Thought for the Day:
“You either write or there’s silence. It’s that simple.”
~ Gregory Galloway ~
Gifts for My Writer Friends:
We would all like to hear some really good publishing news, but maybe it’s better to have a realistic picture of what is going on. HERE is a terrific article by Vicky Weber on My Literary Life that will give you that picture. It’s not all bad news.
Every once in a while, I decide to take up embroidery or take an art class or something “artsy”, but it never goes very far. It does, however, seem to get me back to writing when I’m stalled. HERE is an interesting article from Writer’s Digest by Kimberly Behre Kenna that addresses this.
Whenever I take a webinar or go to a conference, editors and agents always talk about voice. HERE is a great article by Janice Hardy on Fiction University with 5 Ways to Develop Character Voices.
It has been a while since I’ve been here. I had quite a wonderful trip since I last wrote a blog post. I visited seven major league baseball stadiums — Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals, Cleveland Guardians, Toronto Blue Jays, and Cincinnati Reds. That leaves me with one park left to visit to finish my quest to see a game in every major league park. I’ve lived in California for fifty years, and I’ve never seen a game in the San Diego Padres park. Go figure. I will finish soon. I flew into Miami and rented a car. During my time away, I drove 3135 miles, visited twelve states and Canada, all to see eight baseball games. Kinda crazy. I didn’t just go to games, though. I had the chance to visit with dear friends Doug and Paula near Tampa, with great friends from my trip to Italy last fall, April and Julie, in South Carolina, and in Atlanta, I met up with good friend and childrens’ poet Charles Waters (I’ll be reviewing his latest book soon) and my good friend Becky from school (we were in school from second grade through high school). In Appomattox, Virginia, I saw my grandson Richard, whom I hadn’t seen since he was in middle school. He is married with four children, and we had a great visit and dinner. Washington DC was special because my beloved Giants were there when I was there, so my daughter Maggie came from NYC and my other daughter Sara flew out from California for a girls’ weekend and a couple of ball games. That was great fun. My flight from Cincinnati didn’t connect with my second flight out of Salt Lake City, so I got to spend five hours in a hotel there. It has taken most of this week for me to catch up on sleep and get my internal clock back to California time.
I don’t read many graphic novels, but sometimes the review list has something that catches my eye, and it’s a graphic novel. When I saw MIXED FEELINGS by Sara Amini and illustrated by Shadia Amin it had themes that interested me, so I ordered it up. This story works really well as a graphic novel, and I think it will find a great audience among middle-grade readers. Here is the review I wrote for the Manhattan Book Review.
Sara is beginning sixth grade. With a Colombian mother and an Iranian father, she doesn’t always find it easy to fit in. The first day of school, she wakes up with what, to her, seems like fur on her legs. She’s supposed to wear an outfit that matches her BFF, Monica, and it includes shorts. Then she finds out Monica doesn’t have any classes with her, and Monica is hanging out with another girl, Aneliese. Sixth grade isn’t looking so exciting anymore. Until Sara finds the drama club, that is. On a stage, you can become whoever you want to be. And maybe you can make some new friends along the way.
Middle school is such a hard time for kids, especially those who feel like they don’t fit in. Author Sara Amini seems to have a good understanding of the problems kids face during those tough years. The dialogue is spot on, and the problems are realistic. She has crafted a compelling story that young readers will be captured by. Fun, brightly-colored illustrations by Shadia Amin fill panels on every page and will keep readers engaged all the way through. Young readers will like this and relate to the story.
I have a gently-read ARC to give to one of you. All you need to do is be a follower (it’s free and easy — see the top, right corner of the post) with a US Address, and leave a comment. If you share the link to this post on social media, please let me know in your comment, and you will get an extra chance. And please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.
Rosi Hollinbeck 
That article is fascinating! Greg posted an article last week about the middle grade category changing, which was also good.
Your trip sounds amazing and how wonderful that you got to see your grandson!
I like the bi-culture aspect of this, but I’m not much of a graphic novel reader. Please let someone else win as I’ve won a lot lately.
Glad you’re back!
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Welcome back! I am so happy your baseball stadium tour was a huge success and made even more so by all the time spent with family, Rosi! The part about driving over 3000 miles didn’t sound so appealing to me, but my 2000 miles last summer will hopefully be the longest trip I ever make! I wanted to comment on your link about crafting. I think any form of art will help with creation of art/writing/etc.
Middle school is truly a challenge for most people and this year I’ve been part of a program where we have eighth grade pen pals. It’s my first year participating and it’s been great. We have been writing back and forth (I have two) during the school year and then we were invited to the school for a breakfast last week. It was great to meet them in person and hopefully we’ll be staying in touch beyond the program.
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Wow. That pen pal program sounds wonderful! What a good idea. Thanks for telling me about it, and thatks for the comment. Good luck in the drawing.
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So glad you enjoyed the article. See my grandson was a real highlight of the trip. Thanks for the comment. I’m glad to be back too.
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Excellent article by Wvicy Weber. It’s a tough industry right now.
I also enjoy going to different ballparks. I still think Oracle Park in San Francisco is right near the top.
I also am not a big fan of graphic novels, though I understand their attraction to kids. No need to put my name in the drawing this time.
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Glad you like the article. Oracle Park is a beauty, but my favorite is Camden Yard in Baltimore. It’s a great park. Thanks for the comment.
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Your baseball stadium road trip sounds epic. So nice that you were able to visit with family and friend. Middle school can be a challenge. Thanks for the review. Happy MMGM.
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My journey was pretty amazing. Thanks for reading and commenting. Good luck in the drawing.
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My students are enjoying my ARC of Mixed Feelings, and I’ll probably buy it. I did enjoy the article about publishing… I didn’t know that Penguin Random House lost so much money. As for the crafts helping with writing… I’m a big proponent of crafting for any reason, but can’t condone writing books about kids processing gried. There’s such a glut of those already, and my students do NOT want to read them!
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So glad you found a link that was interesting to you. Thanks for the comment. Good luck in the drawing.
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Thanks for the article by Vicky Weber. It was very interesting. I’m glad you had such a good trip and got to spend time with your grandson and his family. I’ll pass on the giveaway. I’ve never gotten into graphic novels, and I’d rather someone like Karen Yingling win it.
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So glad you found a like you like. Thanks for the comment. Always nice to see you here.
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Welcome back, Rosi! Sounds like you had a fabulous holiday and congratulations on almost completing your goal – you will have to do something to celebrate when you watch that last major league game. 🙂 Thanks for the links – interesting article on the current publishing market! Thanks also for the review. I am not a graphic novel reader, but I am sure it will be popular with the intended audience. Thanks for sharing!
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It was a great trip. Yes, I have a plan with family for the last park. Glad you like the links. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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Wow what an amazing trip! Thanks for the review, I’m still doing some catching up so I will pass on the giveaway. Happy MMGM
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It was a pretty amazing trip. Not getting rained out even once was a real miracle. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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A welcome title for middle grade readers. Graphic novels are extremely popular and there seems to be more released every week. I’ll be looking for this one.
Thanks for the links. I’m especially looking forward to reading Janice Hardy’s post. Glad you had a fantastic trip. Hope you are able to knock off that last one this summer. Otherwise we can both sit back and watch the Giants and Rockies battle it out for last place!
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Last place is looking like a real contest this year. And yet, both the Rockies and the Giants beat the dastardly Dodgers two out of three. Go Figure. Thanks for the comment. Good luck in the drawing.
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Glad you enjoyed the trip! I don’t mind the driving, but watching baseball games would be misery for me 😀 I’ll agree that middle school was a ghastly time for me–I guess it helps to know it’s true for most kids? I’m not big on graphic novels and will take a pass on this one.
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I don’t mind driving, but it was a lot even for me. But Since I love baseball, it was worth it. Thanks for the comment.
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You’re a rolling stone!!! And my backside is covered in moss, LOL. I don’t usually read graphic novels, because my brain struggles with processing so many images with a lot of text, but this one sounds quite enjoyable. Congrats to Sara and Shadia!
I’m trying not to let the state of the publishing industry depress me. And you can rest assured that I’m doing A LOT to try to boost my novel that’s coming out in July. You only get one debut, and these days, it had better sell a decent number of copies. Which leads me to a shameful plug that Little Brown is doing a giveaway of HEARTLAND until May 17. I would be so very grateful if you could spread the word! Thx!
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This is an enjoyable graphic novel, and I have the same problem with them that you have. Good luck with your debut novel! Very exciting. I looked it up and it sounds like an interesting book. Thanks for the comment. Good luck in the drawing.
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I love graphic novels, and this looks like an important one at this time (or any time). Middle school years are fully of so many challenges for young people–at least mine were! So good to see books like this tackling tough times and questions.
Happy you got to see so many games and parks and friends and family on your quest and glad you’re back home safely.
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It was a great trip, but it’s good to be home. Yes, this is a great boo that will resonate with a lot of middle grade readers. Thanks for the comment. Good luck in the drawing.
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Sounds really good. I’m sharing on BlueSky too.
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Thanks for sharing. An extra chance for you. Good luck in the drawing.
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This story sounds cute, I love graphic novels. Shared on bluesky!
Post by @melannb14.bsky.social — Bluesky
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