Today we continue meeting more members of the MG Escapades group, this time chatting with debut authors who have fantasy novels publishing this year: Leslie Adame, Alby C. Williams, Carey Blankenship-Kramer, Sarah Mendonca, Christina Cornwell, Ryan James Black, Nicole Hewitt and Shana Targosz. Read the first post in this series here, and watch for tomorrow’s post with MG Escapades’ graphic novelists.
Leslie Adame
What did you discover about yourself while writing this book—for better or worse?
Writing used to be a hobby for me. I would write on my own schedule without worrying about revising it with an editor’s eye. This book completely changed that. I no longer rely on inspiration to sit down and write, and more often than not, it’s discipline that helps me meet a writing deadline.
I’ve also learned the importance of taking time away from a manuscript to then come back with a fresh mind to work on revisions. This has worked wonders for my writing process, and it’s made me a stronger writer. Chloe Vega And The Agents Of Magic (HarperCollins, 2025) took me three years to write before I started querying literary agents. Chloe Vega 2 took me six months (above having a full time job), and it’s because of everything I learned while writing the first book.
What obstacles did you overcome related to this book?
I started writing this book in 2018, so I really had to sift through memory lane for this because there have been many obstacles, but I think the most common theme about all of them is learning to adapt to change, especially this early on in my career. For example, my current agent is not my acquiring agent and my current editor is not my acquiring editor, not because we chose to part ways with one another, but because of unexpected industry changes. I love working with my current agent and editor, so it all worked out, but it was those first few days of receiving the news and adapting to it that were a bit jarring.
I eventually learned that there’s a lot of that in this industry; editors leave, imprints get shuttered, publication dates get moved, etc. Learning to be flexible and adapt to changes like this is a really valuable skill for anyone who wants to pursue traditional publishing.
My biggest tip is to remember that there will always be one constant that will never change, and that’s your passion to write more books. You wrote a book and you can do it again. None of these changes dictate your worth as an author. I’m really grateful to have learned this lesson now before my debut publishes rather than later, because it will really help me down the line.
How are you holding space for joy during your debut experience?
I journal a lot, so I always aim to take the time to really sit down and let myself enjoy the good things that are happening. I’m also making an effort to make my launch event less about reaching new readers and more about celebrating with my closest friends and family (although reaching new readers is fun, too)! I think this really takes the pressure off and makes it a day that is more about celebrating than a day I have to stress about.
What do you love most about middle grade?
Middle grade is such a special and important genre. Readers are in a stage where they’re figuring out who they are, how the world works, and where they fit in it. Books during this time can help shape their sense of identity, values, and empathy. A great middle grade book can turn a reluctant reader into a lifelong one, and I think that’s really special.
Alby C. Williams
What did you discover about yourself while writing this book for better or worse?
As I was working on the (many) revisions of Where There Be Monsters (Roaring Brook Press, 2025), I started to realize that because I’m neurodivergent, it can be difficult for me to get concepts and images from my head and onto the page in a way that people who don’t have autism and ADHD will understand. It was a really difficult and frustrating process to go through, but I think that in the end it made me a better writer!
What obstacles did you overcome related to this book?
I have pretty severe social anxiety, and having a launch party was absolutely terrifying! I’ve been working really hard on getting more comfortable with making appearances online, but that was my first ever in-person event.
What really helped was the support of the author who interviewed me, the lovely Laura Anne Bird, and knowing that some of my wonderful Middle Grade Escapades friends would be there cheering me on! This will always be a work in progress for me (as it has been my entire life), but I’m really proud of myself for doing it, and I’m looking forward to more events in the future.
How are you holding space for joy during your debut experience?
I have a “good things” folder on my phone. Whenever someone says something nice about my book, tags me at their local bookstore, or I get good news, I take a screenshot and stash it away for later. Watching the number of items in that folder tick up is really satisfying, and whenever I’m struggling with the many difficult parts of debuting, I can always open it up and remind myself of the wonderful things happening for me and my book.
What do you love most about middle grade?
My favorite part about MG fantasy is the fact that everything is fresh and new to MG readers! When you also write adult fantasy like I do, it’s easy to worry a bit too much about whether your concept is trite and overdone. Across all categories, every book has the potential to be a new introduction to the genre for somebody, and every book has the value of the writer’s unique voice. For middle grade readers, my book could be the one that makes them a lifelong fan of the genre, and that’s amazing!
Carey Blankenship-Kramer
What did you discover about yourself while writing this book–for better or worse?
That I am a lot more like my main character, Evey, than I realized (as much as my friends tease me about this). Plus, I’ve still got a lot to learn about the power of friendship and not being afraid to lean on others. We writers are used to doing a lot by ourselves. We craft whole universes and people with just our fingertips, so sometimes it feels scary to ask our loved ones for help or to let them in in the first place. But never underestimate your friends. Their support and encouragement has literally changed my life in more ways than one.
What obstacles did you overcome related to this book?
Marketing has been a huge obstacle for me! I’ve tried my best with social media, school visits, newsletters, and more. And I’m really proud of all that I’ve accomplished, especially knowing I have to write a whole other book on top of promoting my other story.
How are you holding space for joy during your debut experience?
I journaled the entire experience so I would always remember it! I invited my closest loved ones to come to my tour stops so I could share in that joy with them. Plus, I got myself lots of fun new outfits to wear during events.
What do you love most about middle grade?
I love that middle grade gives kids the space to learn, grow, and understand without judgement. That is such a volatile time in a person’s life, where everything is confusing and emotional. The best middle grade books, though, totally understand that and provide kids that are incredibly smart, tough, and full of spunky spirit a safe space to soak in new information and experiences. There’s nothing that these kids can’t do or overcome or even understand, if we authors and publishers give them the chance.
Sarah Mendonca
What did you discover about yourself while writing this book–for better or worse?
For most of my time writing, I always focused on shoring up my weaknesses, instead of trying to discover my strengths. But as the reviews came in and people started to consistently complement my worldbuilding, it’s made me realize that I’m allowed to be proud of the things I do well, and I shouldn’t only focus on my flaws.
What obstacles did you overcome related to this book?
An Encantadora’s Guide to Monstros and Magic (Quill Tree, 2025) was my seventh project, and honestly I decided it would be my last attempt at getting published. Through the five and a half years of working on the book, I learned how to persevere through all the setbacks (imprint closing, tough editorial deadlines, etc.) and to enjoy the journey instead of just the outcome.
How are you holding space for joy during your debut experience?
My Pitch Wars mentor, Tracy Badua, once suggested creating a binder or scrap book to celebrate milestone moments along the way. Sometimes it can be hard to remember all the victories when there is a big publishing roadblock bogging you down. By taking time to commemorate every positive thing that happens, it’s helped me remember just how far I’ve come.
What do you love most about middle grade?
Middle grade, more than any other genre, truly brings me hope in hard times. These characters often deal with incredible challenges, and despite how hard it gets, they beat the odds. We need more books like this in the world.
Christina Cornwell
What did you discover about yourself while writing this book–for better or worse?
Have you heard of mood readers? Well, I’m one of those. I like to dive into autumnal, atmospheric reads in the fall—Rebecca Ross, Holly Black, or Heather Fawcett—and light-hearted contemporary books in the summer.
Unfortunately, I learned while writing The Memory Spinner (Delacorte, 2025) that I’m also a mood writer. I have to be in the right headspace to create. The Memory Spinner takes place in an apothecary, and it was incredibly helpful to visit apothecary museums while drafting, so I could get in the right mindset and visualize the story I wanted to tell.
What obstacles did you overcome related to this book?
My previous manuscript had failed to sell to publishers, and I worried I didn’t have another book in me. So I did a complete overhaul of a manuscript I had shelved back in 2019, which would become The Memory Spinner, and to my surprise, I fell in love with the story and the writing process all over again. I realized that even if I never got the manuscript published, I would continue to write—just for the fulfillment and sheer joy of putting words on a page that matter to me.
How are you holding space for joy during your debut experience?
If anyone has this figured out, please share with the class. I’m a student in this arena, trying to soak in all the joy of dreams coming true, but also allowing what isn’t within my control to roll off my back.
I think we all secretly hope that our book will never get a bad review, that it will acquire all the stars and accolades, and also become a beloved fan favorite around the world. The reality can feel harsh against such high expectations. Each time I feel myself slipping into comparisons, I go outside with my family, read a great book, or get lost in a hobby. The distance makes it easier to see how far I’ve come and how proud my young book-obsessed self would feel about becoming a published author.
What do you love most about writing middle grade?
To kids, books are more than words and pages and binding—they can be loyal friends and portals to other worlds. I found many favorite books during my childhood, and I cherished them through many years and life experiences. When I struggled with friends, book characters were always there for me. When challenges fell on my shoulders, stories gave me hope everything could turn out as it should. Inside the pages of those books, I found safe havens, which transported me to other worlds whenever I needed an escape. And that’s exactly what I hope to do for the kids I’m writing for today—provide stories where they can go on adventures, find belonging, and dig deep for a hopeful ending, again and again.
Ryan James Black
What did you discover about yourself while writing this book – for better or worse?
That I’m meant to be a writer. More than that, a storyteller. I’ve written five novels before The Dark Times of Nimble Nottingham (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2025), all of which are buried, never to see the light of day. I wrote, and I wrote, and I never stopped writing. And I never will stop writing, no matter the success (or lack of success) to come. Writing this book reminded me how much I love telling stories, and I can’t wait for people to read it!
What obstacles did you overcome related to this book?
I have two amazing kids and a terrific, supportive wife, but with family, work, and other commitments, carving out time to write and revise has been tricky. I’ve had to work on my time management, and beyond that, convince myself that ‘writers block’ isn’t real. When I have time to write, the words are coming, whether they want to or not.
How are you holding space for joy during your debut experience?
My joy during the debut experience is coated with anxiety, peppered with amazement, and has a soft, gooey, center of piping-hot disbelief. Basically, I have a dozen different feelings about debut at any given moment.
Of course I’m beyond thrilled, but this whole process comes with a lot of nervousness. Will people like my book? Do I deserve all the good fortune I’ve had? Lately, I’ve been trying to slow down, sit with my feelings, understand they are all valid, and allow myself to be ecstatic that my book is about to be released!
What do you love most about middle grade?
Middle grade is formative. An amazing middle grade book read as a kid can stay with a person for the rest of their lives. I have core memories from my childhood threaded with stories of monsters, dragons, heroes and villains. Middle grade books find their readers when they still believe in magic, when everything is limitless and full of wonder. I love middle grade books because they are magic.
Nicole Hewitt
What did you discover about yourself while writing this book–for better or worse?
I discovered that I sometimes hold onto an idea of what my book “should” be for too long. The Song of Orphan’s Garden (Feiwel & Friends, 2025) was inspired by the short story “The Selfish Giant” by Oscar Wilde, and there were certain elements of the original that I really wanted to preserve. But I eventually realized that sometimes I was holding onto my original outline too tightly. I needed to let myself venture (even further) away from the source material in order to serve the characters in my reimagining.
What obstacles did you overcome related to this book?
I’d always wanted to write a novel-in-verse, but I didn’t feel “qualified.” Poetry was something I loved, something for me. I’d never even submitted a poem for publication. This was a mindset I had to get past. But after attending a few verse-novel workshops, I felt emboldened to try.
Two authors’ workshops that were particularly impactful: Cordelia Jensen taught about image systems in verse novels and how to use lyrical language to its maximum potential. And Lesléa Newman encouraged authors to experiment with adding formal verse to our work—a message I took to heart! (My NIV includes several formal poems, including a sonnet, haikus, a sestina, an etheree, and more.)
How are you holding space for joy during your debut experience?
This is such a great question. Many people assume that joy will be inevitable for a debut, and it is in many ways, but there’s a whole lot of stress and self-doubt involved too. So you have to be really intentional about savoring those wonderful moments. For me, the launch party is a memory I will always carry with me—so many people showed up for me, many I hadn’t seen in years. It was truly unexpected. Also, I worked at a bookstore at the time, and my coworkers went all out, decorating the breakroom and celebrating with me. When I have a rough publishing day, I look back at those pictures and remember the support I’ve gotten.
What do you love most about middle grade?
Middle grade fantasy has always held a special appeal for me because these are the stories I loved reading at that age. I was enthralled by magical worlds and the knowledge that absolutely anything could happen in a fantasy novel. I needed a little magic in my life to pull me out of some rough stretches. I also love novels-in-verse because I’m drawn to lyrical language that sings itself right off the page. I had seen almost no books that combined fantasy and verse, my two great loves, so I decided to write one!
Shana Targosz
What did you discover about yourself while writing this book–for better or worse?
This is a difficult question, not because I don’t know how to frame an answer, but because it touches upon something I struggled with on a very deep level. The short answer is this: I discovered that writing is my way of processing past traumas and finding healing.
This is a gentle warning that I will be touching upon the topics of death and grief. Years ago, I tragically lost three family members in quick succession, and these losses left me reeling. I found it hard to talk about what I was dealing with, instead locking the pain of grief deep inside of me and pretending it didn’t exist. Creating the story for River of Spirits (Aladdin, 2025) was my way of acknowledging that pain and coaxing it out so I could finally face it head-on.
The story follows Senka, the apprentice Ferryer of the Dead, and Poppy, the Living girl who enters the Underworld to find the ghost of her brother. Writing about their individual journeys helped me examine and process my grief and ultimately led me down a path of healing.
What obstacles did you overcome related to this book?
While this book is an adventure set in a Greek-mythology-inspired world, it is also an examination of grief and loss. The losses I’ve written about in this book are a reflection of losses I’ve experienced in my own life. To write this story, I had to overcome the desire to turn away from those uncomfortable feelings, the ones that would have made me set this manuscript aside.
What helped me most was grounding myself in the present while writing about the past. My writing space is in the room next to my son’s bedroom, and while I was drafting the most difficult scenes, I’d listen to him laughing in the next room. I welcomed the moments when he’d run in to share something with me. Those moments of interruption pulled me out of the deeply emotional and sad scenes and brought me back into my sunlit room, where I could wrap my son up in a hug.
How are you holding space for joy during your debut experience?
Everything has been a whirlwind leading up to my debut release and beyond! The experience has been made all the more welcoming because of my debut group, the Middle Grade Escapades. We are a group of authors whose middle-grade books have been/will be releasing in 2025 and 2026. Taking this journey alongside these amazing and kind authors has been invaluable for me. It is so important to have a support network like this, not just for the relief of having someone by your side who is going through the same things, but also because of the new friendships and camaraderie. They remind me to take the time to celebrate and find joy in this wild and unpredictable journey.
What do you love most about middle grade?
I love writing middle-grade fantasy because there are no boundaries to the imagination. Whatever we dream up can become a reality in our unique worlds. Utilizing fantasy elements in a story provides a way to examine real, human experiences through a fantastical lens, giving our young readers a safe and thought-provoking way to explore those experiences. Plus, middle-grade stories are accessible to readers of almost any age.
Cynsational Notes
Leslie Adame is a first-generation Mexican American and graduate of UCLA with a degree in Political Science and a minor in Film, Television, and Digital Media. She’s always enjoyed giving back and telling stories about characters not often found in books or films. Leslie grew up in the Inland Empire, specifically Ontario, California. When she’s not writing, you can find Leslie scanning the aisles of your local bookstore, lovingly pestering her family, and catching a flight to explore a new place. She loves watching rom-coms, Disney movies, and trashy reality TV in her spare time, especially while cuddling with her cat. Her debut, Chloe Vega And The Agents Of Magic, about a 12 year-old Mexican American girl attending a magic school to save her undocumented parents after they’re kidnapped by a powerful sorcerer published September 16, 2025.
Alby C. Williams hails from the land of snow and salt potatoes. They are a storyteller, poet and artist of dubious skill but endless enthusiasm. If you catch them in their spare time, you might mistake them for a cat based on the amount of yarn in their immediate vicinity, but don’t be fooled—they’re actually several pigeons in a trench coat. Visit them at albycwilliams.com.
Carey Blankenship-Kramer is an author and a literary agent who represents both children’s and adult fiction authors across a wide range of genres, with her priority being marginalized voices. She graduated from Berry College with a dual degree in English and Creative Writing and later received her master’s in Writing and Digital Communications from Agnes Scott College. Her debut novel, Ghost Scout’s Honor, was published by Scholastic. Outside of work, you can usually find Carey spending time with her partner and their small zoo, getting way too competitive on the tennis court, playing video games, or eating candy.
Sarah J. Mendonca is a Portuguese American author of magical books about misfits finding their own way in the world. Raised on her father’s bedtime stories, Sarah started writing about monsters at age eight and hasn’t stopped since. You can find her haunting dark forests, lurking in bookshops, or buried underneath her enormous tea collection.
C. M. Cornwell spent her childhood reading, climbing trees, and brewing imaginary potions with her seven siblings in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has a degree in English Literature from Utah Valley University and lives in Pennsylvania with her family. The Memory Spinner is her debut novel.
Ryan James Black is a writer from Manitoba, Canada, where he lives with his wife, two children, and a Jumaji’s worth of pets. When not writing or reading, Ryan enjoys travelling, watching scary movies with all the lights on, and exploring the Great Outdoors with his family.
Nicole M. Hewitt is a middle grade author living in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, three grown kids, and two overly-enthusiastic pups. She hates to run, but she succeeded in finishing a marathon. (It was for a good cause!) She enjoys nature but doesn’t see nearly enough of it in Illinois, so her family travels as often as possible. She also loves to sing and can often be heard spontaneously composing incredibly profound songs about the fluffiest members of her family (the dogs, in case you weren’t sure). Her debut middle grade fantasy novel-in-verse, The Song Of Orphan’s Garden released in January of 2025 and was chosen as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.
Shana Targosz is the New York Times bestselling author of The Underwild: River of Spirits (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster). She writes about magical girls, budding friendships, ghosts who may or may not be friendly, and fiercely-held hope. Shana is an Oregon Literary Arts Fellow and the 2021 recipient of the Edna L. Holmes Fellowship for Young Readers. When not writing or reading through a stack of books, she spends her time playing Zelda with her son, designing solo journaling games, walking her domesticated monster disguised as a Labradoodle, and dreaming up different worlds.
Gayleen Rabakukk holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is currently a student in the Library Science Master’s program at the University of North Texas. She also has an undergraduate degree in Journalism from the University of Central Oklahoma. She has published numerous newspaper and magazine articles, and two regional interest books for adults. She is represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary Management.
She works part-time as a Library Assistant at the Lago Vista Public Library, where she leads a book club for young readers. She also teaches creative writing workshops and is a bookseller at Paper Bark Birch Books in Cedar Park, Texas. She loves inspiring curiosity in young readers through stories of hope and adventure. Follow her on Instagram and Bluesky.