Interview With Rajani LaRocca!

Today I'm happy to present an interview with Rajani LaRocca! Ms. LaRocca is the author of the Middle Grade book, Midsummer's Mayhem, which releases June 4th.

Here's the interview!

The bold font are the questions I asked, the regular font are her answers, and the bold italic font are my comments about her answers.

1. Would you please describe your debut book, Midsummer's Mayhem, in seven words?
A Midsummer Night's Dream meets competitive baking.

2. Have you always wanted to be a Middle Grade author?
I've always loved books and read them everywhere, all the time, from a young age. But my first dream was to become a doctor. I did a lot of creative writing from grade school through college, but when I got to medical school and residency, I stopped due to lack of time and head space. A few years ago, once I was established in my medical career and my children were in school and busy with their own activities, I returned to writing. And once I started, I couldn't stop! I feel that writing books for kids and practicing medicine complement each other, and I wrote a blog post about this topic that you can find here: https://mgbookvillage.org/2018/02/19/writing-like-a-doctor-doctoring-like-a-writer/ And now, all these years after falling in love with books as a child, I hope some kids fall in love with mine.

3. Random Question! What's your favorite movie?
I have to choose Bend It Like Beckham. I love the main character, her well-meaning family, and the story of pursuing your dreams no matter what obstacles you encounter.

4. What's one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors?
Remember that the only thing you can control is yourself. Publishing is full of "no," but if you keep investing in yourself and your writing, it will pay off. Make connections to other writers, and learn from each other. And rejection-proof yourself by believing that you will eventually get to YES.

That's great advice! :)

5. What are some books you're looking forward to reading in 2019? And if you've already read some '19 books, do you want to mention them?
I've read some stunning MG 2019 debuts, including: CATERPILLAR SUMMER by Gillian McDunn, PIE IN THE SKY by Remy Lai, THE SIMPLE ART OF FLYING by Cory Leonardo, and PLANET EARTH IS BLUE by Nicole Panteleakos. I also can't wait to read SEVENTH GRADE VS. THE GALAXY by Josh Levy, SUPER JAKE AND THE KING OF CHAOS by Naomi Milliner, ALL OF ME by Chris Baron, THE STORY THAT CANNOT BE TOLD by Jessica Kramer, and A GOOD KIND OF TROUBLE by Lisa Moore Ramee. There are so many others I'm eager to read—too many to name here—but you can learn about them all on the the Novel Nineteens website: http://novelnineteens.com/ and on our Twitter chats at 8 PM on the 19th of each month!

I haven't heard of all of these books before now, I need to look them up! :)

Thank you to Ms. LaRocca for participating in this event, and for letting me interview her! :)

Author bio: Rajani LaRocca was born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in the Boston area with her wonderful family and impossibly cute dog. She is a writer of stories for children, doctor of adults, and baker of too many sweet treats. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @rajanilarocca or visit her website at www.rajanilarocca.com.

Here are a few links:

Her Website

Her Twitter

Her Instagram