The Writer’s Block: Deborah Wiles on Writing MG Historical Fiction

Deborah Wiles is an award winning author of many books for children. Today, we highlight Deborah’s 1960’s trilogy detailing this difficult time in American history. Through these stories, Deborah proves that this decade can be relevant and understood by today’s middle grade readers. She successfully immerses the reader into the time period by mixing historical documents with the wonderfully authentic story of 12-year-old Sunny Fairchild during the 1964 Freedom Summer in Greenwood, Mississippi. Countdown – 1960’s Trilogy book one [...]

By |2015-08-02T21:06:46-04:00July 20th, 2015|Author Interview|0 Comments
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MG Book Review & Giveaway: Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty

Serafina lives in the basement of the grand Biltmore estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Her father works on the estate as a mechanic, keeping the newly invented Edison machine operating so the Vanderbilts and their guests will have electric lights. The Vanderbilts don’t know that Serafina and her father live in the basement. They don’t even know that Serafina exists. Her father has kept her a secret for years because Serafina isn’t quite normal. She [...]

By |2015-07-08T13:55:56-04:00July 8th, 2015|Book Review|0 Comments
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The Writers Block: An Interview with Dan Gemeinhart

I recently reviewed Dan Gemeinhart’s debut MG novel, THE HONEST TRUTH and was blown away by the pure emotion and courage of a boy on a life-or-death adventure. Since this is Dan’s first published novel, I was curious about his inspiration and his path to publication. He took time out from his teaching job and writing his next book to talk to us. Middle Grade Mafia: Your portrayal of a child with cancer seems very [...]

By |2015-06-10T21:15:08-04:00May 29th, 2015|Author Interview|2 Comments
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The Writers Block: An Interview with Ridley Pearson

I had the pleasure of meeting NY Times best selling author, Ridley Pearson, at a recent book signing for his latest release, The Return. The small bookstore was busting at the seems with Kingdom Keeper fans and people were lined up outside in the rain to get an autographed book. Seeing the excitement on children’s faces when they met Ridley made it clear that he has reached celebrity status—not something many authors can say. I asked Ridley about his books as well as some [...]

By |2015-05-01T15:50:56-04:00May 6th, 2015|Author Interview|0 Comments
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MG Book Review: The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart

Mark has been sick on and off for years. When the latest tests come back, he knows he’s in for another round of treatments and long hospital stays. Maybe for the last time. Mark’s grandfather shared his love of mountain climbing with his grandson. Ever since, it’s been Mark’s dream to climb Mt. Rainier. He knows this is his last chance. So, he runs away with Beau, the best dog ever, and heads for the [...]

By |2015-04-28T15:56:56-04:00May 4th, 2015|Book Review|0 Comments
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The Writers Block – An Interview with Laurel Snyder

Laurel Snyder is a dynamic author of five novels and six picture books. Her middle grade novel, “Seven Stories Up” is being released in paperback on April 28th. Laurel is a funny, honest and extremely busy author. We recently asked Laurel about her writing journey and passion for the middle grade genre.   Middle Grade Mafia: Middle Grade has become a popular category, however some define the age range differently. I understand you’ve had some [...]

By |2015-04-28T15:50:02-04:00April 27th, 2015|Author Interview|0 Comments
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Inspiring STEM Through Fiction with Jordan Stratford

Jordan Stratford’s new middle grade series, The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency features some very clever and clandestine girls. Best of all, the characters are based on two brilliant girls in history, Ada Lovelace (the world’s first computer programmer) and Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein). The story is set in authentic 1826 London. Jordan’s passions for history, science, math, and literature come together perfectly in these books! I asked Jordan how he came up with such an inventive idea. Middle Grade Mafia: [...]

By |2015-05-05T20:39:59-04:00April 20th, 2015|Author Interview|1 Comment
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Book Review: The 26-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths

  Andy Griffiths has truly mastered the art of exaggeration. If I didn’t know better, I would think he had a time machine and went back to his childhood to conjure up the stories in his book. Then, he came back to present time so Terry Denton could illustrate them. What kid wouldn’t like an antigravity chamber, a bumper car rink or a maze of doom all built in a treehouse. And, what parent wouldn’t [...]

By |2015-01-10T20:39:45-05:00January 7th, 2015|Book Review|0 Comments
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The Writer’s Block: An Interview with Chris Grabenstein

Chris Grabenstein is the author of the New York Times bestseller ESCAPE FROM MR. LEMONCELLO’S LIBRARY and the co-author (with James Patterson) of the #1 Bestsellers I FUNNY, I EVEN FUNNIER, and TREASURE HUNTERS. Chris, First off, thank you for being a part of our interview series. It is an honor to have you share your thoughts. Now, the questions… MGM: You have an incredible background – performing improv, writing for The Muppets, and as [...]

By |2014-12-31T16:08:30-05:00December 31st, 2014|Author Interview|0 Comments
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The Writer’s Block – Writing a Trilogy with F.T. Bradley

There seems to be a trend in the industry to write books in trilogies. One great example in the middle grade genre is the Double Vision action adventure trilogy by F.T. Bradley. The third book in the series The Alias Men is launching this week. F.T. Bradley recently shared some insight with the mafia about writing her exciting trilogy. Middle Grade Mafia: For those who haven’t discovered DOUBLE VISION, please tell us a little about the stories and [...]

By |2014-10-15T14:16:33-04:00October 13th, 2014|Author Interview|0 Comments
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