Heidi Schulz's Blog, page 11

Heidi—Live and In Person

Shhh. If you are very, very quiet, you might soon be able to see a rare Heidi in the wild. Check it out:

This Sunday I’ll be at A Children’s Place Bookstore in Portland with a panel of other 2014 debut kidlit authors.  We’ll give you a sneak peek and a reading from our upcoming releases. This will be the first time I will publicly read from Hook’s Revenge. Who knows what might happen? Maybe I’ll forget how to read! Maybe I’ll throw up! Maybe I’ll sneezefart and have to move away and change my name! You really won’t want to miss this. Details here.

Next weekend I’ll be giving a SCBWI workshop on using Twitter in your writing career.  Details here.

I’ll have Hook’s Revenge postcards and bookmarks at both these events. I’m happy to sign one for you.

I mean, if you want.

(Though I can’t quite imagine that anyone would care about my signature unless they are trying to forge loan documents or some such thing. Please don’t do that.)

P.S. There’s still time to win an advance copy of Hook’s Revenge over on The Midnight Garden YA. Go now or forever be sorry.

 

In the Middle with Louise Galveston

Today on In the Middle, we are speaking with Louise Galveston, author of By the Grace of Todd.

Todd’s room borders on Hoarders-level messy. We’re talking Roomageddon here. When his mom gives him the ultimatum to clean it or miss his best friend’s birthday bash, Todd makes an amazing discovery: he has created an entire civilization of ant-sized people from the sheer grossness on his filthy sock. The “Toddlians” put their faith in their all-powerful creator, but can the kid who can’t even keep a hermit crab alive save them from Max Loving, the biggest bully at Wakefield Middle School?

By the Grace of Todd is available on Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Indiebound, and bookstores near you.

Q&A with Louise

What draws you into writing for a middle grade audience?

I was an early reader, but it was the books I read during my middle grade years that inspired me to want to actually try new things. You know, eat fried worms (I attempted this, but couldn’t bring myself to swallow it down!), write everyone’s secret lives in a spy notebook, and sleep with my feet on my pillow, a la Pippi Longstocking. Somehow I never quite got away from my middle grade self. She’s still chasing crazy dreams and trying to figure out where she belongs in the world. Only she’s usually disguised as a twelve-year-old boy. My sense of humor is definitely stuck in sixth grade!

If you had a time machine and could visit middle grade you, what would you tell her?

Keep your head in the clouds, Dreamer. Don’t listen to the “cool kids” who want to clone you into one of their followers. Don’t give up playing the trumpet, drawing, riding horses, or dancing. You won’t have buck teeth forever, Bugsy. Even though you think tiny town Kansas is the end of the earth, don’t despair, your future husband is on that dusty yellow bus, right across the aisle from you. (I think I’d hold back the part about having eleven kids to give the husband a fighting chance.)

Choose your own adventure: Is there an interview question you’d love to answer, but haven’t been asked?

If you could spend a day with any author, who would it be?

I’d like to go back in time and hang out with Lucy Maud Montgomery. I’d pick her brain about writing humor and yet being such a genius with setting… in my mind she’s the consummate writer. I’d also like to show her how much her work would impact the world and encourage her in her last days.

Great interview questions, Heidi! Thanks for having me, this was fun!



Thank you, Louise, and congratulations on your launch!

Louise Galveston grew up on horseback in the Midwest. The only thing that could pull her out of the saddle was a great book or a game of Star Wars. The lone girl in her neighborhood, she always got to play Princess Leia, thus her mad lightsaber skills. (Yes, she had the cinnamon roll side-bun hair.) Louise even cleaned her room on occasion, but never found anything but a rogue hamster under her bed. Louise still lives in the Midwest. When she’s not writing, she directs children’s theater and dabbles in watercolor. She is proud to say that some of her eleven children have inherited her horsey genes and all of them love Sea-Monkeys. (Her first obsession with tiny creatures.)

Connect with Louise on her website or a special website created for By The Grace of Todd, twitter, Facebook, or Goodreads.

In the Middle with Gayle Rosengren

This week, we are In the Middle with Gayle Rosengren and her middle grade debut, What the Moon Said.

Thanks to her superstitious mother, Esther knows some tricks for avoiding bad luck: toss salt over your left shoulder, never button your shirt crooked, and avoid black cats. But even luck can’t keep her family safe from the Great Depression. When Pa loses his job, Esther’s family leaves their comfy Chicago life behind for a farm in Wisconsin.

Living on a farm comes with lots of hard work, but that means there are plenty of opportunities for Esther to show her mother how helpful she can be. She loves all of the farm animals (except the mean geese) and even better makes a fast friend in lively Bethany. But then Ma sees a sign that Esther just knows is wrong. If believing a superstition makes you miserable, how can that be good luck?

Debut author Gayle Rosengren brings the past to life in this extraordinary, hopeful story.

Advance praise for What the Moon Said:

“A coming-of-age tale gets to the heart of family dynamics in the face of drastic life changes in the earliest days of the Depression… Sensitive and tender.” — Kirkus

“…heartwarming story…engaging historical fiction” — Booklist

“…Esther makes the most of each day, asks little, and gives much.” — Publishers Weekly

What the Moon Said is available on Barnes and Noble, Amazon, IndieBound, and bookstores near you.

Q&A with Gail

What draws you to writing for a middle grade audience?

I write middle grade because I think it’s key to creating life-long readers.  Newly independent readers who discover the thrill of being caught up in compelling fictional worlds or illuminating non-fictional ones will almost certainly be book lovers forever.  The door to reading is always open but never so wide and invitingly as it is during the middle grade years when youngsters are discovering for the first time the amazing places that a book can take them.  These books often make such indelible impressions on readers that they remember them years after closing their covers. Writing for middle graders is a unique opportunity to touch children’s lives in a truly significant way.  It’s a privilege and a responsibility that I embrace as enthusiastically as these readers embrace their favorite middle grade books.

If you had a time machine and could visit middle grade you, what would you tell her?

I’d say, “Don’t be afraid to dream of someday writing books like the ones you love.  Being an author is within your reach if only you love words and stories enough and will work hard, have faith in yourself, and never give up.”

Choose your own adventure: Is there an interview question you’d love to answer, but haven’t been asked?

I’d ask, “You say that your mother and grandmother were the inspiration for your book.  Does that mean it’s not really fiction?”

What the Moon Said is definitely fiction.  It was the relationship between my mother and my grandmother that inspired the storyline, and even that was just my impression of their relationship.  It wasn’t necessarily correct or “true”.  A few incidents in the book were inspired by true events, but even those were changed in the telling for dramatic purposes.  My mother and her girlhood provided the seeds for any number of possible stories.  I planted them in a certain way and coaxed them to bloom in a unique pattern, to create a story that I hope readers will perceive as beautiful.

It was a pleasure having you, Gayle. Congratulations on your debut!

 

Gayle Rosengren writes full-time in her home just outside of Madison, Wisconsin, where she lives with her husband, Don, and slightly neurotic rescue dog, Fiona. Gayle is living her dream, writing books she hopes will make the same difference in children’s lives as her favorite books and authors made in hers. What the Moon Said is her first novel. Connect with her on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

On My Mind: February 26, 2014

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Book news! Hook’s Revenge has a cover and you can see it!

Head over to The Midnight Garden—YA for Adults to see the full jacket (I love the back cover almost as much as the front), hear my thoughts about it (Spoiler: lots of these !!!!!), and enter to win an advance reader copy and some pirate treasure!

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Speaking of advance reader copies, I just got home from New York and these where waiting to welcome me home.



This. Is. Happening.

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Speaking of New York, I had an absolutely lovely time. I went to the Bi-Annual International SCBWI Conference. I spent time with friends. I ate pie.

Here I am looking awful with people I quite like: my agent, Brooks Sherman, and 2015 debut author Adam Silvera.

If this wasn’t so blurry, you’d see me looking less awful with more people I like very much: both my editors, Mary Kate Castellani (Bloomsbury Kids) and Rotem Moscovich (Disney*Hyperion).

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I was only gone a few days but when I came home, bulbs were popping up through the ground. I think spring is on the way. Hallelujah! Our chickens should start laying again soon.

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I am sort of obsessed with the Coraline soundtrack at the moment. Especially this song:

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In the Middle with Natalie Lloyd

This week we are In the Middle with Natalie Lloyd, author of the wonderful A Snicker of Magic.

Introducing an extraordinary new voice—a magical debut that will make your skin tingle, your eyes glisten . . .and your heart sing.

Midnight Gulch used to be a magical place, a town where people could sing up thunderstorms and dance up sunflowers. But that was long ago, before a curse drove the magic away. Twelve-year-old Felicity knows all about things like that; her nomadic mother is cursed with a wandering heart.

But when she arrives in Midnight Gulch, Felicity thinks her luck’s about to change. A “word collector,” Felicity sees words everywhere—shining above strangers, tucked into church eves, and tangled up her dog’s floppy ears—but Midnight Gulch is the first place she’s ever seen the word “home.” And then there’s Jonah, a mysterious, spiky-haired do-gooder who shimmers with words Felicity’s never seen before, words that make Felicity’s heart beat a little faster.

Felicity wants to stay in Midnight Gulch more than anything, but first, she’ll need to figure out how to bring back the magic, breaking the spell that’s been cast over the town . . . and her mother’s broken heart.

A Snicker of Magic is available on Barnes and Noble, IndieBound, Amazon, and in bookstores near you.

Q&A with Natalie

What draws you into writing for a middle grade audience?

I find my way into a story through the characters, and I’ve realized I love writing younger characters. They’re still brave enough to wear their hearts on their sleeve, so imaginative and quirky-wonderful and vibrant. That said, I think college was sort of my own personal renaissance of rediscovering middle grade literature. I remember half-heartedly buying CHARLOTTE’S WEB to read as an assignment in my Children’s Lit class, and experiencing book-magic within the first few pages. My heart woke up, and I remembered how it felt to fall in love with a book. I like how hope flutters on the edge of a middle-grade novel. How wonder blurs the lines between reality and fiction. I love that the language can be playful and lyrical and still genuine. Truly, it’s not hard for me to remember how vulnerable, anxious, dorky and hopeful I felt in middle school. I still feel that way most of the time. I’m not surprised my heart found its way back to that place through my fiction.

If you had a time machine and could visit middle grade you, what would you tell her?

I would tell middle-school-me to put down the crimping iron. Step away from the perm! Especially on picture day. Actually, I would go back to the day I felt the most awkward, the most left-out, the most shy and insecure, and I would do exactly what my parents did: I would hug middle-school-me and tell her she’s great. And that she’s got so many incredible days ahead of her. And I would probably get a little weepy when I see the tattered Babysitters Club book on her desk. I know she wants to be an author someday. And I know things are going to work out better than she could ever imagine. But I wouldn’t tell her she gets to have a Scholastic tattoo on her book someday too, because that moment will be worth waiting for. I would tell her this bad day is a blink compared to some seriously dreamy days ahead. In fact, forget what I said about the perm. I would tell middle-school-me to rock that perm. Scrunch it! Aussie Gel, FTW!

Choose your own adventure: Is there an interview question you’d love to answer but haven’t been asked?

Well, I love to talk about my dog. So far, I haven’t talked much about why I put my dog in A SNICKER OF MAGIC. Like me, my main character, Felicity Juniper Pickle, has a feisty dog named Biscuit. Initially, Biscuit ended up in the story because I’m such a magpie about manuscripts: I have a horrible habit of making it halfway through a draft before another shiny idea catches my eye … and I jump at it. I thought if I could picture Biscuit running through the scenes, I’d be more excited about diving back in to the story every day. I think my idea worked. But pretty soon I realized Biscuit wasn’t just in the story to help me make it to the end. Felicity needed Biscuit as much as I do. (Now I’m wondering if my editor will think it’s weird if Biscuit makes a cameo in every book…)

Awww, I love Biscuit! I’m glad you both dropped in. Congratulations on your debut!

Natalie Lloyd lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She collects old books, listens to bluegrass music, and loves exploring quirky mountain towns with her dog, Biscuit. A SNICKER OF MAGIC is her first novel.

Connect with Natalie on her website, Twitter, and Facebook.

Valentine, You Warm My Heart

Valentines greetings from Krampus and me!

In the Middle with Rebecca Behrens

This week on In the Middle, we’re chatting with Rebecca Behrens, author of When Audrey Met Alice.

It is ridiculously difficult to get a pizza delivered to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

First Daughter Audrey Rhodes can’t wait for the party she has planned. The decorations are all set, and the pizza is on its way. But the Secret Service must be out to ruin her life, because they cancel at the last minute for a “security breach,” squashing Audrey’s chances for making any new friends. What good is having your own bowling alley if you don’t have anyone to play with?

Audrey is ready to give up and spend the next four years totally friendless—until she discovers Alice Roosevelt’s hidden diary. The former first daughter’s outrageous antics give Audrey a ton of ideas for having fun . . . and get her into more trouble than she can handle.

When Audrey Met Alice is available on Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, Indie Bound, Indigo, Amazon, and at bookstores near you.

Q&A with Rebecca

What draws you into writing for a middle grade audience?

I’m fairly convinced that I am the world’s oldest living tween. And the older I get, the more I realize that the way I observed the world as a middle-grader—with wonder, optimism, and curiosity—is the way I’d like to look at it now. The middle-grade years are the age of discovery, and that leads to so much story richness. Most of all, middle-grade fiction is so much fun, to write and to read.

If you had a time machine and could visit middle-grade you, what would you tell her?

Don’t sweat the small stuff. Actually, don’t sweat some of the bigger stuff, too. I always was a worrier as a child, and a lot of what I fretted about, in retrospect, was silly. I’d tell middle-grade me that sometimes the best things happen when you venture even the slightest bit outside of your comfort zone.

Choose your own adventure: Is there an interview question you’d love to answer, but haven’t been asked?

Yes! I’d ask about any weird writing quirks. And then I’d tell that mine is that I’ve never actually typed the very satisfying words “The End.” It honestly never occurred to me to add that after a last line in a MS. After some writer friends shared that they always do (because aren’t we usually aching to get to those words?), I meant to celebrate finishing the last MS I wrote by typing “The End,” with a flourish—and then I forgot. Next time!

Thanks for stopping in, Rebecca. Congratulations on your launch!

Rebecca Behrens grew up in Wisconsin, studied in Chicago, and now lives with her husband in New York City, where she works as a production editor for children’s books. Previously, she helped create reading and literature textbooks for grades K-12. Rebecca loves writing and reading about girls full of moxie and places full of history. When she’s not writing, you can find her running in the park, reading on the beach, or eating a doughnut.



Visit her online at RebeccaBehrens.com or connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Homemade by Heidi: Valentines to Print and Use

It has become a bit of a tradition around here for me to create and share valentines for you to use. In 2012, they were the vastly popular Doctor Who themed valentines. Last year, I made conversation hearts.

I’ve continued the conversation hearts this year (because they are easy I care), with—not just one— but two themes.

First up, for those who have been in a relationship for a long time and want a special way to express exactly how you feel:

Marital Valentines Free PDF Download

I’ll be giving the Let Me Put My Cold Feet On You one to Walt. I can’t help it. I’m a romantic.

Up next, for the fellow writers among my readers, I’ve designed some cards for you to give your loved ones. I know they will appreciate them.

Writer Valentines Free PDF Download

I hope your loved ones enjoy receiving them as much as I enjoyed making them, however unlikely that may be. Happy Valentine’s Day!

In the Middle with Rachel Searles

Today, we are In the Middle with Rachel Searles and her Middle Grade debut, The Lost Planet.

This is what the boy is told:
 
- He woke up on planet Trucon, inside of a fence line he shouldn’t have been able to cross. 
- He has an annirad blaster wound to the back of his head. 
- He has no memory.
- He is now under the protection of a mysterious benefactor. 
- His name is Chase Garrety. 
 
This is what Chase Garrety knows:
 
- He has a message: “Guide the star.”
- Time is running out.

The Lost Planet is available on Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Indiebound, and bookstores near you.

Q&A with Rachel

What draws you into writing for a middle grade audience?

Middle grade books are the books that made me fall in love with reading, with classics like The Prydain Chronicles, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Ballet Shoes, A Little Princess. I read them over and over, adored them, pushed them on my friends, and knew right away that I wanted to write books of my own one day. I’ve tried writing for other ages, even adult, but it’s middle grade that makes me happiest.

If you had a time machine and could visit middle-grade you, what would you tell her?

I was such a little bookworm—I’d probably tell myself to go outside and get some fresh air once in a while! And to not worry about being a nerd, because nerds rule.

Middle Grade Rachel

Choose your own adventure: Is there an interview question you’d love to answer, but haven’t been asked?

No one’s asked me yet what superpower I’d like to have, and the answer to that is telekinesis. It would be like having the Harry Potter Accio summoning charm at my disposal all the time—no more lying on the couch and uselessly shouting “Accio phone I left upstairs! Accio bowl of cereal from the kitchen!” I could just stay under my blanket and make it all come to me, finally.

Oh my gosh, me too! At this very moment, I’d accio pie. Really, at any moment, I’d accio pie. Thanks for being here with us today, Rachel, and congrats!

Rachel Searles grew up on the frigid shores of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where she spent her childhood studying languages and plotting to travel around the world. She has lived abroad in Munich and Istanbul, working as a cook, a secretary, a teacher, and a reporter for the Turkish Daily News. She now lives in Los Angeles with her rocket scientist husband and two cats, and spends her free time cooking her way through the Internet and plotting more travel. Connect with Rachel on her website, Facebook, or Twitter.

Balance

I spent the last week writing a blog post about my never ending quest for balance but it sounded whiney and overly philosophical and (worst of all) boring, so I’m not going so post it.

Instead, I’ll share this video. Extrapolate from it whatever you like:

Now I’m going to answer some emails. When I’m done, I’ll close my laptop, read a bit, then run some errands. Tonight, I’ll cook a homemade meal and enjoy it with my family. I don’t do that every night anymore, but tonight I will. Sometime before dinner I might even get some laundry done.

But if I don’t, there’s always tomorrow.

Balance. I got this. (At least for today.)