Hello and welcome to my new Book Club for some of the most fantastic middle-grade books for family-friendly fiction I know! Good reads for this genre are not always easy to find, but they are so needed! I hope you will find something here to take home.
My first author is a good friend of mine, Phyllis Wheeler. Phyllis and I met several years ago at a writing conference and we hit it off. Both of us have similar visions for fiction for the younger audience and I truly admire Phyllis’s work in middle-grade fiction that makes a difference.
Phyllis is a homeschooling veteran, loves time-travel stories with a bit of fantasy thrown in. She writes books for kids that feature strong families and a moral compass. Phyllis is the author of The Long Shadow, a time-travel tale that won a Purple Dragonfly Award and a Moonbeam Award. She and her husband live in St. Louis, where she tends her milkweed garden and hopes for butterflies.
Question One: Phyllis, how much worldbuilding or plotting do you do before you write your book?
A: Well, I know the ending. And I extensively interview my characters to find out what’s up with them. Then I start writing, discovering so much along the way.
This way of creating isn’t a speedy way to write a book. Plenty of other writers have their books outlined down to specific details before they start writing. But I tried to write a book that way once. I had a detailed outline, a spreadsheet with a line for each scene saying what happens in the scene. Then I couldn’t write it! I already knew what happened, and there was nothing to discover!
So it takes me a long time to write a book.
Question Two: What in your opinion are the best elements to a good story?
A: A compelling character with an apparently unsolvable problem. A colorful antagonist is a big plus!
A great story pulls the reader into an emotional journey with the protagonist, who has a goal but keeps getting thwarted. Finally, of course, ta da, happy ending! I love happy endings.
I love happy endings as well, but I’ve been known to have a cliffhanger from time to time! But, there’s something to be said for those oh-so-satisfying Happily Ever Afters!
Thank you Phyllis. Now on to your newest release!
The Dog Snatcher: Guardians of Time Book 1 Releasing November 1st
Eleven-year-old Jake is amazed to find a strange silver key at the end of his suburban driveway. Then a teenage boy kidnaps the family dog and vanishes. Jake and his twin Ava are determined to find their dog, and soon they use the key to seek help in–of all places–a clock shop.
This clock shop travels through time and space, piloted by a 500-year-old Swiss alchemist. But the dog snatcher isn’t easy to catch. He’s a centuries-old alchemist too.
An illustrated family-friendly story full of surprises, including a trip to France in 1680. For ages 8-11.
Thank you for joining us today, Phyllis!
Amazon link for The Dog Snatcher here.
Find Phyllis online:
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