Middle Grade Ninja

Mystery writers Lillie Evans, Tony Perona, C.L. Shore, and Janet E. Williams are all prominent members of the Speed City Sisters in Crime, which has just released its newest anthology, MURDER 20/20. We chat about how the stories in the anthology were selected, the benefits of belonging to an organization for writers, such as the Sisters in Crime, the ins and outs of writing short and long mysteries, and much, much more. We also have an extended chat about flying saucers and ghosts you won’t want to miss.

Speed City Sisters in Crime is the Indiana chapter of the world-wide mystery/crime writers' association Sisters in Crime. The Speed City chapter was founded in 2005.

Members of the organization are published mystery and crime authors, writers working on mysteries and thrillers, and readers and fans of the literary genre. There are currently 40+ members who live in Indiana or the Midwest.

Speed City Sisters in Crime hosts monthly meetings with speakers on topics of interest to mystery and crime writing. Past speakers have included police officers, prosecutors, investigative reporters, forensic specialists, weapons experts, researchers, and publishing and media professionals.

Chapter members have published 6 short story anthologies over the years with the themes that are related to Indiana or the midwest. Members of the organization have also written and produced a play, Deadbeat, which was performed at a local fringe festival and will soon be available to for others to produce.

The chapter also hosts writing and other educational workshops for its membership with well-known authors and publishing professionals.

In a Middle Grade Ninja first, editor Sara-Jayne Slack AND author Dorothy A. Winsor discuss Inspired Quill’s latest release, THE WYSMAN, how they came to work together, and the ins and outs of their professional author/editor collaboration. We also chat about publishing contracts, book marketing, working with authors rather than above them, self publishing vs publishing with a small press, Armageddon, spilling tea, and so much more.

And here's the link to that online course Sara-Jayne mentioned: https://sjslack.teachable.com/p/casual-to-committed

Esteemed Listeners can use this coupon code so they can get it for $47 (rather than $147) - IQSCHOLAR

Sara-Jayne is a social entrepreneur, public speaker, SEO nerd and lover of all things stationery-related. She works as an SEO Project Manager by day, and manages the not-for-profit publishing house Inspired Quill by night. Sara can regularly be found discussing inbound marketing, skills development, and non-tokenistic diversity in publishing, but strives to listen at least as much as she talks. She’s also scarily comfortable talking about herself in third person, and believes that ‘To Do’ lists breed when you’re not looking.

Dorothy A. Winsor writes young adult and middle grade fantasy. Her novels include Finders Keepers (Zharmae, 2015), Deep as a Tomb (Loose Leave Publishing, 2016), The Wind Reader (Inspired Quill, 2018), and The Wysman (June, 2020). At one time, Winsor taught technical writing at Iowa State University and GMI Engineering and Management Institute (now Kettering). She then discovered that writing fiction is much more fun and has never looked back. She lives in Chicagoland.

Tracy Wolff and I discuss her new young adult paranormal romance novel CRAVE, which has already been optioned as a film and a video game. We admit to being book hoarders and Tracy explains her highly unusual (and also highly successful) process for writing a novel. We also talk about how she was able to become a full-time author, saving stories from life for fiction, various magical creatures, defending Texas against wild coyotes, Nora Roberts, writing fast, the terror of being attacked and violently murdered on an open Alaskan tundra, how she chose her literary agent, and so much more.

Tracy Wolff is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of sixty-four novels that run the gamut from young adult action adventures to new adult romance and from women’s fiction to erotica. A long-time lover of vampires, dragons and all things that go bump in the night, Tracy loves nothing more than combining her affection for paranormal creatures with her love of writing tortured heroes and kick-butt heroines.

When she’s not writing (which is a rare occurrence), she can be found trying out new recipes, offering make-up tips online, wandering comic book/gaming stores with her sons, and watching movies or plotting stories with her besties. A one time English professor, she now writes full-time from her home in Austin, Texas, which she shares with her family.

Anne Nesbit tells the tale of how she met and secured her editor under bizarre, high-stakes circumstances. She shares some excellent insight about writing historical fiction for children, including her newest middle grade novel, DARING DARLEEN, QUEEN OF THE SCREEN. She also discusses her writing habits both before and during quarantine for COVID-19, her passion for silent film and cinema history, her concern about evil goblins, her fear that plotting is an illusion, and much, much more.

Anne Nesbet writes books for kids and watches a lot of silent films. She lives near San Francisco with her husband, several daughters, and one irrepressible dog. She is an associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

Her books include The Cabinet of Earths (HarperCollins 2012), A Box of Gargoyles (HarperCollins 2013), The Wrinkled Crown (HarperCollins 2015), Cloud and Wallfish (Candlewick 2016), The Orphan Band of Springdale (Candlewick 2018), and Daring Darleen, Queen of the Screen (Candlewick 2020).

Hugh Howey, author of the mega successful perennial novel WOOL, which everyone loves and wants to hear more about, and I discuss one of MY most favorite books, I, ZOMBIE. But we also talk about WOOL, because of course we do, it’s great, and Hugh hints at what we might expect from an upcoming television adaptation. We chat about how he finally wrote beyond the first chapters of manuscripts after 20 years of stopping, self publishing (naturally), his belief in maximum efficiency with all tasks, dealing with enormous success (his), simulation theory, flying saucers, our fundamental lack of free will, STAR WARS, authors retaining control of their IP, the future of publishing after COVID-19, and so much more. I joke that this is the last episode of the podcast, which of course isn't true (I love it too much), but this would be a great episode to go out on.

Hugh Howey is the author of the award-winning MOLLY FYDE saga, the horror classic I, ZOMBIE, and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling WOOL series. The WOOL OMNIBUS won Kindle Book Review's 2012 Indie Book of the Year Award -- it has been as high as #1 on Amazon -- and 40 countries have picked up the work for translation. Television and film versions of WOOL, SAND, and BEACON 23 are all in development.

Authors Josh Berk and Saundra Mitchell tell the terrifying tale of how they collaborated to write CAMP MURDERFACE. We talk about how they met, tips for working on a project with another author, the importance of being dumpster rat-y, finding time to write (even while sleeping), being a phone psychic, launching a book during the quarantine for COVID-19, an actual ghost story, and so much more.

Saundra Mitchell has been a phone psychic, a car salesperson, a denture-deliverer and a layout waxer. She’s dodged trains, endured basic training, and hitchhiked from Montana to California. The author of nearly twenty books for tweens and teens, Mitchell’s work includes SHADOWED SUMMER, THE VESPERTINE series, ALL THE THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK, a novel forthcoming from HarperTEEN and the forthcoming CAMP MURDERFACE series with Josh Berk. She is the editor of three anthologies for teens, DEFY THE DARK, ALL OUT and OUT NOW. She always picks truth; dares are too easy.

Josh Berk is the author of the teen novels THE DARK DAYS OF HAMBURGER HALPIN (named a best book for teens of 2010 by Kirkus Reviews and Amazon.com) and GUY LANGMAN: CRIME SCENE PROSCRASTINATOR (2012) as well as the middle grade mysteries STRIKE THREE YOU'RE DEAD and SAY IT AIN'T SO.

Claire Swinarski and I discuss Wisconsin badgers, Nancy Drew, Star Wars, and parking lot brawls. We also make time to chat about her new book, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT, her amazing podcast MAKING A MIDDLE GRADE, her success as a freelance writer, time management, advocating for your author career, the importance of her spiritual faith in her writing, and so much more.

Claire Swinarski is the author of multiple books, including What Happens Next (coming in 2020 from HarperCollins) and Girl, Arise: A Catholic Feminist’s Invitation to Live Boldly, Love Your Faith, and Change the World. She’s also the founder of the Catholic Feminist Podcast, a top-ranked spirituality podcast with half a million downloads that discusses the intersection between faith and women’s issues. She has degrees in journalism and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her writing has been featured in The Washington Post, Seventeen, Milwaukee Magazine, and many other publications. She lives just outside of Milwaukee, WI with her husband and two kids.

Sarah LaPola shares her thoughts on editing, writing, and publishing based on more than a decade of experience as a literary agent. We discuss her freelance editorial services and query consultations, as well as the business of being an author in the time of COVID-19. And we do a deep dive on perfecting a novel’s opening, how to fix its lagging middle, writing proactive characters with a life beyond the page, avoiding stereotypes and clichés, enhancing a story’s theme without becoming preachy, and so much more.

Sarah LaPolla is a former literary agent with over a decade of experience in the publishing industry. Starting in the foreign rights department at Curtis Brown, Ltd. in 2008, she became an agent there in 2010. Most recently, she was a literary agent at Bradford Literary Agency, where she continued to work with talented MG, YA, and Adult fiction writers.

Sarah received her MFA in Creative Writing (Nonfiction) from The New School in 2008, and has a BA in Creative Writing from Ithaca College. In 2020, she started Next Chapter Editorial and Consulting, and regularly teaches writing workshops and offers consulting services through Inked Voices, Manuscript Academy, and various writing programs and conferences.

Editorial areas of expertise include the following markets/genres: Young Adult fiction (all genres); Middle Grade fiction (all genres); Adult (Literary Fiction; Science Fiction; Low/Contemporary Fantasy; Paranormal/Supernatural; Horror; Upmarket/Contemporary fiction; Mystery/Suspense; Memoir/Essay.

Sarah *would not* be the best match for non-fiction (with the exception of memoir), category romance or erotica, children's books (younger than MG), high/epic fantasy, or religious/spiritual books.

Could mankind one day communicate directly with prairie dogs? If so, what will we talk about and will they appreciate their depiction in INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL? Carlie Sorosiak and I discuss this and many other issues, including keeping academia and writing in perspective, imagining the perspective of animals, dystopian fiction in the time of COVID-19, the importance of not making assumptions about people based on appearance, her book, I, COSMO, and so much more.

Carlie Sorosiak grew up in North Carolina and holds two master's degrees: one in English from the University of Oxford and another in creative writing and publishing from City, University of London. Her life goals include traveling to all seven continents and fostering many polydactyl cats. She currently splits her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, hoping to gain an accent like Madonna's. Visit her online at www.carliesorosiak.com.

Mitali Perkins and I chat about her classic novel, RICKSHAW GIRL, its uncertain and difficult path to publication, its steady rise to prominence, and the new film based upon it. We also talk about the ups and downs of her career writing for children, cultural differences and code switching, the benefits of rereading favorite books, the benefits of arranged marriages, my discomfort with Nicholas Spark’s emotionality, flying saucers, Pennywise the Dancing Clown, and more. Note: This was recorded before the quarantine for COVID-19, so we don’t discuss it.

Mitali Perkins has written many novels for young readers, including You Bring the Distant Near (nominated for the National Book Award) Rickshaw Girl (a NYPL best 100 Book for children in the past 100 years, film adaptation coming in 2020), Bamboo People (an ALA Top 10 YA novel), and Tiger Boy, which won the South Asia Book Award for Younger Readers. She currently writes and resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.