Kim Batchelor

Writer of magical realism and other imaginative fiction

Writing Indie Middle Grade

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This week is all about Middle Grade: writing it, indie publishing it, and especially marketing it! As you may know, reaching those elusive middle grade readers is tough, doubly so when you’re indie published. Plus there are giveaways (see below)!
Here’s the schedule:
MONDAY:
Warrior Faeries and Math Magick: How Susan Kaye Quinn is using a Virtual Author Visit video and Teacher’s Guide to reach readers with her MG novel, Faery Swap.
TUESDAY:
Faery, Fairy, Sweet and Scary: a discussion with MG author Kim Batchelor on writing about Faeries in kidlit.
WEDNESDAY: 
Sci Fi for the Middle Grade Set: a discussion with MG author Dale Pease about writing SF for kids.
THURSDAY: 
Writing Indie MG: a roundup of indie MG authors (Michelle Isenhoff, Elise Stokes, Lois Brown, Mikey Brooks, Ansha Kotyk) about why they write MG and how to reach readers, including their indie MG author Emblazoner’s group catalog.
FRIDAY: 
Marketing Indie Middle Grade – The Hardest Sell – about reaching MG readers as an MG author.
Writing Indie Middle Grade
with Emblazon authors Michelle Isenhoff, Elise Stokes, Lois Brown, Mikey Brooks, Ansha Kotyk
intro by Susan Kaye Quinn


Introduction by Susan Kaye Quinn
Indie publishing is the new cool thing, but there’s still a genre where reaching readers with indie works is really tough: middle grade. But children’s authors are passionate about what they write, and passionate about reaching their young readers. This passion shows in the Emblazoner’s group of 20 indie MG authors (of which I’m a member). We recently went in on an ad in Middle Shelf magazine, an online mag that spotlights cool reads for kids. Here’s what the ad will look like:

A wise man once said, “Write your name on the heart of a child.”
We hope to emblazon our stories there.
(I just love it.)
As a group, Emblazoners share information about marketing, help promote each other, and generally support each other as we write our books and try to get them in the hands of middle grade readers. One of the innovative things that the Emblazoners have already done is put their works in a catalog, available for download and sent to teachers and librarians twice a year.
Gorgeous, yes?
You can subscribe here.
Today we have a roundup of five Emblazoners (indie MG authors), talking a bit about why they write middle grade, how they reach readers, and a spotlight on one of their books (most of our authors have several).

When Michelle Isenhoff isn’t writing imaginary adventures, she’s probably off on one. She loves roller coasters, big waves, big dogs, high school football games, old graveyards, and wearing flip-flops all winter. You can find out more at her website.

Why Michelle writes MG: Michelle Isenhoff never outgrew middle grade fiction. She loved the innocence and beauty that characterize classic children’s lit so much that she went into elementary education then tried her hand at her own story. She’s now written eight!
How Michelle reaches her readers: Teachers, librarians, and homeschoolers are on the literary frontlines, getting good books into the hands of kids. That’s why Michelle offers free digital copies of her novels and free lesson plan materials to educators on her website.
The Candle Star (Divided Decade Trilogy, 1) – Free everywhere!
Kindle | Nook | Print
Runaways hidden in the barn, slave catchers housed in the hotel, and Emily squeezed between two very different loyalties.

Elise Stokes lives with her husband and four children. She was an elementary school teacher before becoming a full-time mom. With a daughter in middle school and two in high school, Elise’s understanding of the challenges facing girls in that age range inspired her to create a series that will motivate girls to value individualism, courage, integrity, and intelligence. The stories in Cassidy Jones Adventures are fun and relatable, and a bit edgy without taking the reader uncomfortably out of bounds. Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula, Cassidy Jones and Vulcan’s Gift, and Cassidy Jones and the Seventh Attendant are the first three books in the series. Book Four, Cassidy Jones and the Luminous, will be released in 2014. You can find more at her website.

Why Elise writes MG: A good adventure story absorbed me during those turbulent years (Come on, the angst, self-doubt, and desire to blend in are still very fresh for you, too. :)). I hope to provide the same escape for other young readers, and ignite their imagination while doing so.

How Elise reaches her readers: Carve out characters that are relatable, facing the emotional challenges they are and managing to triumph. A good sense of humor is a must; quirkiness is a plus, too.
Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula (Cassidy Jones Adventures, Book One)
Kindle | Nook | Print 
Discover how fourteen-year-old Cassidy Jones gains superpowers in her first action-packed adventure.

Lois Brown’s  love of all things fantastical began when her five older brothers made her watch television shows such as “Dr. Who” and “Lost in Space.” (Yes, the originals.) Now she likes to write her own stories that spark the imagination. Her first novel, CYCLES, was a top 5 finalist of The Kindle Book Review’s “Best YA Indie Books of 2012.” You can find more at her website.
Why Lois writes MG: Writing middle grade books is like reliving the best part of your childhood–along with some of the worst. It’s a time in life that falls between still being a child but realizing there is more to the world besides your bedroom and elementary school.
How Lois reaches her readers: Lately, I’ve been reaching out to my middle grade audience during “enrichment times” at middle and junior high schools. In my area, schools have about 30 to 40 minutes per week when the students (who don’t have detentions) get to choose between several educational activities. I arrange my author visits through the school librarians. I sell some paperback books, give out bookmarks to my ebooks, enjoy talking with the teens, and consider my time spent as “undercover” research.
Cycles (Cycles Series)
Kindle | Nook | Print
When a pair of misfit teens uncover disturbing experiments conducted in the basement of their neighbor’s house, they become entangled in medical research that could destroy their lives and forever alter the human aging process.

Mikey Brooks is an author/illustrator, freelance cover designer, daddy of three girls, and a dreamer. He’s published several books including the bestselling ABC Adventures: Magical Creatures as well as The Dream Keeper Chronicles. You can find more at his website.

Why Mikey writes MG: When I was twelve I fell in love with a middle-grade series and it changed my life. L. Frank Baum opened not only his world of Oz to me, but he planted a seed that later made me the man I am today. I learned from his stories to be brave, to believe in myself, and most importantly—that magic is real. I write middle-grade books because these are the stories I would have loved to read when I was a kid. They are stories that I hope inspire others.
How Mikey reaches his readers: First in order to “reach” middle-grade readers, you need a book that connects with them. The characters have to be real and relatable. Once you have a story that touches their hearts, it only takes time for others to see it.
The Dream Keeper (The Dream Keeper Chronicles, 1)
Kindle | Nook | Print | Audio
Dreams: Dorothy called it Oz, Alice called it Wonderland, but Nightmares call it HOME.
Ansha Kotyk writes upper middle grade and young adult novels that take a reader on a journey to remind them, not only of the importance of imagination, but of the bonds of friends and family. You can find more at her website.
Why Ansha writes MG: I love to write middle grade fiction because the age range for the characters is at a time in life when they are a child working to become an adult. There’s a great deal of tension built on that alone. Another reason is that middle grade readers are full of awesome.
How Ansha reaches her readers: I have found the best way to reach middle grade readers is through school visits.
Gangsterland (Ink Portal Adventure #1)
Kindle | Nook | Print
Jonathan wishes he could hide from the middle school bully and suddenly finds himself inside his comic book. With a murder to solve and a girl to rescue, can he draw the way out before they both become the next victims?
To see her video, click here.
More Middle Grade Coolness coming up this week! Enter the Giveaway below from all the participating authors!

 

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Middle Grade Science Fiction: An Interview with Dale Pease

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This week is all about Middle Grade: writing it, indie publishing it, and especially marketing it! As you may know, reaching those elusive middle grade readers is tough, doubly so when you’re indie published. Plus there are giveaways (see below)!
Here’s the schedule:
MONDAY:
Warrior Faeries and Math Magick: How Susan Kaye Quinn is using a Virtual Author Visit video and Teacher’s Guide to reach readers with her MG novel, Faery Swap.
TUESDAY:
Faery, Fairy, Sweet and Scary: a discussion with MG author Kim Batchelor on writing about Faeries in kidlit.
WEDNESDAY: 
Sci Fi for the Middle Grade Set: a discussion with MG author Dale Pease about writing SF for kids.
THURSDAY: 
Writing Indie MG: a roundup of indie MG authors (Michelle Isenhoff, Elise Stokes, Lois Brown, Mikey Brooks, Ansha Kotyk) about why they write MG and how to reach readers, including their indie MG author Emblazoner’s group catalog.
FRIDAY: 
Marketing Indie Middle Grade – The Hardest Sell – about reaching MG readers as an MG author.
Middle Grade Science Fiction
with Dale Pease and Susan Kaye Quinn
Sue: Dale, what inspired you to write science fiction for the middle grade set?
Dale: I can remember distinctly the transition from “children’s books” to “real” books when I was a kid. I read a lot of books like “The Mouse and the Motorcycle” and the “Hardy Boys.” But it wasn’t until the day I picked up “The Hobbit” for the first time that I truly fell in love with reading. As I look back, I truly believe this was the moment when I could have just as easily stopped being a reader altogether. Kids today, especially boys, are much more likely to quit reading after children’s books become too childish. That’s why I LOVE middle grade books. When done well, they can be a fantastic transition for kids, and a way of turning them into life-long readers.
I’m especially drawn to writing stories to keep boys in love with reading, and I think Science Fiction is a great way to do that. When books about talking animals, and school bullies become a little too simplistic, sci-fi can really grab a kid’s imagination.
There is a downside, of course. Boys do, in fact, give up on reading around the tween years. So publishers, who are in it to make money like everyone else, don’t market many books to this demographic. And that is where the indie-author can step in. We can write books just as exciting and polished as the big publishers produce, but we don’t have the overhead, so we can fill in the gaps.
The Noah Zarc trilogy is one such series of books. Although girls (and adults) have loved it, I primarily wrote it to be a story boys would feel a connection with. It is meant to help create life-long readers, and maybe, just maybe, keep boys from turning away from reading. And one day, like me, a boy can say they’re so glad they never did.
Sue: Dale, your point about indie authors filling in the gaps is so important, I want to say it again: 

Dale: “Indie authors create books just as exciting and polished as the big publishers produce, but we don’t have the overhead, so we can fill in the gaps.”

I’m a firm believer that the way you hook kids into reading and keep them reading, is making sure that you’re always putting books in their hands that they will enjoy. This is a constant challenge for parents, because it’s not just a one-time job. And kids are all different, and their tastes change as they grow. So having a variety of books available is incredibly key to keeping kids engaged. My own middle grade science fiction – my first novel I wrote intending to publish it – was turned down by publishers precisely because it wasn’t broad enough to appeal to everyone. But it was never intended to do that. And it’s just the kind of book that will appeal to certain kinds of kids, including those reluctant boy readers. Someday, I hope to get around to revising and publishing that one as well, now that I’ve dipped into the MG pool with my fantasy-with-science-elements book Faery Swap.Kids also love series, and Dale has a full trilogy out with his Noah Zarc series, with gorgeous interior illustrations, drawn by Dale himself – lots of SF for MG kids to love!

D. Robert Pease is the author of the Noah Zarc series, the upcoming fantasy, SHADOW SWARM, and the upcoming Joey Cola series. He lives in the grey-skied world of Northeast Ohio. You can find out more at his website.
Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble (Noah Zarc Book 1) 
Kindle | iTunes | Nook | Print | Audio
In a future where Earth has been wiped clean of all life, and humanity has moved on to other worlds, twelve-year-old Noah Zarc and his family have embarked on a quest, in a time-traveling spaceship called the ARC, to retrieve two of every animal and repopulate a dead world.

Susan Kaye Quinn is the author of the bestselling Mindjack Trilogy, which is young adult science fiction, and several adult fiction stories. Faery Swap is her foray into middle grade, which is her first writing love. Her business card says “Author and Rocket Scientist” and she always has more speculative fiction fun in the works. You can subscribe to her newsletter (hint: new subscribers get a free short story!) or stop by her blog to see what she’s up to.

 

Faery Swap
Kindle | Nook | Print

Fourteen-year-old Finn is tricked into swapping places with a warrior faery prince and has to find his way back home before the dimensional window between their worlds slams shut. Faery Swap is on tour March 3rd – March 21st with a $25 gift card and magick wand giveaways! Sign up here.

More Middle Grade Coolness coming up this week! Enter the Giveaway below from all the participating authors!

 

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Faery, Fairy, Sweet and Scary

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This week is all about Middle Grade: writing it, indie publishing it, and especially marketing it! As you may know, reaching those elusive middle grade readers is tough, doubly so when you’re indie published. Plus there are giveaways (see below)!
Here’s the schedule:
MONDAY:
Warrior Faeries and Math Magick: How Susan Kaye Quinn is using a Virtual Author Visit video and Teacher’s Guide to reach readers with her MG novel, Faery Swap.
TUESDAY:
Faery, Fairy, Sweet and Scary: a discussion with MG author Kim Batchelor on writing about Faeries in kidlit.
WEDNESDAY: 
Sci Fi for the Middle Grade Set: a discussion with MG author Dale Pease about writing SF for kids.
THURSDAY: 
Writing Indie MG: a roundup of indie MG authors (Michelle Isenhoff, Elise Stokes, Lois Brown, Mikey Brooks, Ansha Kotyk) about why they write MG and how to reach readers, including their indie MG author Emblazoner’s group catalog.
FRIDAY: 
Marketing Indie Middle Grade – The Hardest Sell – about reaching MG readers as an MG author.
Faery, Fairy, Sweet and Scary
with Susan Kaye Quinn and Kim Batchelor
Most of us are introduced to Tinker Bell and fairies as cute but contentious little creatures that, if we are lucky, we might find in the bushes outside our window. But in the Irish and Scottish myths that gave birth to these creatures, they were not always sweet or cute. The original faerie (or fairie, if you will) stories came from myths about the Tuatha Dé Danann, a race of people in Irish Mythology gifted with supernatural powers. Fairies were known as aos sí, aes sídhe, or simply the sidhe, and some—like the banshee or bean sí—were in mythical reality faeries who wail near those close to death. (And hence the term “screaming like a banshee”.) Yikes! Imagining (and reimagining) those faeries has been happening in literature ever since. Today, Susan Kaye Quinn and Kim Batchelor chat about the kind of faeries they have in their middle grade fantasies, and where the inspiration for those stories came from.
Sue: Kim, you have the classic Tinkerbell fairy in your Peter Pan re-imagining, The Island of Lost Children. But first, tell me a bit about your (not yet released) book, The Mists of Na Crainn, and how you imagined the fairies in that story.
Kim: Several years ago, while driving home after an evening of teaching, I learned a few things about fairies that I never knew. Throughout the journey on a long stretch of highway, a Celtic music station played a series of eerie songs in recognition of the night before Halloween. Faeries kidnap mothers and their babies and take them to caves where they are held captive. Listen. When it’s completely quiet, you can hear their songs calling out to you to rescue them. “You’re part fairy, aren’t you?” Somewhere on the drive, that line came into my mind and gave birth to the story that would later become my book, The Mists of Na Crainn (not yet in print but hopefully soon). Imagine learning that you were part of a race of people prone to stealing women and babies, among other bad practices, and you never knew it. That became Lyric Doherty’s story, and in the book I introduced her to her classmate, Andrew, whose mother, along with his brother, also went missing, never to be found. I loved writing about a mythical place coexisting alongside of the world as we know it.
Sue, your book, Faery Swap, takes those fairy myths to a completely different level. In your story, this mythology is clearly situated in our world, with tension, conflict, and adventure suitable for the middle grade reader. The two boys at the center of the story and conflict each find themselves located on an unfamiliar side of the rift between the Otherworld and our world. Where did the inspiration for your story come from?

Sue: I was also driving in the car, oddly enough! (That’s where I seem to find many of my ideas!) I wanted to write a middle grade fantasy, but with science elements. With my background in science and engineering, I always like to bring some of that into my stories – and I love the intersection of the mystical and the scientific because, to me, science is magical! Not only because today’s mysteries are tomorrow’s science, but because the idea that we can understand how the universe works by applying our minds to it is wondrous to me!

 

Kim: I love how you combine science and magik. I work in clinical research, so science is important to me, too. In The Mists of Na Crainn , “pixies” have taken over all the leadership positions in the Village Na Crainn and banned the teaching of all but the most rote and boring information. In pursuit of what they’re not being taught, Andrew introduces Lyric and her friend Saoirse to the Arbor Fair, where forbidden knowledge on science and math combine with the fantastical.

Sue: I love the forbidden science! Nice.

Kim: How do your characters combine the two?

Sue: In Faery Swap, my warrior faeries use knowledge (specifically mathematics and science) to enhance their faery powers – they command the elements but also a dimensional magick just by virtue of their birth as faeries. But their powers are increased when they acquire new knowledge about how the universe functions. In the story, the faeries travel from their Otherworld to Earth, swapping places with humans to steal their knowledge and bring it back to the Otherworld. Our knowledge is literally their power… and I love the message that sends to kids. (Along with a rollicking good fish-out-of-water adventure for both my faery and human protagonists!) Kim, what kind of powers do your faeries have, and how does that affect their interactions with humans?
Kim: Our knowledge is their power. That’s literally fantastic. In The Mists of Na Crainn, Fairy have the ability to “soar” in the wind, melt into and move through the mists, use potions, and through a strong connection with nature have the ability to manipulate it, for ill or good.  The anti-science “blunt thinkers” not only affect village life, they have a connection to the evil forces in the Otherworld, where Lyric searches for her mother.
In Island of the Lost Children, Belatresse the Fairy can fly, shrink down in size (she’s slightly smaller than most children) to fit into a pocket uncomfortably, and, of course, influences child archers to shoot unsuspecting 12-year-old girls out of the sky. Human children know it’s best to stay out of her way, or can easily divert her attention with a couple of packets of granulated sugar.
Sue: Ok, all those powers sound like tremendous fun! And I love that the anti-science people are “blunt thinkers!” Thanks for chatting faery (and fairy) lore with me today!


Susan Kaye Quinn is the author of the bestselling Mindjack Trilogy, which is young adult science fiction, and several adult fiction stories. Faery Swap is her foray into middle grade, which is her first writing love. Her business card says “Author and Rocket Scientist” and she always has more speculative fiction fun in the works. You can subscribe to her newsletter (hint: new subscribers get a free short story!) or stop by her blog to see what she’s up to.

 

Faery Swap
Kindle | Nook | Print

Fourteen-year-old Finn is tricked into swapping places with a warrior faery prince and has to find his way back home before the dimensional window between their worlds slams shut. Faery Swap is on tour March 3rd – March 21st with a $25 gift card and magick wand giveaways! Sign up here.

Kim Batchelor writes for children and adults. She writes fiction short and long, real and fantastical, foreign and domestic. Her first published book is The Island Of Lost Children, a re-imagining of Peter and Wendy. 


 The Island of Lost Children

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The Island of Lost Children: The story of Peter and Wendy set in modern times.
More Middle Grade Coolness coming up this week! Enter the Giveaway below from all the participating authors!

 

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Warrior Faeries and Math Magick

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This week is all about Middle Grade: writing it, indie publishing it, and especially marketing it! As you may know, reaching those elusive middle grade readers is tough, doubly so when you’re indie published. Plus there are giveaways (see below)!
Here’s the schedule:
MONDAY:
Warrior Faeries and Math Magick: How Susan Kaye Quinn is using a Virtual Author Visit video and Teacher’s Guide to reach readers with her MG novel, Faery Swap.
TUESDAY:
Faery, Fairy, Sweet and Scary: a discussion with MG author Kim Batchelor on writing about Faeries in kidlit.
WEDNESDAY: 
Sci Fi for the Middle Grade Set: a post with MG author Dale Pease about writing SF for kids.
THURSDAY: 
Writing Indie MG: a roundup of indie MG authors (Michelle Isenhoff, Elise Stokes, Lois Brown, Mikey Brooks, Ansha Kotyk) about why they write MG and how to reach readers, including their indie MG author Emblazoner’s group catalog.
FRIDAY: 
Marketing Indie Middle Grade – The Hardest Sell – about reaching MG readers as an MG author.

Warrior Faeries and Math Magick
by Susan Kaye Quinn
Middle Grade Is Tough
Publishing middle grade novels isn’t easy. It’s hard along the traditionally published route unless you happen to be writing what publishers are looking for. I know this first-hand from querying my first middle grade novel (a space opera) only to be told it was great, but could I please rewrite it to be more like A Wrinkle in Time? (note: my book was nothing like A Wrinkle in Time) I naively thought there weren’t MG SF novels like mine on the shelf because no one had written them! Unfortunately, things aren’t any easier on the self-publishing side: kids themselves don’t generally discover their own books on Amazon, and reaching the teachers, librarians, and parents who recommend books to kids can be difficult when mainstream children’s reviewers still close their doors to indie published authors.
Taking the Leap
But times are changing. More kids have ereaders and are discovering they can shop from their devices. More teachers, librarians and parents are discovering indie works that they themselves enjoy and aren’t as dependent on the mainstream children’s reviewers to find quality works. And indie MG authors are getting savvy about how to reach their readers. So I finally took a deep breath and launched my first middle grade title, Faery Swap.
Middle Grade Fantasy
Kindle, Nook, Print
Warrior faeries can be very stubborn.
Especially when they possess your body.
Fourteen-year-old Finn is tricked into swapping places with a warrior faery prince and has to find his way back home before the dimensional window between their worlds slams shut.

Knowledge is Power when Math is Magickal
In Faery Swap, warrior faeries steal mathematical knowledge from humans to enhance their magickal faery powers. This message embedded in the book – that knowledge is power and math is magick – is one I’m passionate about and hope will reach middle grade readers. I knew I could do that with author visits to the classroom, but there’s only so much time in the day. So I created a Virtual Author Visit, so any teacher, anywhere on the planet, could share this message with their students.
For the 2 minute trailer, click here.
For the 8 minute video of an author visit, click here.

This dynamic video brings Author and Rocket Scientist Susan Kaye Quinn (Ph.D. Engineering) into your classroom, sharing her background in science and engineering and talking about her book, Faery Swap, where warrior faeries steal mathematical knowledge from humans to enhance their magickal faery powers. Then she shows how humans use math in the real world to do amazing things… even without magick to help them.

With the help of teacher-friend Risa Cohen, I designed a Teacher’s Guide to go with the video. These grade-level-specific activities follow Common Core Math standards and are designed to follow-up what students learn in the video, using the Faery Swap story to reveal the power of math and science in everyday modern life.
PART 1 – TEACHER’S GUIDE
Discussion Questions
Cause and Effect
Character Analysis
PART 2 – KNOWLEDGE SEEKERS GAME

A card-based game where students break into groups representing different Faery Houses and compete to gain points by convincing a Human (teacher) to give them Knowledge Cards. The 17 equations used to create the easy-to-print Knowledge Cards are based on the 17 Equations That Changed The World and give information about what each equation does, who invented it, and how it is used in modern everyday life.
Making it Simple
All of that provides teachers with what they need to bring the message (knowledge is power) into the classroom. But how to entice teachers to consider taking a peek at these materials? And how to tempt students to read the book? I met with the principal of my kids’ school to ask for help. He was enthused, but wanted simpler materials to get things started. (a one page handout for teachers, a two-minute trailer for kids).
So, naturally, I hopped right on it!
2 minute trailer

One Page Summary for Teachers

What Teachers Can Do
If you’re a teacher (or you know one), I hope you’ll consider using the author visit video and Teacher’s Guide to bring the magick of math into your classroom. You can play the trailer to get kids excited about the book (for example, my kids’ school is putting it on the morning announcements). I’m happy to send you FREE bookmarks for your class. You can share the one page summary with your colleagues to see if they’re interested in doing a unit with the book. The videos and range of activities means you can spend as little as two minutes in the classroom (book trailer) or design a whole Common-Core based unit around it. The book comes in print and ebook – if your classroom has access to ereaders, I would be happy to give you ecopies for FREE. Or I can get you classroom discounts on the books.  Please email me to make arrangements: susankayequinn (at) comcast (dot) net

What Librarians Can Do
If you’re a school (or public) librarian, the trailer can be used as an introduction to the book, should you choose to stock it in your library. I would also be happy to send you FREE bookmarks to pass out as prizes to your students.

What Parents Can Do
Recommend the author visit and activities to your favorite teacher! Or you could just show your kids the trailer and see if they’re interested. If you tell them there’s a Knowledge Seekers card game to go with it, that might intrigue the gamers among them. All the activities (and even the author visit video) are designed to work both inside and outside the classroom, for homeschoolers or for parents looking for supplemental educational activities for a cold Saturday afternoon or long summer day.

Reaching Middle Grade Readers
This is just one prong of a multi-approach marketing plan for reaching middle grade readers. I’ll be talking more about the other aspects of middle grade marketing at the end of the week, with Marketing Indie Middle Grade – The Hardest Sell.

This tagline for Faery Swap works for indie authors as well as kids…
Always keep learning… just in case!

More Middle Grade Coolness coming up this week! Enter the Giveaway below from all the participating authors!

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Imagining Neverland with Heather Killough-Walden

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Heather Killough-WaldenHeather Killough-Walden counts 6 series and trilogies and multiple books within each of these in her body of work as an independent author. I got to know her first Neverland book while researching the market for my own book, The Island of Lost Children , based on the Peter and Wendy story. Heather’s Forever Neverland is for young adults (YA) while I intended my book for middle grade readers. I enjoyed reading her modern take on the story, with Peter on a motorcycle and Wendy and her brothers dealing with the aftermath of their time with him.

Heather and I are visiting in a virtual Victorian parlor something like this one drinking hot Irish Breakfast tea (Heather’s with soy milk) and nibbling on sugar-free dark chocolate bars. Come and sit down, have a cup, and listen in on the conversation.

Heather’s latest book in the series, Beyond Neverland, is available on Amazon.

heather killough-walden book coverKB: You have an impressive body of work—series on werewolves and warlocks and other beings that lurk in the night. I understand that you started with a vampire series and your writing career took off from there. Where did your original vampire(s) come from?

HKW: I fell in love with The Count from Sesame Street when I was very little. My fascination with the night-dwelling be-fanged just grew from there.

KB: What I like to focus on in my blog conversations is exploring what inspires us and where our imaginations take us. What would be the most interesting inspiration you can describe for any of your numerous books/characters/settings?

HKW: Well… I’ve been all over the world, but I guess there’s no place truly as interesting as a person’s imagination. My dreams give me a lot of ideas for characters. Sometimes inspiration just strikes out of the blue, with no provocation. Music can also trigger images, as I like to create music videos in my head when I listen to songs. I was listening to Mitternacht when I saw Roman D’Angelo for the first time – gracefully hacking and slashing his magnificent vampire way through his enemies to reach the throne he occupies now.

KB: I’m interested most of all in your two Neverland books: Forever Neverland and Beyond Neverland, which you recently released. What sparked your interest in re-imagining that story?

HKW: I’ve always felt unsatisfied with the book. I felt as if it opened a door and then wouldn’t let anyone through. It was full of possibilities left unexplored, and fantastic things undiscovered. Especially when it came to Hook. I had never in my life read a more two-dimensional character. I very much felt there was so much more to him than, sadly, because of the way the book was written, anyone even cared to learn. And then I saw the 2003 production of Peter Pan with Jason Isaacs, and that sealed it. It was time for me to tell Neverland’s real story.

KB: How did you decide to age and “modernize” those characters?

HKW: You write what you know. I didn’t live in Victorian times and I had no desire to reawaken the overly romanticized version of them – they were anything but romantic, after all. They were misogynistic, ignorant, disease-ridden, and backwards. So I brought the characters into a time where they could fully develop and then I sat them down and said, “Okay. Tell me your stories.” And so they did. Hook’s was especially gratifying.

KB: One of the most compelling aspects of your book—and this is something that struck me after I finished reading it—is how Wendy’s storytelling is being stripped away from her. I find that aspect of the story powerful and incredibly tragic. So Wendy’s “story inspirations” (Peter, Hook, etc.) rescued her. I’d like to hear your thoughts on that aspect.

HKW: It’s exactly what you said. Society attempts to strip away the magic from us, the imagination. The result is a kind of death. This happens to millions of people every day and no one gives a thought to how tragic it truly is. I wanted people to see it – and understand it. Fortunately for Wendy, her imagination was strong enough to step in and save her.

KB: I realize after reading your work how Wendy’s storytelling ability has mostly “flown” under the radar.

HKW: There are so many talented people out there whose stories will never be read due to the circumstances of how our literary society is set up. Traditional print publishing made it next to impossible. EBook reading devices made it a little easier, but now that market is so flooded, all of those truly talented people are drowning in a sea of people who think they are talented but perhaps are not so much. So the result is the same. Thousands, if not millions, of magical imaginations go unnoticed. I just wanted to shed light on one – just one – and hopefully help some readers to comprehend that if Wendy’s stories are never heard by society, then maybe there are others who aren’t being heard? Perhaps we should attempt to listen a little harder?

KB: Given that Kathy Rigby is still touring in Peter Pan, what do you think makes this story so compelling?

HKW: Well, to be honest, I can’t see the appeal in a woman playing Peter Pan. At all. However, I think just about everyone sitting in the audience has experienced the desire to fly. All it takes is faith, trust, and pixie dust, right? Who wouldn’t get on board with that?

KB: What would your Neverland look like?

HKW: If you’ve read the book, then you know. (smiles) But if you’re asking me what my own fantasy world would look like… wow. I’m afraid even I am not a good enough storyteller to convey such wonder.

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