Paige Classey Guest Post and Anna-Jane and the Endless Summer Giveaway

 Happy Monday, Everyone! Today I’m excited to have Paige Classey here to share a guest post to celebrate the release of her middle grade novel-in-verse, Anna-Jane and the Endless Summer. It sounds like a creepy camp adventure story that’s a page-turner. I’m looking forward to reading it. 

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads: 

Anna-Jane couldn’t wait for camp. But when the outside world goes dark, she and her friends soon realize they’re in for the adventure of their lives this summer—and maybe even beyond.

Anna-Jane is thrilled to be back at Camp Chester—the one place she feels like she belongs. She’s excited to swim in the lake, read in her favorite chair, and swap secrets with her best friend under the stars. But not long after Anna-Jane unpacks her trunk, weird things start happening.

First, townspeople near camp begin disappearing. Then, the internet, cell service, and all other forms of communication are cut off. Soon, Anna-Jane and the residents of Camp Chester realize they are completely alone.

Or so they think. Across the lake, the kids spot a strange flashing light. And when animals begin turning up with yellowed eyes and disfigured limbs, it is clear the dangers are only growing. Most alarming of all, though, is the deepening distrust among the campers themselves, which could have deadly consequences. Anna-Jane knows what to expect from a summer at camp . . . but what happens when camp lasts well beyond the summer? 

Now here’s Paige answering two questions I asked her about! 

How has your job as a school librarian influenced your writing? 

In 2017, I left the high school English classroom for the middle school circulation desk. I plunged into another world, a move that would ultimately reset my course into writing. I watched my students flock to novels-in-verse like The Crossover by Kwame Alexander and Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds. So I read them, too, and added adult verse titles to round out my reading list (Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson particularly stands out in my memory). I found myself experimenting with writing in verse for the very first time. 

Nine years later, I continue to carefully listen to my students— I note the genres, characters, hooks, and settings that intrigue them. I don’t necessarily decide the stories I tell that way, but I do look for overlap in my interests and theirs. I also pay attention to what matters to them in their daily lives, what authentic questions or problems they’re grappling with, and more. Teens and tweens can be really open and honest about their experiences and I try to honor that in my characters. 

I typically alternate my reading using an adult book/ YA or middle grade book pattern. I enjoy reading
for all age levels, but need to have plenty of fresh student recommendations for my work in the library media center. The constant exposure to literature geared towards middle grade and young adult readers is so educational, and usually a first step I recommend to adults hoping to write for children. Of course there are timeless classics (“oldies but goodies” that I still book talk all the time), but you also need to have your finger on the pulse of what appeals to the children of today. I continually reading up on award winners and new releases to maintain a strong collection, and that serves to keep me “in the know” in my author life, as well. 

In short, my library life fuels my writing life, and vice versa. 

How do you balance writing with working and being a mom? 

Weekdays are full to the brim: work until late afternoon, picking my children up from school or the bus stop, backyard baseball games, getting dinner started, bathtime, bedtime. Add in the meetings, doctor’s appointments, and haircuts of regular life, and it’s a lot. I often look up at the end of the day and wish I had three more hours of daylight to do it all. I’m often so drained that the idea of tapping into creativity at 8:30 at night feels nearly impossible. 

I wish there was some magical secret I could impart that would solve this for other working-parent-authors, but the truth is that I’m still seeking the answer myself. The only way I manage to write is that I can’t not write. Writing feels essential to me. Maybe not on a daily basis, but as frequently as I can manage. 

During some of the time that I’m not physically able to sit down and write, I find myself brainstorming. I might be driving home from work or taking a quick stroller walk with my toddler, and I’ll simultaneously be working through sticky plot points in my head. This helps focus my thinking for when I do have some time in front of a laptop; I’ve done the planning in advance and can dive in.  

I accept offers of help from family. I am fortunate in that the people in my life respect this creative part of me and give me time and space to nurture it. If I am offered the opportunity to sneak to a local coffee shop to write for an hour or to spend the day speaking to aspiring writers at a summer camp, I take it! 

I attend a monthly SCBWI writers’ group. My fellow writers provide necessary feedback, questions, and insights that elevate my work. An upcoming meeting also motivates me to have pages to share. That time is sacred and I protect it; no matter how busy life gets, I try to be there for that monthly meeting. 

I wrote the first draft of Anna-Jane and the Endless Summer (Random House Books for Young Readers, 2026) while my eldest son napped. I edited it while my youngest newborn-napped on my lap. My kids’ nap schedules provided pockets of precious time that I used for writing. And I made my peace with the other things that did not get accomplished: laundry, cleaning, etc. 

Finally, I give myself grace. I’m not at a point in my life where I can maintain a consistent writing routine or set a goal number of words per day. My goal is to write when I can and be kind to myself. That’s it.  

Links:
www.paigeclassey.com
Anna-Jane and the Endless Summer
@paigeclassey on Instagram 

Bio:

Paige Classey is an author and school librarian who lives with her family on the Connecticut shoreline. Her middle grade debut, Anna-Jane and the Endless Summer, is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and earned a starred review from School Library Journal. Her YA thriller-in-verse, Surviving the Madisons, releases from Delacorte in June 2027. 

Giveaway Details

Paige is generously offering a hardback of Anna-Jane and the Endless Summer for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by September 5th. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or follow Paige on her social media sites, mention this in the comments, and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is US-only.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his blog. 

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops 

Monday, August 31st, I’m participating in the Glam and Glitz Giveaway Hop 

Wednesday, September 2nd, I have an interview with Dinesh Thiru and a giveaway of his YA My Killer Family Reunion 

Monday, September 7th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Syrone Harvey and a query critique giveaway 

Monday, September 14th, I have an interview with M.K. England and a giveaway of her MG Riley Dare: Slightly Witchy Sleuth 

Wednesday, September 16^th, I’m participating in the Falling Into Leaves Giveaway Hop 

I hope to see you on Monday!

Guest Post: Why to Write in Verse Post by Rebecca Caprara and Eva To The Max Book Giveaway

Happy Monday, Everyone! Today I’m excited to share a guest post by Rebecca Caprara to celebrate the release of her MG contemporary Eva To The Max. It sounds like an exciting story about dirt bike racing, and I'm looking forward to reading it. 

Here’s a blurb from the publisher: 

Motocross is Eva’s life. Nothing beats the rush she feels ripping it up on the course—except maybe the moment just after the race when she removes her helmet, and the other riders realize they just got smoked by a twelve-year-old girl.

While fear of bullying leads Eva to keep her passion a secret at school, she’s known in the local racing circuit as “Eva Knievel,” a brazen competitor willing to risk it all to win. But when her daredevil behavior leaves her with a bruised ego and a busted bike, Eva is forced to reckon with the high costs of her beloved sport—financial, physical, and emotional. 

As if that reality check weren’t harsh enough, there’s a new girl at school whose arrival not only threatens Eva’s carefully crafted school persona, but her place on the podium, too.

Conference Opportunity

A few slots are still available for the Better Books Workshop. Focused on MG/YA fiction this workshop is lmited to fewer than 26 seasoned writers and is designed to provide deep immersion in craft. The schedule includes faculty master class sessions, group discussions, and a 30-40 minute faculty-led critique of a work in progress.  Our 14th annual workshop will be held in Menlo Park, California this October and we will be joined by the following faculty: award winning author (Newberry and National Book Awards) Gary Schmidt;, Irene Vazquez, Editor at Levine Querido; Sheyla Knigge, agent with High Line Literary Collective and Hannah Teachout, agent at Folio Literary Management.  Go to https://betterbooksmarin.com/how-to-apply/ for details!

Now here’s Rebecca! 

Why Verse? by Rebecca Caprara

As an author who writes in both poetry and prose, I’m often asked how I decide which format to employ for a particular story. Each narrative style presents opportunities and challenges. Both can produce emotionally resonant, exciting, and inspiring stories with all the elements of a good novel, such as plot, character arcs, conflict, tension, setting, theme, etc. Prose typically offers a more straightforward structure with higher wordcounts, whereas verse tends to have fewer words and freer, more expressive page layouts. Verse novels may also utilize a wide variety of poetic typologies (i.e. free verse, sonnet, villanelle, ghazal, haiku, concrete poems, and more). 

When crafting a novel, the choice to write in either poetry or prose should be intentional and intrinsic.

It’s important to remember that a novel-in-verse is not just a prose novel chopped up into stanzas with funky line breaks. Format choices can enhance the narrative in a multitude of ways, by echoing or contrasting themes, expressing character emotions, driving the plot forward, and/or emphasizing pace. With verse novels, the creative use of white space also adds a rich layer of visual storytelling to the book, much like art does in a graphic novel. This also makes them especially appealing for emerging readers. 

Sometimes the prose vs. poetry decision is clear from the outset. Other times, it’s a process of discovery with lots of trial and error. For me, the subject matter of a book and the desired reading experience are key factors. If I’m on the fence in the early drafting stage of a project, I will experiment by writing a scene twice: once in poetry and once in prose. I then share these excerpts with my trusted critique partners, to see which resonates the most. I also read both versions aloud, to see if one style has a better feeling in the mouth, and to the ear. 

For my MISSION MULTIVERSE series for middle grade readers, both my publisher and I felt strongly that prose was necessary to tackle large-scale science fiction world-building. Prose also helped as I toggled between multiple character points of view and complex subplots. Quite simply, I needed more words and standard sentence structures for those books to work.

 With SPIN, my debut young adult novel, I knew immediately that it should be told in verse. Since the story is a feminist retelling of the myth of Arachne, I wanted the writing style to give a nod to the epic poetry of the past, paying homage to Ovid, Homer, and Sappho, with a contemporary twist and an approachable but classic-sounding voice that would appeal to teen readers. While I didn’t bind myself to a rigid poetic meter, I did aim to create a rhythm that felt melodic and aligned with rich oral storytelling traditions. For stories with a lyrical or rhythmic element, verse is a great fit. 

Which brings me to EVA TO THE MAX, my newest novel in verse for middle grade readers.  Eva’s story began as a single poem inspired by a photograph of a dirt biker perched on the edge of a steep ramp. The breathlessness, momentum, and hint of danger in that first poem compelled me to continue writing. I started brainstorming ways to expand that leap-of-faith moment into a novel-length narrative starring a brave and brazen 12-year-old protagonist. 

Poetry and dirt biking seemed like an odd juxtaposition at first, but the verse allowed me to express the rhythm and energy of the sport in a really dynamic and exciting way. Adrenaline-fueled races and quieter emotional scenes came to life through a dual language of words and visuals. While writing, I loved how playful the free verse and concrete poetry allowed me to be. I could “paint” with ink—words and punctuation could dart, jump, or zig-zag across the page, pulling readers deeper into the story. Because motocross is very sensory-rich (engines rev and growl and pop!), I also used rhyme and onomatopoeia to bring the sport alive. At one point, I did try rewriting the first twenty pages in prose, just to see what might emerge. It was a worthwhile exercise, but ultimately the prose read too heavy and the pages looked dense and slow. So, back to verse I went. And I’m so glad I did, because I love the way Eva’s story turned out. I hope readers will too!

Rebecca Caprara practiced architecture before shifting her focus from bricks to books. She is the author of several acclaimed novels for children and young adults, and loves experimenting with narrative forms and new genres. In addition to EVA TO THE MAX, her verse novels include WORST-CASE COLLIN, which was named a Notable Verse Novel by the NCTE Excellence in Children’s Poetry Award Committee, and SPIN, selected as a Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews. An avid traveler, she has lived in Italy, Singapore, and Canada. She is now growing roots with her family in Massachusetts. She is represented by Allison Hellegers at Stimola Literary Studio. Learn more at: www.rebeccacaprara.com @RebeccaCaprara 

Giveaway Details

Rebecca’s publisher is generously offering a hardback of Eva To The Maxx for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by June 20th. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or follow Rebecca on her social media sites, mention this in the comments, and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is US.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his blog. 

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops 

Monday, June 15th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Madelyn Knecht and a query critique giveaway 

Tuesday, June 16th, I’m participating in the Dad-o-Mite Giveaway Hop 

Monday, June 22nd, I'm hosting a giveaway of Laekan Zea Kemp's MG The Chimosas Only Book Club 

Monday, July 1st, I’m participating in the Sparkle Time Giveaway Hop 

Wednesday, July 3rd, I have an interview with Amanda Connolly and a giveaway of her YA romantasy The Lure of Wolves and Whispers and my IWSG post 

Monday, July 9th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Justina Ireland Handspun and query critique giveaway 

Monday, July 13th, I have an interview with Amy Tern and a giveaway of her MG Sneeks 

Thursday, July 16th, I’m participating in the Sip Sip Hooray Giveaway Hop 

I hope to see you on Tuesday!

 

 

 

“The Middle”: Guest Post by Aaron Starmer and You Are Now Old Enough to Hear This Giveaway

 Happy Monday, Everyone! Today I’m excited to have Aaron Starmer here with a guest post to celebrate the release of his middle grade speculative, You Are Now Old Enough to Hear This. It sounds like a story full of mysteries to solve, and I’m looking forward to reading it. 

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

There’s always more to the story.

In the latest middle grade speculative novel from Spontaneous author Aaron Starmer, Roman follows the twisted threads of bizarre family legends and magical secrets to write his own chapter in his peculiar family narrative.

"A triumph of imaginative storytelling…"—Booklist, starred review

The Toe Beast looms large in the Barnes family lore—a tale concocted by twelve-year-old Roman’s grandpa to explain his missing toe. But Roman has never actually heard the full story, and after his grandpa dies suddenly, it seems like he never will.

That is, until Roman is tasked with clearing out his grandpa’s house, and stumbles upon some strange things. An old mason jar full of formaldehyde, a mysterious handwritten book about a girl and a pack of dogs, a rusty metal bucket with peculiar abilities. And they all tie back to extraordinary secrets from the distant past.

By unraveling even more unbelievable stories that have been hidden from him, Roman is forced to rethink how he fits into his family’s history. Now it’s up to him to see his own story through to the end. Because the Toe Beast was only the beginning . . . 

Now here’s Aaron! 

I’m going to paraphrase Ben Affleck. No, I’m not going to do a Batman impression, or try to remember some dusty Good Will Hunting quotes. I’m simply going to summarize some wisdom he recently shared during an interview about the rise of AI in the creative world. What he said, more or less, is that an LLM (Large Language Model) does nothing more than aim for “the middle.” 

He’s right. Even if it can produce clean and clear stories, or provide solid, recognizable scaffolding for a narrative, generative AI in its current form is designed to push away the sorts of ideas that exist on the fringes of the human mind and instead focus on safe, well-trodden territory. It steals from the artistic works it “trains on,” but it doesn’t steal the good stuff, or at least not the stuff that I like. It steals the middle. 

When I was young, first exploring what it meant to write stories, I didn’t really know what the middle was. Partly because I hadn’t read enough, but mostly because I was focused on my own idiosyncratic view of the world. When I wrote, the results were amorphous and messy, but they certainly didn’t fall in the middle. As I grew older, my prose crystallized into more coherent and better crafted stories, and as writing became my career, I thought more and more about the middle. Do most readers want the middle? Is the middle the ultimate goal? 

I don’t have a definitive answer to that first question, but I can answer the second one, at least as

it relates to my writing. No. The middle is not my ultimate goal. I’ve tried to write the middle and it doesn’t work for me. I’m not very good at it.  It doesn’t come off as genuine. And one thing I do know about most readers is that they care about writing that’s genuine. 

As I was crafting my latest novel, You Are Now Old Enough to Hear This, I kept this in mind. The ideas I was coming up with were weird. Very weird. The temptation to push those ideas toward the middle was strong, but I resisted. This was my sixteenth novel. I still had a lot to learn about being an author, but I was experienced enough to keep my writing disciplined while trusting my instincts to stay true to my very weird self. 

That’s ultimately why I wrote a tale about a severed toe and a haunted, rusty metal bucket. About a curiosity shop with a baffling inventory and a wild child that arises from the sewers. About a growing pack of dogs and an assortment of other mystical beasts. About sealed envelopes and sealed doors and secrets, secrets, and more secrets that a family has kept hidden for decades until a twelve-year-old named Roman Barnes is brave enough to uncover them all. I enjoyed writing this book about as much as I’ve enjoyed writing anything, probably because it recaptured the wild thoughts, fears, and obsessions I had when I was Roman’s age. 

You Are Now Old Enough to Hear This is a middle grade novel. It’s written for middle schoolers. But let’s be honest. The kids I wrote this book for don’t need more “middle” in their lives. Their best moments and memories exist on the periphery, where their distinct personalities are being formed. I hope my story honors that. And if it doesn’t, they know which finger to raise and wave in my direction. 

Thanks for sharing your advice, Aaron. You can find Aaron at:

Website: www.aaronstarmer.com

Publisher: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/737851/you-are-now-old-enough-to-hear-this-by-aaron-starmer/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaron_starmer/

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@aaron_starmer

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/aaronstarmer.bsky.social 

Giveaway Details 

Aaron’s publisher is generously offering a hardback of You Are Old Enough to Hear This for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by April 4th. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address. 

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or follow Aaron on his social media sites, mention this in the comments, and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is US. 

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his blog.  

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops 

Wednesday, March 25, I have an agent spotlight interview with Rob Broder and a query critique giveaway 

Monday, March 30, I’m participating in the Honey Bunny Giveaway Hop

Wednesday, April 1st, I have an interview with Christopher Roubique and a giveaway of his MG Mythspeaker and my IWSG post 

Monday, April 6th, I have an interview with Jill Tew and a giveaway of her MG Rayana Johnson’s Giant Leap 

Wednesday, April 8th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Saritza Hernández and a query critique giveaway 

Monday, April 13th, I’m reviewing Jennifer Nielsen’s MG The Free State of Jax and Magnitude with a book giveaway 

Thursday, April 16th, I’m participating in the Rain Drop on Roses Giveaway Hop 

Monday, April 20th, I have an interview with Van Hoang and a giveaway of her MG Auntie Q’s Golden Claws Nail Salon 

Monday, April 27th, I have an interview with Gareth P. Jones and a giveaway of his MG Solve Your Own Mysteries 

Wednesday, April 29th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Erica Bauman and a query critique giveaway 

I hope to see you on Wednesday!

 

 

7 Ways to Write Health Issues into a Middle Grade Novel—Without Preaching or Making It the Whole Story by Donna Galanti and The Secret Winners Club Giveaway

 Happy Monday, Everyone! Today I’m excited to have Donna Galanti here to celebrate the release of her new MG contemporary, The Secret Winners Club. It sounds like a fantastic contemporary story that is on a lot of bloggers’ anticipated 2026 lists, and I’m looking forward to reading it. 

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

 

1st Rule of The Secret Winners Do whatever it takes.Thirteen-year-old Sunny Whitlock has alopecia; an autoimmune condition that’s made her lose her hair—and she’s desperate to be seen as more than just the bald kid. But how? By setting an epic win her school’s junkbot club competition. And if she’s #1, then other kids will have to see beyond her disease … and she’ll finally fit in.

Sunny’s immune-deficient best friends are also tired of looking different and achieving second place in their school competitions. With a bold plan, Sunny bands with them to create The Secret Winners Club, a club devised to win—at any cost—and push them outside their comfort zones.

They promise to trust no one else. It’s all classified! And in total secrecy they aim to help one another become #1 before this middle school year is over. But as they start to succeed, they quickly discover that crossing the line and hurting others can make them even more visible and even more an outsider. 

Now here’s Donna!

March is Autoimmune Awareness Month, and which is why I’m grateful that my newest middle grade book by Wild Trail Press, The Secret Winners Club, publishes this week because it has three characters with autoimmune diseases—just like me. As an adult, having conditions that make me look different is often a challenge. However, when it struck me just how much harder this would be for young people in middle school, I wanted to create a story for them. 

Writing about medical or health issues in middle grade fiction is powerful, but it’s also tricky. Kids don’t want lectures. They want stories that move, surprise, and entertain them. With this in mind, I wanted to weave health realities into the fabric of the story, so they feel authentic, not instructional. 

If you’re writing about characters with medical conditions, here are seven craft approaches that can help health issues exist meaningfully on the page without becoming the entire point of the book. 

1. Let the Character Want Something Bigger Than the Condition

In The Secret Winners Club, the main character, Sunny Whitlock, doesn’t wake up every day thinking about her alopecia, she’s thinking about winning the junkbot competition. Her health condition matters, but it’s not her driving force. Middle grade readers connect most strongly to goals they recognize like belonging, achievement, friendship, and independence. When a character’s primary motivation reaches beyond their diagnosis, the story stays character-driven instead of issue-driven. 

2. Show the Condition Through Obstacles, Not Explanations

Rather than stopping the story to explain a diagnosis, let the condition quietly shape what’s harder—or different—for the character. A moment of hesitation before a public event, an extra layer of planning, or a social misstep can convey more than a paragraph of exposition. Kids are super smart at picking up context clues. Trust them to understand without being told exactly what to think. 

3. Make the Health Issue One Thread in a Bigger Tangle

Middle grade lives are messy. School pressures, friendships, family dynamics, competition, jealousy, and secrets all overlap. Medical issues should be one strand among many, not the entire rope. In The Secret Winners Club, Sunny and her two friends, Vee and Trev, each deal with visible autoimmune diseases. They also want to win their individual school competitions so they can be seen as more than their conditions and beat out their rivals. When it comes to Sunny’s alopecia, Vee’s vitiligo, and Trevor’s psoriasis, these threads all intersect with ambition, moral choices, loyalty, and identity—so it feels like part of life, not the lesson of the book. 

4. Avoid the “Inspiration” Trap

Kids with health challenges don’t exist to inspire others. They exist to live full, complicated lives. Let your character be funny, flawed, competitive, jealous, or wrong. Sunny and her friends make questionable choices in pursuit of winning, which I hope keeps them human and relatable. When characters with health issues are allowed to fail or act selfishly (like we all can at times), they feel real and just not symbolic. 

5. Use Peer Relationships to Reflect Reality

Friendships are where middle grade stories truly shine. Showing how peers respond—supportively, awkwardly, incorrectly, or inconsistently—mirrors real-life experiences kids recognize. Sunny’s friendships aren’t perfect, and that’s the point. By letting relationships strain, heal, or shift, the story explores health issues socially without moralizing. 

6. Let Consequences Do the Teaching

If there’s a message, let it come from outcomes, not speeches. In The Secret Winners Club, the “win at any cost” mindset creates consequences that Sunny and her friends didn’t anticipate. Readers learn alongside the characters, discovering that shortcuts and secrecy can backfire. This approach respects young readers by allowing them to draw conclusions themselves. 

7. Trust Kids with Emotional Complexity

Middle grade readers can handle nuance. They understand that someone can be proud and insecure at the same time, or brave and scared in the same chapter. Health issues don’t need to be softened or oversimplified, but they also don’t need to dominate every emotional beat. When you trust kids with layered emotions, the story resonates longer and deeper.

The most effective middle grade novels don’t teach kids what to think—they invite them to feel, question, and reflect while making their own choices. When health and medical issues are written as part of a character’s lived experience rather than the moral center of the story, readers come away not with a lesson, but with empathy. This is far more powerful than preaching. 

About Donna Galanti:

Donna Galanti is the author of middle-grade books with the Unicorn Island series, Joshua and the Lightning Road series,  Loon Cove Summer, and The Secret Winners Club (3/3/26). She’s also the author of the paranormal suspense Element Trilogy for adults. Donna has lived in fun locations including England, her family-owned campground in New Hampshire, and in Hawaii where she served as a U.S. Navy photographer for Fleet Intelligence Pacific. Donna is an avid outdoor adventurer and nature lover. She volunteers for the Old-Growth Forest Network and the National Audubon Society. For more information on her books, online courses, speaking, and events, visit her at: www.donnagalanti.com. 

Giveaway Details

Donna is generously offering a paperback of The Secret Winners Club for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by March 14th. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address. 

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or follow Donna on her social media sites, mention this in the comments, and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is U.S. 

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his blog.  

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops 

Wednesday, March 4, I have an interview with Stacey Lee and a giveaway of her YA Heiress of Nowhere 

Monday, March 9, I have an interview with Ciera Burch and a giveaway of her MG Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away 

Wednesday, March 11, I have an agent spotlight interview with Lindsey Aduskevich and a query critique giveaway 

Monday, March 16, I’m participating in the Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop 

Monday, March 23, I have a guest post by Aaron Starmer and a giveaway of his MG You Are Now Old Enough to Hear 

Wednesday, March 25, I have an agent spotlight interview with Rob Broder and a query critique giveaway 

Monday, March 30, I’m participating in the Honey Bunny Giveaway Hop 

I hope to see you on Wednesday!

 

 

It’s All Connected…Writers, Rubber Suits, and Begging for Readers by Michael P. Spradlin and The Spider Strikes Giveaway

 Happy Monday, Everyone! Today I’m excited to have Michael P. Spradlin here to share a guest post to celebrate the release of his MG, The Spiker Strikes. I interviewed Michael last year when Threat of the Spider was released. I’m looking forward to reading the next installment in this WWII story. 

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

 

Amid the chilling rise of Hitler’s Germany, a twelve-year-old boy and his friends confront rising Nazi threats during a family trip to Austria in this third book in the action-packed middle grade series Web of the Spider for fans of I Survived and A Night Divided.

It’s the summer of 1931 and, like most summers, Joshua and his family are vacationing in Salzburg, Austria. But unlike most years, Joshua is looking forward to escaping the upheaval and bigotry back home in Heroldsberg and the Nazi presence threatening Jewish families like his own. This year, he’s invited his best friends Rolf and Ansel to join him for one last summer before Rolf leaves for America with his father.

But the trip becomes far from relaxing as the Nazis take root in Austria as well, and a gang of Hitler Youth set their sights on Joshua and his friends. When the boys decide to hike up the mountains to camp out at Joshua’s family cabin, things go from bad to worse when they quickly realize they aren’t alone. Can the boys evade the Nazis and make it back to their families safely? 

Followers News 

Before I get to Michael’s guest post, I have Follower News to share. Nina Snyder has published a Mardi

Gras-themed picture book with illustrations by Paola A. Crisante. Blue Crab feels left out when Clown Crab doesn't invite her to his Mardi Claw party, so she decides to host her own party. But the coral reef isn't big enough for two parties... or is it?  "A bright, beautiful work that serves as a gentle introduction to diversity and schoolyard dynamics." -- Kirkus Reviews. Here’s a few links: Buy on Amazon Kirkus Reviews 

It’s All Connected…Writers, Rubber Suits, and Begging for Readers by Michael P. Spradlin 

            As a pretty big fan of Star Trek (although I refuse to call myself a Trekkie) I recently watched a documentary called CENTER SEAT: The Making of Star Trek. I’m always fascinated by these behind the scenes looks at how things were built. How the creators had to chase down money, support or even readers and fans. In this case, the producer of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry, spent many of his early days on the show, going to Science Fiction conventions and literally begging people to watch the show. (It worked! And funnily enough, I find myself doing a version of the same thing these days. Going to conventions and conferences and begging for readers!) 

            The documentary was extremely well done, displaying how a television show is/was produced. Many of the stories I had heard, but most I hadn’t. And through the interviews with the actors, directors and producers one thing kept coming back to me. It seems to me that the most common thread running through this sixty-year phenomenon and what really held the whole property together was the writers. 

            If you watch the original series, it’s plain to see that fans of the show didn’t come to it for the brilliant special effects. Maybe some tuned in to see the actors’ performances (the thrice Emmy nominated Leonard Nimoy became a global phenom because of the show). The vast majority of the fans came to the show for the stories. And given the confines and realities of 1960s television, some of the stories were inarguably silly (Dr. McCoy’s ex-girlfriend turning into a giant salt monster) there were some that stand the test of time and hold up in any era. 

            I was watching the episode titled City on the Edge of Forever, in which Kirk and Spock much travel back in time to correct an error in the timeline that wipes out their future existence. This classic episode was written by the great science fiction writer Harlan Ellison. And like many of the best Star Trek episodes, it leans away from the special effects or aliens and into the story and the characters. It’s often voted the greatest episode of the Original Series. It’s a love story. 

            It’s said that Harlan Ellison was disappointed in how the story was filmed and produced and for many years hesitated to have his name associated with it. But eventually he came around and this episode became the yardstick by which most other episodes are measured. It explored the themes that make great stories in a new and unique way. Love. Life and death. Loyalty. Selflessness.

            City on the Edge of Forever is the perfect jumping off point to explain why Star Trek caught on and became the multi-billion dollar franchise that it is. But in those early days it was writers like Ellison and Robert Bloch (Psycho) and D.C. Fontana that held it all together. My view is that it was one of the first TV shows that placed an emphasis on writing and storytelling. When we think of television today, you can swing a salami and hit two dozen brilliantly written television shows. But for those of us who came of age in the 60s and 70s, it wasn’t always that way. Trust me. My Mother the Car anyone? 

            I’m fairly sure, given the enormous amounts of fan fiction for Star Trek and Marvel Comics that I wrote in my youth, that they are one of the pillars that led me becoming a novelist. I could rewrite the ending of a Star Trek episode and change the villain in a Batman story. I learned that it’s the writer that has the control and that was a powerful realization. 

            Today, after forty some books, I still find myself turning to the silver screen for inspiration. Modern Classics like The Wire and Justified have carried the torch forward from the sixties and the show with the men in the tiny rubber suits. And during long writing sessions, when things start to bog down, when I feel the dialogue is getting stale, I’ll turn to YouTube and listen (listen NOT watch) clips of some of my most favorite scenes and the dialogue that creates them. 

            That’s the great thing about writing. We all have our secrets and our techniques to get the words down. Whether inspiration is from other  formats, other writers, music, art or whatever inspires you. There is no right or wrong way. 

Even aliens in rubber suits can inspire you to boldy go where no one has gone before. 

Thanks for all your advice, Michael. You can find Michael at michaelspradlin.com, and on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X.  

Giveaway Details 

Michael’s publisher is generously offering a paperback of The Spider Strikes for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by February 28th. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address. 

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or follow Michael. on his social media sites, mention this in the comments, and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is U.S. 

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his blog.  

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops 

Monday, February 23, I have an interview with Christyne Morrell and a giveaway of her MG The Case of the Scarlet Snakebite 

Wednesday, February 25, I have an agent spotlight with Renee Runge and a query critique giveaway 

Sunday, March 1, I’m participating in the Lady Luck Giveaway Hop 

Monday, March 2, I have a guest post by Donna Galanti and a giveaway of her MG The Secret Winners Club 

Wednesday, March 4, I have an interview with Stacey Lee and a giveaway of her YA Heiress of Nowhere 

Monday, March 9, I have an interview with Ciera Burch and a giveaway of her MG Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away 

Wednesday, March 11, I have an agent spotlight interview with Lindsey Aduskevich and a query critique giveaway

Monday, March 16, I’m participating in the Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop 

I hope to see you on Monday!