Age 14 – The No Man’s Land Between MG and YA -- Dianne K. Salerni

When my manuscript for THE EIGHTH DAY was submitted to an editor at HarperCollins, my protagonist Jax was 14 years-old. Before bringing it to the acquisitions board, however, the editor reduced his age to 13. Later, she explained to me that age 14 was a No Man’s Land as far as book stores (primarily Barnes & Noble) are concerned. If my main character was 14, the book would be shelved in the Teen section, where it didn’t belong. When I mentioned to her that there are 14 year-old protagonists in EVERLOST and that Percy Jackson ages past 14, she gently pointed out that I was not Neal Shusterman or Rick Riordan.

Four women MG authors: Main Characters aged respectively 13, 12, 11, and 14

I’m not alone in this experience. Within our Project Mayhem team alone, one author tells me she had to drop her protagonist’s age from 13 to 11, and another had to drop her character’s age from 14 to 12. A recent conversation thread in a Facebook group for MG Women Writers discussed the “Age 13-14 Problem” at length. Nine women reported having to drop the age of their main character at least one year to fit within MG specifications, and three said that their protagonist’s age was never directly stated, just to obscure the issue.

On the other hand, Mayhemer Paul Greci’s upcoming book, SURVIVING BEAR ISLAND, features a male 14 year-old protagonist, and author Robert Lattrick has two MG books via Hyperion Disney with main characters aged 14.

Four male MG authors: Main Characters aged respectively 14, 14, 14, and adult

At this point, I started wondering if it was a gender thing. Male authors are allowed to write age 14; female authors are not? But then someone pointed out that Terry Lynn Johnson’s MG book ICE DOGS features a 14 year old protagonist – and a female one at that. (Yay!)

So, what’s the deal? Is it just a random benchmark applied by one giant book store chain that some publishers buy into, and others don’t? Why does this particular age matter so much? A couple writers pointed out to me that 14 year-olds are usually high school freshmen – which means YA. But what if it’s not a contemporary realistic story set in high school?

What if it’s a story about a girl who discovers a storybook world? (STORYBOUND) How about a 19^th century pioneer girl trapped alone in a house during a blizzard? (MAY B.) When I first gave THE EIGHTH DAY to my agent, I wrote it as a YA novel, with a 15 year-old Jax.  My agent was excited about the manuscript but told me that the premise of a secret, hidden eighth day was all MG. So Jax dropped to 14 … and then to 13. And (of course) I made other changes to the manuscript for an MG audience – most of which were a lot more important than my main character’s age.

It seems to me that the premise of the story, the tone, the voice, and the themes matter more than the age of the main character. After all, Christopher Healy’s HERO’S GUIDE series features all grown-up characters! (Of course, he’s also a male author …)

So please – share your experiences! Have you been asked to lower the age of your protagonist to fall within an accepted MG range? Can you think of 14 year-old protagonists in MG books you’ve read? Are these characters male or female? What about the author?

Happy Book Birthday to Dianne Salerni--Middle Grade Mafioso's Interview and Review of THE EIGHTH DAY

We are always thrilled, here at Project Mayhem, to celebrate the successes of one of our own. Tuesday marked the book birthday of Dianne Salerni's THE EIGHTH DAY (HarperCollins), which I for one can't get enough of. In honor of Dianne, I am reposting a review and an interview from Middle Grade Mafioso--with the blog owner's permission. (Hey, the blog owner happens to be me, in partnership with Don Vito, so who's arguing?!)

What It's About (from Goodreads): In this riveting fantasy adventure, thirteen-year-old Jax Aubrey discovers a secret eighth day with roots tracing back to Arthurian legend. Fans of Percy Jackson will devour this first book in a new series that combines exciting magic and pulse-pounding suspense.

When Jax wakes up to a world without any people in it, he assumes it's the zombie apocalypse. But when he runs into his eighteen-year-old guardian, Riley Pendare, he learns that he's really in the eighth day—an extra day sandwiched between Wednesday and Thursday. Some people—like Jax and Riley—are Transitioners, able to live in all eight days, while others, including Evangeline, the elusive teenage girl who's been hiding in the house next door, exist only on this special day.

And there's a reason Evangeline's hiding. She is a descendant of the powerful wizard Merlin, and there is a group of people who wish to use her in order to destroy the normal seven-day world and all who live in it. Torn between protecting his new friend and saving the entire human race from complete destruction, Jax is faced with an impossible choice. Even with an eighth day, time is running out.

Opening Lines: "Jax pedaled home from the store and muttered in cadence with the rhythm of his bike wheels: This sucks. This sucks. This sucks."

Great Stuff: This is truly a fast-paced book which I couldn't put down. It starts with a mystery: after Jax's father's death, why is Jax no longer living with his his aunt Naomi? Why is Riley Pendare, a teenager whom Jax despises, his new guardian? And what did Riley say to Aunt Naomi and the lawyer to make them change their minds?

I loved the character arc, in which Jax little by little begins to understand his situation. I loved the interweaving of Arthurian legend, and the fantastic world Dianne Salerni creates, with Transitioners and Kin, and the mysterious Eighth Day. And the final battle atop a Mexican pyramid is a heart-stopper.

Dianne kindly agreed to answer some of my nosy questions:

1. Have you always been interested in Arthurian legend? Do you have a favorite novel set in this time period?

I’ve long had an interest in Arthurian legend. I can’t say that I have a favorite, but what I really enjoy is seeing the legends retold in new and surprising ways. (For example, I read an early draft of Camelot Burning, an Arthurian steampunk novel by Kathryn Rose. Highly recommended!)  

To be honest, when I started planning The Eighth Day, Arthurian legends weren’t part of the story at all. Then, while researching something else, I randomly stumbled upon the story of Merlin’s apprentice Niviane tricking him into a place of suspended time. Some versions of the tale call it an eternal forest; others describe it as a cave. There were similarities in the way this place was described and the vision I had for the eighth day. Once I’d noticed the possible connection, the idea stuck – and blossomed.

2. Is this your first published middle grade book? Can you tell us about the process of working with your editor?

This is my debut as a middle grade author. It’s strange that I waited so long to write a book for this age group, since I’m a fifth grade teacher.

Working with my editor, Alexandra Cooper, and her assistant, Alyssa Miele, has been wonderful. Originally, my book was acquired by Barbara Lalicki, and when Barbara retired, it was a few months before I was assigned a new editor – and I had a lot of time to worry if the new editor would love my book as much as Barbara did.

But Alexandra was great to work with. We went through several rounds of revision, and boy, did she make me work hard! But she got a better book out of me, and when I submitted my second manuscript to her, I couldn’t wait to receive her editorial notes. I trusted that her instincts would pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of my story and help me take it to a higher level.

3. If you were a Transitioner, who would you choose as your liege?

Without question, I would swear my allegiance to Riley. I know he doesn’t make a good impression at first, but Jax has reason to resent Riley in the beginning. We get a biased view of him. He’s not perfect, certainly, and he’s only 18 and inexperienced at leadership. However, by the end of the book, I think he’s someone worth following.

4. I loved the battle scene set on top of an Aztec pyramid. Did you travel to Mexico for research? Did you have any help in creating such a melee, or are you a military strategist in your own right?

I am in no way a military strategist! Originally, I planned the scene based solely on books, photographs, and YouTube videos of people who filmed themselves climbing the Pyramid of the Sun. For military expertise, I called on my brother-in-law, who’s a retired federal agent with combat experience. He laid out basic strategies for me, and I wrote the scene. Afterward, I sent him the chapters to read, and he let me know where I needed to tweak them.

Dianne: "Those steps were hard!"

But I worried a lot about writing all this based on the photographs and videos of strangers, so my husband said, “Let’s go to Mexico.” And we did! I can’t tell you how amazing it was to visit Teotihuacan after writing the book – and best of all, to discover that my scenes worked in that setting!

Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacan, Mexico

5. How do you balance working as a teacher and being a writer, as well as being an involved parent?

There are many days when it’s really hard to juggle those things. I’ll have schoolwork to do when I want to be writing. I’ll have emails from my editor I want to answer when I have a class to teach. Sometimes, I wonder why my family tolerates me when I’m holed up in the basement, writing and ignoring them.

In February and January, we lost a lot of school days to snow, ice, and power outages. We no longer have a spring break, and we might be going to school in July, but I used the days to make significant progress on the draft for Book 3 in the series. So for me, it was a blessing.

6. Are there any sequels in the works? Or any movie deals on the horizon?

Three books are planned, with the option for more if the series is successful. My editor and I completed revisions on Book 2, The Inquisitor’s Mark, in January. I’m hoping to get Book 3 written before The Inquisitor’s Mark boomerangs back from copy-editing.

Book 2 is tentatively scheduled for release in the Winter of 2015, and I think Book 3 will come out late that same year. No movie deals yet, but my agent is in contact with a Hollywood film agent with plans to shop it around.

Doesn't that sound exciting?! Dianne, the Project Mayhem cohorts are proud to have you in our midst. Happy Book Birthday!!!

Heroes and Villains #3: The Evolution of an Antagonist by Dianne K. Salerni

Character Art by Rachel Gillespie

We all know a villain when we see one. Black cape, nefarious cackle, possibly a mustache or long, sharp fingernails. Villains generally have evil goals, so they’re easy to spot even when they're not dressed in standard villain attire. But what makes a character an antagonist?

By definition, an antagonist is a character who stands in the way of the protagonist’s goals. An antagonist doesn’t have to be evil or act with open hostility against the hero. Sometimes, the antagonist might not be what he or she appears to be, as is the case for Andrew Clements’s character Mrs. Granger, the teacher who tries to thwart Nick’s efforts to adopt a new word for pen in Frindle.

In my latest book, The Eighth Day, which releases today (Today! Today! Today!), I have a few villains (some minor, some major), but there's also an important antagonist who, like Mrs. Granger, is not what he seems to be: Riley Pendare.

In an email regarding his review of The Eighth Day on Middle Grade Mafioso, fellow Mayhemer Michael Gittel-Gilmartin said that he liked how I “made a couple of initially not likable characters into people that by the end we were rooting for completely.”

I’m guessing Riley was one of them, since I deliberately set him up to be disliked. The protagonist, Jax, lays it out bluntly on the first page:

Riley sucks.

Riley Pendare is the 18 year-old tattooed and motorcycle-riding stranger who showed up after Jax’s dad died, claiming to be his legal guardian. Riley whisks Jax away from the only family he has left and then proceeds to neglect him.

What Jax told the caseworker was that Riley had forgotten to pay the electric bill and almost missed the gas bill; that he only brought home as many groceries as he could carry on his motorcycle; that he could barely take care of himself and was in no way capable of taking care of Jax.

Even after Jax gets an introduction to Grunsday, the secret eighth day of the week, via his guardian, he stubbornly refuses to revise his opinion.

Just because they shared this weird Grunsday thing didn’t mean he liked Riley.

Change happens slowly – and only as Jax learns about Riley’s backstory. They have more in common than he realized, and there’s a reason (a sad one) for his guardian’s neglectfulness. Almost against his will, Jax starts seeing Riley as person instead of an obstacle …

“When did I start worrying about Riley?”

… and eventually as someone to be admired. By the climax, when Jax is steeling himself to do something brave and daring, he knows who he needs to model himself after.

Riley would do it, he told himself.

They say that a villain is always the hero of his own story. Likewise, antagonists might not really be blocking the way to the hero’s goal – but, rather, pointing out the right path to a better goal!

Winner of Dianne Salerni's The Eighth Day (ARC)

I could not stop reading THE EIGHTH DAY yesterday, so the kids were very nearly late for school. It is a heart-stopper/page-turner and I really don't want to give up my copy. But a promise is a promise, and Random.org agrees. So, randomly, our winner is...

Suzanne Warr

I'll be contacting you soon, Suzanne, for your snail mail address. Thanks to all who entered--have a great weekend (watching my favorite team win the Superbowl.)

An Incurable Pantster Plots with Her Characters

With the galleys of THE EIGHTH DAY mailed back to the publisher and revisions of Book 2 sent to my editor, the time came to face Book 3. So I called on my characters for help ...

Dianne: Hello, team! Glad to have you all back for Book 3 in this series – and to the new characters, welcome. I assume you’ve seen the proposed outline for the next book, and ...well ... you know I’m not very good with outlines. But after two books, we’re used to working together, so I figure you guys will know where I’m going astray.

MG Protagonist: Well, there’s something majorly wrong with the climax. In the first book, we saved the world. I mean, the Villain was this close to succeeding. (holds up his fingers a millimeter apart) And in the second book, you backed off from that. There was plenty of exciting stuff, all right – my identity was at stake, and my two YA friends’ lives were in danger … But it was all very personal.

YA Character 1: Yeah, he’s right. Personal stakes were okay for Book 2, but in Book 3, we’ve got to get back to saving the world.

Dianne: But the New Villain has an evil plan … That's End of the World stuff right there.

YA Character 2: And you have us stopping him while he’s still three or four steps away from succeeding. Not very scary.

Dianne: I see your point.

New MG Character: If you let the New Villain get a little closer to success, he’s going to have to involve me. I’m going to have to make up my mind which side I’m on. Won’t that solve the problem you’re having with my character arc?

Dianne: You’re right. It will! Good idea!

New Villain: I object to my cartoonish nature. You did everything but give me a cape to swoop and a mustache to twirl. Can’t you provide me with some depth?

Dianne: Not in the outline, buster. You’re going to have to develop your personality on the page, just like everybody else here.

YA Character 1: Yeah. You should have seen how she had me planned in her outline for Book 1. But I set her straight by the end of the first draft.

Secondary MG Character: Hey, how come I don’t show up until the middle of the book? I was beginning to think I didn’t have a part!

Dianne: We couldn’t have a story without you! Readers simultaneously love you and want to strangle you. But you aren't needed until this part.

Secondary MG Character: But after you bring me in, I’ve got nothing to do. I don’t even see my name mentioned in the climax!

Dianne: I didn’t know how I was going to use you in the climax of Book 1 either, but I brought you along for the ride – and when the time came, I discovered what you needed to do. Trust me. You’re my wild card. When it’s time to use you, I’ll know.

Secondary YA Character: Now it’s my turn to complain. What’s this about me possibly dying?!

Dianne: It’s the third book. There should be casualties. We can’t just kill off bad guys and lose none of our own. What do you think this is, the Twilight series?

Secondary YA Character: But why me? Do you know how many times I’ve saved his life or bailed him out of trouble? (points at YA Character 1)

Dianne: That’s kind of why you have to go. That and your unrequited feelings for him.

YA Character 1: (holds his hands up) Hey, don’t kill her off for the sake of my character arc. I don’t want to take the rap for that!

MG Protagonist: I don’t think it’s fair for you to kill her as a cheap emotional trick.

Secondary YA Character: I refuse to be the All is Lost Moment! (starts cleaning her weapons in a threatening manner)

Dianne: I wouldn’t waste you like that. If you go, it will be a Turning Point – a Courageous Sacrifice for your friends. Otherwise, I won’t do it. Deal?

Secondary YA Character: (puts away her weapons) Deal. I’m never going to win his heart away from her anyway. (shoots a dirty glance at YA Character 2) I might as well go out in a Blaze of Glory.

YA Character 2: (under her breath) Please do.

MG Protagonist: Hey, the ending scene is all right by the way.  Good job there.  All that mushy stuff between the YA characters is over and it’s back to me. Me and  my MG friends and How I’ve Grown Up Since Book 1. But there’s still room for more, know what I mean? I’m only in eighth grade after all.

Dianne: That’s what we’re working toward, then. That ending. Okay, folks. Let me mull over the World Stakes Climax and New MG Character's arc, and we’ll meet back here for Chapter 1 in a couple days. We can do this. Right?

Right? Cross your fingers for me, PM readers. I hope I can do this!

Writing a Middle Grade Series by Dianne K. Salerni

There are a lot of things nobody told me about writing a middle grade series. NOT that I would have passed on the opportunity if I’d known, but sometimes, it’s good to know what you’re getting into!

At first, things moved at the normal pace of publishing. (Think: glacier.) Shortly after the contract, the editor who acquired my book and two sequels retired. It took several months for the publisher to assign me a new editor, and I had plenty of time to write the second book and even revise it a couple times – all while working the day job.

When my new editor sent me her revise letter last spring, we had several intense weeks, but still managed to turn the book in for copy-editing on time at the end of June. Since I’d already written the second book, I had the opportunity to tweak details in the first book to set things up for #2. Summer vacation arrived; I was off school and spent my time leisurely revising Book 2 and pondering Book 3. I turned in the second book in August and started working on the third, naively believing I would get it done before I needed to look at #2 again.

That didn’t happen. I went back to work in September and was almost immediately hit with: a) the galleys of Book 1 for review and b) an edit letter for Book 2. I’d only made it halfway through Book 3 – and was struggling with it – when suddenly I had to find time to work on three books simultaneously, while still keeping up with my full time teaching job.

There may have been a small panic attack at this point. Unlike Jax, my main character, I did NOT have an extra, secret day of the week to get this done!

I had to parcel out my time selectively. Book 3, which isn’t due to my editor until next April, was the first thing I cut from my schedule. I wasn’t going to have the luxury of completing it before revising Book 2. I closed that document on my desk top.

That was a big thing for me.

Then I took on the proof-reading. Reading your own work printed up all pretty is a lot more fun than revising. I read the galleys, beginning to end, and laid them aside.

Next, I accepted that Book 2 needed a new first chapter based on my editor’s excellent notes. I wrote it and revised/polished/revised/polished until it looked halfway decent.

Then I returned to the galleys of Book 1, read completely through them a second time and MAILED THEM BACK. That’s it. My work on the first book is done.

Now I’m digging into the other revisions for Book 2, having cleared my slate of everything else but the day job. (Let’s not even talk about the mental gear switching that takes place when I go to work every day and have to think about teaching instead of these books!) I’m trying not to worry about next spring, when I’ll need to finish writing Book 3 while gearing up for promotions on Book 1.

If my publisher picks up their option for two more books, this super-fast treadmill of multiple, overlapping projects will continue into the foreseeable future. (To quote George Jetson: “Jane, stop this crazy thing!”)

If they pass, the treadmill will come to a grinding halt. Of course, I’m hoping for the George Jetson thing. Crazy or not!