MG KidLit ALERT!
Hey Writers,
I've missed you!! Since starting my MFA program at VCFA (Vermont College of Fine Arts), I've been a reading and writing crazy person over here at Teazurs Blog - none of which I have shared...yet. Soon you will see...but my personal learning and writing have taken me away from my love of promoting and hooraying kidlit authors.
But today, we are back!! And talking with Ellie Kirk, a writer whose imagination moves with intention—wide enough for wonder, sharp enough for truth. Her middle-grade stories carry that rare blend of heart and momentum, the kind that keeps young readers turning pages and adults remembering why these books matter. I’m excited to share her process and insights with you.
You have been creative since you were a child – where did that creativity come from? Who helped you with it? A teacher? Parent? Sibling? Friend?
I would have to say it started with my mom reading to me before I went to bed. That’s when I fell in love with storytelling. I learned to read on my own, and then I wrote my first little story when I was seven. I’ve always had a wildly outsized imagination, and my parents didn’t try to curb that quirk—they let me run with it. And I’ve been running ever since.
What snack helps you write faster? Do you listen to soundtracks while you write? What's your process like?
I’m not sure if this counts as a snack, but hot tea helps me focus. During the little ritual of choosing a teapot, boiling the water, putting the tea leaves in an infuser, letting it steep, and then finally pouring the tea into a mug, I’m thinking about what I’ll be writing. By the time I sit down at the keyboard, I already have a couple of paragraphs composed in my mind.
I listen to instrumental music when I write. Complete quiet makes me feel empty, but lyrics distract me from what I’m writing. So jazz, classical, and new age music fill the silence, but don’t pull me out of the story.
My daily writing process is: Hey, I haven’t written yet today. Better get to it. Then, after one thousand words or so: That’s it, I’m spent. It’s not the most inspiring process, but it gets the job done, four pages at a time!
You recently had your middle-grade book released - May 2025 - what did that feel like? How did you honor yourself for this accomplishment?
My pub date felt like the exclamation point at the end of a very long sentence!
What a relief—
my book was finally released into the wild.
To celebrate, I threw myself a big book launch party, and it was the best day of my life. There was a line out the door for the book signing, and all my “squad pods”—friends, family, neighbors, colleagues—met each other. It was loud, fun, funny, chaotic, joyful, and we sold out (all 120 copies) in less than two hours! I still smile when I think about that launch party.
What Faire worlds did you dream up that didn't make it into the book, and will they in another one? Will there be a sequel?
I needed to cut A LOT of characters from this book, both human and beast. There were so many it got to be confusing. Drake the dragon and Dash the giant white saber-tooth tiger were hard to relegate, but they’ll show up sooner or later. I’ve finished the draft of the sequel, tentatively titled Chaos at the Faire of Worlds. We’ll see how far it goes!
Which character surprised you while you were writing this story? What was the weirdest thing that inspired that character?
Izzy was a big surprise! He started out just chaotic and goofy, but as I wrote him, he evolved into a poignant character who hides his trauma by being over the top and extra. And when the good guys had to do dangerous things, Izzy was heroic, brave, and quick-thinking.
And the weirdest thing that inspired Izzy was his real name—Islagiatt. Which is an acronym for his favorite saying: It seemed like a good idea at the time (since he’s a ready-fire-aim kind of character). Izzy’s full name and its associated acronym were cut at some point but “Izzy” remained. It’s the perfect name for him.
What was your favorite book when you were in middle school? And do you own a copy today?
My favorite middle-school book was The Mystery of the Witches’ Bridge by Barbee Oliver Carleton and yes, I own a copy. Not the original, though—I read that one to tatters long ago. Thank goodness for ThriftBooks!
How did this story come into your mind - was it a dream, did you sit and plan and outline it, or was it from your childhood? And how long did it take before it was published?
One of my all-time favorite novels is Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. I read it once every couple of years. One day a few years back I thought, What would happen if Cougar and Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show had a choice as to whether it was good or evil? A few years after that, I wrote the first draft of what eventually became Bonnie Bailey and the Faire of Worlds. It took me about a year to finish the manuscript I submitted to agents in 2023.
If the Faire of Worlds had a theme song, what would it be and why?
Make Your Own Kind of Music, written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, debuted in 1969 by Mama Cass Elliot. The lyrics are the Faire of Worlds in a nutshell, and especially applicable to Bonnie’s character arc. We all have limitations, we all have dreams, we all have to work our way through tough times (sometimes alone, sometimes with help), and we all have to make decisions about what to hold onto and what to let go. And it’s a joyful song that’s also a little bittersweet, just like my book.
You say ideas "find you" where have they popped up, and where was the funniest or most inconvenient? (Mine often come at 1:00 AM, and I have to email myself - ugh, that late-night muse!)
HAHA! Like me, my muse is in bed and asleep by 11:00 PM. My ideas show up when I’m out walking (and I walk A LOT). It may look like I’m striding along by myself, but I actually have at least three or four characters walking with me, as well as plot points and story arcs bouncing along with us. I NEVER walk alone. I keep the notes app open on my phone so I can jot down dialogue or plot points, otherwise I’ll forget them by the time I get home.
Did you go to school for writing or take any writing classes that you recommend to other writers? Are you in a critique group or SCBWI?
Before I retired, I was an instructional writer for over thirty years, so I’ve been writing for a living since the ‘80s. That’s how I learned to write with economy and purpose. Instead of classes, I’ve relied on craft books like Stephen King’s On Writing, Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic, Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, and Ralph Keyes’ The Courage to Write. And of course, I read dozens of books every year, and there’s nothing like reading to improve your writing.
I currently belong to SCBWI and I like the online workshops about book promotion and marketing. Years ago, when I started getting serious about fiction writing, I belonged to a critique group, and it was invaluable. Nowadays, I have a few trusted beta readers who gently tear apart my manuscript after I’ve handed it over to them. They give it to me straight in terms of what works, what needs to change, and what flat-out doesn’t work at all.
If you could ask a reader one question - what would it be?
What’s your favorite book?
What's your favorite way to get unstuck when you're in the middle of a story idea?
I go for a long walk. The fix I’m looking for shows up somewhere around mile two.
Do you have a writing ritual that feels magical or superstitious?
I don’t. The act of writing—spinning characters and worlds and stories out of thin air—feels magical enough for me.
Writers often complain of sitting for long periods of time - what do you do to help combat back and neck pain or sitting too long? Or when your hands hurt from typing - what helps?
I’m too antsy to sit still for long periods of time! I only write in brief sprints—forty-five minutes, max. That’s enough to write a scene. When I’m done with a scene, I have to disconnect from the manuscript and mentally reboot. I’ll live my life for a few hours (do some chores, run errands, go for a walk) and if a new scene bubbles up, I’ll do another sprint. If not, I’m done for the day. So I don’t suffer from back or hand pain—that sounds AWFUL!
Be good to yourselves, fellow writers!
If you could bring one of your characters to an author event, who would it be and what would they do?
Peg the Pegasus, of course. We’d fly in, do some publicity photos, children could feed Peg treats, I’d sign books and then we’d fly out. What could be a more perfect, memorable author event than that?
If I gave you a megaphone and the whole world would listen, what's the one sentence or one word you would shout?
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
What do readers say about Bonnie Bailey?
“Bonnie’s just like you!” That’s what people who know me and know the book say. It cracks me up!
Authors often have book signings (and you have a ton this month)- how do you book one for those newbie authors out there wanting to do this? What would you tell them that you wish you had known about signings?
My advice is the same as the advice my agent and my editor gave me. I put together a promo kit that included a copy of the book, my author one-sheet, some good reviews my book received (I chose reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal), activity sheets I give away to children, and promotional materials like stickers and bookmarks. I made a list of local bookstores and looked at their websites to learn about them.
Then I visited the bookstores in person, introduced myself, gave the person I spoke to my promo kit, and asked about their policy on book signings. If the bookseller expressed interest, I’d get their email address and follow up with an email to schedule the event. I visited two dozen local bookstores—an even split between Barnes & Noble stores and independent bookstores.
All but one Barnes & Noble bookstore scheduled an event with me, and only one independent bookstore scheduled an event. I’m not sure if book signings move the sales needle right away, but they did get my book into bookstores that otherwise may not have carried it. And I met lots of nice people and had so much fun.
Do you have an agent? If so, who? If no, how did you find your publisher? Any advice for newer writers on this process?
Mary Cummings of Great River Literary is my wonderful agent. When it was time to start querying, I went through the Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market reference guide and made a spreadsheet of all the agents who were open to new queries and wanted stories like mine. I ended up with sixty names, and I customized every query to each agent’s specific requirements. The CWIM is no longer published, but QueryTracker is a free online resource all writers can use to research agents and publishers.
The best advice I can offer is to really study the listings and customize each query based on what the agent asks for. If the agent wants a synopsis and the first twenty-five pages, provide that—nothing more, nothing less. It shows basic respect for the agent and also shows the author’s attention to detail. Those factors, as well as a great manuscript and a business plan for how you will promote and market your book, are an effective way to demonstrate you are taking the business of writing seriously.
What's it like being a professional writer when it comes to time to write versus time to promote your published books?
What do you think about social media for authors - helpful or time sucker? Which one works the best for middle-grade readers to find you?
For better or worse, an author needs an active social media presence. The person who buys middle-grade books may not be a middle-grade reader—it’s often a parent, teacher, or librarian, so I focus on them. I post to my Instagram account daily, and now that the first draft of the second book is done and I have time to write other things, I’m going to resurrect my blog. Does any of that help? I have no idea! I think TikTok (specifically BookTok) is the app with an edge when it comes to generating buzz about books, but I haven’t cracked that code yet.
How do you balance whimsy and worldbuilding for middle-grade readers? Did you use a worldbuilding resource? A book? App? Website? Just your imaginative mind?
I’ve consumed fantasy media for decades (novels, comic books, television shows, movies) and I played D&D for a bunch of years. Everything I need to write fantasy resides in my head!
How do you revise scenes or characters that you love? In other words, how do you kill your darlings?
I have a word count in my mind, and I write to that. I tend to overwrite, so I know ahead of time that a lot of content is going to get cut. After I finish a full draft, I let it sit for a couple of weeks, and then I go in with my scythe and reap.
And I don’t kill my darlings—I save them. I put everything I remove into an odds-and-ends folder so I can repurpose it in future content.
This is an open question: Is there something you are dying to tell us that I did not ask?
Your interview questions are remarkably thorough! I guess the only thing I’d like to add is that...
...if a person wants to be an author,
they need to start this second.
Don’t wait.
Write something now. Learn your craft. Grow your social media presence. Find your squad of fellow authors and help one another. Set a goal and spend time every single day moving towards that goal.
I read somewhere that if you started pursuing your dream last year, think about how much closer you’d be today. I sent out my first query in 2023. Right now, today, this very second, my book is in bookstores across the country. So really—what are you waiting for?
Wowza! Thank you, Ellie!!
For sharing your time, your process, and the worlds you’re building. Your honesty and craft awareness offer so much for writers to learn from. I’m grateful to add your voice to Teazurs, and I know readers—young and grown—will feel the impact of your work.
Wishing you momentum, clarity, and joy as you move toward the next book.
If you would like to join Ellie on her fantastic writing journey, follow her here...
Facebook: Ellie-Kirk
Substack: @elliekirk
GoodReads: ellie-kirk
Website: Ellie Kirk
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And if you would like to be interviewed...
reach out...I will cheer you on...along with thousands of readers....and you deserve the HIP HIP HOORAY-- Just like Ellie!
