Today I’m shining the Author Spotlight on Darcy Miller and her middle grade novel MARGOT AND MATEO SAVE THE WORLD.
Title: Margot and Mateo Save the World
Genre: Middle Grade Science Fiction
Age Range: 8-12
Launch Date: July 3, 2018
Please tell us a little bit about your book.
In Margot and Mateo two, unlikely middle school friends race to save the world from an alien slug invasion! It contains, among other things: a mysterious beached whale, a bumbling scientist, an ill-fated middle school production of “Romeo and Juliet”, alien goo, and salt. Lots of salt.
What inspired you to write this story and/or these characters?
My husband, Ben, and I were on a lunch date at a sushi restaurant early last year, and happened to sit next to a mother and her daughter. The daughter, who was probably about nine years old, had blue-streaked hair, gold flash tattoos, and was ordering eel for lunch. She had more self-confidence in her little finger than I did in my entire body, and I was blown away by her. Right away, I knew I wanted to write a book with a heroine like her: a girl who was strong, and smart, and capable of doing anything she wanted to do, including saving the world.
Everyone says writing is a process. Could you share a little about your writing and/or research process?
I have two small children at home, so every minute of writing time is precious! I wrote my first book almost entirely in the middle of the night, typing one-handed while breastfeeding. (I can still type over 70 WPM with one hand!) Our youngest son just started 4K last year, so for the first time, I had two and a half hours to write uninterrupted every day. I still try to steal every minute I can, though; I’ve been known to hide behind our kitchen counter with a notebook . . .
We know no writer is created in a vacuum. Could you tell the readers about a teacher or a librarian who had an effect on your writing life?
The setting for my first novel, ROLL, is actually a thinly-veiled version of my hometown, in southern Minnesota. When I went back to do a library presentation about ROLL for the first time, SEVEN of my elementary/high school teachers came out to support me. Almost every single one of them mentioned how I always had a book with me at school, and how they knew I would go on to be a writer. So while it wasn’t one teacher or librarian in particular, I was incredibly lucky to grow up with people who believed in me, and made me believe in myself.
What makes your book a good pick for use in a classroom? Is there any particular way you’d like to see teachers use it with young readers/teens?
One of my biggest pet peeves about middle grade fiction is when stories get labeled as “boy” or “girl” books! There’s a misconception that action books are just for boys. With that in mind, I had a single goal for MARGOT AND MATEO: to write the most off-the-wall, hilarious, action story that I could, featuring a fearless girl heroine in the lead. My hope is that MARGOT AND MATEO will appeal to everyone, especially reluctant readers!
I’m a little dog obsessed here at www.patriciabaileyauthor.com. Would you tell the readers about your favorite dog (real or imaginary)?
Paws down, my favorite dog in the world has to be our puppy, Snake! (Our four-year-old named her after a dream he had.) She’s pretty much the greatest thing to ever happen to us, and has already tripled in size since we got her! Now if we can just get her to stop chewing the siding off our garage . . .
Darcy Miller is the author of Margot and Mateo Save the World and Roll. She lives in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, with her two children and librarian husband. You can visit Darcy online at www.darcyamiller.com. She is @DarcyAMiller on Twitter, and @darcyannemiller on Instagram.
You can pick up a copy of MARGOT AND MATEO SAVE THE WORLD at your favorite indie bookstore or online on July 3, 2018.
You might want to check out Darcy’s other book, ROLL, too. (Trust me, you do). You can read my rave review below:
Roll by Darcy Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
There’s so much to love about Darcy Miller’s MG debut. Ren is likeable and funny – and his worries and doubts are so easy to relate to. Sutton is smart and self-aware, and has the coolest hobby ever – training roller pigeons. Together, they face a summer of change in heartfelt and interesting ways.
Funny, engaging, and ultimately full of hope – Roll tackles the very real issues of growing up (and maybe growing apart) in an authentic way. A wonderful read.
Thanks, Darcy!
THE TRAGICALLY TRUE ADVENTURES OF KIT DONOVAN won an Oregon Book Award! Specifically the ELOISE JARVIS MCGRAW AWARD FOR CHILDREN’S LITERATURE. (Want to learn more about Eloise Jarvis McGraw?Just click 
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Today I’m shining the Author Spotlight on Shaila Patel and her latest novel Fighting Fate.
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Today I’m shining the Author Spotlight on Sarah Nicole Smetana and her debut novel THE MIDNIGHTS
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Twelve-year-old Chloe Ashton is an only child living in the remote wilderness of Oregon. She spends her days happily exploring the forests around her home, and is astonished to find the animals seem to know her, to follow her, and even try to speak to her. When a family tragedy results in Chloe’s abduction and sale to the vagabonds, she is taken deeper into the woods, and finds out just how much the animals know. 
Award-winning biographer Elizabeth Rusch and two-time Caldecott Honor–recipient Marjorie Priceman team up to tell the inspiring story of the invention of the world’s most popular instrument: the piano.
Cynthia Rylant and Brendan Wenzel explore the beauty and tenacity of life.
Life in a 1905 Nevada mining town is not easy for any thirteen-year-old. For Kit Donovan, it seems downright impossible. When her mother dies of a fever, Kit is certain she is to blame. Guilt-ridden, she is determined to honor her promises to her mother—namely to be a “proper lady.” Only being a lady is tougher than it looks. When Kit discovers that Papa’s boss at the gold mine (the menacing and self-serving Mr. Granger) is profiting from unsafe working conditions in the mine, she convinces her dad to speak out. But sometimes doing the right thing leads to trouble. Now Kit must find a way to expose Granger’s misdeeds before it’s too late. Aided by an eccentric woman, a Shoshone boy, and a drunken newspaperman, Kit puts her big mouth and all the life skills she’s learned from reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to work. With a man’s hat and a printing press, Kit defies threats of violence and discovers that justice doesn’t always look like she imagined it would.
About two months ago I had a flash of an idea. One of those flashes that come unbidden and out of nowhere and demand you pay attention to them. So I paid attention because I learned long ago that these flashes are gifts – from the universe or the muse or just some part of the unconscious that’s particularly tuned in at that moment – I really don’t know. But I do know that they always lead somewhere interesting. This time the flash led me to do something I never thought I’d do: I wrote a picture book!
