These are strange times we're living through, but we writers have a choice. We can use the time at home to scour the internet for the latest news, check twitter obsessively, or drown our worries and sorrows in the loud noise of entertainment/social media offerings, or we can write. We can shake this world off, leave it and the sorrows behind as we enter the world of our imagination, and write. When this is over, [...]
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner! Okay, we have several winners! Before I get to those who won, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who entered. It’s a privilege to read your stories. If you don’t see your name below, take heart! Every writer you love has lost contests, received rejection letters, or gotten a bad review. At the end of the day, all that matters is that you created a story [...]
It's Monday! Sure, it's not everyone's favorite day of the week, but I love them. Why? Because they signify a brand new start, an opportunity to get things done and make a great week. Truth is, every single day that we wake up and draw breath gives us an opportunity to keep going. Keep writing, keep believing, keep doing the thing that makes our hearts sing. So don't let a Monday bring you down. Get [...]
Stop beating yourself up, reading and deleting all of those sentences that sounded so good when you wrote them, but now? Ugh. Now, you want to throw your computer in the trash. It's a lie. All of it. You can do this. Just keep writing. That's what this process is about. You write, you revise, you polish, you discard and you keep. But it all begins with writing. Keep going, You've got this.
If you're like me, you're looking back at a lot of wasted days in 2019 when you should have been writing. We've all been there. You have the best of intentions but life has a way of interfering. You're handed a big project, the flu makes its way through your house one family member at a time, the constant barrage of cable news! But guess what? Today is a new day. Find a minute to [...]
Happy New Year! As you can see, we're celebrating in style with a new name and a new look. Why the change? Although we had a lot of fun with the Mafia theme over the past few years - it does have a certain "negative" connotation. Since we're all about encouragement here at MGM, we thought it was time for a glam-up. Who is ready for a fresh shot of Middle-Grade Mojo?? We're excited to [...]
Congratulations to everyone who entered The Bertie! All of the entries were great and we had such a HARD time choosing the winners. If your name is listed - congratulations! Lisa Lewis Tyre will be getting in touch with you soon to mail your check. If your name is not listed - don't worry. Every member of the Mafia has had stories that didn't win. It's part of being a writer. But the awesome thing [...]
We are so honored to bring you the first look at the cover of RISE OF THE DRAGON MOON, by Gabrielle K. Bryne! Is it not absolutely beautiful??? I want to know this girl; I want to BE this girl. A good cover is so important to a book and this one is breathtaking. I mean, look at the wrap! If this book had come out when I was twelve, I would have stuck this beauty [...]
It's here, it's here, it's finally here! Happy Book Birthday to BUBBA AND SQUIRT'S BIG DIG TO CHINA by Sherry Ellis. We're super excited about this book release because Sherry is in our critique group and we've seen first hand how talented she is! The Blurb: You can't dig a hole to China! Squirt doesn't believe Bubba can dig a hole to China. But when the hole swallows them, the kids find themselves in Xi'an, China, [...]
I knew that I'd like CAN I TOUCH YOUR HAIR by Irene Latham and Charles Waters because I was already a BIG fan of Latham's work. Her book, WHEN THE SUN SHINES ON ANTARCTICA, is one that I gift to every animal-loving kid I know. Still, I wasn't prepared for the full-blown love I'd experience when reading her newest. The blurb: How can Irene and Charles work together on their fifth-grade poetry project? They don't know each [...]
