(MMGM) Marisa de los Santos and David Teague, authors of Saving Lucas Biggs {Interview]

Be sure to check out the full schedule of this year’s 3rd Annual March MG Madness and enter to win a box of 6 books!

I'm so thrilled to have Marisa de los Santos and David Teague stopping by the March MG Madness today to chat about their new book...

Saving Lucas Biggs

by Marisa de los Santos and David Teague

4/29/14

Harper Collins

When thirteen-year-old Margaret's father is unfairly sentenced to death by the cruel Judge Biggs, she is determined to save him, even if it means using her family's secret-and forbidden-ability to time travel. With the help of her best friend, Charlie, and his grandpa Josh, Margaret goes back to a time when Judge Biggs was a young boy and tries to prevent the chain of events that transformed him into a corrupt, jaded man.

Goodreads / Amazon / B&N 

What three words best describe SAVING LUCAS BIGGS?

Friendship. Adventure. Time-travel.  (Yes, we hyphenated “time-travel” to make it fit!)

Can you give us your best one sentence pitch to convince readers, especially reluctant readers, to give SAVING LUCAS BIGGS a try?

When thirteen year old Margaret’s father is unfairly sentenced to death by the cruel Judge Biggs, she is determined to save him, even if it means using her family’s secret—and forbidden—ability to time travel.

Grab a copy of SAVING LUCAS BIGGS and answer the following:

Favorite Chapter

Marisa:  I love the part in Chapter Eight in which Josh and Luke climb the mountain together.   Their world has come crashing down around them.  Everyone they care about is hungry, injured, grief-stricken, homeless, but the boys still manage to steal a good moment.  It’s like they clear out a space in all the mess to just be friends.  They climb, they talk about things that matter to them, and then they stand on the top of that beautiful mountain and look down, and are filled with hope and courage, despite everything.

David:  My favorite is the opening chapter, written by my partner.  It’s like plunging over a waterfall.  You read the first words, and then you speed into the story faster and faster every second.  Margaret hears her father sentenced to death by forces so huge and powerful she can never stand up to them, but she refuses to lose hope, and the whole sequence is so beautifully written you can’t stop reading.  There is also a mysterious, almost magical incantation woven into the middle that piques your curiosity.  I’ve read this section out loud to audiences and in parts, everybody in the room stops breathing.

Favorite Page

Marisa:  Page 194.  Margaret’s just returned to the present, and she opens her eyes to see her best friend Charlie looking exactly the way he did when she left.  Until that moment, she never let herself consider the possibility that her playing with history could change not only the bad things but also the good ones.  As soon as she sees Charlie, it hits her that she could have changed him or even “disappeared” him, and, for one moment, the fact that she hasn’t is the only thing that matters.  “There was only room for:  thank you, thank you, thank you.”

David:  Page 99.  Aunt Bridey has been into her moonshine, and she gives Josh a piece of advice.  “Friendship,” she says, “will stand the test of time.”  Now of course, this is a time-travel novel, so that statement may or may not have more than one meaning.  Josh gamely tells Aunt Bridey, “I see.”  But she replies, mysteriously, “I doubt it.  Not now.  But you will.”  And part of the fun of the rest of the book is watching Josh and Margaret test the truth of Aunt Bridey’s declaration.

Flip to a random page and give us a 1-2 sentence teaser:

Page 117

“History resists,” I told him.

“Oh yeah, you said that yesterday.  What’s it mean?”

“History doesn’t want to be messed with.  It pushes back when you try.”

What inspired SAVING LUCAS BIGGS?  How did the story come to be?

First, the fictional events in Victory, Arizona, in 1938 are based on actual events in Ludlow, Colorado, in 1914, when a brave group of miners fighting for their rights were gunned down by a ruthless energy company.  

Second, we like stories about friends who solve problems together.  

Third, we like time-travel stories.

There are some memorable characters in Saving Lucas Biggs; do you have a favorite?  What do you love about him/her?  Did any of your characters end up surprising you with the way they turned out?

Marisa:  My favorite character is Josh because no matter how many awful things happened or how much time went by, he never lost faith in his friend.  He never stopped believing that somewhere, deep down, the good, loving, brave, honest parts of his friend still existed.  He had faith that one day, those parts would reemerge and triumph.  We should all have someone in our lives who is that true-blue and loyal and who believes in us even when we lose our way.

David:  Mine is also Josh.  At the very end of the book, you realize what’s kept him going all through the years, and if it’s not exactly a surprise, it’s more like something really wonderful about him that’s been hidden in plain sight all along.  

If you could time-travel, would you go to the past or future?  Where/when would you go?

David:  I would go to the past.  I’m interested in the future, but I’d prefer to get there the regular way, by passing through time.  I’d really like to go back to 1725 to hear Count Morzin’s orchestra perform Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons.”  

Marisa:  I want the future to stay wide open and surprising, so I’d go to the past.  I’d love to meet Louisa May Alcott and just talk to her for awhile about how she wrote such incredible characters, although it’s possible I’d be too awestruck to speak!

As middle grade authors, why do you think middle-grade is so important?  What do you love about writing and reading middle-grade?

Marisa:  As much as I read and love books now, books have never meant more to me than they did when I was eleven or twelve.  I didn’t read books back then, I climbed inside them, and a lot of times, felt more at home in them than I did in the real world.  The characters were my friends (or enemies!), and no one could ever convince me that they were just figments of someone else’s imagination.  I love thinking that someone could read a book I wrote like that.  I love thinking that Margaret could help some kid feel brave or that Charlie could be someone’s true friend.

David:  I think my best self is the twelve-year-old self inside of me, and I think that may be true for a lot of people.

What is your all-time favorite middle grade book, middle grade hero, and middle grade heroine?

Marisa:  THE FOUR STORY MISTAKE by Elizabeth Enright is my favorite book.  I still read it and all Elizabeth Enright’s books every year, without fail!  Meg Murray from A WRINKLE IN TIME is my favorite heroine because she spends most of her life being fairly ordinary, not outrageously brilliant or brave, but she comes through when she needs to and everything courageous thing she ever does is out of love for the people in her life.  

David:  THE DARK IS RISING by Susan Cooper is my favorite middle-grades book.  I’ll never forget the opening, as Will Stanton, on that eerie winter day, feels the Dark begin to grow stronger all around him, not knowing that he, just a regular eleven-year-old boy, will be called upon to beat it back.  When I first read that book, I saw how much could be expected from an ordinary, everyday boy, and I saw how much a boy like that could accomplish.  I think that Will, in that book, is also my favorite middle-grades hero.

Fill in the blanks:

I'm really awesome at ___.

I'm really embarrassed to admit that ___.

The last great boo I read was ___.

Marisa:  I’m really awesome at writing with a dog on my lap, sometimes two dogs!  I’m really embarrassed to admit that I have a terrible sense of direction and get lost going places I’ve been to a dozen times; also, I steal people’s French fries.  The last great book I read was ELEANOR AND PARK by Rainbow Rowell.

David:  I’m really awesome at catching grapes thrown far into the air.  Seriously—three or four stories high.  Or at least I used to be.  I haven’t practiced in a while.  I’m really embarrassed to admit that the only reason I make up my bed is so I can yell at my kids to make up their beds.  The last great book I read was THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING, TRAITOR TO THE NATION by M. T. Anderson.

If you were to create and bake a cupcake inspired by Saving Lucas Biggs, what would it look and taste like, and what would you call it?  

There are actually cupcakes in SLB!  Margaret’s mom is a professional baker and her dad’s a geologist.  One year, her mom is away on Margaret’s birthday, and her dad has to make the cupcakes.  They sink in the middle, so he fills up the holes with frosting, which would have been okay, except the something goes wrong with the frosting, so it turns hard as a rock.  As soon as he realizes this, he announces that they are pet rock cupcakes, and all the kids pull the icing rocks out of their cupcakes and play with them for the rest of the party.  This says a lot about what makes Margaret’s dad such an extraordinary guy, but it also brings out a theme of the book:  when things look grim, shift your perspective, get creative, and turn the grim thing into something amazing.

Thanks so much for stopping by Marisa and David!

Marisa: goodreads

David: goodreads 

(MMGM) Paul Durham, author of The Luck Uglies {Review and Interview}

Be sure to check out the full schedule of this year’s 3rd Annual March MG Madness and enter to win a box of 6 books!

I'm very excited to have Paul Durham stopping by the March MG Madness today...

The Luck Uglies

by Paul Durham

4/29/14

Harper Collins Childrens

The Luck Uglies is the first in a tween fantasy-adventure trilogy brimming with legends come to life, a charming wit, and a fantastic cast of characters-and is imbued throughout with the magic of storytelling.

Strange things are happening in Village Drowning, and a terrifying encounter has Rye O'Chanter convinced that the monstrous, supposedly extinct Bog Noblins have returned. 
Now Rye's only hope is an exiled secret society so notorious its name can't be spoken aloud: the Luck Uglies. As Rye dives into Village Drowning's maze of secrets, rules, and lies, she'll discover the truth behind the village's legends of outlaws and beasts...and that it may take a villain to save them from the monsters.

The first in a series, The Luck Uglies is an altogether irresistible cross of Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain, Stefan Bachmann's The Peculiar, and Chris Healy's The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, overflowing with adventure, secrets, friendship, and magic.

Goodreads / Amazon / B&N / Indiebound

Bursting with adventure, charming fantasy elements, plucky characters, and irresistible wit, The Luck Uglies is a fantastically fun first book in Paul Durham’s debut middle-grade trilogy!

Eleven year old Rye O’Chanter doesn’t really believe in the nasty, man-eating Bog Noblins...until she has a terrifying encounter with one. Now, Village Drowning is in danger from these devilish beasts, and their only hope may lie in their biggest outlaws: the Luck Uglies. A band of rogue “criminals”, who saved the village from the last Bog Noblin attack, the Luck Uglies have been banished by the greedy Earl Longchance. But with the appearance of a mysterious stranger called Harmless, Rye discovers there’s more to the Luck Uglies, Bog Noblins, and maybe even her own family.

The Luck Uglies was such a delightfully exciting page-turner! Paul Durham has spun a wholly captivating and engaging story that young readers won’t be able to put down. Gruesome beasts, thrilling outlaws, secret tunnels, frightening dungeons, enchantments, oh my! This book has it all and then some!

Fast-paced and full of breathtaking action and chills, this is an easy book to devour. Durham weaves together familiar fantasy elements, smart sparkling storytelling, and unforgettable characters to create something truly magical. With an enchanting voice and whimsical atmosphere, The Luck Uglies captures that special something middle-grade readers crave.  Village Drowning appears, at first, like an ordinary medieval village, but holds many enthralling, surprising, and kooky secrets. With wildly fun street/store/place names and eccentric inhabitants, Village Drowning makes for a wonderful setting. I loved traversing the village’s streets (and roofs and hidden underground passages!) with Rye and her friends.

Durham’s large cast of characters provide endless entertainment! From the heroic to the outlandish, from the endearing to fun to hate, from the laugh-out-loud funny to the entirely unexpected, there’s so much to love about these eclectic band of characters. Rye is the perfect mix of fun, clever, compassionate, brave, and troublemaker, and with her two best friends, sweet Quinn and feisty, impossible-not-to-love Folly, they make an irresistible and dynamic trio. And of course, the gruesome, terrifying, vile Bog Noblins make for spectacularly spooky enemies...although, the real villain of the story may just surprise you ;)

My Final Thoughts: I enjoyed every moment of this wildly fun adventure-fantasy and cannot wait for book two! The Luck Uglies and Paul Durham are fantastic additions to the world of middle-grade fantasy.

MY RATING

What three words best describe The Luck Uglies?

Villains. Heroes. Both?

Can you give us your best one sentence pitch to convince readers, especially reluctant readers, to give The Luck Uglies a try?

No one in Village Drowning shed a tear when the legendary villains called the Luck Uglies disappeared…that is, until they realized that sometimes it takes a villain to save you from the monsters.

Grab a copy of The Luck Uglies and answer the following:

favorite chapter?

If I had to pick a favorite chapter I’d say Chapter 9. It includes the very first conversation between Rye and Harmless and establishes the central relationship that propels the book and the series. And I like to think it’s a little bit funny too.

favorite page?

My favorite page would be page 1, because there is something magical about writing or reading the first page of a fantasy book—it’s like moving to a new town where anything is possible.

flip to a random page and give us a 1-2 sentence teaser?

Page 82, Rye is relieved when she makes it home before her mother discovers that she snuck out to the Dead Fish Inn on the night of the Black Moon. But her relief turns to alarm when she finds that her friend Quinn and her little sister are missing, and the family pet rushes out and disappears into the bogs.    

What inspired The Luck Uglies? How did the story come to be?

Three years ago, as my daughters’ thoughts turned to Christmas, my oldest asked if I would write her a story as a gift. One we could read together. It had never occurred to me to write for young readers before, and yet, with that one simple request, everything changed. That story would become the early chapters of The Luck Uglies. After we read it on Christmas Eve I was presented with the all-important question: “What happens next?” To which I replied honestly, “I don’t know.” Turns out it wasn’t an acceptable answer. I completed the rest of the book over the next three months, one chapter per week, each read aloud by the fireplace to my small but enthusiastic audience.

There are some memorable characters in The Luck Uglies do you have a favorite? What do you love about him/her? Did any of your characters end up surprising even you with the way they turned out?

It’s too hard to pick just one. Although Rye and Harmless are obvious choices, the book’s setting—Village Drowning itself—may be another favorite. Other than Rye, the village is the only “character” that is truly with us on every page of the book, and its atmosphere has an undeniable influence on everyone who dwells there. Drowning has a life all its own, and it’s fun for me to peek into its alleyways now and then to uncover what secrets its shadows have yet to reveal.  

If you could live in any fictional fantasy world, which would you choose? What would you do there?

Most of the fictional fantasy worlds I read about are dark and dangerous places, so I probably wouldn’t want to linger in any of them for very long (Village Drowning included). That said, each morning I get to traipse across my yard and spend hours making up stories in an abandoned chicken coop at the edge of the woods. So, I guess I actually get to live in my own fictional fantasy world every day.

As a middle-grade author, why do you think middle-grade is so important? What do you love about writing and reading middle-grade?

For me, the very best middle grade books have a timeless quality that can blur the lines between child and adult reader. Middle grade readers are still kids, but they are starting to explore and understand the world in a different way. At the same time, they remain open to the wonder, enthusiasm and imagination that we too often lose in our teenage and adult years. I love reading middle grade fiction because it focuses on the fundamental challenges of finding our way in this world. Who couldn’t use a refresher?

What is your all time favorite middle-grade book, middle-grade hero, and middle-grade heroine?

The Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander has stayed with me ever since I was a child. I’ve reread the series twice as an adult and it still holds up as compelling reading. Its five books tell a story that is timeless and epic in scope, and yet the storytelling remains intimate and accessible. For heroes and heroines, I’ll skew on the more recent side. A current favorite is Bartimaeous, the sarcastic djinni of Jonathan Stroud’s series of the same name (I’ve always been drawn to unconventional heroes). Coraline, the eponymous heroine of Neil Gaiman’s terrific book, is another favorite.

Fill in the blanks:

I’m really awesome at day dreaming.

I’m really embarrassed to admit that my library books are always overdue.

The last great book I read was The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

If you were to create and bake a cupcake inspired by The Luck Uglies, what would it look and taste like, and what would you call it?

The “Ragged Clover” cupcake would be vanilla cake topped with black frosting in the shape of a black four leaf clover. The surprise would be that the black frosting actually tastes like lemon (I’m a big fan of lemon cupcakes). Unfortunately, if I baked it myself it would probably taste awful—I can’t cook or bake anything that doesn’t involve a grill.

Than you so much for stopping by Paul!

website * goodreads * twitter * facebook

Paul Durham was raised in Massachusetts and attended college and law school in Boston. He now lives in Exeter, New Hampshire, with his wife, two daughters and an enormous, bushy creature the local animal shelter identified as a cat. He writes in an abandoned chicken coop at the edge of a swamp and keeps a tiny porcelain frog in his pocket for good luck.