Authors Shelly Brown and Chad Morris have a new middle-grade novel out called MUSTACHES FOR MADDIE and we got the 4-1-1 from Shelly! (Four questions we ask every author, one Mafia’s choice, and one photo.) FOUR Shelly, what was the inspiration for this book? This book was inspired by the true story of our daughter who has an inexplicable love of mustaches, eats too many potatoes, and was diagnosed with a brain tumor in elementary school. We [...]
Author Natalie Rompella has a new middle-grade novel, COOKIE CUTTERS & SLED DOGS, we got the 4-1-1. (Four questions we ask every author, one Mafia's choice, and one photo.) FOUR What was the inspiration for this book? My love of sled dog racing. And baking. What is your writing process? (Do you write every day? A certain number of pages? etc…) I write almost 365 a year. It is rare I don’t write anything. For freelance [...]
I had the opportunity to preview RAISING RUFUS by David Fulk before it came out this month and it was one exciting story. Martin Tinker, a shy sixth grader who enjoys exploring the woods behind his family home, finds an odd looking rock in a quarry that he wasn’t supposed to be in. So, he does what any kid might do – he brings it home. When this frozen rock souvenir thaws out and hatches [...]
Guest Post by Jen Malone I’m a tiny bit obsessed with reading about other author’s creative processes, hunting for the one nugget of wisdom that will solve all my writing woes and turn me into Judy Blume overnight. Alas, despite the glowing testimonials I’ve seen, I can’t write standing on my head (or on a treadmill, it turns out) and every time I head to Pinterest to start a Book Setting inspiration board, I end [...]
We love to showcase emerging authors and illustrators on Middle Grade Mafia, sharing their work with our audience. Today we have the amazingly talented Dora Mitchell. She was nice enough to share about her work, process, and her love for coffee. Middle Grade Mafia: The cover art you created for EXTRAORDINARY SAM AND THE ADVENTURER’S GUILD is full of great details and clearly shows that the story is filled with magic and adventure. How much [...]
I am a big fan of Debbie Ohi’s illustrations and love both of the picture books she illustrated for Michael Ian Black, I’M BORED and NAKED so when I learned that she was illustrating the new covers and interior art for the update to my favorite Judy Blume books, I had to ask Debbie for an interview for our blog. Alison: Debbie, I have to start with asking you to share how you got the [...]
In our ongoing series to highlight the great artist who create the amazing cover art of MG novels, we had a chance to get to know the talented Keith Campbell. His work has been on a number of MG covers, as well as PB, but you may have seen his work in the Newberry Award winning book FLORA & ULYSSEYS. Middle Grade Mafia: Keith, when you get hired to illustrate a book cover and/or interior art, what is the first thing you [...]
“In 1998, Jeff Kinney came up with the idea for Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a story about a middle-school weakling named Greg Heffley. Jeff worked on his book for almost eight years before showing it to a publisher in New York.” – www.wimpykid.com As both a writer and an illustrator, I was excited to have the opportunity to interview Jeff for the Middle Grade Mafia. His books, which have changed the genre to include [...]
While PB illustrators get their names on the front cover, the artist who create beautiful covers for MG novels is hard to come by. We tracked do Neil Swaab, the artist behind GIRL ON A WIRE, and asked him a few questions. Luck for us, he agreed to answer! Alison Hertz: When you get hired to illustrate cover and/or interior art, do you read the book or skim to get an idea? Neil Swaab: I [...]
In the effort to introduce the wonderful artist behind the great MG covers, Brian Biggs took the time to answer a few of our questions. You may have seen Brian’s amazing work on such MG books as the ROSCOE RILEY RULES series and the FRANK EINSTEIN books (you’re actually getting a sneak peek of the new book cover prior to its release!). Now to the questions… Middle Grade Mafia: When you get hired to illustrate cover and/or [...]
