For day 17 of #18DaysToMGDebut, I’m talking about my favorite comp title for THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST. When I was first pitching this book, my comp titles were HATCHET by Gary Paulsen meets TV’s LOST. Pretty accurate, I think, and I love both of these. Gary Paulsen’s HATCHET is about a 13-year-old…
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THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST comes out in stores in 18 days! And that means I get to start my own #18DaysToMGDebut countdown. If you haven’t seen it, the #18DaysToMGDebut hashtag was developed by the lovely Laurie Morrison, a fellow 2018 middle-grade debut author whose book, EVERY SHINY THING, co-written with Cordelia Jensen,…
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Happy Book Birthday to JUST UNDER THE CLOUDS! JUST UNDER THE CLOUDS is a middle grade novel about a homeless girl, Cora, in Brooklyn, trying to understand where she belongs and how she’ll find a place for her family to call home. It’s about sisters and friendships and climbing trees, all while surveying the…
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Happy Book Birthday to THE SPIRIT OF CATTAIL COUNTY! In this middle-grade novel, Sparrow doesn’t have many friends. Some kids believe her house near the swamp is haunted. Others think there’s something “unusual” about her. But Sparrow’s not lonely — she has a best friend who’s always with her. He sits with Sparrow on…
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Saturday marked the one month pre-versary of the release of THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST and there are so many thoughts running through my head and emotions in my heart. I’ve loved stories since I was a kid. I was obsessed with spending as much time as possible at the library. No amount…
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Happy Book Birthday to THE ACCIDENTAL BAD GIRL! In this young adult novel, after getting caught hooking up with her best friend’s ex on the last day of junior year, Kendall starts senior year friendless and ostracized. She plans to keep her head down until she graduates. But after discovering her online identity has…
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Happy Book Birthday to WHEN THE BEAT DROPS! In this young adult novel, 17-year-old Mira has always danced to her own beat. A music prodigy in a family of athletes, she’d rather play trumpet than play ball—and with her audition to a prestigious jazz conservatory just around the corner (and her two best friends…
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Happy Book Birthday to TINY INFINITIES! In this funny, heartfelt, beautifully written story of family and friendship, thirteen-year-old Alice’s determination to set a swim team record for the Cherrywood Sharks anchors her through the summer when her parents split up and she’s taking care of her mom, who’s suffering through a period of deep…
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Happy Book Birthday to THE BOY FROM TOMORROW! In this middle-grade novel, Josie and Alec both live at 444 Sparrow Street. They sleep in the same room, but they’ve never laid eyes on each other. They are twelve years old but a hundred years apart. The children meet through a handpainted spirit board—Josie in…
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Last Saturday was National Independent Bookstore Day, and while I was busy with the Austin SCBWI 2018 Writers & Illustrators Working Conference all weekend, I didn’t want a week to go by without a celebration. Along with libraries, independent bookstores are the backbone of the publishing industry and the best friends of authors and readers.…
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