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MIDDLE GRADE FICTION MIND

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Middle Grade FictionMIDDLE GRADE FICTION MIND

A middle grade fiction mind is a mind that can either create good ideas, or pick up bad ideas about who you want to be in life.  It’s not enough to have a great idea, you have to find a way to UNLEASH that gift onto the world.

Imagine if we live our lives from a place where we all begin to share our gifts with the rest of the world?  Imagine living a life that is filled with so much adventure, we can’t wait to begin each new day.

When I get to document how I feel about life and then share it with fans of Saltwater Taffy, affectionately referred to Taffy Heads, I feel as if I’m lifting off.  It reminds me there is something truly amazing about being a Middle Grade Fiction author during the rapidly changing landscape of education and esteem.  Have you noticed how many people around the world are not only wanting a better life, they are demanding it.   While touring in support of Saltwater Taffy, I have met some amazing…

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MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: Children’s Book Tour

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children's book tourMIDDLE GRADE FICTION: Children’s Book Tour

A Children’s book tour can be so taxing, I am not sure how Teachers do it day in and day out.  Children are amazing, but wow…I’m exhausted from the tour.  It’s 4:18 pm on Presidents Day and I’m in bed.  Not because i’m sick, and not because I’m…whatever.  It’s because I am FINALLY HOME…at least for 4 days.

Looking at the run from December and the Big Giveaway to the Southern California Writer’s Conference Key Note last night….I am T-I-R-E -WHOOPED.  See, you thought I was going to write, TIRED, didn’t you.  I’m not tired, I’m whooped.  16 cities and 1000’s of kids.  As far east to Nashville, south to New Orleans, and North to Seattle.  On this leg of the Saltwater Taffy Children’s Book Tour, Largest Assembly was 400 middle school kids.  One mic, one author and 400 kids in one auditorium?  It was awesome.  When you book your children’s book tour, make sure to pencil in some time for you to do simply NOTHING.  It will help, trust me.  Lesson learned.

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: DENVER

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Middle grade fiction

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: DENVER

The middle grade fiction tour of Saltwater Taffy arrived in Denver today.  This tour stop for Saltwater Taffy is super special because my wife Julie flew in for a weekend visit.  We picked up the rent-a-car and hit the road for Denver area bookstores.

The first stop was the Tattered Cover Bookstore, which is an AWESOME indie store in downtown Denver.  There was something amazing about this shop because it felt like walking into a piece of history.  I mean, it had this awesome smell of paper…. Read more

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: It Bled and it Led…Bhaaaaa

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middle grade fiction

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION

At the start of our middle grade fiction tour, something happened that is a testament of our society.  In a moment of ‘sureality,’ which is my new word for a surreal reality, I flew home to Las Vegas for two speaking engagements with Saltwater Taffy at Cannon Jr. High School on Tuesday.  What made this visit surreal is the full-page story about Saltwater Taffy on the front page of the R-Jeneration Section.

Having prepared for the trip for a good month or so, we gained interest from ABC News, Channel 13 as a community interest story of ‘home town boy makes good.’  While they couldn’t book us on their morning shows, they did want to come out and tape an interview for the evening news as I presented to 150 middle school children.

As a speaker, the Middle School audience can be the most intimidating audience there is.  Speaking to adults is easy, but Read more

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: Dreams & Doubts

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Middle Grade Fiction

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: Dreams & Doubts

The term Middle Grade Fiction is not only a genre for children’s books, but an idea of how a thought can be a work of fiction sometimes.

When I first thought about this post for Saltwater Taffy, I gave it the title: “Dreams VS. Doubts.”  Then, I realized the topic is NOT a battle, but a choice.  When you battle something, you give power to the other side, which is why we now have a title of MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: DREAMS & DOUBTS.  Doubts had nothing to do with capturing my dream of writing my book Saltwater Taffy.  I simply made the CHOICE to tell the story no matter what.  That’s the dream — doing what it takes to finish something — the desire to do it NO MATTER WHAT. Read more