Dear Esteemed Reader, After 13 years of amazing interviews with authors and publishing professionals, guest posts and book reviews, blog posts and 212 podcast conversations, this site is on indefinite hiatus.  Never say never. I can't imagine staying away forever, but I am no longer accepting requests for reviews, interviews, or anything else. An explanation as to why I'm putting this blog on hiatus can be found in this post. But not to worry, the site will remain live so you can continue to enjoy the archives. Thank you for your support these many years. It's meant more than you ..read more

  Esteemed Reader, I fear 2023 likely marks the end of Middle Grade Ninja.  Never say never, but I think it's time for me to move on. And this is, in part, my goodbye to you. Thank you for your support these many years  It's meant more than you can know. Truthfully, I think I knew it was likely to end when I wrote last year's post, I just didn't want to admit it.  And then on 03/03/23, God spoke to me. Directly. That has a way of putting things in perspective (hopelessly imperfect though that perspective may be). Some of you Esteemed Readers will shake your heads and ..read more

To watch new episodes as they air, go to my YouTube channel and subscribe. For shorter clips, subscribe to the Middle Grade Ninja YouTube channel. Middle Grade Ninja is available on Anchor, Spotify,  Stitcher, Amazon, itunes, Podbean, RadioPublic,  Listen Notes, and many other fine locations. It’s the fifth mega-sized Middle Grade Ninja clips show, featuring snippets from episodes 147 through 196 that aired in 2022. New episodes are scheduled to return January 14th. Until then, enjoy this compilation of clips from conversati ..read more

To watch new episodes as they air, go to my YouTube channel and subscribe. For shorter clips, subscribe to the Middle Grade Ninja YouTube channel. Middle Grade Ninja is available on Anchor, Spotify,  Stitcher, Amazon, itunes, Podbean, RadioPublic,  Listen Notes, and many other fine locations. In the final(ish) episode of the Middle Grade Ninja podcast, Chrystal D. Giles and I discuss her practical, data-driven approach to writing fiction that led to her newest novel, NOT AN EASY WIN. It’s a great conversation to end on as we disc ..read more

To watch new episodes as they air, go to my YouTube channel and subscribe. For shorter clips, subscribe to the Middle Grade Ninja YouTube channel. Middle Grade Ninja is available on Anchor, Spotify,  Stitcher, Amazon, itunes, Podbean, RadioPublic,  Listen Notes, and many other fine locations. Tamar Rydzinski and I discuss her career in publishing, specifically her time at Sanford Greenburger Associates and the Laura Dail Literary Agency, where she became vice president and director of subrights, and now as the president and founder of ..read more

To watch new episodes as they air, go to my YouTube channel and subscribe. For shorter clips, subscribe to the Middle Grade Ninja YouTube channel. Middle Grade Ninja is available on Anchor, Spotify,  Stitcher, Amazon, itunes, Podbean, RadioPublic,  Listen Notes, and many other fine locations. Yarrow and Carrie Cheney share the story of how they were best friends for a decade, lived together as roommates, worked as partners on multiple animation projects, and then decided to get married after their first date. We talk about their new n ..read more

 To watch new episodes as they air, go to my YouTube channel and subscribe. For shorter clips, subscribe to the Middle Grade Ninja YouTube channel. Middle Grade Ninja is available on Anchor, Spotify,  Stitcher, Amazon, itunes, Podbean, RadioPublic,  Listen Notes, and many other fine locations. Janine Le and I discuss her career in publishing from her first internship to her twelve years with the Sheldon Fogelman Agency to founding the Janine Le Agency. We talk about how she evaluates her slush pile, how she handles submissions an ..read more

  Author Rob Kent reads seven chapters from his new middle grade novel, GOODBYE TO GRANDMA. Purchase your copy here: https://amzn.to/3Jk8v4AAbout the book: A part of her would always be with me. Always. When 11-year-old Hailey Smith attends her grandma’s funeral, she can’t cry, no matter how hard she tries. And she tries everything. Hailey’s going to be a famous actress someday. Naturally, she gets the lead in the sixth-grade play. But she’s expected to cry in the third act. On stage. In front of everyone. How can she cry for a play when she couldn’t cry at her grandma’s funera ..read more

  When you hold my novel in your hands, Esteemed Reader, you hold my beating heart. That’s true no matter which of my books you happen to be holding, even the adventure stories. There are chapters in all three Banneker Bones books I cannot read without tears threatening. When you’re holding Goodbye to Grandma, you’re holding a much younger version of my heart. Yet, 20 years after its first draft, I still feel everything Hailey feels, and I still cry at multiple places in the story every time I read them. What may read for some as simple and unsophisticated in places is actually the faith ..read more

To watch new episodes as they air, go to my YouTube channel and subscribe. For shorter clips, subscribe to the Middle Grade Ninja YouTube channel. Middle Grade Ninja is available on Anchor, Spotify,  Stitcher, Amazon, itunes, Podbean, RadioPublic,  Listen Notes, and many other fine locations. Anthony Peckham and I discuss the differences between writing a screenplay and writing a novel, as well as the inspiration for and craft employed in his incredible debut, CHILDREN OF THE BLACK GLASS. We also talk about why making terrible th ..read more