Middle Grade Ninja

Catherine Linka and I discuss the art world and teen homelessness as both are featured in her new novel, WHAT I WANT YOU TO SEE. Catherine shares how she became an author through first being a bookseller, which led her to query only two literary agents, both of whom offered representation. We chat about crucial tips for writing young adult novels, mentoring other authors, writer critique groups, the magical moment a character comes to life, practical book marketing, and so much more.

Catherine Linka has been immersed in books her whole life, most recently as a writer and bookseller. She’s the author of the young adult novel WHAT I WANT YOU TO SEE as well as the dystopian duology A GIRL CALLED FEARLESS and A GIRL UNDONE. Catherine lives in Southern California and watches hawks and hummingbirds when she should be writing.

Jillian Boehme shares tales of being Authoress Anon and running one of the best author resource websites of all time, MISS SNARK’S FIRST VICTIM. We chat about her new novel, STORMRISE, how being a musician influences being a writer, how faith in God can aid the journey to publication, worldbuilding and language in fantasy novels, and so much more in a delightful conversation between long-time… people who blog and like each other’s blogs? Blog-leagues? Blog buddies? Whatever, enjoy the show.

Jillian Boehme is known to the online writing community as Authoress, hostess of Miss Snark's First Victim, a blog for aspiring authors.

In real life, she holds a degree in Music Education, sings with the Nashville Symphony Chorus, and homeschools her remaining youngster-at-home.

She's still crazy in love with her husband of more than thirty years and is happy to be surrounded by family and friends amid the rolling knolls of Middle Tennessee.

Allison Hellegers and I discuss her twenty-plus years of experience in publishing as a literary scout and a foreign rights director, as well as her newest role as a literary agent. We talk about the types of projects she’s looking to represent and the ways she envisions serving authors over the course of their careers. This is another enjoyable conversation packed with insights about the publishing industry.

Alli first fell for books as a way to escape her two brothers, who were obsessed with football (think 'Friday Night Lights' in Ohio). So, Alice in Wonderland, Tuck Everlasting, The Diary of Anne Frank and anything by Judy Blume or Lois Duncan were her refuge, but Alli didn't discover books as a career until after college at UW-Madison, where she received her degrees in Journalism and Women's Studies. She also spent a semester abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris and was thrilled when her jobs as Literary Scout and Foreign Rights Manager would take her back to France (among other countries). Alli also volunteered with the non-profit Girls Write Now, and empowering teen girls became one of the biggest drivers in her career. After working with the YA packager, Alloy Entertainment, Alli spent the last 10 years as Foreign Rights Director with Rights People. She also co-agents picture books, middle-grade and young adult novels on behalf of foreign publishers and agencies (international, British, and Australian) to represent authors in North America. Therefore, her taste leans towards books that have film/TV and/or translation appeal and take the reader on a journey. Alli loves nature, music and spending time with her friends, husband, young son (a new reader!), and her rescue mutt in Brooklyn.

Jennifer Voigt Kaplan and I discuss her award-winning debut novel, CRUSHING THE RED FLOWERS, set in 1938 Germany. We examine research techniques for writing historical middle grade fiction, including interviewing members of an author’s own family, and the importance of taking emotional breaks when focusing on grim subject matter. We also talk about writing contests, setting up a book launch, building an author website, challenging young readers to think for themselves, and more.

Jennifer Voigt Kaplan is an award-winning author of children’s fiction. Her debut children’s novel, Crushing the Red Flowers, was recognized in six literary contests before its publication, including earning a Letter of Merit for the SCBWI Work-in-Progress Grant and winning the middle-grade category of Publishers Weekly Booklife Prize for Fiction. Jennifer was born in Germany, raised in Philadelphia, and now resides in the New York City area. She holds degrees from the Wharton School of Business in marketing and from the London School of Economics in social psychology.

Outside of writing, Jennifer founded The Public Arts Council, her town’s first organization dedicated to public arts. When she’s not inventing people in her head, she’s painting murals on underpasses, wishing she had more time to watch sci-fi movies, and arguing that there should be no limit on the number of garden gnomes that are considered socially acceptable. She lives with her husband, three children, and a cheeky beta-fish named Bubbles, who thinks it’s hilarious to play dead.

Shauna Holyoak and I discuss her KAZU JONES series with tips for writing middle grade mysteries, rewriting a story until it's right, and writing about a protagonist that's a different race than her author. Shauna tells the tale of how she landed her agent, previous guest Carrie Pestritto, and how she started her literary career after becoming a parent by writing a regular column. We also chat about book marketing, school visits, actively working to transition from a pantser to a plotter, and so much more.

Shauna has been telling stories long before she could ride a bike, and some of them are even true! She writes for kids and teens and thinks it’s kinda the best job ever. KAZU JONES AND THE DENVER DOGNAPPERS is her debut novel, and it was released by Disney-Hyperion in April, 2019! She lives in Idaho Falls, ID with her husband, six of their seven children, and two naughty dogs.

Erin Bow shares stories about winning the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award with her debut novel, working at the CERN laboratory, being a science writer for the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and having just won the Governor General’s Award. I impress her with my knowledge of RICK AND MORTY and TINY TOONS. We have a wonderful conversation about writing for spite, transhumanism, her writing shed, a creepy cabin story, a fear of squandering talent, the joy of winning awards, and so much more.

Erin Bow is a former physicist who currently writes speculative fiction young adult novels. She studied particle physics in college, eventually working at the CERN laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland. She then decided to leave science in order to concentrate on her love of writing. Originally from Nebraska, Bow came to Canada in 1997. She is the author of the YA novels Plain Kate, The Scorpion Rules, The Swan Riders and Sorrow's Knot. Plain Kate won the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award in 2011. Bow has also written poetry under her maiden name Erin Noteboom.

It’s the second ever Middle Grade Ninja clips show, featuring snippets from episodes 31 through 59, including never-before-heard clips from shows that haven't yet aired.

New episodes are scheduled to return January 11.

Until then, enjoy this compilation of clips from conversations with AUTHORS Kate Hannigan, Allan Woodrow, Laura Martin, Sharon M. Draper, Dan Gutman, Thomas Taylor, Annie Sullivan, John Claude Bemis,Gregg Millman, Francesca Zappia, Alicia D. Williams, Nancy Richardson Fischer, Shamim Sarif, Mira Bartók, Mariama J. Lockington, Angie Karcher, Lance Rubin, Stefani Deoul, Shauna Holyoak, Jennifer Voigt Kaplan, Jillian Boehme, LITERARY AGENTS Jennifer Mattson, Carrie Pestritto, Christa Heschke, Alison Hellegers, EDITORS Molly Cusick, Lauren Smulski, and PUBLIC RELATIONS EXPERT Claire McKinney.

Lauren Smulski reveals candid details about her career in NYC publishing, including salary specifics, as she rose from assistant editor to an editor with Harlequin Teen. We discuss her new role as a freelance editor, the types of services she’s offering, and the ways writers should go about evaluating editors. We also chat about the indie publishing revolution, the need for traditional publishing to decentralize, and piñata cakes. Lauren offers many tips for world building, writing dialogue, building emotional depth, and so much more.

From the moment she learned how to read, Lauren brought books with her everywhere. She flew through story after story while curled up with fuzzy blankets, while lying in hammocks, while at the beach with her toes in the sand, even while her parents scolded her for hiding yet another book under the table at dinner. But it wasn’t until her junior year at Ithaca College, where she studied journalism and English, that Lauren realized making books was an actual job.

After earning her master’s degree in publishing from Pace University, Lauren went on to intern at Dorchester Publishing and freelance for Skyhorse Publishing before landing her first job as an editorial assistant at Harlequin. There, she worked her way up the ladder to become an associate editor for Inkyard Press, specializing in stories for young adults, ranging from epic fantasy, science fiction, and thrillers to contemporary, historical, and nonfiction. Her books have been New York Times bestsellers, Indie Next Picks, award-winners, and received multiple starred reviews.

With nearly a decade of editorial experience under her belt, Lauren has now made the shift into a career as a freelance editor, so she can spend more time working directly with authors to nurture their writing and bring their stories to the next level. She is thrilled to be able to do this from her home in eastern Connecticut, where she lives with her husband, her daughter, and her Shakespearean cat, Tybalt. In her spare time, she loves to invent new cupcake recipes, play lots of board games, and relax by the fire pit in her backyard.

Stefani Deoul and I enjoy a far-ranging conversation about the creative process across multiple mediums. We talk about her career as a film and television producer as well as a young adult novelist. You can be sure I ask her about Stephen King television adaptations, such as her productions of HAVEN and THE DEAD ZONE. We also talk about SAY HER NAME, the third book in Sid Rubin Silicon Alley Adventure series, which leads to a discussion of research tips for authors, writing the language of teenage characters, giving and receiving revision notes, and so much more.

Stefani Deoul is the author of the award-winning novels, ON A LARP, and ZERO SUM GAME, books one and two of her YA Mystery series, the Sid Rubin Silicon Alley Adventures. Book three, SAY HER NAME, releases December 10th. Other works include her first novel, the women's literary fiction, THE CAROUSEL, as well as numerous publications, including pieces for Curve magazine, Outdoor Delaware and Letters from CAMP Rehoboth. In addition, Stefani has penned short stories and several film/television treatments.

As a television producer her resume includes series such as HAVEN for the SyFy Network, THE DEAD ZONE and BRAVE NEW GIRL, DRESDEN FILES and MISSING.

Along with producing five seasons of Haven, based on the Stephen King story THE COLORADO KID, Stefani finally succumbed to the allure of acting, “starring” as the off camera, and uncredited, radio dispatcher, Laverne.

Lance Rubin and I talk about his background as an actor and improvisational comedian and what that experience brings to his new young adult novel, CRYING LAUGHING. We discuss the new Snapchat series based on his book, DENTON LITTLE’S DEATHDATE, as well as his recording of his own audiobook. And we make time to palaver about politics, flying saucers, writing about grief, and THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY.

Lance Rubin is the writer of the DENTON LITTLE books (now a Snapchat original series) and CRYING LAUGHING. He also co-wrote THE LOST CAUSES OF BLEAK CREEK with Rhett and Link and the Off-Broadway musical BROADWAY BOUNTY HUNTER with Joe Iconis and Jason SweetTooth Williams.

Lance loves Harry Potter, the Knicks, Elizabeth Warren, Pod Save America, and Back to the Future. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Katie Schorr and their young kids. Learn more at lancerubin.com and follow him on twitter/instagram @lancerubinparty.