guy. I loved him because upon first observation he seems intimidating and scary, but as the book progresses we get the whole picture of who he is (compassionate, funny, and smart). In the beginning he is not who he seems. In general, I think this is true of most people. There is so much more to a person than what we see on the surface. Deep down everyone has a story that we can relate to.


Every writer experiences some rejection and setbacks along the way. How did you learn to cope with them and move on? 

Absolutely there are setbacks and rejection, but if you want to write and create there are always discouragements. I have this quote on my desk at home that says: A published author is an amateur who never quit. I have to remind myself of this every day. You must be tenacious to reach your goals. Do the work. Read every day. Learn all you can about your craft. And don’t give up.


Great advice! Your cover is great; it reminds me a bit of "I Spy" books, which are always a road trip favorite. Who designed it? How much say did you have in it? What do you want it to tell your readers about your story? 

Elizabeth Holden Clark designed my book cover. From the moment I laid eyes on the cover, I loved it. The items are all things in SURVIVAL STRATEGIES OF THE ALMOST BRAVE, so they have a special meaning. I love the sprinkles on the front, and the prairie dog on the back. I had little, to no, say about the cover. So I’m glad I liked it. Of course the publisher and publishing team want authors to like their book covers, but in general, an author doesn’t have much of a say.


What's next for you after this book debuts? Have you started working on another book?
When SURVIVAL STRATEGIES OF THE ALMOST BRAVE was purchased it was part of a two-book deal, so yes, I am working on Book 2. It is not a sequel to SSOTAB, but it is a middle grade novel. It has been really fun to write and I can hardly wait until it comes out, but I am still working out some of the kinks in the manuscript.


How does it feel to finally have your book out in the hands of readers? Do you have any events planned you want people to know about? 

It feels wonderful to have my book in the hands of readers. What a happy and sobering thought. I find it a great privilege to write for young readers. I can’t think of a better audience.

I have links to my upcoming events on my website: www.jenwhitebooks.com and also on the Macmillan author website http://us.macmillan.com/all/toursandevents. I hope to visit with some of your readers sometime soon!

And, just for fun: what do you think your main character, Liberty, would pick as the ultimate road trip song and why? 

I seriously think Liberty would probably forgo the road trip song, and instead watch an episode of NatGeo’s Hunter and Hunted. She would absolutely love BBC’s Planet Earth. Liberty is a serious nature girl.

Sounds fun! Thanks for the interview and congrats on your debut!

Order your copy of Survival Strategies of the Almost Brave here!

Wednesday Debut Interview: Anna, Banana, and the Friendship Split by Anica Mrose Rissi

Today, we're excited to chat with Anica Mrose Rissi about her MG debut that just came out yesterday, Anna, Banana, and the Friendship Split!

First off, tell us a bit about yourself!
Hello! Thanks for having me. My name is Anica Mrose Rissi and I am a writer, storyteller, and editrix, based in Brooklyn, New York. I like dogs, ice cream, and dancing around the room.

How would you describe ANNA, BANANA, AND THE FRIENDSHIP SPLIT in one sentence? What gave you the idea for this particular story?
Anna, Banana, and the Friendship Split is the first book in a new series about a girl named Anna who navigates the ups and downs of third-grade best friendship, with a little help from her wiener dog, Banana.

The idea for the book started with the title, and the story spun out from there. I had a lot of fun writing it!


How long has this process taken for you, from the time that you began the first draft of this book until the date of its publication?
I spent more than two years writing and revising (and revising, and revising) the draft of the manuscript that sold to my editor, the super-fabulous Kristin Ostby at S&S. Kristin signed up the first four books in the series in July 2013—at which point I revised Friendship Split twice more.

So, from the start of the first draft to publication day took over four years.

The next three books in the series (which I wrote under contract, and therefore with a much stricter and more regular writing schedule) took about six months of writing and revision each.

They will all be released within two years of conception. Book two, Anna, Banana, and the Monkey in the Middle, comes out on July 7.

And the "Banana" in the title is a little wiener dog -- too cute! Do you have dogs of your own?
Yes! My dog, Arugula, is a long-legged hound mix who wiggled her way into my heart six years ago when I saw her sitting in the window of an adoption bus that was parked on my street in Brooklyn. I’d been on my way to the train station to visit my parents, but I called them said, “I’m going to be late. I’m adopting a dog.” My father said, “Bad idea. Call us when you know what train you’ll be on.” Her middle name is “Badidea” in honor of him. She’s the very best bad idea I’ve had.

A rather adorable "bad idea"

What part of this book did you most enjoy writing?
Some of my favorite scenes to write were the ones with Anna and her family, especially the moments with her older brother, Chuck. Chuck loves teasing Anna, and Anna both likes and hates being teased, and the dynamics of their relationship were really fun to draw out. (They were inspired, in part, by my relationship with my own older brother, who has always been a key figure in my life.) I use Chuck throughout the series for moments of comic relief, but he also has some surprising big-brother wisdom to offer, and serves as a great example of how sometimes someone you love can drive you nuts, make you angry, or make you want to scream or cry, but no matter what, the love is always there. That’s what family and good friendships are all about.


Every writer experiences some rejection and setbacks along the way. How did you learn to cope with them and move on?
I spent more than thirteen years working as an editor at three major publishing houses, so I know from first-hand experience on the other side of that fence that rejection is not personal. As an editor, I turned down hundreds of manuscripts every single year. Most of the projects I rejected were good manuscripts, I just wasn’t the perfect editor for them at the time. An editor needs to fall head-over-heels in love to acquire a manuscript—she has to want to spend her nights and weekends with it, because if she acquires a project, that’s when she’ll be editing it—and it has to be something she feels she can publish well in the current market, at her current publisher, considering the other projects currently on her imprint’s list and out in the world. And although rejection stings, it’s like dating: You don’t want to be matched with just any editor, you want to land the editor who is the right match for you and your book. That can take time, luck, and perseverance. When a rejection comes in, I remind myself that finding the right editor is worth the wait. (And, I try to listen with an open mind to any feedback or suggestions that might come in the rejection note—a thoughtful rejection letter can be a real gift.)


How did you find your publisher? What makes them a good fit for you and your book?
My literary agent, Meredith Kaffel at DeFiore and Company, crafted a careful submission list of editors and imprints she thought might be a good match for the project. After we discussed it, she sent out the manuscript to our top picks. Rejection letters almost always come first, and I was prepared for that (and got some very nice ones, for which I’m grateful). But after a few weeks, Meredith got a call from Kristin at S&S, who was bringing the manuscript to her editorial meeting. I knew that this didn’t necessarily mean she’d be making an offer, but I allowed myself to start dreaming—and to learn everything I could about her from Twitter, which led to an immediate editor crush (she’s smart and funny and loves dogs too! how could this not work out?). By the time the offer came in, I was convinced she’d be a wonderful editor and advocate for Anna, Banana, and me, so Meredith and I accepted a pre-empt offer. And I was right.


Tell us about your cover. Who designed it? How much say did you have in it? What do you want it to tell your readers about your story?
The adorable cover is thanks to illustrator Meg Park (who also did the interior art) and designer Laurent Linn, who added wonderful touches throughout. The publisher chooses and hires the illustrator (after consulting with the author), and I was thrilled when S&S matched the project with Meg—she draws especially wonderful animals, and when I saw her online portfolio, I was immediately smitten. I sent my editor some character descriptions for Meg to work with and gave reactions to the sketches, but really the cover is the domain of the publisher, and I think they did an excellent job with it. Seeing the art for each book has been one of the most exciting parts of the process—so fun.


Tell us about your title. Was this the original title you'd had in mind? If not, what made you change it?

The idea for the book actually started with the title, though at first I was missing a comma. The breakthrough moment in coming up with the plot happened when I realized this wasn’t a book about a girl named Anna Banana, it was about a girl named Anna and her wiener dog, Banana.

That a-ha moment happened while I was out walking my dog in the park. We ran straight home and I wrote the opening scene.


Tell us about the other books in the Anna Banana series! They're already written?

Yes, they are already written and Meg Park is hard at work on the interior illustrations. Anna, Banana, and the Monkey in the Middle comes out this July, followed by Anna, Banana, and the Big-Mouth Bet in September and Anna, Banana, and the Puppy Parade in January 2016. I can’t wait to see them all together on the shelf!


How does it feel to finally have your book out in the hands of readers? Do you have any events planned you want people to know about?
It’s hugely exciting, especially getting to share the story and talk about writing with kids. I did a few events in the weeks right before publication, including the Newburyport Literary Festival in Newburyport, MA, and release parties and school visits in Decatur, GA and Alexandria, VA. I’ve got one more release party (at BookCourt in Brooklyn, NY on Saturday, May 9–if you’re in NYC, please come!) and several more school visits coming up. I’ll also be at the Decatur Book Festival in September. If you’d like me to visit (or Skype with) your class, school, or library, please reach out! You can find my email address on my website, anicarissi.com.


Is there any other advice you'd like to pass on to others pursuing publication? Anything you would have done differently?

An author I adore, the wonderful Rebecca Serle, once told me: “You have to celebrate every good thing along the way, no matter how small.” I think that’s an excellent way to approach the writing life. I celebrate everything from finishing a tough chapter to getting a personalized rejection letter (hey, that’s better than a form rejection!) to signing a contract to seeing a comp of my next book cover. When something good happens, I text a close friend, buy myself an ice cream, or sometimes even break out the prosecco. Celebrating the good moments helps me push through the less fun parts of this career and remember how truly lucky I am.


Excellent advice! And, just for fun, which book in your own library do you think would be your main character Anna's favorite?
Anna can’t wait for Erin Soderberg’s Puppy Pirates series, which comes out this summer. Pirate puppies! Brilliant. (And she already loves Erin’s other series, The Quirks.)

Awesome! And thanks for the interview, Anica!

Buy a copy of Anna, Banana, and the Friendship Split here!

Wednesday Debut Interview: Fairy Keeper by Amy Bearce

For this week's WEDNESDAY DEBUT INTERVIEW, we get to hear about Amy Bearce's brand new book, a middle grade fantasy called Fairy Keeper, which was released March 5 from Curiosity Quills Press.

First off, tell us about yourself? What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I’m a wife and a mom of two girls, ages 9 and almost 11, and they keep me pretty busy. We’re living in Germany right now, so we get to travel a lot across Europe. I spend a lot of time on Facebook, keeping in touch with family and friends in Texas. My favorite hobby is reading. Even when we’re traveling through a place as awesome as Italy, I make sure I have a book with me. I have a Masters of Library Science and volunteer at my daughters’ school library with a fabulous librarian who has completely welcomed me here.


Tell us about FAIRY KEEPER. What was your favorite thing about the story?
FAIRY KEEPER is about a tough girl who was born to take care of fairies, but hates doing it. I found myself wondering, what if fairies weren’t like the cute ones that were in all those children’s shows I watched with my girls when they were little? What if they were more like angry, swarming bees, and we were using their magic for our own gain? What would happen?

What would happen if they all suddenly…disappeared?

My favorite thing about the story, actually, is the relationship between the two main female characters on this quest, Sierra and Nell. They start off as enemies, but during their journey, they eventually develop a tentative friendship. There’s a line that says, “Understanding Nell made hating her much harder.” And I think that is true for everyone.

How long has this process taken for you, from the time that you began the first draft of this book until the date of its publication?

I started writing FAIRY KEEPER in 2011. I got distracted about halfway through when I had an idea for a different middle grade story and wrote that one, instead. I probably spent a year focused on the other manuscript. Then I went back and finished FAIRY KEEPER in 2013. It was submitted to Curiosity Quills in the beginning of 2014. March 5th, 2015 is its publication date, so it’s been a few years since I first started this manuscript!


What do you love most about writing? What do you struggle with most?
I love the freedom to make up worlds and events. I love getting to fall into this story and see what happens. The hardest part is that sometimes it’s hard to balance that world with the real one. Making time to write everyday is challenging for me, because when the writing is going well, I don’t want to deal with reality at all. And when the writing is NOT going so well, it’s tough to make yourself sit there and write anyway. But that’s the only way any story of mine is ever finished. There’s always that first love of the new story, all the shiny possibilities, but then by the time I’m halfway through, it gets hard and I have to use a lot of self-discipline through the last third of the book to finish it.


Every writer experiences some rejection and setbacks along the way. How did you learn to cope with them and move on?
I found a lot of encouragement from fellow writers and my critique partner in particular. I also actually sought out stories of beloved authors and books that were rejected many times before finding their home. I’d cling to those stories. I created a 10X10 chart with 100 boxes and decided my goal would be to fill up that chart with 100 rejections, much like Stephen King talks about his giant stake on the wall that held all his rejections. I forgot about keeping up with it after a while, but it did take the sting out of the earliest rejections. It helps so much to remember that everyone experiences rejection. Every No, thanks can be one step closer to finding success, if you learn from it.


How did you find your publisher? What makes them a good fit for you and your book?
Curiosity Quills and I actually met up through a Twitter contest organized by Brenda Drake. But it’s a little unusual, in that I hadn’t actually entered the contest in which my tweet was found. The year before, I had entered #PitMad with that other manuscript I had written, which was a middle grade supervillain story. When Lisa Gus went looking for #MG on #PitMad, though, my entry from the year before still popped up because people were using the same hashtags. She asked to see a query if it was still available, which it was. Turns out, she loved it, but unfortunately, had another title on their list that was too similar, so she couldn’t make an offer on that one. But she asked if I had anything else to show her, since she liked my writing. I had finally finished FAIRY KEEPER, so I sent that. She offered a contract and I was thrilled to sign on with them. You just never know what types of connections will happen once you put your work out there. It’s amazing!


Was there anything that surprised you about the publishing process?
I had read a lot about the publishing process during the years that I’ve spent writing and focused on becoming a published author. However, I don’t think anything can really prepare you for how sick you can get of looking at your own story after all the edits and proofreading. It’s a long process!


Speaking of which, after signing a contract with a publisher, what comes next for a debut author? What have you been doing in these months between then and now?
We actually moved to Germany within a few months of my signing the contract, so it’s been a wild, wild year. The months after the contract were spent working on edits, setting up a better website, and increasing my social media presence. I also started the companion novel to this story. Then we moved and everything came screeching to a halt for a while. Once our internet was hooked up, it was time to get back to editing FAIRY KEEPER. An international move is exhausting (any move is exhausting), and I didn’t write any new material for months after we moved.

As far as edits went, we chose to make some major changes to my manuscript, more than I had expected, but I think they were all important and necessary changes. I’m glad we did them. The story was originally YA, written in first person present. After discussion with my editor and others in-house, we opted to make this story upper-middle grade by tweaking it just a bit, and switched to third person, past tense. That meant my first round of revisions involved changing several words in every single sentence. I hope I don’t have to ever do that again, but I’m glad I did it this time. It’s a better book because of it.


You have a lovely book cover! How much say did you have in it? What do you hope it will tell readers about your story?
Thank you so much! I love my cover and I feel so fortunate! Curiosity Quills matched me with an amazing artist, Amalia Chitulescu. She asked me a number of questions throughout her work, and was very open to my original idea. I wanted the focus to be on the fairy keeper mark on the back of Sierra’s neck, and I wanted a magical, mystical cover with the fairies all around Sierra, who would need to be facing away somewhat to show off the mark. So in this case, my cover is not only what I hoped for, she created something better than I could have dreamed!


Was FAIRY KEEPER the first title you had in mind? If not, how did its change come about?
FAIRY KEEPER was not the original title, actually. For a long time, I didn’t even have a working title. I just called it, “the fairy fantasy,” which definitely lacks a little something. Then it became FAIRY FORTUNE. That title just didn’t resonate with me. Then after I finished drafting the book, I brainstormed a list of various title possibilities, and FAIRY KEEPER came up. My critique partner and I both liked it best, so I used it. My publisher liked it, too, so it stayed.


What's next for you after this debut? What are you working on now?
I’m currently finishing up a companion book that focuses on Sierra’s little sister, Phoebe, and her relationship with the merfolk. Their tie is hinted at in FAIRY KEEPER, and this next story takes place four years later. Because the focus is on the merfolk, much of the book takes place under the sea. The setting has been both challenging and really fun to write. I also have a YA urban fantasy that I just pulled off the backburner and started working on again.


How does it feel to have your book out in the hands of readers? Do you have any events planned that you'd like to tell people about?
Having my book out is both thrilling and terrifying. I honestly didn’t expect this much terror!

Because I’m in Germany, I do feel rather insulated, because most of the people I know personally who want to buy my book are across the ocean. There are a lot of Americans at my current location, though, and I am excited to have a presentation scheduled at the local middle school here in March and May.


Is there any other advice you'd like to pass on to others pursuing publication?
When you are ready, get your work out there and learn to take criticism well. It’s always hard to hear that someone doesn’t immediately love your work and want to publish it, but learning to receive feedback well is a gift that will pay dividends the rest of your writing career.


And, just for fun, what's one song that you think relates well to FAIRY KEEPER, and why?
The song “Fireflies” by Owl City comes to mind, because my fairies look a lot like fireflies in the fields during summer. It’s how I always pictured them. Sierra experiences some dreams that are "real bizarre," too, about mid-way through the book, and she's uncertain if she's awake or asleep. On a more practical note, I heard that song a lot when we first moved here and I was working on edits, so the two will always be entwined for me now. Here’s my favorite video of the song, performed in American Sign Language by D-PAN (Deaf Professional Arts Network). I don’t know much ASL, but I do think it’s a gorgeous language.

Thanks, Amy! Congrats on your debut!

Click here to buy FAIRY KEEPER!

We've Selected Our 50 Entrants for the August Mystery Agent Contest!

 Check the list and see if you're one of the lucky 50 folks* who get to pitch our August Mystery Agent!

If your name's on the list, you'll need to email us your pitch--50 words or less--for your completed and polished middle grade or young adult manuscript. Send it to operationawesome6 (at) gmail (dotcom) by July 30. In the past, we've emailed stragglers to get their pitches in on time, but with 50 entries we're not going to be able to do that this time, so make sure you follow the guidelines and meet the July 30 deadline!

Please format your pitch like this in the email:

Name: 

Email or twitter: 

Genre: 

Title: 

Pitch: 

Good luck to all!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



*(There are 49 here, btw, because we had a mixup with our last contest and that person has a guaranteed slot in this one) 

Cover Reveal: Arms of Anu by Christina Mercer

Back in April of last year, I introduced you to my former critique partner, Christina Mercer, and her debut book Arrow of the Mist.

Well, I'm happy to say the sequel to sequel to the award-winning MG/YA fantasy ARROW OF THE MIST is coming out March 17, and I get to share the cover with you! Here it is, plus a little teaser blurb:

Blood of body, blood of soul, 
Entwined for life, then unfolds;
If blood still runs when magic binds,
Soul is never too far to find.

In ARMS OF ANU, Lia and Kelven battle through a land of tyrants, war and magic.

Can Lia escape the foes who ensnare her?

Will Kelven’s love withstand the darkness taking root inside Lia?

Is freedom too high a crown to reach, or will they forever remain in the hollows?

RELEASE DATE SET FOR MARCH 17, 2014 (St. Patrick’s Day!)

Isn't that cover a great complement to the first book?

Thanks for the opportunity to spread some cover love, Christina!

Christina Mercer, is an award-winning author of fiction for children and young adults. She enjoys life in the foothills of Northern California with her husband and sons, a pack of large dogs, and about 100,000 honeybees. For more about her and her writing, visit:

WebSite | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads