5 Tips for Writing a Scientific Genius When You Are Not One (by A. M. Morgen)

Hello! Welcome to the blog tour stop for The Inventors at No. 8, a new middle-grade read by A. M. Morgen—who was also nice enough to write an awesome little post for us here! Ms. Morgen has provided a rather unique and very useful how-to about character development. Because, you see, she's got one hefty character starring in her new book: the one and only Ada Lovelace. This book is a STEM-filled adventure that will be sure to win over readers!

About the Book

The Inventors at No. 8
A. M. Morgen

Little Brown Books (May 8, 2018)
978-0316471497

Meet George, the third Lord of Devonshire and the unluckiest boy in London. Why is George so unlucky? First, he's an orphan. Second, unless he sells everything, he's about to lose his house. So when his family's last heirloom, a priceless map to the Star of Victory (a unique gem said to bring its owner success in any battle) is stolen by a nefarious group of criminals, George knows that there is no one less lucky—or more alone—than he is.

That is until Ada Byron, the future Countess of Lovelace, bursts into his life. She promises to help George recover his family legacy, and is determined to find her own father along the way—all in a flying machine she built herself. Joined by a mischievous orangutan and the long-lost son of an infamous pirate, Ada and George take off on a cross-continent journey through the skies that will change their lives, and perhaps the world, forever.

Five Tips for Writing a Scientific Genius When You Are Not One

By A. M. Morgen

If you watch crime shows on TV, you might expect that geniuses are so common that they work in every police station. However, true geniuses are rare. Scientific geniuses are rarer still. Only .25% of the world’s population is estimated to have a genius-level IQ. But exceptional intellect alone doesn’t make a genius. A genius must also be creative and persistent enough to put their talents into practice.

When I decided to write a book with a scientific genius character based on Ada Lovelace, I worried I wouldn’t be able to write her convincingly. How was I supposed to write a character that was smarter than the reader, smarter than the other characters, and smarter than me? Luckily, Google and Wikipedia came to my rescue, but I discovered a few other strategies along the way. You can read Inventors at No. 8, to judge whether or not I was successful in my goal to write a convincing child genius. In the meantime, here are 5 tips to keep in mind when writing a genius of your own:

Treating Kids Like Experts (by Becca Lee Gardner)

Hello all! I've got a bit of a unique and special guest post today. Becca Lee Gardner has authored a book that targets an audience I'm often rallying behind: the between-ers. You know what I mean. The above easy readers but below big chapter books. The ones that really do need more options. We need to flood this market with book selections. And here Ms. Gardner is doing that with an original book series that's not actually quite published yet--it's a Kickstarter project. Check it out:

The Forest Glows
(The Hybrid World #1)
Written by Becca Lee Gardner, illustrated by Andrew Bosley

See the Kickstarter project here

THE FOREST GLOWS is a story of Milo trying to find his brother after an alien ship crashes into the Amazon Rainforest and the impact begins to change the forest into a hybrid of the alien world and Earth. Milo gains an ally in his search, a black jaguar, who has also lost something since the crash.

This is book 1 of 6 in this series!

Treating Kids Like Experts 

By Becca Lee Gardner

Kids are experts in story and imagination.

Ask a kid what they are drawing. Or to explain why something works the way it does. Or why there is a new scribbling of black marks on their bunk bed. Stories. Kids will tell innocent stories. Kids will take a world they don’t quite understand and piece it together with a story. And kids will sometimes tell the kind of stories that are crafted out of a moment of desperation. Kids experience their world through stories and so, even at a young age, they are experts in them.

The Best Thing I Did While Waiting for My Book to be Published (by Karlin Gray)

Welcome to another blog tour author guest post here on Literary Hoots! I'm so excited to have Karlin Gray sharing some very awesome tips about storytelling today (I raved about another of her pictures books, NADIA: THE GIRL WHO COULDN'T SIT STILL, in not one but two different book lists I made). She's got a brand new picture book out this week and some fantastic advice to share... 

About the Book

AN EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY MOTH
Written by Karlin Gray and Illustrated by Steliyana Doneva

Sleeping Bear Press (March 15, 2018)
978-1585363728

A dusty, grayish moth is feeling kind of down. He's nothing like the Luna moth, Spider moth, or Atlas moth. And don't even get him started on beloved butterflies! He's just not special like those insects. But then . . . a boy sees him and enlightens our little moth on how extraordinary ordinary can be.

Illustrated by Steliyana Doneva, AN EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY MOTH is a rhyming read-aloud picture book with back matter that includes fascinating moth facts and an outdoor activity.

Read an excerpt of AN EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY MOTH.

The Best Thing I Did While Waiting for My Book to be Published

By Karlin Gray

Patience is key in picture-book publishing. My first book took three years—from offer letter to printed books. My second picture book, the read-aloud AN EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY MOTH, took almost two years to be published. Everyone from the illustrator to the editor to the sales department needs their time to do their thing. So what did I do in the meantime?

Five Tips for Aspiring Fantasy Writers (by Kamilla Benko)

Welcome to today's blog tour stop for Kamilla Benko's debut middle-grade read: The Unicorn Quest. Not only am I excited to share this book, but also share her expertise on writing a good piece of fantasy. As a children's book editor and now author, she's got some fantastic advice. But first! The book itself...

About the Book

The Unicorn Quest
Kamilla Benko

Bloomsbury (January 30, 2018)
978-1681192451

Claire Martinson still worries about her older sister Sophie, who battled a mysterious illness last year. But things are back to normal as they move into Windermere Manor . . . until the sisters climb a strange ladder in a fireplace and enter the magical land of Arden.

There, they find a world in turmoil. The four guilds of magic no longer trust each other, the beloved unicorns have disappeared, and terrible wraiths roam freely. Scared, the girls return home. But when Sophie vanishes in the night, it will take all of Claire's courage to climb back up the ladder, find her sister, and uncover the unicorns' greatest secret.

Five Tips for Aspiring Fantasy Writers

By Kamilla Benko

When people ask me who are my favorite literary characters, I sometimes reply, “Hogwarts!” Or Pern, or Tortall, or Ketterdam, or Red London, depending on my mood. Hey, these are worlds, not characters, you might say. And you’d be absolutely right.  But I don’t see the difference. Worlds are what I fall in love with.

As an editor who has worked on several fantasy novels at the Big Five Houses and as the author of The Unicorn Quest, I’ve spent a lot of time creating and shaping new worlds, and I have five helpful steps to take as you begin to build your own.