Tag Archives: middle grade author

Aug28

Day 1 of The Back to School Blog Tour 2023: Interview with Peter Aronson

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Greetings and welcome to the 2023 Back to School Blog Tour. I have some great indie children’s authors and books to introduce you to this week. I am hoping you’ll find some fabulous home study or classroom resources for the 2023 school year. Having taught in the classroom for 18 years, I know that you want to find new and inspirational role models and books with themes that are helpful for teaching in the curriculum. I’ve lined up some fabulous titles and author interviews as well as book reviews.

So, let’s get started with our very first author for the week: Peter Aronson.

Peter Aronson is a former award-winning legal affairs journalist, former New York City attorney, and now writes essays, short stories and children’s books. His book, “Mandalay Hawk’s Dilemma: The United States of Anthropocene”, is a look at a futuristic kid take-over inspired by a middle schooler with a different view of how the world should be. Set in the year 2030, it’s a wake up call for the adults in the world to do something or the kids will instead. Mandalay herself is a rebel with a passion for the environment, and doesn’t seem to let breaking some rules stop her mission to save the world.

I got a chance to ask Mr. Aronson about why he became an author, what gave him the idea for his book, and what future projects he has planned.

1) What made you want to be an author?

Peter Aronson: I have been writing for a long time, because I was a journalist for approximately 20 years earlier in my career. I became interested in writing fiction when I read more novels and saw the limitless creative opportunities. When I am making up a story and I like what I am writing, I get a wonderful sensation of feeling free, of feeling like I can do anything. It’s a sense of accomplishment, or achievement, I don’t get doing anything else. I began writing short stories, then a I tackled a novel.

2) For your featured book, “Mandalay Hawk’s Dilemma: The United States of Anthropocene”, how did you get the idea to write it?

Peter Aronson: My daughters, Mabel and Maisy, were young then, in middle school, and they were reading apocolyptic-type books and I thought, wouldn’t it be nice if they read a novel that dealt with a real-world problem? It was 2015 and I believed then and even more so now that global warming was the biggest problem the world faced. So I decided to write a novel about kids fighting global warming, about taking the fight to the highest level. I got the idea before the amazing Greta Thunberg burst onto the scene and made such an impact.   

3) What writing projects are you working on now?

Peter Aronson: I am writing a TV mini-series based on my non-fiction middle-grade book “Bronislaw Huberman: From Child Prodigy to Hero, the Violinist who Saved Jewish Musicians from the Holocaust.” The story is still little known outside the music world. Huberman was a great humanitarian who overcame great odds in the 1930s to save Jewish musicians from the Nazis by establishing a orchestra in what was then Palestine. Huberman was a pacifist. A true maestro, he used his violin as his sword and enlisted people like Einstein to help him. 

Book Blurb:

“Mandalay Hawk’s Dilemma: The United States of Anthropocene” is a middle grade novel that presents an all-too-real 2030. The Big Heat hits that causes temperatures to rise to extreme heat waves that kill thousands. The world has a hazardous future, and one 13-year-old decides she’s had enough and wants to do something about it. Only her idea of what to do might break a few rules along the way. From creating her own group called KRAPP (KIDS REVOLT AGAINST ADULT POWER) where the adventure leads to Washington D.C. and rapping to a captive president, it’s a novel that may lead to a call of action for kids around the world.

“Mandalay Hawk’s Dilemma: The United States of Anthropocene” is available on Amazon.com.

For more information on Peter Aronson, please visit his Amazon author’s page here.

Be sure to bookmark and come back every day this week for new interviews with authors and book reviews of featured books.

May you have a fabulous start to your school year!

Until tomorrow,

-Tiffany Turner

Jan13

Interview with Valerie Anne Hudson

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One of my favorite books I read in 5th grade was called “Half Magic” by Edward Eager. I think it’s one of the books that drew me into fantasy as a kid. So, I’ve always been intrigued by wishing magic stories. I think I’ve found a great one to read aloud to your class or have your youngster dive into during this pandemic. Reading is such a great escape and distraction, as well as building literary skills. I think I’ve been doing more reading since the lockdowns started back in March 2020. So, this is the perfect new release to treat your class or child at the start of 2021.

Valerie Anne Hudson is the author of the new children’s fantasy book, “Watch What You Wish For”.

I’d like to introduce you to the author, Valerie Anne Hudson. She’s written the book involving wish magic called “Watch What You Wish For”. I had the chance to ask her about her reading inspirations as a child, writing routines and helpful methods, and all sorts of interesting facts on her process for writing her book.

1) What is your favorite memory from reading as a child?

Valerie Anne Hudson: The sudden realization that I could read ‘grown up’ books.  I vividly remember having absolutely nothing to read one day. Out of desperation, I took one of my parents’ books off the bookshelf – it was a Readers’ Digest containing a variety of condensed novels.  I devoured the contents, and was so proud of myself!

2) Who was your favorite author and how did they influence you?

Valerie Anne Hudson: As a child my favorite author was Louisa May Alcott.  I still have my original dog-eared copy of “Little Women.” I must have read that book dozens of times over the years. What a superb achievement, to write a book that’s still enjoyable and relatable 150 years later.

3) Do you have a writing routine? Share what works for you.

Valerie Anne Hudson: I write for 4 or 5 hours a day, which is easy for me now that I’m retired. I’m truly fortunate to be able to do that!

4) What subjects would you like to write about in future projects?

Valerie Anne Hudson: At the moment I’m focused on fantasy:  the paranormal and the supernatural, and I write for children. I hope that my writing evolves, though, and would like to attempt something for adults in the future.

5) How has your day job/career prepared you to be a writer?

Valerie Anne Hudson: I taught school for 25 years, so there’s lots of writing involved there. I taught grades 4 to 6 for many of those years, and always loved teaching English and creative writing.


6) Why are you drawn to writing fantasy and about the paranormal?

Valerie Anne Hudson: An overactive imagination! I’m a huge Stephen King and Dean Koontz fan, along with JK Rowling, of course.  Such great escapism!


7) What activities do you do to help with the creative writing process?

Valerie Anne Hudson: I’m always on the alert for potential plots or scenes for upcoming stories. It’s amazing how many ideas you can get from real life news stories – truth is always stranger than fiction, as they say. Also, I try and read other people’s books as much as I can. All types and genres.


8) How did you get the idea for the “Wishing Tree” in your book, “Watch What You Wish For”?

Valerie Anne Hudson: I was thinking, what if you made a wish that actually came true? And what if you regretted making that wish and wanted to take it back? Then I started researching wishing wells and the stories associated with them, and discovered that there are actually wishing trees in some parts of the world. A tree seemed like it could be more dramatic than a well, so that’s how the idea blossomed.


9) Is the town of Mariposa a real town? If yes, why did you choose it? If no, was it inspired by a real town and which one?

Valerie Anne Hudson: Mariposa is a fictional Canadian town originally created by renowned author Stephen Leacock. Although he denied it, it was actually based on the town of Orillia, Ontario, which is where I live. I’ve changed the layout of the town and its surroundings around a fair bit in my story, so it wouldn’t have been fair to call it Orillia. Mariposa seemed like a good alternative choice.

10) What is writing to you in one sentence?

Valerie Anne Hudson: The desire to entertain my readers with sheer, delightful escapism!

Released on Jan. 8, 2021

“Watch What You Wish For” isn’t your normal fairy tale. 12-year-old Sophie isn’t happy about moving to the small town of Mariposa. She misses the big city, but luckily finds some friends also in the 7th grade. Their adventures lead to the discovery of an ancient Wishing Tree. They find the secret to unleash an evil power connected to the towns shadowy past. People start to go missing as lives turn upside down. Faced with the need to try to get things back to the way they were, our heroes embark on a journey that leads to self-discovery and friendship.

“Watch What You Wish For” is available at Amazon.com as a Kindle Unlimited title.

For more information on Valerie Anne Hudson, visit her website here.

Dec14

Author of Middle Grade Mystery Series: Interview with Stacy Bourns

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If you want a good mystery series to give for Christmas this year, I’ve found one. As Cold As Charity is the new installment in the Ghost Club Mystery series. This weekend, Dec. 15 & 16 only, it will be free on Amazon! I was lucky to be able to interview the author, Stacy Bourns on her childhood memories, her favorite author, and what she plans for future projects.

1) What is your favorite memory from reading as a child?

Stacy Bourns: My love of books started early in life, so I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have a book in my hand. I can still recall the night I began reading The Hobbit, though. I was in bed in my bedroom, which thanks to the slanted ceiling, was particularly cozy. As I read about Bilbo’s adventures, I listened to the Commodore’s Greatest Hits on my cassette player – this tells you how long ago it was! So now, whenever I hear one of the Commodore’s songs, I always think of The Hobbit and that carefree time in my life.

2) Who was your favorite author and how did they influence you?

Stacy Bourns: One of my favorite authors is Maud Hart Lovelace who wrote about her own early 19th century childhood and coming of age in her Besty-Tacy series. My aunt, writer Barbara Bartholomew, gave me the first book of the series, and from that moment on, I was smitten. These books are dear to me, because I grew up alongside Lovelace’s protagonist Betsy. Because her writing is so vivid and nostalgic, it almost felt like I was part of Lovelace’s family. Books have so much to offer to a growing child—companionship, adventure, and guidance—and as I wrote my middle elementary Ghost Club series, I hoped to provide many of the same experiences for my own readers. In my most recent Ghost Club book, As Cold As Charity, the young protagonist is struggling with her parent’s possible divorce.

3) What subjects would you like to write about in future projects?

Stacy Bourns: I have one more Ghost Club book in mind, but I am also working on a YA Book about a young woman who travels to Great Britain to learn more about her English roots. Since I adore paranormal fantasy, my protagonist will of course find herself encountering the paranormal. To me, there’s no better way to represent the challenge of growing up than with monsters. In a way, the imaginative act of slaying a monster is psychologically easier than say, dealing with family dysfunction, bullies, or any number of problems that children and teens experience. Ultimately, a monster is just a symbol of a problem that feels insurmountable. And, the most satisfying thing about fiction is that most of the time, the hero defeats the monster and saves the day.

ascoldascharityAs Cold As Charity is the third book in the Ghost Club series. The Ghost Club girls are investigating another case. This time at a luxury inn where sinister laughter is heard, a self-playing piano, and ghostly cries of a child are scaring customers away. They soon discover that they may have taken on more than they can handle and will have to rely on their strength, sleuthing power, and paranormal experience to save themselves.

As Cold As Charity will be free Dec. 15-16 at Amazon.com. It is a Kindle Unlimited title.