Thought for the Day:
“In my later years, I have looked in the mirror each day and found a happy person staring back. Occasionally I wonder why I can be so happy. The answer is that every day of my life I’ve worked only for myself and for the joy that comes from writing and creating. “
~ Ray Bradbury ~
Gifts for My Writer Friends:
We all need to be really careful how we create our characters and not use stereotypes. HERE Tiffany Yates Martin has a guest post on Writers in the Storm that will help writers to Dig Deeper than Descriptions to Create Nuanced Characters.
Comps. Honestly, the word gives me chills, but I know I have to do this. HERE and HERE are parts I and II of Zeroing in on Comps by Angie Hodapp. This is the blog of The Nelson Literary Agency, so something to really pay attention to.
Writer’s Digest has a lot of good articles for free online. HERE is a great post on the 6 Golden Rules of Writing Middle Grade. This will help you out a lot with your MG novel.
We are having some lovely spring weather here after a week with a couple of very nice rainstorms. Hallelujah!!! Rain! And we might get more next week. It’s not nearly enough, but every little bit helps, and I’m grateful for what we get. I wish I could go out and run around in it, but I still have no energy or stamina. I did have a needle biopsy and they drained some fluid from my lung, but only enough to test, and guess what? It will take a week or so, so (sigh) no news for a while. But with the good weather and the terrific play of the Giants, life goes on with some excellent distractions. Let’s hear it for the Boys of Summer!
I don’t know how this book slipped off my radar. I guess because I gave my copy away a while ago. But, boy, howdy, did I love it. What a unique story for middle-graders (and the rest of us lucky enough to get our hands on a copy). Weird Kid by Greg Van Eekhout is one of my favorite books of the last year. When it showed up on the review list for the San Francisco Book Review, and I read a little about it, I had to have it. And I NEVER read sci-fi. But this is not your run-of-the-mill sci-fi. If you haven’t read it, find a copy and a few hours and give yourself a treat. Here is the review I wrote for SFBR.
Jake Wind isn’t like other kids. Twelve years earlier, a glob of goo fell to Earth. When Jake’s father touched it, it turned into a baby, and that was Jake. Sometimes feathers sprout from his fingers or, when swimming, he grows webs between his toes. Jake’s parents want to homeschool him, but he really wants to go to middle school. He makes a friend the first day. Agnes is into science and action comics. Jake reads the same comics, and he gets her. Sinkholes start appearing around town, and Agnes grabs some goo from one of them to study. It isn’t long until they discover the goo is changing people, taking them over. And Jake realizes the goo is exactly what he’s made from. Can Agnes and Jake save the town? Can they save Jake?
Greg Van Eekhout has written a funny and touching sci-fi story for middle graders that they will love. The characters are fully formed and believable––well, most of them are believable––and the voice of Jake in the first-person narrative is perfect for a twelve-year-old boy. The story is compelling and will keep readers engaged all the way through. This is a winner.
There won’t be a giveaway this week. I’ve already passed this one along. And I have no idea when I will be able to start going to the post office again, so no point in having a giveaway right now. Please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.
Rosi Hollinbeck 
I loved this book so much I bought Cog, which I loved also. This author has another book coming out this year, and I will be reading that one too.
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I haven’t read any of his other books, but I will keep an eye out for them. Thanks for stopping by, Danielle.
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Thanks for all of the great information this week besides the book recommendation, Rosi. I particularly found the Writers Digest article and the two articles on comps helpful.
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I’m glad you liked the links, Pete. Nice to see you here.
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Thanks for the helpful articles on comps. I’m struggling to figure out ones for my current manuscript. Hope you start feeling better soon.
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Comps are so hard, Natalie. I read everything I see about them and they are still hard. Good luck with your search.
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I’m glad that you enjoyed Weird Kid and hope you get some news and feel better soon. Have to say that the Bradbury quote makes him seem… a little selfish. Do love his work, though, so maybe he was justified.
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I thought long and hard about posting the Bradbury post, but I figured people could make up their own minds about it. It’s interesting. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
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Sounds a great book, and thanks for the other links! Hope you have better news to tell us next week!
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Thanks, Valinora. I hope so too. It is a great book. I hope you get a chance to read it.
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always love your helpful writer’s links. Thanks for sharing them, and your great book reviews.
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So glad you like the links, Sue. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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Glad you enjoyed a fantasy book. And, I’ll agree, this one is a winner. Great, just checked my library and they have copies. Wish my great was old enough for this book. Thanks for sharing!
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I really did like it, Patricia. It’s not my cup of tea usually. Your great will be old enough before you know it. Thanks for visiting.
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You can’s can’t say you never read science fiction any more;) Your compelling review has me heading to the library as they have a copy. The character and unique plot sound perfect for my MG reading tastes. Thanks for featuring your review on MMGM this week.
Great links even though I had read the third one many times before. Always good reminders. Excellent insights on stereotypes and comps in the other articles. Thanks again!
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I think you will really like this book too, Greg. It’s great. Glad you love the links. Thanks for the comment.
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I really appreciate the head’s up on this one as it really does sound lovely and I keep wanting to see some mg scifi really take off. Thank you!
I also really loved your Bradbury quote, and those links on comps. I’m with you in finding them terrifying but I guess we all have to face our fears… 😀
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I think you will really like this book, Suzanne. It’s so good. Glad you like the quote and the links. Thanks for stopping by.
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Interesting concept–that’s for sure! Thanks for the comp links too. Soon (I hope!) I’ll refer to them again.
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You’re welcome, Carol. This is a terrific book. Maybe one of your young reviewers would like to cover it. The comp article is good. Hope it helps at the right time.
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Feel better, Rosi! This book sounds quite interesting! May have to pick it up when I’m in the mood for a little Sci-Fi!
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Thanks, Maria. You will like this book when you get to it. It’s great. Thanks for stopping by.
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Thanks for all of this, Rosi! I hope you get good news soon and find yourself on the road to wellness. I loved the Bradbury quote. It reminded me of Albert Schweitzer. He was born incredibly wealthy but spent his adult life living very simply among African tribes healing the sick. Someone praised him for his sacrifice and he replied that he had always done exactly what he wanted and never had sacrificed anything.
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So glad you liked the quote. It got mixed reviews this week. Thanks for reading and commenting, Nancy,
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