MONIKA SCHROEDER GUEST POST AND BE LIGHT LIKE A BIRD GIVEAWAY

Happy Monday Everyone! Before I get to our post today, I wanted to invite any of you who live near the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area to come see a community theater group play that I've been helping with. It's Noises Off, a British farce. I'm dating the director and have been helping with props, general getting the set up, will be doing front of the house, etc. It's been a lot of fun, and a learning experience because I know so little about that artistic avenue.

It's November 10-19th at the Riverside Art Center in Ypsilanti. Here's a link for details:
http://www.ptdproductions.com/ Be sure to stop by and say hi if you come. I'll be working front of the house every day.

Now onto today's post. I'm thrilled to have author Monika Schroeder here to share about her MG contemporary BE LIGHT LIKE A BIRD. It really sounds like something I know many of you will like.

Here's a blurb from Goodreads:

After the death of her father, twelve-year-old Wren finds her life thrown into upheaval. And when her mother decides to pack up the car and forces Wren to leave the only home she's ever known, the family grows even more fractured. As she and her mother struggle to build a new life, Wren must confront issues with the environment, peer pressure, bullying, and most of all, the difficulty of forgiving those who don't deserve it. A quirky, emotional middle grade novel set in Michigans Upper Peninsula, Be Light Like a Bird features well-drawn, unconventional characters and explores what it means to be a family and the secrets and lies that can tear one apart.

Now here's Monika!
  

            Thank you for inviting me to "Literary Rambles" and for giving me the opportunity to share a bit about the process of writing Be Light Like a Bird.

            Be Light Like a Bird is the emotional, realistic fiction story of 12-year old Wren who is heart-broken after loosing her father in an airplane crash. Wren's father always told her to be "light like a bird, not like a feather" - - to control her own destiny, to make her own choices. But Wren is adrift after her father dies and her mother acts distant and angry. Over the course of the story Wren needs to heal and grow, and when she finally learns the reason for her mother's behaviour, they both have to learn to forgive.

            In early drafts of the book the focus was on Wren's trouble being the new girl in school and her fight to save the bird sanctuary. Over many revisions I felt that I hadn't reached the core of who she was and what was hurting her. But I didn't know how to fix it and left the manuscript in the drawer for a long time. In fact, this was actually the second book I wrote, but it became the fourth book I published. Leaving it in the drawer helped. One day on my morning walk I suddenly knew who Wren was: her father had died and her mother had dragged her to northern Michigan. From there I rebuilt the emotional arc of the novel, focusing on the grieving and her relationship to her mother.

            It still took me a lot longer to finish Be Light Like a Bird than my previous novels. In

hindsight, I realize that one reason for a slower writing process may have been that for the first time I braided together several subplots in a book: Wren's relationship with her best friend Theo, her desire to fit in with the popular girls at school, her grief, the relationship with her mother and, finally, the school project she and Theo work on together which leads into their campaign to save a bird habitat. I am not a fast writer, and, after I had taken the original manuscript out of the drawer, more than two years went by before I had put all the scenes in the right place so that Wren's emotional arc as well as the different plot components were aligned. Only when that structure were in place, I could begin to polish and edit the text.

            Since it took so long to finish the book I experienced many moments of frustration. Like many writers in those moments I thought I could never shape this manuscript into a decent book. My poor husband had to listen to me whine frequently and repeat the question, "Will I ever finish this book?" I appreciate his patience and constant encouragement. He reminded me that time actually doesn't matter while writing a book. What matters is to get it right -- and not to loose faith.

Monika Schröder writes novels for middle grade readers. Among her books are Saraswati's Way, a story of an Indian street child and The Dog in the Wood, set in eastern Germany at the end of WWII. She grew up in Germany but has lived and worked in American international schools in Egypt, Oman, and Chile. Before moving to the US she was the elementary school librarian at the American Embassy School in New Delhi, India. She now lives and writes in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina with her husband and her dog. Visit her at: www.monikaschroeder.com

Monika generously offered a signed copy of BE LIGHT LIKE A BIRD for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment through November 19th.  If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This is for U.S. & Canada.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday was started by Shannon Messenger. You can find the participating blogs on her blog.

Here's what's coming up:

Next Monday I have an interview with debut author Jenny Moyer and a giveaway of her YA science fiction FLASHFALL.

Tuesday that week I'll be participating in the Gratitude Giveaway Hop.

Then I'm starting my holiday slowdown because everything slows down so much with NaNo and the holidays. I'll be visiting you but not posting as much.

On Monday, December 5th I'll be back with a guest post by MG Jenny Lundquist and a giveaway of her new MG THE CHARMING LIFE OF IZZY MALONE and a 10 page manuscript critique. Jenny is a fantastic middle grade author who nails her characters' voices, so this is a great opportunity for someone. 

Hope to see you on Monday!