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Published on May 17, 2023 07:07

May 9, 2023

Using Real Life to Write Fantastic Fiction (pt 2)

You’ve turned into a unicorn before, right? Read on to find out what happened when a seventh grader fell out of a tree…

To finish Part I of Using Real Life to Write Fantastic Fiction, here’s a way to get started:

Think of a true, ordinary event that happened today

What senses can you recall? Go through each one of them:

Sight?

Smell?

Sounds?

Taste?

Touch?

What are your further impressions? What did you feel?

Write these details down (write quickly! don’t edit yourself yet…)

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Now you have a real life experience recorded. (Do you have that one special notebook and special pens? Pen problem? Me too).

Even if you left it right there, you would have a journal entry of sorts, an experience from life that you can look back on and appreciate.

Let’s try our hand at fiction. That’s fun because now you get to lie! (unless you’re writing memoir or nonfiction; please don’t lie).

It’s like playing the game Two Truths and a Lie (great ice breaker at a writing workshop, btw).

Use the true life details to spin a yarn! Make something up!

I recently asked some middle schoolers for an example of a true, ordinary event.

“I climbed a tree yesterday.”

“And then what?”

“And I fell out of it!”

She had our attention.

Me: “And how could you fictionalize?”

“Well,” she said, excitedly. “I didn’t actually hit the ground because I turned into a unicorn!”

Exactly. Of course she did. Her eyes lit up as we all laughed at her brilliance.

Another student said, “I got up late this morning and had to run to catch the bus.”

Me: “Did you miss the bus?”

Her: “No.”

Me: “But what if you had missed the bus?”

I could see everyone’s mind begin to whirl with the possibilities of missing the bus.

Or, how about a story about being on the bus? I could tell you plenty of stories about being on a school bus…

You could also change the Point of View. What would it be like if:

you are riding the bus

you are the bus driver driving kids to school

you are the parent putting your child on the bus

you are a hamster in someone’s pocket on the bus

you are a piece of gum underneath someone’s seat

And on and on we could go…!

I also ask this question: “Think of your favorite book - aren’t you glad it was written?”

Every head nods.

I’m sure there is something or many things in that book that came from real life because even fiction has elements of truth all over it.

I often end my presentations with kids this way:

YOU HAVE GOOD STORIES BECAUSE YOU ARE ALIVE.

Only you can tell your story - because you are the only one living it!

Turn the moments of your life into powerful stories; true and “based on real life.”

So, write on friends. Write it down and see where it takes you.

A final word to the parents, the caretakers, the overwhelmed mothers…I have a soft spot for you.

I used to despair somewhat, that I didn’t have the time to write b/c there were so many people and things to take care of.

But now I think differently.

If you want to write, you will find a way.

Back in the day, when my children were young and at home with me, I would snatch the spare moments and write so furiously, like I was running out of time - in the car and during nap time or while waiting in line. Or I would pause mid-dinner and run to the drawer beneath the microwave to pull out a pad of paper and a pen to scrawl down a thought before it disappeared.

We are all just experiencing life. What is it Cheryl Strayed says? You don’t have a career, you have a life.

WRITE YOUR LIFE DOWN.

“Many people have said to me, ‘What a pity you had such a big family to raise. Think of the novels and the short stories and the poems you never had time to write because of that.’ And I looked at my children and I said, ‘These are my poems, these are my stories.’”
-Olga Masters

I hung onto these words for a long time because I needed the validation of knowing that raising humans was my best, most creative work. And it is.

But it’s not a pity.

Do not despair. Day by day, month after month, year by year: taking consistent baby steps is how your stories get written, too.

Ironically, so many of my stories have been directly inspired by the real life children. They really are my best, most entertaining stories.

Here’s an example. Our local library has a rope hanging from the ceiling. It’s too high for kids, but if you jump from a chair, you can reach the rope and it will swing and IT WILL RING A BELL! What child can resist?

In the book,Naughty Mary is much naughtier than sweet Paige

And here we are again. Real life inspiring fiction: THE MCNIFFICENTS before it was in book form. Swinging from a library rope!

So don’t despair. Write it all down. Record the real life details: sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing, feeling.

WRITE IT DOWN. And you are well on your way to something...

Love to you,

Amy ❣️

The McNifficents is pretty much this :)

Comment, Subscribe, or hit Restack!

ICYMI: Publisher’s Weekly Review of The McNifficents!

Typewriter update: I typed my first letter. Gloriously fun. Except where is the exclamation point???

Instagram: Let’s be friends!

Just finished reading: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. Just as good as it was decades ago. Next up? THE MOVIE.

Reading now: Midnight Without a Moon by Linda Williams Jackson

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A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus:

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Published on May 09, 2023 08:59

May 2, 2023

Using Real Life to Write Fantastic Fiction pt. 1

When I went Georgia for TomeCon (an amazing middle school writing festival), I decided to talk about how real life has influenced my writing and how students could use their real life stories to write fiction.

Whenever I read fiction, I always wonder what the author has taken from real life, what has influenced him or her to include even the smallest of details? And details, of course, are what makes fiction sing.

All fiction contains truth or universally true elements related to human behavior, but articulating it was really fun because I use real life ALL OF THE TIME in my fiction.

I borrow so heavily from real life that sometimes I don’t even think I have all that much of an imagination.

In GUINEVERE ST CLAIR, many of my main characters were based on people I really knew. Guinevere’s mother’s brain injury came from a tragic accident that left a mother I personally knew unable to remember anything after the age of thirteen.

Guinevere had a cow named Willowdale Princess Deon Dawn. My dad had a cow with that exact name - how could this not be used???

My Dad on the left with Willowdale Princess Deon Dawn, Bear Lake Idaho

There’s that goose scene, which came from my father-in-law, the most gentle of giants, who was defending his little sister when they were young (he really did wring its neck. yikes).

There are many more examples.

TEN THOUSAND TRIES was born from knowing a good friend with ALS, a boy who loved Messi, and coaching a middle school co-ed soccer team in New Hampshire. I also knew a cat named Curtis Meowfield.

Names are super fun to use and tweak!

THE MCNIFFICENTS features six McNiff children who have a miniature schnauzer nanny name Lord Tennyson. Guess what my dog is really named?! And my mother once spray painted the library fence using the exact words from her sister’s journal. That had to make it into a book!

In the beginning, it was hard for me to break away from “this is exactly the way it happened” (and it’s super funny when an editor says “that doesn’t seem realistic”) but over time, I have gotten much more comfortable ~~lying~~ fictionalizing the truth - it is GREAT FUN.

People always ask - do you have to ask permission when using real life? Will they be upset?

First, I advise you to write the story you want to write without ANY self editing.

Then -

Ask yourself if the story is obviously identifiable (sometimes it morphs into something that’s not as obvious as you might have thought). If you’re still worried about it, it’s a good idea to ask permission, especially if it’s a sensitive topic. Is a relationship worth straining to write a better story? I’ve never had anyone tell me no.

Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open. -Stephen King

But I haven’t always asked, and it’s so interesting that your character descriptions are not always identifiable to others. Either my perspective and the character is tweaked enough, or it’s not how someone would describe themself or someone else. And in that case, I most likely don’t want them to know I was using them as a character study.

It’s a little freaky, actually, how differently we all see and perceive the world. Ask enough witnesses about what they saw, and recollections will be different from other witnesses (especially as more time goes by).

When I was teaching Anatomy and Physiology, Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast was used to study memory and the brain. The one that still haunts me is “Free Brian Williams” based on what Williams thought he remembered about taking enemy fire.

ANYWAY! The point is that if you want to write better fiction, USING REAL LIFE to get started is a fantastic motivator. Definitely use it.

Fictionalizing gives you FREEDOM.

“Write what you know” and then you can write what you don’t know

Real life is just the seed…let go and allow your imagination to take over. It will.

One of the slides I use when I’m presenting this topic at a school is this:

I say, “Do you recognize any of these titles?”

“YES!” they yell.

They get really excited to point out the books they’ve read or recognize. There are hundreds and hundreds more books I could feature, but the point is - these books are fiction, but ALL OF THEM are based on real life. Either the author told me this, or I read about it.

You can do this, too!

If you want to write memoir or non-fiction, you must tell the truth and get the facts right.

But if you want to write fiction, you can use real life to merely inspire and inform - the brain and imagination will take over from there.

Your stories matter. Only you have experienced your life.

So get started:

Pay attention to the details around you

Read a lot (observe the craft)

Write a lot (learn the craft)

Share your stories!

I’ll write a Part II of this post and include the specific questions and writing prompts I ask when teaching a writing workshop that you can use to turn your life into fabulous fiction. And if you just can’t wait, book an author visit now (hit reply).

Ciao for now.

Amy ❣️

Book Recommendation: A Place to Hang the Moon

Classified as middle grade historical fiction, y’all will enjoy. It’s so good!

It has a classic Narnia feel featuring three orphan siblings who are sent away to the country from London during World War II. They billet with strangers willing to take them in, but not all goes well, of course.

There are quotes and references to great literature throughout, as well as a reading list at the back of the book (because our orphans are very well read!)

William, Edmund, and Anna knew, somewhere deep in the place where we know things that we cannot say aloud, that they had never lived in the sort of home one reads about in stories - one of warmth and affection and certainty in the knowledge that someone believes you hung the moon…affection is not the same thing as proper family love. This sort of love, the children only knew from one another - and from books.

Made me laugh:

There are surely special fires reserved down below for those who throw snowballs at small children.

Yes!:

Honestly. If you’re going to wish for something, wish big.

One more:

You’ve experienced a variety of bedtime stories, I’m certain. You know their magic. A well chosen bedtime story sets you on the path to the dream you most need to have…this story, this night, was unlike any other. As the children sank into sleep, the words of the familiar rhyming tale were comfort and tenderness, ritual and home. A sort of prayer. A sort of lullaby. It set them on the path to dreams that felt rather like hope.

I met the author Kate in Georgia. She’s as wonderful as this book she wrote!

Good News and Story Links:

Judy Blume covers: is super inspiring to me, both as a writer and artist.

It’s AAPI Month!: A favorite Asian American Pacific Islander author whose books I’ve personally read (and loved) is Mae Respicio. Check out her books!

Listen: Jodi Kantor (of the NYTimes; she broke the Harvey Weinstein story). What every student journalist needs to know. THIS INTERVIEW with !!!

🎉 Insta love: Let’s be friends on Instagram

📬 Forward this to a friend and tell them to subscribe (hint: here).

📚 Just Finished: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson wonderful.

What are you reading?

Before You Go…

THE MCNIFFICENTS comes out on June 20th - AHHH! I’m so excited for you to read it. Two of my nieces pitched it on Instagram yesterday 😂 so funny. so cute.

Purchasing a copy of my book and telling others about it is the best way to support my work. This community has been among my BEST support network - THANK YOU.

Pre-ordering on Amazon is totally okay. Your local bookstore is great.

If you order from either Gibson’s or Morgan Hill (my local bookstores), you’ll get a signed book, bookmark, AND a watercolor story map painting. (I also hope you’ll come to my book party launch on June 20th, at 6! Gregor providing the snacks 😋)

Awhile ago on the “Hidden Brain” podcast, they said that it takes the average 40-year-old several months to laugh as much as a child laughs in a single day. Um…THE MCNIFFICENTS WILL RECTIFY THAT :)

Thank you for reading Come Along With Me. Please 📣 share!

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Published on May 02, 2023 11:32

April 26, 2023

Never Underestimate the Power of a Girl With a Book...

Happy National Library Week!

I love the library. It is a huge part of my existence. Even if I have a stack of books on my bedside table, I can barely ever pass my two little town libraries without stopping. Just to browse. Just to look. Just to tell myself: hurry up and finish and then you can get THAT ONE.

In this way, I have turned into my mother.

Nearly every Saturday morning, while growing up amongst the corn in Omaha, Nebraska, my mother would take us to the library after we had completed our “Saturday chores” (I know how to scrub a kitchen floor, I do.) Let us look fondly on the various stages of my reading life: Frog and Toad picture books, Amelia Bedelia chapter books, Beverly Clearly’s Ramona, Judy Blume, Sweet Valley High. There was the Marilyn Monroe phase, the Lindbergh kidnapping phase, the devouring of Agatha Christie.

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I viewed books and reading as my mother’s preferred activity over nearly all else - even eating! It still is (other than the grandchildren!) She could - and can - read faster than anyone I know. She prioritized books without guilt; my memories of coming home from school always wind back to finding her laying down for a “rest” with a book (and a Hershey’s candy bar with almonds wrapper).

After the Saturday morning library visit, we would each get to pick out a package of day-old, barely-stale chocolate covered Hostess donuts from Old Home Bakery, and which I would devour before we’d even gotten home. All the while reading my books in the backseat of our lovely army-green station wagon without seat belts.

I still love libraries, with or without the accompanying day-old donuts. I still associate books and libraries with great pleasure.

Remember these?

There was not a lot of extra money growing up, but libraries were free, and so they were a cherished form of endless entertainment: stacks of borrowed books, summer reading programs, free museum passes, crafts, movie nights, a weekly series of strange animated plays starring Shelly Long.

With five kids in eight years, I have no doubt that libraries saved my mother’s sanity. I can confidently echo the same.

my sweet littles!

my oldest…amongst her best friends: library books

My mother could be impatient with my lack of knowledge. At age 11 or 15 (or now, ha), I remember saying, “How would I know that?” and she would exclaim, “because you READ!”

My mother was a state debate champ - because she could READ (and then argue her case better than…apparently everyone).

Reading became synonymous with you can know and learn anything if you will READ. I began to assume that there was never an excuse for not knowing anything - because if there were libraries, I could find out.

Reading was knowledge, and knowledge armed you with power. My mother helped me believe that I was capable because I could read and if I could read, I could learn anything. And if I could learn, I could do. And if I could do, I would never be powerless.

She so wholeheartedly believed in this (still does!)

"Never underestimate the power of a girl with a book." -Ruth Bader

Of all the many gifts my mother gave me, the love of reading remains among the most cherished.

I appreciate libraries more than ever. It’s quite astonishing that nearly every town and city across America has a place where anyone, regardless of race, gender, religion, or age, can walk in and get their own library card. And then nearly anyone can walk out with a stack of books - for FREE!

And isn’t it equally amazing, that the librarians TRUST that we will come back with those same books (er, most of the time. My librarians have been so gracious and forgiving over the lost and damaged/dog-chewed books…they still welcome us back. bonus: our town doesn’t even have late fees!).

Oh yes, I love them so.

Because they are free and easily accessible, libraries are one of the very few equalizers in our world. They are essential for democracy. I’ve seen news of late, of public interest groups interfering with librarians doing their jobs or even attempting to defund the library. I hope this remains the anomaly.

For libraries to thrive in a free, democratic society, there must be trust between patrons, volunteers, board members, and librarians. No library system should be micro-managed or beholden to any political agenda or group…that scenario is terrifying.

I suppose I have known a few cranky librarians in my time, but this was long ago. Now, they are my besties. They bring authors and speakers to town. They host book clubs, summer reading programs, give away puzzles, post necessary town information, and have free wi-fi. They will happily show you how to reserve and renew books online. If my library doesn’t have a book, the librarian (shout out to Lee and Makaela!) will actually order it or request an interlibrary loan - it’s almost like they want us to READ!

I marvel at their knowledge, dedication, love of children, helpfulness, and enthusiasm for BOOKS - books that serve and represent the majority, and the minority.

How to help your library:

Get a library card and start borrowing

Volunteer (story hour, programming, sorting, cleaning, carrying)

Attend town meetings and vote to support the library budget

Help keep the library neutral and free from political division

THANK YOU, librarians, and all who volunteer to help keep our libraries open, free, and welcoming to all. Long live the library ❤️

More on libraries from the American Library Association Here! (Kelly Yang is serving as the honorary chair of National Library Week for 2023. I love her Front Desk series based on her immigration story of coming to America with no English, and how libraries were so crucial to her).

p.s. Do you borrow books from Hoopla? I’m not a huge audiobook gal, but I am listening to two books right now: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl and The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick (thanks, Naomi!)

Amy

I love when you send me pictures of your library - with Guinevere featured! 🙏

Thank you for reading Come Along With Me. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Independent Bookstore Day!

This week ends with Saturday, April 29th being “Independent Bookstore Day” - a good day to show your local library some love.

And hey, if you’re just not sure what to purchase - here’s a shameless plug…The McNifficents is available for pre-order! If you purchase at either Gibson’s or Morgan Hill (my local bookstores), you’ll get a signed book, bookmark, AND a watercolor story map painting (don’t worry if you’ve already purchased, we can still get you one!)

Not sure you want that book? You do! :) Publisher’s Weekly gave it this review two days ago.

An excerpt (full review in link above):

“Makechnie invites readers into a sometimes frenetic household that’s frequently suffused with love and laughs. Humor abounds in quirky details—avian creatures named after Downton Abbey characters, Tenny’s formal inner dialogue and love of the film Mary Poppins—while the siblings’ bickering, teasing, and supportive interactions ring true.” -Publisher’s Weekly

The Everyday…

Today, Gregor and I are leaving for Cope and Kaden’s college graduation. The two youngest are staying home together. I asked them to make a schedule:

And…if you’re local, check out Morgan Hill Bookstore where Brynne is stocking eighteen more original 5x7 watercolor cards this week (just in time for Mother’s Day!) I’m kindof so proud.

watercolor cards in progressGood News and Story Links:

CRAFT TALK: How wearing a “uniform” can help you make your art

Rewatching: Every night, we watch an episode of Merlin on Netflix. It’s so fun. Many thoughts on story and craft…

Reading: A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year!

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Published on April 26, 2023 10:43

April 18, 2023

You're Invited

Hello dear readers.

Tomorrow I’ll be in conversation at our little town’s “Hub”. We’re going to talk about my road from mom, teacher, and coach to author. We’ll also talk rejection (in fact, I got one today) and how real life can inspire fabulous fiction.

On Thursday I’ll be visiting a New Hampshire middle school for their Writing Festival. As they say in New Hampshire, I’m “wicked excited.”

Mark your calendar for these events because YOU’RE INVITED…(all events are free!)

April 19, Andover New Hampshire Hub on Writing, Process, & Q&A, 7pm, adults and teens

May 20, Andover NH Library “special guest reader + Q&A”

June 20, MCNIFFICENT BOOKS LAUNCH PARTY! Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London NH, 6pm (preorder for this special event and get a signed book, bookmark, and an exclusive hand painted story map by yours truly)

July 1, 2023 Wellesley Bookstore, Meet & Greet Book Signing, Wellesley MA, 2pm

Would you like to host or connect me with your school, library, book club, or bookstore? Be in touch - we’ll have so much fun.

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Book Recommendation: A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY

I FINALLY read A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving.

How about this first line: “I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice—not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meaney.”

It's the summer of 1953, when two eleven-year-old boys—best friends—John Wheelright and Owen Meany are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire. Owen hits a foul ball that kills John's mother. Owen doesn't believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God's instrument.

At 637 pages, this is a BOOK, and not a book to skim. It really is an extraordinary story.

Watch HERE as John Irving discusses why he wrote A Prayer for Owen Meany — a novel that investigates the basis for religious belief. “I’m not religious. I wouldn’t call myself an atheist either. I doubt. But - I’m interested.”

Loved it. Read it.

What are you reading?

On Craft:

From my friend and writer, Tom Morgan, who quoted these words at the beginning of a Public Speaking event at my daughter’s school. Tom says, “The quotation is actually an amalgamation of three different Alexander Langlands quotations from his book Craft: An Inquiry Into the Origins and True Meaning of Traditional Crafts. Here's how they appeared in my welcome speech:”

As the archaeologist and medieval historian Alexander Langlands explains, “Craft is not just about making beautiful things,” but it is instead about taking the raw materials of our lives “and transforming them into something new and useful.” Craft is about “making a connection to the past, to the people who came before us,” and “in the process, transforming ourselves as well.”

Write on! Here’s to making beautiful and transformative things…

Writing Prompt: “What is a small hurt you have suffered? What’s the big principle or hidden injustice it represents? Stir your Main Character to react to it.”

Good News and Story Links

ICYMI: Kirkus is notoriously tough. Here’s what they said about MCNIFFICENTS

Bravery: A Russian dissident’s final speech as he faces imprisonment

Adore: Beatrix Potter's diary and 's newsletter

SO FUN! “I was invited to draw at a wedding” + little library artwork

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Published on April 18, 2023 14:03

April 11, 2023

Join me on Notes(?)

I just published my first note on Substack Notes…

Notes is a new space on Substack for us to share links, short posts, quotes, photos, and more. I plan to use it for things that don’t fit in the newsletter, like work-in-progress or quick questions.

Go to Notes

post edit: I’m not sure how much I’ll be using notes. It was kindof a knee jerk reaction to try out this new tool, but I definitely don’t need one more thing to “keep up with”…

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Magic Mail:

Thank you, friends! New mail from Rachel <3. Postcards going out soon….!McNifficents Gets its First Professional Review

In between waiting for The McNifficents to launch into the world, reviews have begun rolling in. Like most writers, I wish I didn’t care. I care.

You want them, you need them, but please don’t stab me in the heart.

Sometimes they do, but here I am. Still alive.

I’ve written the best book I can; let the reviews fall where they will (says my calm, inner coach).

Thirty minutes ago I received my first professional trade review from Kirkus (Kirkus is notoriously harsh). Well, I’ll take this…

THE MCNIFFICENTS
Author: Amy Makechnie
Illustrator: Ariel Landy

Miniature schnauzer Lord Tennyson is in charge of the six rambunctious McNiff children.

This precocious dog has his paws filled teaching the children to mind their manners, curb their fighting, and ride their bikes. The children’s bumbling father directs community theater productions, and their absent-minded mother is distracted by her gardening and baking—which leaves this accomplished canine in charge. As if six children weren’t enough, the family, who live in a pink New Hampshire farmhouse, also have two bunnies, six chickens, and a snake. It is summer vacation for the McNiffs, who are cued White, and chaos reigns, especially between the two oldest girls, Mary, 11, and Annie, 13. In fact, their mutual animosity is venomous; some readers may be distressed by the meanness on display and find it difficult to feel compassion for them, while others may relate all too well. With bed-wetting, a stolen diary, and graffiti involved, even the Sibling Council cannot repair their fractured relationship. Lord Tennyson must find new tricks to bring the children back together into a united pack before summer’s end. When Pearl, one of the younger McNiffs who will be entering kindergarten, goes missing, the drama switches gears as Lord Tennyson truly proves his dedication and value to his family. The writing is strong, and Lord Tennyson has an arch, competent manner in keeping with his professional role model, Mary Poppins. Final art not seen.

Chaotically entertaining.

Here we go, team. Here we go.

❤️ Amy

ICYMI: On another Note (so sorry), The McNifficents is on Netgalley for another month and then it goes away. Netgalley is where you can read the book for free (though OF COURSE I WANT YOU TO BUY IT) and post a review and tell all your friends about it (TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT IT ANYWAY).

What I’m reading: A Prayer for Owen Meany (incredible) and Brown Girl Dreaming (divine)

What are you reading?

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Published on April 11, 2023 14:25

Join me on Notes

I just published my first note on Substack Notes, and would love for you to join me there!

Go to Notes

How to join

Head to substack.com/notes or find the “Notes” tab in the Substack app. As a subscriber to Come Along With Me, you’ll automatically see my notes. Feel free to like, reply, or share them around!

You can also share notes of your own. I hope this becomes a space where every reader of Come Along With Me can share thoughts, ideas, and interesting quotes from the things we're reading on Substack and beyond.

If you encounter any issues, you can always refer to the Notes FAQ for assistance. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Come Along With Me is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Magic Mail:

Thank you, friends! New mail from Rachel <3. Postcards going out soon….!McNifficents Gets its First Professional Review

In between waiting for The McNifficents to launch into the world, reviews have begun rolling in. Like most writers, I wish I didn’t care. I care.

You want them, you need them, but please don’t stab me in the heart.

Sometimes they do, but here I am. Still alive.

I’ve written the best book I can; let the reviews fall where they will (says my calm, inner coach).

Thirty minutes ago I received my first professional trade review from Kirkus (Kirkus is notoriously harsh). Well, I’ll take this…

THE MCNIFFICENTS
Author: Amy Makechnie
Illustrator: Ariel Landy

Miniature schnauzer Lord Tennyson is in charge of the six rambunctious McNiff children.

This precocious dog has his paws filled teaching the children to mind their manners, curb their fighting, and ride their bikes. The children’s bumbling father directs community theater productions, and their absent-minded mother is distracted by her gardening and baking—which leaves this accomplished canine in charge. As if six children weren’t enough, the family, who live in a pink New Hampshire farmhouse, also have two bunnies, six chickens, and a snake. It is summer vacation for the McNiffs, who are cued White, and chaos reigns, especially between the two oldest girls, Mary, 11, and Annie, 13. In fact, their mutual animosity is venomous; some readers may be distressed by the meanness on display and find it difficult to feel compassion for them, while others may relate all too well. With bed-wetting, a stolen diary, and graffiti involved, even the Sibling Council cannot repair their fractured relationship. Lord Tennyson must find new tricks to bring the children back together into a united pack before summer’s end. When Pearl, one of the younger McNiffs who will be entering kindergarten, goes missing, the drama switches gears as Lord Tennyson truly proves his dedication and value to his family. The writing is strong, and Lord Tennyson has an arch, competent manner in keeping with his professional role model, Mary Poppins. Final art not seen.

Chaotically entertaining.

Here we go, team. Here we go.

❤️ Amy

What I’m reading: A Prayer for Owen Meany (incredible) and Brown Girl Dreaming (divine)

What are you reading?

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Published on April 11, 2023 14:25

April 6, 2023

Happy Holy Week

Hello friends, and for those celebrating - happy holy week.

Yesterday was Passover. Sunday is Easter, the holiest of holidays for Christians. We're in the midst of Ramadan. Congress is taking a two-week recess.

So it feels like a good time to take a little breather.

Let’s go outside and take a deep breath of cool, spring air.

In New Hampshire, spring is fighting hard to break out of winter. But yesterday I saw a little green leaf and spot of red rhubarb working its way out of the (still) snow-covered earth. It’s happening…

Does beauty matter?

Read this passage from Susan Cain’s newsletter, author of Bittersweet.

From the great British author, C.S. Lewis, best known for “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe,” and his other children’s fiction. But he’s written so many profound essays, quotes from which are taped up all over my writing desk.

Here are two of my favorite passages.

The first one has to do with beauty – on why it matters so much. It seems like a frippery. How could it be worth our attention, compared to everyday horrors like poverty, hunger and war?

“But C.S. Lewis knew what he was talking about. He’d come close to death, himself, in the terrible trenches of World War I. And on the eve of WWII, he asked this question, in a famous lecture he gave at Oxford University:

“Does beauty matter when bombs start falling?” [h/t Jash Dholani]

Here is his beautiful (pun intended) answer.

“Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice. Human culture has always had to exist under the shadow of something infinitely more important than itself. If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty until they were secure, the search would have never begun. We are mistaken when we compare war with “normal life.” Life has never been normal.”

― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

my rhubarb; working hard

Life has never been normal, Lewis is telling us - the precipice is never far away.

So don’t put off your quest for beauty and excellence. That very quest is an expression of our best and noblest selves -- because it turns us in the direction of the good.

Dostoevsky once observed that ‘beauty will save the world.’ And people often wonder what he could have possibly meant by this. I think that this is the answer.

-Susan Cain

❤️ Amy

Good News and Story Links

Mark Your Calendars: Come see me at Andover New Hampshire Hub on April 19th, 7pm to talk about writing. Free!

Want to Leave an Early Review? Read The McNifficents on Netgalley

The Perfect Easter Song?!: Ain’t No Grave by Molly Skaggs (do you like it or Johnny Cash’s version?)

Wait! And this song, too: Thank God I do by Lauren Daigle

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Published on April 06, 2023 11:04

March 28, 2023

Before You Ban a Book...

If you’re following the news, you’re probably seeing an alarming rise of books disappearing from shelves.

source: Newsweek

The Florida Freedom to Read Project recently posted an Instagram story showing pictures of empty shelves in Florida classrooms. Closets locked. Shelves covered in paper to block students from checking out books because they have been challenged or banned. It’s heartbreaking.

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My own books have not been banned (that I know of,) but I remember the jolt I felt when a woman left this comment on my Instagram after I posted a giveaway of TEN THOUSAND TRIES next to the US Women’s Soccer Team World Cup win:

Last week, TWENTY of Jodi Picoult’s books were banned in Florida. I’m convinced I wouldn’t be an author if it wasn’t for Jodi.

Classics on banned book lists: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, Are You There God, it’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and The Kite Runner by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini.

Newer books like Front Desk by Kelly Yang and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.

I’ve read all of these books. They’ve changed me. There are hundreds more that are just as worthy. It’s a tragedy that an increasing number of kids do not have access to this literature.

Authoritarian tactics are on the rise, mostly from well-organized politically-motivated groups in notoriously conservative states. But it’s not just “the right.” Read this: Why the Mental Health of Liberal Girls Sank First and Fastest. In our effort to “protect kids” from “harmful ideas,” we are doing the exact opposite.

To be clear: some ideas ARE harmful. And we can know the difference by READING.

From Newsweek:

A report by the American Library Association found there were an "unprecedented" number of attempts to ban certain books from libraries, schools and universities in 2021, many focusing on "the lives of LGBTQIA+ persons and Black persons."

A challenge is different from a ban, but books that are “challenged” are removed from shelves until an administrative committee can determine whether or not a book goes back on the shelf. It can take weeks or months. So it’s effectively banned. And anyone can challenge a book within a school district.

Let us please consider…

Before you challenge or ban a book:

Read the book first (it’s astonishing how many will say, well I haven’t actually read the book, but I’ve heard…)

Read the book in its context

Trust the teachers and librarians who are qualified to make judgements about books. These amazing humans have your children’s best interest at heart.

Remember it’s okay to be uncomfortable or offended when reading. Some subjects SHOULD make us feel this way. That’s how we make judgements.

Don’t want to read or finish a book? Don’t find it appropriate for your child? That’s your right. But it isn’t our right to take it from others.

I believe in THE RIGHT TO READ.

I believe that all people should be able to write, read, and hear without undue censorship.

And listen, when it comes to a published book, let me tell you -

If you’re that lucky one-in-a-hundred-thousand that actually gets your story published after practicing and learning the writing craft, querying literary agents for years, and going through the excruciating and often soul-crushing publishing process, then you can be assured that that book has been heavily reviewed, discussed, and edited. There are enough gatekeepers in the publishing world. Once it gets to the shelf, please don’t be another gatekeeper. Others have the right to read that story!

Roald Dahl was no saint, but he was a wonderful children’s writer. Let his writing stand. “Cultural sensitivity” can go too far. Let history be the judge of his writing and his words.

While we’re on the subject, editing the past does not actually change the past.

Changing history and social studies books so that readers don’t know that Rosa Parks was black (what is happening in some Florida textbooks), or the story of a little girl named Ruby Bridges or Anne Frank, or a boy named Emmett Till or Matthew Shepard is not telling the truth and ensures that history will repeat itself because we haven’t learned anything from it.

If we keep editing and banning, truth disappears.

And where does it end? Because after they come for your books, they will come for your ideas, and then they will come for you.

Dramatic? We’ve seen this story before.

I believe in YOUR RIGHT TO READ - even if I don’t personally like your book choices, even if I find the book personally offensive and want to hide it behind a plant.

Sometimes a book is a “not yet,” but reading widely is how we create a growing generation of curious, tolerant, empathetic humans who know how to think for themselves and treat others well.

Read this report from Pen America and decide for yourself:

Banned Book Data Snapshot
From July 2021 to June 2022, PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans lists 2,532 instances of individual books being banned, affecting 1,648 unique book titles.

The 1,648 titles are by 1,261 different authors, 290 illustrators, and 18 translators, impacting the literary, scholarly, and creative work of 1,553 people altogether.

The numbers in this report represent documented cases of book bans reported directly to PEN America and/or covered in the media; there are likely additional bans that have not been reported.

Let the kids read!

Let the qualified librarians, teachers, and media specialists do their jobs.

Chime in, please. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

❤️ Amy

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Magic Mail

I received a poem from Stella, a middle school student from Georgia, who wrote The Impossible is Always Possible after reading TEN THOUSAND TRIES. My heart melted into a giant puddle on the floor. THANK YOU, Stella.

The Impossible is Always Possible

By Stella Radford

The impossible is always possible.

Ten thousand touches–

Ten thousand tries–

I know it's not plausible, but the impossible is always possible.

Work hard, play harder–

I will get faster.

Dad will get stronger.

Jaimes will learn to drive correctly.

I know it's not plausible, but the impossible is always possible.

Lucy will not move.

The Dark Lord will not prevail.

Dad will get better.

I know it's not plausible, but the impossible is always possible.

I will be Messi.

I will perfectly do Roma’s hair.

I will help Dad get stronger.

If I can do that, then the impossible will always be possible!

Thank you, Stella. Truly Magic Mail!

Good News and Story Links

Read it early!: THE MCNIFFICENTS is on Netgalley for a limited time

A love letter to children through art:

A Shoutdown at Stanford: Why free speech is “worth the squeeze”

Made Me think: takes on banning Drag Queens

Obsessed With: Out of Africa on Netflix. Watched it twice in two weeks…

Reading: A Prayer for Owen Meany

Come Along With Me is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.