Sarah Allen's Blog, page 3

The Query Letter that Got Me 4 Agent Offers

Below is the complete and unedited (except for the redacted agent name) of the query letter that got me an agent and my first book deal.

This query letter has some good points, and some imperfections. It follows good query structure and still shows some fun voiciness and personality, but it’s probably too long. But it worked! This is the book and the query that helped me get four offers of representation. I hope it helps you in your querying journey. Good luck!

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Creative Habits (vs Goals) and How To Sustain Them, with Adam Ming

From the Writing Desk:

The day after Christmas, one of my best friends messaged me and said “THE HALLOWEEN SEASON BEGINS ANEW.”

Yeah, I’m feelin that a little bit over here. Don’t get me wrong, Christmas and New Years were truly amazing, and I had a blast with my family in St. George, and then going to Disney Springs for ma birthdeeee. (Ya girl turned 36 on New Years Eve!)

But now…a little cozy, a lot over the Mondayishness of January already, and slowly but surely filling up with weird, nutty, swamp witch energy that I hope I can manage to hold on to the whole year.

Anyway.

December wasn’t the best words-on-the-page month (is it ever?) but it was actually quite a good growing of the idea seeds month.

I turned in a spooky short story for a possible anthology. I sent revisions on a picture book to my agent. Made some tiny, tiny progress on the adult novel. And for the first time in a while, have a couple middle grade projects that are starting to get their hooks into me.

The last few weeks, I’ve actually been doing more of what I thought was non-writing creative work. I’ve been researching auditions, figuring out self-tapes, drawing more, and watching art tutorials.

But after focusing on that “other” stuff for a while, it unlocked (reminded me?) of something very much key to my writing process. I had a bit of an apostraphe.

My epiphany was this: For me, everything is about character.

That sort of seems obvious, but it’s been hammered home in a new way lately. My favorite music is showtunes because of character. I have a desire to perform because I want to create characters. I’m interested in illustration because I want to create characters. Larger than life, memorable characters. The kinds of characters that out-live their creators, like Bugs Bunny and Sherlock Holmes. Or Captain Hook. (Whether written by J.M. Barrie, drawn by Milt Kahl, voiced by Hans Conried, or played by Dustin Hoffman, he’s just a great character.)

Realizing this in regards to performing and illustration gave me an ‘oh duh, that’s what I want in writing too’ moment. And it’s helped a lot.

These new middle grade ideas I’m stewing on? One is new and chock full of weird characters. The other is an idea I’ve been stuck on for…well, years. Then I thought, what would happen if I just threw in someone completely and utterly whacky? And now I’m finally able to make progress on this idea and see it in a new way.

Maybe that will help you with your stuck ideas too!

(Psst…have a minute to leave a brief 1 liner review for The Nightmare House or Monster Tree on Amazon? Thank you friend!!!)

Onward!

The Smorgasbord is a hand-kneaded, hand-shucked, reader supported publication. Honestly, it takes a lot of time and effort to get these interviews, articles and resources put together. To keep it cooking, become a paid subscriber and get access to special publishing resources, video courses, and more!

Subscribe now

Creative Habits (vs Goals) and How To Sustain Them, with Adam Ming

It’s an honor and very exciting to have with us today! Adam is an amazing illustrator with one of the best newsletters on creativity and creative habits on all of substack. As we start the new year, I know I could use both new advice and refresher thoughts on building creative habits. Make sure to sign up for Adam’s newsletter to get daily prompts and creativity exercises!

Welcome, Adam!

1. In your awesome newsletter, you’ve talked about how sometimes setting concrete goals isn’t as helpful for you as focusing on consistency and regular steps towards something broader. Tell us a bit more about that, and how that works better for you?

This might be particular to Creative Work, but let me try to illustrate by example. Having a goal to write one great comic strip is mind-numbingly hard. But the goal to write one crappy comic strip a day is both easy and fun, and if you do it consistently the odds of coming up with great strips eventually become pretty good. Or writing a newsletter, writing one great newsletter a week, is almost impossible for me, but writing a good newsletter daily is easy. The thing is 6 good newsletters can easily be edited into one great newsletter each weekend. I guess, more action (consistency) is more valuable than anything else.

2. What are your best tips for maintaining consistency towards your creative goals even when life gets chaotic?

DO the minimum. 1 push up, 2 minutes of drawing, write one sentence... keep the streak going.

3. How do you a) avoid beating yourself up and b) get your momentum back when your creative progress has taken a hit?

DO the minimum. Understand that that small action is success, spend the beat up energy to instead do the minimum and take that small win. Building momentum is just about stringing together small wins.

Thank you so, so much Adam! It was an honor, and thank you for your work and your time. Make sure you check out Adam’s books and his amazing illustration portfolio on his website!

What I’m Reading: I’ve been wanting some fun, delightful graphic novel reads lately. (If you haven’t already discovered The First Cat In Space Ate Pizza, you are in for a treat). One that really surprised me with its gorgeous artwork and powerful story was The Girl & the Galdurian by Tim Probert. Definitely worth checking out, and I think the graphic novel readers in your life will love it.

What I’m Watching: I have been evangalizing Professor T and the absolute neurotic glory that is Ben Miller for a couple months to everyone in my life and will continue to do so. This is now a touchstone, gold standard show for me. Bless your life.

PAJAMAS AND WRENCHES PODCAST!!: So, my amazing friend PJ Gardner (the “Pajamas” to my “Allen” wrench eheheh) and I have done the thing and started a podcast! Our first two episodes are up so far, and we chat about what’s inspiring our creativity and filling the well, and then what challenges we’re facing as we work on our writing and other creative projects. Check it out! We hope you’ll find it helpful (and fun…I know we have a blast making these!)

What I’m Sketching:

“Perfect happiness implies the solidarity of the angels.”

—Les Miserables, Victor Hugo

Writing Opportunity: “Amid the lights, games, and shows, in the shadows the bright lights don’t reach, are horrors of all kinds…” Check out this very fun anthology opportunity from Undertaker Books. Due January 31!

Teacher or Librarian? I would love to do a free virtual Q&A with your class or book group! If you’re interested in scheduling a visit you can reach out to me via my website. Let me know how I can support you! I’ve also got free classroom resources to accompany each book. You guys are rock stars!

Thanks for coming along everyone! The best way to support is to 1) subscribe, 2) get a copy of the book bebes, and 3) keep glowing, you shining star you.

-Sarah

Links include Amazon Affiliate links where I may make a small commission.

Thanks for reading!

On Dragons, and A Year That Was Meant To Be Bad Luck

Dragons I didn’t buy this only because it sort of makes me feel like Jareth, of Goblin King, tight pants fame.

I’ve always liked having my Chinese zodiac be a dragon. Dragons are cool, right? I was born on the last day of 1988, so—Year of the Dragon.

This year—2024—is also the Year of the Dragon. That means it’s supposed to be my year, right?

Unfortunately…no. In fact, it’s meant to be the opposite. When your zodiac year comes back around, it portends bad luck, instability, and setbacks.

I’m not really into astrology of any kind, although I love stargazing, and I definitely did not mind all the dragon-y stuff at the China pavilion in EPCOT. (Get ready, Snakes!)

But this did get me thinking. Because, honestly…2024 didn’t feel like my year.

I definitely wouldn’t say it was a terrible year by any means. Nothing dramatic or awful happened. In fact, quite a few great things happened (Like having not one but two books come out—that’s pretty wonderful!)

But 2024, for this dragon, was…slow.

Much of the really productive writing work on the two books released this year happened last year. I did not write a new middle grade novel or a new screenplay or make terribly much progress on the adult novel I started last year.

It’s been a bit of an interesting health year, which is a significant reason for this slowness. (When I told a friend this, she asked how old I was and then said, yep, your warrenty just expired, and I thought that was about perfect.)

This year I:

Participated in 2 sleep studies (one at home, one recent in-lab) and I’m hopeful that this will go a long way towards finding answers. I took a picture which I will not post here, to spare you all from the Matrix-creature vibes.1

Started physical therapy and discovered a surprising but true love of long walks.

Began the process of getting to the right cardiologist, including current figuring-out-insurance questions. (Nothing dramatic, but with a congenital heart defect I need to be proactive.)

Got a plant in February and it’s still alive!

Honestly, watched so many incredible movies and shows. I am begging, begging, begging you all to go find Professor T.

Snuggled a lot.

For those of you who know the Gallup Strengsthfinder assessment, you’ll know what I mean when I say that with Achiever as my #6 it’s not easy for me to feel, as I told my friend, that I’m operating at 10% of my optimal Leslie Knope levels. (Nobody likes that feeling, of course!)

But looking back, the right projects did happen this year, and I’m incredibly grateful to the villages of people that helped me with them:

I was asked to write another chapter book about a girl with Turner syndrome. I believe this is still a secret project, but I will be able to talk about it soon. And here’s the thing—the writing of this chapter book flowed like warm butter. It felt so natural and me. I was still anxious as ever when I turned in the first draft, but then my editor told me it felt like Judy Blume and I about died of happy. I am so, so grateful for that, and for this particular writing experience this year.

I finally had some breakthroughs on a picture book about Turner syndrome that I’ve wanted to write for years. Now me and my incredible agent are polishing it up for submission.

I got asked to participate in a spooky middle grade short story anthology. (Also more on that soon!)

And like I said, I was lucky enough to publish my fourth middle grade novel, plus a writing guide for young writers with three of my utterly incredible writing friends. And not to brag, but my mom said Monster Tree is her new favorite of my four books, so you should buy it.

Both of these would make excellent stocking stuffers for the middle grade readers and young writers in your life!

The most important thing that happened, however, maybe happened because of the slow pace itself.

In a lot of ways, I feel like I started this year with a spinning compass. A sort of flaily feeling. Not even in a bad way—in sort of a, ooh, look, shiny, I want to do all the things sort of way. Well, in this year of not really being able to do all the things, the compass has…slowed. It’s started to stop spinning.

It’s started to point somewhere.

Since finishing Monster Tree, if I’m honest with myself, my middle-grade well has felt a bit dry. Now I feel it slowly filling again. I feel my illustration practice starting to focus. I can see direction on some script projects that have needed revisions for…over a year. I feel much more certain about the kinds of projects I want to write. I’m even clearer on what I want to do here in the newsletter.

My feet can sense more groundedness beneath me in more personal areas too. I know more people here in Orlando. I am talking to more guys on the (utterly stupid) dating app than I have before, with less anxiety than I did before. There are some other creative things my 10 year old self has always wanted to do, and for 2025, I’m feeling ready to try.

This silly little dragon might have needed a rest, but maybe that rest has taught it what treasure it really wants to hoard, and now—I hope—it’s starting to wake up.

The Smorgasbord is a hand-kneaded, hand-shucked, reader supported publication. Honestly, it takes a lot of time and effort to get these interviews, articles, and resources put together. To keep it cooking, become a paid subscriber and get access to special publishing resources, video courses, and more!

Subscribe now

10 Sides from the Buffet

If you’re wondering about picture book structure, then check out this super helpful outline from Kidlit411. It goes through various picture book genres and outlines page-by-page how they might be structured. Personally, I find these kind of guidelines very helpful.

If you’re looking for newsletter strategies that feel authentic and natural for you then I highly recommend this podcast episode from and about leaning into your unique genius.

What’s keeping librarians up at night? Well, has the answers, and it’s a fascinating read. I was not shocked at all by the love for graphic novels, but quite surprised at how much librarians use a certain tool for book discovery.

This list of was just too much fun. I think perhaps my favorite one is Makehitgood. I hear it in Patrick Stewarts voice.

Speaking of Patrick Stewart…

This is a fascinating post from about the specific ways prose changes when we write it as if it’s playing on a TV screen, and the differences between what TV and prose can do well and what they can’t.

This comics blind accessibility project from is so, so cool! I hope we see a lot more of this kind of thing in the future.

I’m often at a loss for words to describe the sort of ineffible differences between age categories and genres in literature, but some writers hit it spot on. Maggie Tokuda-Hall has an excellent post about the differences between YA and Middle grade and has an excellent recent post about YA vs Adult. Honestly really enlightening.

This interview with Fred Rogers on Letterman is one of the most soothing things I’ve seen in a long time. God bless the Fred Rogers of the world.

And to close off our talk of the Year of the Dragon, here’s an absolutely delightful recommendation for you. I’ve only read the first bit, but I plan to get back to it soon when I can get my hands on another copy, because the voice in this is truly spectacular.

How about you? What is your Chinese zodiac, and do you have a favorite book that features that animal?

Teachers, librarians, and homeschool parents, I would love to do a free virtual Q&A with your class or book group! If you’re interested in scheduling a visit you can reach out to me via my website. Let me know how I can support you! I’ve also got free classroom resources to accompany each book. You guys are rock stars!

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for coming along everyone! 1) Subscribe, 2) get a copy of the book bebes, and 3) keep glowing, you shining star you.

-Sarah

Links include Amazon Affiliate links where I may make a small commission.

Thanks for reading!

1

As I wrote this, I got the results from the sleep study and they were *drumroll*…inconclusive lol. More specifically, my sleep efficiency was so poor that it can “underestimate the severity of sleep-disordered breathing” and so they want me to come back in again, but this time do it on drugs. Woopee!

The Ultimate Middle Grade Christmas Shopping Guide for Reluctant Readers (and Young Writers)

The Ultimate Middle Grade Christmas Shopping Guide

It’s December! The most festive time of year!

To help you with your holiday shopping for the middle grade readers in your life, I’ve got some suggestions for you. And further down…a special announcement!

First, make sure to check out last years original Ultimate Middle Grade Christmas Shopping Guide, with lots of ‘if they liked THIS they might like THAT’ style recommendations.

Then come back here for The Ultimate Middle Grade List 2.0, this one specifically for the kids who might not have discovered book joy yet.

This gift guide will come to you in two parts:

Gifts for reluctant readers, with suggestions from teachers and fellow middle grade authors.

A special gift for the young aspiring writers in your life.

Let’s get right to it!

The Smorgasbord is a hand-kneaded, hand-shucked, reader supported publication. Honestly, it takes a lot of time and effort to get these interviews, articles, and resources put together. To keep it cooking, become a paid subscriber and get access to special publishing resources, video courses, and more!

Subscribe now

Middle Grade Books for Reluctant Readers

I don’t love the term ‘reluctant readers,’ but it’s a familiar term that gets the point across for today. Those of us in the middle grade community—both writers and teachers—worry about and regularly discuss what we call the “decline by nine.” Basically, the challenge is that the number of kids who think of themselves as readers drops off sharply by age nine.

So how do we combat this? Well, one possible way is by providing kids exciting and fun books that they actually want to read. I highly recommend newsletters like the one by librarian that talk about books that are really for kids, rather than for adults who want to feel a certain way about the books they’re buying for kids. She gives great recommendations and talks more about helping kids of all ages experience reading joy.

With that in mind, here are some books for reading joy recommended by some teacher friends and fellow middle grade writers:

Confessions of a Class Clown by Arianne Costner

This one is my recommendation. All of Arianne’s books are perfect for the Wimpy Kid lovers in your life who are ready for something bigger!

Bernice Buttman Model Citizen by Nikki Lenz

Recommended by the above mentioned fabulous Arianne Costner!

Junior Monster Scouts , by Joe McGee

Recommended by author Jess Rinker!

The Bletchley Riddle , by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Recommended by author Laura Stegman!

Pahua and the Soul Eater , by Lori M. Lee

Recommended by author Tesia Tsai! The Rick Riordan Presents series is generally a great place to find books for reluctant readers.

The Last Kids On Earth , by Max Brallier (Author), Douglas Holgate (Illustrator)

Recommended by author Gina Loveless!

The School for Wicked Witches, by Will Taylor

Recommended by author Adrianna Cuevas!

The Secret Dead Club , by Karen Strong

Another recommendation from Adrianna!

Real Pigeons Fight Crime , by Andrew McDonald (Author), Ben Wood (Illustrator)

Recommended by library specialist Stephanie Nehemias!

Treasure in the Lake , by Jason Pamment

Another recommendation from library specialist Stephanie!

The Skinjacker Trilogy, by Neal Shusterman

This is another of my own recommendations because I’ve never had more success recommending an author than I have with Neal Shusterman. Literally everyone I know who’s read his books loves them.

How about you? What are some of your favorite books to recommend for kids who think they don’t like reading?

And now…the perfect gift for YOUNG ASPIRING WRITERS!

I am so flipping excited to announce my collab on a book for young writers with my amazing friends Gina Loveless, PJ Gardner, and Celesta Rimington.

Tools Not Rules: A Writing Guide for Young Creatives

From four award-winning and bestselling middle grade authors comes the writing guide for ages 8-12 that feels like a lively conversation over school lunch.

In Tools, Not Rules: A Writing Guide for Young Creatives, four middle grade authors speak directly to students in grades 3-6, the target audience for their novels. Students will find engaging, short chapters in each of the four authors’ unique voices. These are followed by skill-developing and idea-generating writing activities complete with modeling examples.

With advice on everything from finding ideas to actually publishing a book, Tools, Not Rules takes a bite-sized approach to creative writing that both challenges eager writers and heartens hesitant ones. Parents and educators will appreciate the resources to jump-start their students’ imaginations and the mini-lessons built into the pages for classroom use or for fast finishers. Students will appreciate the personal anecdotes from the authors, candid conversations, and the behind-the-scenes look at how the pros do it.

We had such a great time creating this book, and whether your a teacher looking for classroom resources or a parent looking to help their budding author, this book will be the perfect fit.

Teachers, librarians, and homeschool parents, I would love to do a free virtual Q&A with your class or book group! If you’re interested in scheduling a visit you can reach out to me via my website. Let me know how I can support you! I’ve also got free classroom resources to accompany each book. You guys are rock stars!

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for coming along everyone! 1) Subscribe, 2) get a copy of the book bebes, and 3) keep glowing, you shining star you.

-Sarah

Links include Amazon Affiliate links where I may make a small commission.

Thanks for reading!

Writing a Satisfyingly Self-Destructive Villain

Self-Destructive Villains: How and Why?

To introduce today’s topic—bad guys that essentially/effectively destroy themselves mwahaha—allow me to take you back to a very memorable episode of The Big Bang Theory.

In this episode, Sheldon finally gets his girlfriend Amy to watch Raiders of the Lost Arc, which she’s never seen. He watches her reactions the whole time, and at the end, enthusiastically asks her for her opinion, because wasn’t it the greatest thing she’s ever seen?

Her response is luke-warm. She says, yeah it was fine. Sheldon is aghast. What do you mean fine, he asks. Well, she says, it was great except for the glaring story problem. What are you talking about, Sheldon insists.

Indiana Jones plays no role in the outcome of the story, Amy says.

Without Indiana, the Nazi’s would still have found the arc. They would still have taken it to the island. They would still have opened it. They would still have had their faces melted off.

Sheldon is appaled. His jaw drops.

I have been thinking about self-destructive villains, because in the adult novel I’m working on, it’s the way I see my own villain’s demise. But I want to do it well. How do you make this kind of self-destruction satisfying?

Now, though Amy’s point is totally valid, I still think Raiders works because Indiana himself is a very proactive character, making choices, and trying. It’s not as if he’s just sitting back and allowing plot to happen around him. But here’s an important question we maybe need to tackle first:

Why write a self-destructive villain in the first place?

I actually have a really hard time with self-destructive protagonists. It’s why I can’t handle shows like Breaking Bad. I mean, why would you want to watch Mr. Chips become Scarface?? Isn’t that upsetting?1

But for villains? Antagonists? Well, I love a good self-destructive bad guy. The evil queens that fall off a cliff. The Gollums that follow the ring into the volcano, destroying the evil power in the process. (Smeagol’s story is still very sad, though).

I think I find this kind of ending satisfying, when done well, because at least in my worldview, this is the ultimate outcome of bad and evil. And not even in the sense of some arbitrarily given definition of good and evil, with rewards handed out accordingly. I actually don’t believe in deserving in that sense, either punishment or reward. I don’t see humans as divided into winners and losers, we’re simply loved and the universe is trying to help us and give us what we need. (More on that in a future post).

But I do believe in certain fundamentals of the universe (like that love), where some things are sustainable, and some just aren’t (like greed and hate). It’s like universe physics. So when bad guys destroy themselves, it’s satisfying not because it’s what they deserve, but because it’s the natural outcome. It’s just what happens in the sort of universe I believe in, like what happens when you pop a water balloon.

And after all, it’s what has happened to some of our worst real world villains.

Oooh, look at that satisfying destruction. Credit.

So how do we write satisfying self-destruction?

With this understanding of why it might be interesting to write self-destructive villains, the next question is how. Specifically, how do we write these types of villain demises in such a way that it doesn’t feel like cheating, like an undeserved deus ex-machina? And especially, how do we do this in a way that doesn’t make our heroes/protagonists look totally lame?

Now, here’s where I think Raiders actually does a fine job—while the ending is literally a deus ex-machina (God is right there in that machine), it’s not literarily a deus ex-machina. In other words, some all-powerful but until now uninvolved being doesn’t suddenly come down and save the day in a way they annoyingly could have done the entire time. That’s the kind of ending that is unsatisfying.

Instead, there have been hints about the not-understood power of the arc the whole time. Indy treats that power with respect the whole time, and tries to get everyone else to comprehend the necessity of treating it with respect too. And it’s the freaking Biblical Arc of the Covenant, for heaven’s sake. In other words, it’s not shocking to anybody but the Nazi’s that the power in that box is too much for them. So even though they bring about their own destruction, we’ve been watching them ignore the warning signs the entire time. So it makes sense when they destroy themselves.

So to make this work—and what I’m going to attempt to do in my current WIP—you need these things:

A proactive protagonist. Indy isn’t sitting on the sidelines. He’s still protaging, even though he doesn’t land the ultimate final blow in this case.

Build up and promises. The ultimate demise of the Nazi’s in Raiders doesn’t come as a surprise, because we’ve been promised the whole time that this arc is something special.

Villain hubris. The Nazi’s in this story aren’t dumb. They, too, know that there is power in the arc. They are aware of the risks. But they simply aren’t willing to see a world where they might be wrong.

What else do you think a self-destructive villain story needs in order to succeed?

And who are your favorite self-destructive villains?

Let’s look at some of my favorites :)

The Smorgasbord is a hand-kneaded, hand-shucked, reader supported publication. Honestly, it takes a lot of time and effort to get these interviews, articles, and resources put together. To keep it cooking, become a paid subscriber and get access to special publishing resources, video courses, and more!

Subscribe now

11 Satisfyingly Self-destructive Villains

*spoilers, maybe?

1. The Skinjacker Trilogy, by Neal Shusterman

This is not only a great trilogy for readers in that weird liminal space between middle grade and YA, but it has one of my favorite self-destructive villain endings of all time.

2. Long John Silver, the muppet version:

Watching Tim Curry sail away in that rowboat so heavy laden with gold that it starts sinking is the perfect image of an antagonist literally being undone by their own greed.

3. The Wicked Witch of the West

Would Dorothy have thrown the bucket of water if the witch hadn’t set Scarecrow on fire? Well, would she?

4. We still love a sexy bad guy… Ok, who does this comic make you think of and why is it Andrew Scott’s Moriarty?5. Benjamin Linus from Lost

I know so many people have thoughts about the ending of this show, but me personally? Well, let’s just say that 99.9% of the reason I watched was for this man right here, and his ending—being left alone outside the church, waiting for redemption after all the bad he’d done—was simply perfect.

6. Saruman

Of the various villains in LOTR, I think Saruman is the most satisfyingly self-destructive. He underestimated the forests he was ravaging. He overestimated his importance in Sauran’s plan. He mistreated his minions. A perfect recipe for a self-destructive ending.

7. Randall Flagg, The Stand

Look, Mr. Flagg. Bring that much bad together, watchu think is gonna happen?

8. Azula, Avatar: The Last Airbender

There’s some good villains unvillaining themselves all around in ATLA, but one of the most satisfying (and sad) is Azula. A perfect example of a baddie spiraling out of control.

9. Doc Ock, Spiderman 2

I cannot tell you how delighted I was when Alfred Molina came back as Doc Ock in the most recent Spidey movie. (Talk about sexy bad guys!). But as far as a self-sacrificingly self-destructive villain, Doc Ock is one of the best. I almost find the self-sacrificing reformed bad guy the most satisfying self-destruction option of all. (But then again, once they’ve sacrificed themselves, it’s hard to ever think of them as a real villain, isn’t it?)

10. Jafar

Jafar just can’t get no satisfaction. No power was enough, and now he’s stuck in an itty bitty living space.

11. Javert

One of the most well-written, amazing, human, heart-breakingly self-destructive characters2 in all of literature, not to put too fine a point on it.

How about you? Who are some of your favorite self-destructive bad guys?

Teachers, librarians, and homeschool parents, I would love to do a free virtual Q&A with your class or book group! If you’re interested in scheduling a visit you can reach out to me via my website. Let me know how I can support you! I’ve also got free classroom resources to accompany each book. You guys are rock stars!

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for coming along everyone! 1) Subscribe, 2) get a copy of the book bebes, and 3) keep glowing, you shining star you.

-Sarah

Links include Amazon Affiliate links where I may make a small commission.

Thanks for reading!

1

I know, I know, that’s the whole point. Whatever.

2

I don’t know that I could ever call Javert a villain. He’s certainly Valjean’s antagonist, but man is he trying to do what is genuinely good. I know, I know, a lot of villains believe that about themselves, but give me this one. Javert is amazing, if completely misguided.

What Writers Get Wrong About Working in Government, with Richard Culatta

From the Writing Desk:

Goodbye, October. I miss you already.

But I can still find those spooky vibes by staring into the black void

On the writing front, I turned in a chapter book just hours ago that I ended up becoming more and more excited about the more I wrote. It was my first historical book, so I got to glimpse the research process/requirements that hard core historical fiction writers go through, and wow it’s intense. But really fun. More on this chapter book in the coming months!

I’m now in a…fuzzy and interesting place with writing. Basically I’m at the starting and brainstorming point on a few new things. I’m ready to dive back in on my adult novel, and on the kid lit front, I had a great convo with my agent this last month about next steps. There are so many possibilities! Another spooky middle grade? Go back to contemporary? Illustrated chapter books? Picture books? I love all of these options. And honestly, I have a few ideas buzzing around in each of them. But right now it feels like all the ideas are fireflies, and I’m trying to be patient and let the right one land.

And…crucially…today is election day here in the United States. If you haven’t already, go vote. This is a big one. I know we’re all going to be buzzing balls of electric anxiety today, and I wondered about even sending anything out on a day like this, until I decided to do it on purpose to maybe, hopefully, be a tiny glimpse of calm, positivity, or just distraction in people’s inboxes today. Who knows. But regardless…keep hoping and VOTE VOTE VOTE.

(And hey, if you have a minute to leave a brief 1 liner review for The Nightmare House or Monster Tree on Amazon, definitely so so helpful and appreciated. Something to take a few minutes away from election anxiety, right?)

Onward!

The Smorgasbord is a hand-kneaded, hand-shucked, reader supported publication. Honestly, it takes a lot of time and effort to get these interviews, articles and resources put together. To keep it cooking, become a paid subscriber and get access to special publishing resources, video courses, and more!

Subscribe now

What Writers Get Wrong About Working In Government, with Richard Culatta

I’m so excited about this one you guys!!

With it being election season (day!!) I knew I wanted to get someone who could talk intelligently about their experience working in government, and I knew immediately who that person was going to be.

Richard Culatta is CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Prior to joining ISTE, he served as the Chief Innovation Officer of the state of Rhode Island and was appointed by President Barack Obama to lead the US Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology. He is the author of Digital for Good: Raising Kids to Thrive in an Online World. Richard also happens to be my cousin, but don’t hold that against him. Truly one of the smartest people I know, and the guy for EdTech info.

Welcome, Richard!

1. What do writers (of books, movies, TV, etc.) often get wrong about working in government?

Many books and movies paint government workers as bureaucratic zombies who delight in making process more complicated. The reality is that the vast majority of government workers are very dedicated people who went into government service out of a commitment to make the world a better, safer, healthier, place. They often work under conditions that are far less conducive to their work - and get paid far lower salaries - than someone doing the equivalent role in the private sector. And most hate bureaucracy as much as anyone else. Sure, like any large organization, there is a deadbeat or two in the mix - someone who is just counting down the days until retirement - but those people are few and far between. And they are definitely not a good representation of the amazing, dedicated cadre of civil servants that go far beyond the call of duty to serve the general public. For some inspiring examples, check out the Sammies awards.

2. What is an unexpected aspect of working in D.C./for the government that the average person might not know about? The kind of thing a writer could include in their book that might make it feel more authentic?

I don't think the average person realizes how many constraints public servants operate under. There is a law that prohibits government workers from asking the same question to more than 10 people. That makes it really hard to get feedback on projects or input on new programs. There is a regulation that prohibits making more than 100 color copies without seeking permission from congress. There are rules that don't allow you to hire the most qualified person for a job - or even be allowed to see everyone who applied for a job. This makes it very hard for government managers to build effective teams.

Most technologies that are readily available to the public are prohibited for government use because of the onerous tech requirements. Most digital tools and apps have to be special "government versions" with much of the functionality removed. All of your emails can be made public at any point meaning you have to think through how something could show up in the press every time you write an email. When making significant changes to policies or grant programs, details must be posted for 90 days for public comment before they can be implemented (sometimes twice) which makes it hard to be responsive to citizen needs. All of these constraints combined make it exponentially harder for civil servants to get the same tasks done that someone might be able to do in the private sector.

I once described working in the government as feeling like you were doing your job in one of those sumo wrestler suits that makes it really hard to walk or move, with the expectation that you keep pace with everyone else around you. It's hard to hear people who are critical that government employees "can't get things done" or "move too slowly." All of the constraints aren't an excuse to not effectively serve the public - it just means that for civil servants to make impactful changes, it requires a significantly greater lift than most people realize.

3. You're an EdTech expert--what is something you think children's authors specifically should be aware of about the modern educational technology landscape?

There aren't nearly enough examples of kids using technology in meaningful ways in kids' books. Yes it's true that devices can be used for mindless purposes - watching videos, playing games that aren't creative (ahem cookie clicker). But those same devices can also be very powerful tools for enhancing creativity and curiosity. How technology is used is 100% dependent on how we model tech use for young people. This is a textbook case of self-fulfilling prophecy. We need way more stories and examples of young people using technology to help them solve problems, stay connected with their families and friends, and make their virtual and physical communities a better place. This is even more urgent as AI tools become increasingly available and force us to grapple with the question of how AI could help us become better at being human. If you need some examples of what this looks like, check out my book Digital for Good: Raising Kids to Thrive in an Online World.

Thank you so, so much Richard! It was an honor, and thank you for your work and your time. Make sure you check out Digital For Good and learn more about Richard on his website!

What I’m Reading: I had a few really great reads this last month. First, The Mythmakers, a graphic novel about the friendship between C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Honestly you guys, this is one of my favorite books-as-object that I’ve found in a long time. This one straight up had me sobbing.

I also finally had a chance to read The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County by the amazing and it was fantastic. Esther is one of my favorite characters that I’ve read in a long time. More representation of religion and 60/70+ characters please.

What I’m Watching: The John Williams documentary just came out on Disney+ and I know everyone’s talking about it but so am I. So incredible. What a legacy.

THANKSGIVING ABCs: Since it’s Thanksgiving month, and I know we could all use a little reminder to breathe and think grateful thoughts today, myself included.

What I’m Poeming:

“Every time we think we've measured our capacity to reach a challenge, we look up and we’re reminded that capacity may well be limitless.”

—President Bartlett, The West Wing

Writing Opportunity: Monster season may be over, but monster lovin’ season is just beginning! Check out this anthology for monster romance stories from Graveside Press! Due April 30th.

Teacher or Librarian? I would love to do a free virtual Q&A with your class or book group! If you’re interested in scheduling a visit you can reach out to me via my website. Let me know how I can support you! I’ve also got free classroom resources to accompany each book. You guys are rock stars!

Thanks for coming along everyone! The best way to support is to 1) subscribe, 2) get a copy of the book bebes, and 3) keep glowing, you shining star you.

-Sarah

Links include Amazon Affiliate links where I may make a small commission.

Thanks for reading!

9 Poems for People Who Don't Like Poetry

The way poetry splits people fascinates me.

By splits I mean both what poetry does to people’s brains and feels, but also the way, when you say ‘Poetry,’ some people roll their eyes, some people gaze fondly into the middle distance, and some people even put their noses in the air, wondering if you actually know what poetry means.

Basically, there’s not a lot of neutral reaction to poetry.

And honestly, not just within groups, but within a single person. I myself am very split on poetry. If I’m being entirely honest, I’d say 85% of poetry makes me want to roll my eyes and chuck the poem over my shoulder, and 15% makes me want to roll around in the page and leaves me jaw-dropped at the poet’s brilliance. That 15% include some of my favorite words ever written.

If poetry is on one end of what many might consider an accessibility spectrum, then the other end might be television. (Although, short form video like TikToks and Reels are probably even further towards the “accessible.”)

Well, I refuse to accept this premise. Poetry is both accessible and not, and so is TV (and short form video. Truly, what the heck is skibidi toilet I have tried to understand. Definitely not accessible.)

With all this in mind, I’m starting a new project that I got the idea for years ago, the first time I watched through M*A*S*H* and thought to myself, you could write entire poems using just lines from these episodes. Introducing…

Meatball Poetry is a new newsletter: poetry for people who watch too much television, plus behind-the-scenes resources for poets who can quote old movies front-to-back.

What we’re going to be doing there is simple:

Weekly poems written entirely using lines from episodes of television, movies, etc.

Honestly, I hope that sounds as fun to you as it does to me.

This idea of writing poems using lines from other things isn’t new. In fact there’s a format term for it: a cento. Although centos are traditionally new poems using bits and lines from old poems, we’re going to be doing the same thing, except with movies and television.

You can go HERE to find out more about this project, and more about what we’re doign to be doing. If you subscribe, you’ll get a bonus meatball poem written entirely with lines from the pilot episode of Cheers!

In addition to a weekly meatball poem, Meatball Poetry will also include spotlighted poems from classic and modern poets that I love. Poems that are part of that 15% glorious percent, and that I think even those of us with television rotted brains can understand, appreciate, and be in awe of. (Did I end that sentence with a preposition because of television??)

But today, here at the Smorgasbord, I thought we could also look at some of that special poetry. Poems for people who might think they don’t like poetry, but who maybe just haven’t discovered the myriad flavors that poetry has to offer, and the one particular flavor that hits them just right. I’m gonna try and offer up some of those best flavors today, at least the ones that I personally love.

You’ll see a couple familiar names here. In particular, Billy Collins and Mary Oliver, who for me are sort of the mama and the papa of “accessible” poetry (although I wish I could think of a better word for what I mean, because the word ‘accessible’ can sometimes get condescending reactions. But our point here is to ignore that hoity-toitiness.) Then hopefully you’ll find some new goodies too.

A regular diet of good poetry can make a world of difference.

So, here we go! Check these out, and make sure you also subscribe to Meatball Poetry for more weekly poetry goodness!

The Smorgasbord is a hand-kneaded, hand-shucked, reader supported publication. To keep it cooking, become a paid subscriber and get access to special publishing resources, video courses, and more!

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9 Poems for People Who Don’t Like Poetry from A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver from Sailing Alone Around the Room, by Billy Collins. A classic in defense of my whole premise here. Glad to be team Billy. from God Went to Beauty School, by Cynthia Rylant from Elegy Owed by Bob Hicock. With marginalia from my MFA program ehehe from Jimmy’s Blues and Other Poems by James Baldwin from The Tormented Mirror by Russel Edson. When I read him and realized how utterly bonkers and weird poetry (and prose poetry!!!) could be, I fell in love all over again. from The War Poems of Wilfred Owen. Perhaps the most haunting poem I’ve ever come across. Proof that poetry can have shockingly violent power. The latin translates as “It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.” from Sinners Welcome, by Mary Karr from The Abridged History of Rainfall, by Jay Hopler

Thanks for reading, and remember to subscribe over at Meatball Poetry for more poems every week!

Thanks for coming along everyone! 1) Subscribe, 2) get a copy of the book bebes, and 3) keep glowing, you shining star you.

-Sarah

Links include Amazon Affiliate links where I may make a small commission.

Thanks for reading!

Build A Monster

 Teachers and parents, looking for activities for your littles? New fun activities posted weekly!

You can download the full size PDF here!

Book Recommendation: Nimona 
The movie is out now on Netflix, but the book is even better!
***Thanks for joining! Please feel free to pass this along to parents, teachers, or anyone else looking for some fun kids activities!
Sign up for my monthly newsletter, and preorder The Nightmare House today!
*The activities on this site are available for free download, and are to be used in educational and/or private settings. They may not be used elsewhere or for profit without written consent.
**The above contains affiliate links

Summer Reading Activity for (Spooky) Kids

Looking for reading activities for your summer? I hope to start posting weekly games and activities, starting with this! 

You can download the full-size PDF here!

Thanks for joining! Please feel free to pass this along to parents, teachers, or anyone else looking for some fun kids activities!
Sign up for my monthly newsletter, and preorder The Nightmare House today!
*The activities on this site are available for free download, and are to be used in educational and/or private settings. They may not be used elsewhere or for profit without written consent.

An Author's Many Hats

Happy Monday! And happy March! So glad to have January and February over and done with, yeah? I'm feeling the tireds and the winter-time blues, so let's see if we can push through together!

An Authors Many Hats: 

What other hats do we authors wear?

When Are You Gonna Write Real Books for Adults?

A Question For Teachers:

@sarahallenbooks Hey teachers! especially elementary and middle school teachers. I have a question for you. #teachersoftiktok #teacherlife #teachertok #teachertiktok ♬ Blue Blood - Heinz Kiessling

Book Recommendation: This book by Delilah Dawson is so well written and lots of good spooky fun! You and your upper-middle grade readers will love it.

 ***

Thanks for joining! 

Sign up for my monthly newsletter, and preorder The Nightmare House today!