Allison Tait
This month I had the absolute pleasure of talking to Allison Tait about her new middle-grade novel The First Summer of Callie McGee.
If you want to write for children aged 8 to 12, this is an excellent novel to read and study, along with this episode, for a mini masterclass in middle-grade writing.
We talk about novel openings, pacing, what she included (and excluded!) to make the novel age-appropriate, how she balanced the character arcs with the external plot, the difference between a child-led versus a parent-led purchase when it comes to crafting a kids book, her theory on having a ‘writing age’ and, in the spirit of her hundreds of interviews with other authors over at So You Want to be a Writer podcast, I asked her for her top tips for writing middle-grade novels.
So The First Summer of Callie McGee is a contemporary cosy crime - think modern-day Trixie Belden or Famous Five set on the south coast of NSW.
ABOUT THE FIRST SUMMER OF CALLIE MCGEE
It’s the last summer before Callie starts high school and she’s been dragged along to yet another ‘family friends’ holiday.
Determined to change her nerdy reputation, Callie sets out to make waves but nothing is quite as she expects. Her usual ally, Sasha, has outgrown Callie; her nemesis, Mitch, has brought his cousin Owen along; and the boring south coast town of Sawyer’s Point has been rocked by a series of burglaries.
Callie, Owen and Mitch decide to investigate the robberies, bringing them face to face with a local gang … and a possible ghost.
But when Sasha goes missing, Callie must draw on all her smarts to find her friend, and discovers that being Callie McGee has its benefits.
So as well as having that mystery element that kids love, Al has written characters that kids can really relate to so it’s got that perfect blend for middle-grade stories.
ABOUT ALLISON TAIT
Under the name AL Tait she is the internationally published bestselling author of middle-grade adventure series The Mapmaker Chronicles, the Ateban Cipher novels, and the Maven & Reeve Mysteries.
Al is also a multi-genre writer, creative writing teacher and speaker with many years’ experience in magazines, newspapers and online publishing. She is also the co-host of the top-rating Your Kid’s Next Read podcast.
This podcast is recorded on the beautiful, unceded lands of the Garigal people of the Eora nation.
Listen to the show now on Apple, Spotify, Google or wherever you get your pods.