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This week, I chatted with Matt about his debut middle grade novel MONSTERIOUS: ESCAPE FROM GRIMSTONE MANOR—Available May 9th. (Penguin Kids) I am so excited for all our spooky friends to meet him and read his books. Enjoy! Tell us about the Monsterious: Escape From Grimstone Manor.  Escape from Grimstone Manor (Monsterious #1) is about three friends who sneak off to their local amusement park, where adventurous Taylor convinces cool-headed Zari and timid Mateo to go on the Grimstone Manor haunted house ride before the park closes. When the ride breaks down, they’re inadvertently trapped i ..read more

Happy Monday, Spooky MG friends! We have some good news for you readers: there’s a new spooky MG book for you to add to your collection: Hanging with Vampires by Insha Fitzpatrick…! It’s out on March 28th (Quirk Books). We recently caught up with Insha to ask her three burning questions… 1. Tell us a little about the inspiration behind this book. For many supernatural creatures, there’s always a question brewing inside your mind that makes you want to dive a little deeper into them. For Hanging With Vampires, we asked ourselves (and the little supernaturalists): Are vampires real? That’s ..read more

This week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Refe to talk about his debut middle grade novel, Frances And The Monster. I quickly discovered he’s as charming and delightful as his new book. Enjoy! Lisa: Tell us about FRANCES AND THE MONSTER. Refe: Eleven-year-old Frances Stenzel comes from a long line of esteemed scientists and dreams of making a name for herself. When her parents leave her home yet again, this time in the charge of an infuriatingly clever robot named Hobbes, she decides she’s done waiting. She sneaks down to the laboratory and enters her father’s off-limits workshop, det ..read more

When I was a school librarian, I liked to explore fantasy worlds with students. I’d read books to them and book talk new selections. As an author myself, I’ve always liked to create excitement in students—not only with reading but also in creating their own characters and stories. Many students though found the writing process daunting. One way I would ease their way into crafting a fantasy story was by taking them through the simplified steps of drawing a dragon. The students then could each write their own dragon story or poem. There’s something about being physically attached to a creature ..read more

Welcome to my interview with Author Dan Poblocki and his latest release TALES TO KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT! **Teachers, Parents: With the spooky season creeping every so slowly upon us, this is the perfect book to add to your reading list. THE BOOK TALES TO KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT by Dan Poblocki Publisher: Penguin Random House Released: August 16, 2022 Amelia is cleaning out her grandmother’s attic when she stumbles across a book: Tales to Keep You Up at Night. But when she goes to the library to return it, she’s told that the book never belonged there. Curious, she starts to read the stories: tale ..read more

Here we are, on this magical, mysterious day to celebrate the launch of…(drumroll)…DAYBREAK ON RAVEN ISLAND by Fleur Bradley! Look at all these guests! And all this glitter! Golly! I’m making my way now to the talented Fleur for an interview. Fleur, oh, Fleur! Hi there! I hope you’ll let me ask you a few questions, starting with this one… This party venue is perfect! Tell us why you chose it.  You know, there’s nothing like an abandoned prison and a flock of ravens to set the mood… Also, there are always plenty of ghosts—er, guests to make for a hoppin’ party without having to s ..read more

We’re still months away from Halloween, but the spookiness never ends at Spooky Middle Grade Books, and this August is no exception. Three of our Spooky MG authors have wonderful new spooky MG books coming out this month and I’ve interviewed the authors today. Aug. 16: THIS APPEARING HOUSE by Ally Malinenko. Ally Malinenko is also the author of several poetry collections as well as the middle grade book GHOST GIRL from Katherine Tegen Books. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and you can learn more at allymalinenko.com.  Aug. 23: DAYBREAK ON RAVEN ISLAND by Fleur Bradley. Fleur Bradl ..read more

Stop and drop everything, because you can now buy The Clackity by our Spooky MG friend Lora Senf…! This hot-off-the-press scary MG is now available at booksellers everywhere. Here’s the story (and the amazing cover): Reminiscent of Doll Bones, this deliciously eerie middle grade novel tells the story of a girl who must enter a world of ghosts, witches, and monsters to play a game with deadly consequences and rescue her aunt. Evie Von Rathe lives in Blight Harbor—the seventh-most haunted town in America—with her Aunt Desdemona, the local paranormal expert. Des doesn’t have many rules exc ..read more

**This post was originally published on Medium. Find me over there @kimventrella to read my other articles for writers.** My first middle grade novel came out with Scholastic in fall 2017, and I’ve learned a lot about marketing since then. I am not a marketing expert, and I do believe that only publishers can significantly move the needle in terms of sales. By significant, I mean that publisher activities can generate thousands or tens-of-thousands of sales. Having a title featured in the Scholastic Book Fairs can do that, for example. You probably can’t. But that ..read more