Middle Grade Ninja

Libby McNamee and I chat about historical fiction and her novels SUZANNA’S MIDNIGHT RIDE: THE GIRL WHO WON THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, DOLLY MADISON AND THE WAR OF 1812: AMERICA’S FIRST LADY, and her upcoming book about Elizabeth Van Lew. We discuss writing about the past with empathy, distilling history into a fictional narrative, history as a context for the present, and so much more.

Libby McNamee is an author and lawyer. She loves exploring America’s many historical sites. When a descendant told her the TRUE story of Susanna Bolling from Virginia and her heroism during the Revolutionary War, Libby was determined to share it with the world. “Susanna’s Midnight Ride” is her first published novel. She is currently writing “Dolley Madison and the War of 1812: America’s First Lady.” In addition, she is a member of the American Friends of Lafayette, the American Revolution Roundtable, the Historical Novel Society, and James River Writers

Libby served as a US Army JAG Officer in Korea, Bosnia, Germany, and Washington State. A native of Boston, Libby graduated with a BA in Government/International Relations and French from Georgetown University cum laude in 1988, a JD from Catholic University Law School in 1993, a Certificate in English Law from the London School of Economics in 1999. She has lived in the Richmond, VA, since 2002.

Erika Lewis and I discuss Irish mythology, world building in fantasy, and planning a series such as the one kicked off by her new middle grade book, KELCIE MURPHY AND THE ACADEMY FOR THE UNBREAKABLE ARTS. We talk about her collaboration with R.A. Salvatore, her approach to different types of projects from comics to novels to screenplays, the pirate Grace O’Malley, multiple ghost stories, flying saucers, and more.

Erika Lewis grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, spent summers with her grandparents in Worcester, Massachusetts, and currently lives in Los Angeles, California. With a passion for storytelling set in magical places, she spends as much time as she can traveling. When she’s not writing, she can generally be found scribbling notes in a blank book while wandering through abandoned buildings, all kinds of museums, and graveyards.

A graduate of Vanderbilt University, her list of credits straddles the comics and novel space, including Game of Shadows from Macmillan’s Tor Books, Firebrand and Acursian from Legendary Comics, #Guardian from Awesome Media & Entertainment, and The 49th Key from Heavy Metal Publishing. The Color of Dragons is her debut YA, coming from HarperTeen October 19th, 2021, and Kelcie Murphy and The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts is her middle grade debut coming from Starscape/Macmillan March 1st, 2022.

Leslie Patricelli and I discuss her career writing and illustrating board books and her recent middle grade novels in THE RIZZLERUNK CLUB series, BEST BUDS UNDER FROGS and THE BIG BAD LIES. We talk about her time designing for Microsoft, self-publishing a book in 1993, her approach to illustrating her books for older readers with ink vs painting her picture books, our mutual love for Stephen King, the difficulty of scheduling, the necessity of deadlines, ghosts walking up walls, and so much more.

Leslie Patricelli lives in the mountain town of Hailey, Idaho with her husband, Jason, her daughter Tatum, three cats and a devoted, stick-loving dog. Of the many outdoor activities she loves doing in the mountains, skiing untracked powder and mountain biking during wildflower season are at the top of the list. Her son, Beck, is living and playing music in Brooklyn, NY, and her daughter, Tia, is majoring in environmental studies at University of Washington. Her husband is a drummer, music engineer, ski instructor, and her on-request editor.

Elana K. Arnold and I talk about the virtue of islands and plotting a mystery without knowing the ending in her newest novel, JUST HARRIET. We also discuss her series, A BOY CALLED BAT, writing about autism, questions of power, theme, the over prioritizing of plot, how to generate more ideas, making readers feel safe without patronizing them, how we all contain multitudes, author vs reader responsibilities, the random penguin slaughter of 2012, werewolves, an illegal ferret, and so much more.

Elana K. Arnold is the author of critically acclaimed and award-winning young adult novels and children’s books, including the Printz Honor winner Damsel, the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of, and Global Read Aloud selection A Boy Called Bat and its sequels. Several of her books are Junior Library Guild selections and have appeared on many best book lists, including the Amelia Bloomer Project, a catalog of feminist titles for young readers. Elana teaches in Hamline University’s MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program and lives in Southern California with her family and menagerie of pets.

Leslie Connor and I talk about writing your way through imposter syndrome and her process in creating her newest novel, ANYBODY HERE SEEN FRENCHIE? We discuss how she started out as an illustrator who transitioned to being an author, putting your characters through hell, problematic writing, characterization, sentence length, dialect, starting with the end of your story, writing about autism, a real-life ghost story, the importance of reading your work aloud, and so much more.

Leslie Connor is the author of several award-winning books for children, including two ALA Schneider Family Book Award winners, Waiting for Normal and The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle, which was also selected as a National Book Award finalist. Her other books include All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, Crunch, and The Things You Kiss Goodbye. She lives in the Connecticut woods with her family and three rescue dogs.

Meera Trehan and I discuss writing from the perspective of a mansion in her new book, THE VIEW FROM THE VERY BEST HOUSE IN TOWN. We talk about how she discovered she wanted to write, her journey to becoming a published author, which included joining the SCBWI and getting serious about her approach, as well as the wisdom of STORY by Robert McKee. We also chat about how she amicably parted ways with one literary agent and found another, tips for drafting a novel, a flying saucer story, and so much more.

Meera Trehan grew up in Virginia, outside Washington DC, where she read as much as she could, memorized poems, and ate enough cookies to earn the nickname “Monster” after the Cookie Monster. After attending the University of Virginia and Stanford Law School, she practiced public interest law for over a decade before turning to writing for children. Meera writes everything from picture books to young adult and her work has been published in various magazines. She’s an active member of SCBWI, the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, and has been a mentor for Pitch Wars and Author Mentor Match. She lives in Maryland with her family, and as of this writing, three fish. Meera is represented by Molly Ker Hawn at the Bent Agency.

Hugh Howey returns to the show, proving reality is a simulation. We talk about his upcoming picture book CANNIBAL HAIKU as well as the WOOL and BEACON 23 television adaptations and his experiences in writers’ rooms, and touring the sets. He drops tantalizing hints about some other upcoming projects for film and television as well as his new novel, ACROSS THE SAND, and a new WOOL trilogy!!! I ask several specific craft questions about some of my favorite stories of his and we get a bit philosophical, discussing mortality, the impact of peer pressure, theories of mind, victims of belief systems, our thoughts on God, AVATAR, the nastiness of ants, and so much more.

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.

Lane Heymont and I have a far-ranging discussion about books, movies, publishing, the evil of the Sackler family, the nature of forgiveness, his path from being a literary assistant to founding The Tobias Literary Agency, why it’s crucial for him to be passionate about the projects he represents, why writers should always be writing, moral clauses in book contracts, the consolidation of major publishers, being a mensch, and so much more.

Lane’s love affair with literature began at the age of eight when his grandfather offered him $5 to read and discuss the classics of literature. He began his publishing career in 2012 at The Seymour Agency and in 2016 formed The Tobias Literary Agency. With his eclectic taste and particular passion for horror, Lane is the top literary agent in the genre.

Some of Lane’s favorite reads include: FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley, THE HUNGER by Alma Katsu, SKELETONS AT THE FEAST by Chris Bohjalian, KNIGHT OF THE BLACK ROSE by James Lowder, the DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, IN COLD BLOOD BY Truman Capote, I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS by Maya Angelou, and THE DINOSAUR ARTIST by Paige Williams.

His favorite writers include Sheridan Le Fanu, Mary Shelley, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, Alma Katsu, Chris Bohjalian, and Lovecraft despite his politics and gross bigotry.

Lane represents a broad range of commercial fiction and serious nonfiction. In fiction, he is open to projects broadly defined as speculative fiction. He is most interested in horror defined however one defines it. This includes select young adult projects. He prefers contemporary settings and is always looking for own voices projects by BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other underrepresented cultures/identities in both fiction and nonfiction. In nonfiction, Lane acquires celebrity projects, science, cultural studies, history, and pop-culture.

Tina Wells and I discuss the first book in her newest series, HONEST JUNE, as well as how she arranged for an exclusive distribution period through Target Stores. We talk about how she founded her first company at age 16 and built a successful career as a marketer before she became a writer. She shares specifics about how this has allowed her to research her demographic and incorporate reader feedback to ensure future books will resonate with tween readers. We also talk about series planning, being one of six children, the importance of authentic representation, and so much more.

Tina Wells is a business strategist, advisor, author, and the founder of RLVNT Media, a multimedia content venture serving entrepreneurs, tweens and culturists with authentic representation. Tina has been recognized by Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business, Essence’s 40 Under 40, and more. For over two decades she led Buzz Marketing Group, an agency she founded at age 16 with clients like Dell, The Oprah Winfrey Network, Kroger, Apple, P+G, Johnson & Johnson, and American Eagle that Tina connected with her network of 30,000 buzzSpotters® and 7,000 “momSpotters”, all influential millennials and passionate end-consumers. Tina is also the author of seven books, including the best-selling tween fiction series Mackenzie Blue, its new spinoff series, The Zee Files, and the marketing handbook, Chasing Youth Culture and Getting It Right. Tina’s board positions have included THINX, the United Nations Foundation’s Global Entrepreneurs Council, The Franklin Institute and Young Entrepreneur’s Council. She has also served as the Academic Director for Wharton’s Leadership in the Business World Program at the University of Pennsylvania and is a member of the 2017 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute.

Authors Adama Bah, Salvador Gómez-Colón, Freshta Tori Jan, and I discuss their debut novels in the I, WITNESS series. In ACCUSED, Adama Bah recounts being arrested and detained by the FBI under the false accusation that she was a potential suicide bomber. In HURRICANE, Salvador writes about his experience during Hurricane Maria and raising money for Puerto Rico in the aftermath. In COURAGE, Freshta describes being persecuted in Afghanistan during a genocide. We discuss how writing about their trauma helps to put it into perspective and helps them heal.

Adama Bah’s story has been featured in Adama, a short documentary, and Patriot Acts, a book about post 9/11 injustices. This is the first time Adama’s story will be told for middle grade readers. She now lives in New York with her husband and family.

Salvador Gómez-Colón is a climate resilience advocate and the founder of Light and Hope for Puerto Rico. His work has been covered by TIME , CNN, the Guardian, and the New York Times, among others. Salvador is currently a student at Yale. He lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Freshta Tori Jan is a student at Calvin College, the founder of Sew True Products, and serves as a public speaker for marginalized groups. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan.