Tag: Middle Grade

12 Days to Release: Rejected Titles

For day 12 of #18DaystoMGDebut, the prompt is rejected titles for THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST, and that means I have to make a confession: I’m terrible at coming up with titles. The original title for this story had a spoiler, so I won’t share the whole thing, but it started with The…
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13 Days to Release: Snack That Fueled Writing the Book

I don’t know what it is about snacking and writing, but they go together so well. It’s a good thing I also like to write on the treadmill, because for day 13 of #18DaystoMGDebut, my preferred snack that fueled the writing of THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST are extra dark chocolate chips from…
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14 Days to Release: Strangest Place I Worked on the Book

When I saw the prompt for day 14 of #18DaystoMGDebut, strangest place I worked on THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST, the answer came to me straight away: the Lodge of Death. Twice a year, a group of writer friends rent out a lodge on a lake and spend a weekend silently writing, with…
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Book Birthday Bash: The House That Lou Built

  Happy Book Birthday to THE HOUSE THAT LOU BUILT! Everyone, #MeetLOU! Lou’s twelve, loves DIY, and has a big dream: to build her own tiny house. Lou comes from a huge extended Filipino American family and while she loves them dearly, she sometimes longs for a space of her own (what kid doesn’t?!). However,…
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15 Days to Release: Place Where I Wrote Most of the Book

I began writing THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST when we were living in Houston, but to answer the day 15 prompt for #18DaystoMGDebut, I finished the first draft and wrote most of the revisions here in Austin in the same house where I’m typing this now. I’m not much of a coffee shop…
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16 Days to Release: Place That Inspired the Book’s Setting

For day 16 of #18DaysToMGDebut, I’m talking about what inspired the book’s setting. THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST opens in one of my favorite places: a beach, golden sand stretching out against a never-ending blue ocean, with waves creeping up then retreating, creeping and retreating. I grew up in the Caribbean, and the…
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Book Birthday Bash: Just Under the Clouds

  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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Book Birthday Bash: The Spirit of Cattail County

  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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Book Birthday Bash: The Boy From Tomorrow

  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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Book Birthday Bash: The Battle of Junk Mountain

  Happy Book Birthday to THE BATTLE OF JUNK MOUNTAIN! In this middle-grade novel, twelve-year-old Shayne has always spent summers on the Maine coast, visiting her grandmother Bea and playing with her BFF Poppy. Both Shayne and Bea are collectors of sorts: Shayne revels in golden memories of weaving friendship bracelets with Poppy, while Bea scours…
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