Sunday, May 22, 2016

Yay for Middle Grade Books: Interview with Lauren Magaziner!



Today in Yay for Middle Grade Books, I'm happy to present an interview with Middle Grade author Lauren Magaziner! She is the author of the MG books The Only Thing Worse Than Witches, Pilfer Academy, and the upcoming Wizardmatch (Releases in 2017!)!

Here's the interview! :)

The bold font are my questions, the regular font is her answers, and the bold italic font are my responses to her answers.


1. Your next MG book, Wizardmatch (Which sounds so fun!) releases in 2017. What can you tell us about it?

*zips lips* YOU CAN'T MAKE ME TALK! .... Just kidding!
The book is about a wizard named Mortimer de Pomporromp, who is ready to retire and pass his powers along to one of his grandchildren, so he hosts a tournament called Wizardmatch to find his successor. However: he is only allowing one grandchild per family to compete. The story centers around a girl named Lennie, who wants to compete in the competition, but her parents nominate her younger brother instead.
That's all I'm going to say, lest I spoil too much! But I am so excited to be writing about sibling and familial relationships for the first time. It's been very new and refreshing--while at the same time very familiar to me, as someone with a younger brother! :-)


This sounds like so much fun! :)

2. Because your next book is about wizards, what magical power would you most want?

Well, in my next book, all of the decedents of the Crown Wizard Mortimer de Pomporromp have a watered down version of one singular magical power. So, each character has just one magical power that only last for about 10 to 20 seconds. So with those rules in mind.... what's a 15-second-only power I want? Probably the ability to make objects fly to me. (I'd use it right now to summon a bowl of ice cream and a book to my spot on the couch!)

3. Random question! In Pilfer Academy, there is an ice cream (Triple-Dipple Ultra-Deluxe Melty Creamy Creamer Rainbow Swizzle Milk Munch) that is supposed to be amazing! What's your favorite ice cream flavor?

Obviously my favorite ice cream is Triple-Dipple Ultra-Deluxe Melty Creamy Creamer Rainbow Swizzle Milk Munch Ice Cream, duh! It's actually based off of a REAL pint of ice cream I had in Vail, Colorado, homemade from a restaurant. Best ice cream I ever had. But to answer your question for real, you'd probably be most likely to catch me ordering either some form of Coffee Chip or Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

Hmm, chocolate chip cookie dough... Yum! :)
4. What MG book character would you most want your Middle School self to have been BFF's with?
Since I was pretty much a Hermione Granger in elementary and middle school, I like to think I would have been BFFs with Harry and Ron. I also call dibs on being friends with Astrid from Roller Girl--I think we would have gotten along famously!

5. What are some of your favorite Middle Grade books?

Some of my favorite books growing up: Harry Potter, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, A Wrinkle in Time, The Witches, The BFG, The Giver, Walk Two Moons, Ella Enchanted, Coraline, His Dark Materials, and Percy Jackson.
Some of my favorites that I've discovered as an "adult": The Crossover, El Deafo, Roller Girl, Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invincible, Dory Fantasmagory, Better Nate Than Ever, The League of Beastly Dreadfuls, Wonder, and A Monster Calls.
And some spectacular middle grade books written by some of my friends: The Classy Crooks Club, Hook's Revenge, All Four Stars, Nooks & Crannies, The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, The Troubles of Johnny Cannon, When Audrey Met Alice, You're Invited, I Heart Band, Hope is a Ferris Wheel, The Tiara on the Terrace, Under the Egg, The Family Fletcher, Magic Marks the Spot.... AHHH SOMEONE STOP ME--I COULD RECOMMEND FOREVER! :-)

I love Ella Enchanted, Roller Girl, You're Invited, and I Heart Band! And a lot of these are on my TBR list! :)

Thank you for participating in this event! :)


Author Bio: Lauren Magaziner recently graduated from Hamilton College. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. Her debut novel, The Only Thing Worse Than Witches, released from Dial/Penguin in August 2014. Her second middle grade book, Pilfer Academy, released on February 16, 2016.

Here are a few links:

2 comments:

  1. Oh man, I'm so excited for Wizardmatch! (And thank you for THE TIARA ON THE TERRACE shout-out. I, for one, won't be keeping you from making recommendations!)

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