Donna Galanti and I discuss how she started her writing career at age 40 and exploded into it with discipline and passion. She shares what she’s learned about being productive and prolific while successfully managing social media. Also, a ghost story. We discuss her newest novel, UNICORN ISLAND, her time in the Navy, how she left her literary agent for a better fit, and a full 10-step course for writing scary stories for children.
Donna Galanti decided she was a grown up for far too long. She luckily gave that up to write children’s books. Donna Galanti is the author of the middle grade adventure Joshua and The Lightning Road, which the Midwest Book Review called, “A heart-pounding thrill ride full of unexpected twists and turns from start to finish”. She’s also the author of the follow up, Joshua and the Arrow Realm, and writes the popular Unicorn Island series for Epic!, the leading digital platform for kids 12 and under (hardcover, February 2021, Andrews McMeel).
Donna is a writing contest judge at nycmidnight.com, a member of From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors blog, and regularly presents as a guest author at schools. She also teaches writers on marketing and craft at writing conferences and through her online courses. When she’s not writing you can find her on Twitter or Facebook where she loves to share all things about outdoor adventures and children’s books. Donna has lived from England as a child, to Hawaii as a U.S. Navy photographer where she served with Fleet Intelligence Pacific, and has had a long career in corporate marketing. Visit her at donnagalanti.com. She is represented by Liza Fleissig with the Liza Royce Agency in NYC.
“An accessible and fast-paced magical adventure.” -Kirkus Reviews (full review)
“What begins as realistic fiction turns to a fantastical tale of magical rescue. Fans of unicorns and magic in the real world will enjoy this adventure.” – School Library Journal
Beyond the mist lies a magical secret waiting to be discovered . . . From Epic! Originals, Unicorn Island is a middle-grade illustrated novel series about a young girl who discovers a mysterious island full of mythical beasts and darker dangers!
When Sam arrives in Foggy Harbor, population 3,230, all she can see is a small, boring town that’s way too far from home. And knowing that she’s stuck there all summer with her grumpy Uncle Mitch only makes things worse.
But when Sam discovers a hidden trapdoor leading to a room full of strange artifacts, she realizes Foggy Harbor isn’t as sleepy as it seems. With the help of a new friend, Sam discovers an extraordinary secret beyond the fog: an island of unicorns whose fates are intertwined with hers.
As a mother, nothing comes close to my primitive urge to protect my child. So, I thought it ironic to visit a playground in North
Carolina with a warning sign of alligators nearby.
This sign hit me with the realization that while we can
provide our children with the resources to defend themselves and make good
choices, ultimately we have to let them go out there to frolic amongst the good
guys and the gators. This includes opening their eyes through media and books
to not-so-nice things that go on in the world.
Especially books. They can open up our child’s eyes to
events in history, just and unjust. Books have opened up many dialogues with my
son about slavery, civil rights, oppressive religions, women earning the right
to vote, the Holocaust, bullying, and terrorism.
When my son was six we got a wonderful book called The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by
Mordicai Gerstein (since made into a movie). In 1974, French aerialist
Philippe Petit threw a tightrope between the two towers of the World Trade
Center and spent an hour walking, dancing, and performing high-wire tricks a
quarter mile in the sky. This book paved the way for us to talk in depth about
the twin towers and terrorism. My son said at the time he hoped that bad man
would be caught and the towers would be rebuilt.
One out of two so far. I was able to report to my son not
long after that the bad man had been caught and killed. My son wanted to know
how he was found and killed, what happened to his children, his wives, and if
his being caught meant this kind of thing would never happen again. I wish.
But, I hope in having these discussions (as I hope parents are having
everywhere) that we are changing the world for the better – one discussion at a
time.
As my son got older,
middle grade books opened up discussion for us. Here are some of them:
Wonder by R.J.
Palacio: about being a disfigured kid in a “normal” world.
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper:
what it could be like to have a voice but not be able to communicate.
Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice
Burroughs: the difficult decision of choosing where you belong.
Rules by Cynthia Lord: on autism and
asking “what is normal?”
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen: being
separated from your family and having to survive in a strange place.
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen: on endangered
animals and ecology.
Duck by Richard S. Ziegler: about
standing up for yourself when the one person who protects you is gone.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: fearing middle
school and then finding out how cool it really is.
Books. They open us up to new worlds and help us as parents
relate the good and bad of the world to our children. They reveal the beauty
and the darkness that co-exist in our world - and within us. They inspire
feelings of sadness, joy, compassion, or outrage.
Books. They open up conversations with my son about life and
death and right and wrong. I watch him as he struggles with these issues and
tries to figure out his place in the world.
And while I empower my son with information and send him out
there to navigate the battle field of life with as much armor as possible, I
hope the good guys outnumber the gators. I hope he witnesses more glory than
gore. And even if the gators in disguise try and get him, I hope it's “just a
flesh wound!”
Are there books you've read with your children that have opened up discussions
about the world around them? Enter this giveaway to win a Lost Realm map poster, a lightning orb light-up ball, paperback of book 1 in the series, JOSHUA AND THE LIGHTNING ROAD, and $25 Barnes &Noble gift card:
Donna Galanti is
the author of the The Element Trilogy
(Imajin Books) and
the Joshua and The Lightning Road
series (Month9Books).
Donna is a contributing editor for International Thriller Writers the Big
Thrill magazine and blogs with other middle grade authors at Project
Middle Grade Mayhem. She’s lived from England as a child, to Hawaii as a
U.S. Navy photographer. She now lives in Pennsylvania with her family in an old
farmhouse that has lots of nooks and crannies, but sadly no ghosts. You can
find her books, resources for writers, and upcoming events at www.donnagalanti.com and www.elementtrilogy.com. Catch her post
here on Middle Grade Ninja about 10
Steps to Writing Scary for Kids.
Joshua never thought he’d return to the world of Nostos so soon. But, when King
Apollo needs his help in the Arrow Realm, Joshua’s will and powers
are tested in order to save him. With his loyalties divided between
our world and theirs, Joshua wonders whether he alone can restore magic to the
twelve powerless Olympian heirs, or whether he is being tricked into making the
one mistake that might cost them all.
“Fast-paced and endlessly inventive, Joshua and the Arrow
Realm is a high-stakes romp through a wild world where descendants of the Greek
gods walk beside you, beasts abound, and not everything—or everyone—is as it
seems.” ~ Michael Northrop, New York
Times bestselling author of the TombQuest series
Do you love to be scared? I do, as long as I know it’s in a
safe environment. Haunted houses. Hayrides. Rollercoasters. Adventure rides.
I got so scared once in a haunted house that I whacked the
“ghosts” with the teddy bear from my costume. The management turned on all the
lights and asked me to leave! Just last Halloween my friend dared me to do
Terror Behind the Walls at Eastern
State Penitentiary. Here we are getting our scare on (and it was scary!). I
was very proud that I didn’t whack anyone this time.
But I still get scared of real places in my old age. Of the
dark garage. Of the creepy cellar. Of nighttime when taking the trash cans out.
My heart pip-pops waiting for that creature or boogeyman to grab me. I know he
could be! My imagination tells me so.
So it’s no wonder that I love to write stories that scare. I
started out writing thrillers for grownups with my Element Trilogy and along the way fell
in love with writing for kids. But could I transition writing dark thrillers
for older folks to writing thrillers for tweens?
Lots of authors do it. John Grisham moved into the
children’s market by writing thrillers for kids – so have James Patterson, James
Rollins, and David Baldacci. One of my favorite magical thrillers for kids is The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King. Some
of my favorite new kid thrillers are The
False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen and The
Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan.
And as my son became an avid and selective reader, I
discovered that kids love to be scared not just in movies but in books too. I
started reading some of the books my son had on his bookshelf like Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick
Riordan, Joshua Dread by Lee Bacon, and
Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny
Nimmo. In doing this I began to see patterns in these kid adventure tales – and
I began applying what I learned to create my own stories.
My 10-step guide for
writing scary thrillers for kids:
Put the kids in charge.
Kids don’t want to read about grownups having adventures.
Which leads into…have the
kids figure out how to take the bad guys down – not grownups. Kids want to
see themselves as the hero, not Mom or Dad or their teacher.
Whatever scary situations
they find themselves in – they must navigate their way out.
Don’t dwell on the dark
stuff. Make it happen fast without gory detail – kids can use their
imagination.
Give them friends in their
travels. Life is hard without friends! And a kid needs friends to help him
along his scary adventure.
Through story events have
the kids discover their own strength and courage to overcome bad things
happening to them.
Make all seem lost! End
the chapters on cliffhangers to encourage kids to want to keep turning the
pages and find out what happens next.
Have it work out in the
end, or at least partially, even if all seems doomed for a while.
Add humor! Interjecting a
dollop of funny can alleviate the tension in the scariest of scenes and
lighten the moment.
Make it a series! Have a
final resolution to the story but leave it open for more stories down the
road for the characters. Kids love to follow their beloved characters into
new adventures.
Check out my book
trailer. Do you think it promises the elements of a kid’s thriller?
Writing thrillers for adults or thrillers for kids employs many
of the same elements, but writing for kids is just more fun!
About Donna:
Donna Galanti attended an English school housed in a magical
castle, where her wild imagination was held back only by her
itchy uniform (bowler hat and tie included!). There she fell in love
with the worlds of C.S. Lewis and Roald Dahl, and wrote her first
fantasy about Dodo birds, wizards, and a flying ship. She’s lived
in other exotic locations, including Hawaii where she served as a
U.S. Navy photographer. She now lives with her family and two crazy cats in an
old farmhouse, and dreams of returning one day to a castle. Donna is
the author of the Joshua and The
Lightning Road series (Month9Books) and blogs at Project
Mayhem. Visit her at www.donnagalanti.com
or on Amazon.
Praise for Joshua and
The Lightning Road:
"Vividly imagined characters in a
gripping action fantasy that never lets you go until the very last page."
—Jenny Nimmo, New York Times
bestselling author of the Charlie Bone series
Joshua and the
Lightning Road is available for pre-order now from these book sellers:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Iu6ETw
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