Middle Grade Ninja Episode 208: Author Anthony Peckham

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Anthony Peckham and I discuss the differences between writing a screenplay and writing a novel, as well as the inspiration for and craft employed in his incredible debut, CHILDREN OF THE BLACK GLASS. We also talk about why making terrible things happen for your character is a form of love, working with such incredible people as James Patterson, Tobey Maguire, Matt Damon, Gary Oldman, and Bill Clinton, the advantages of not plotting, writing a character for a specific actor, a ghost story, and so much more.

Anthony (Tony) Peckham is a South African–born screenwriter, surfer, and farmer who now lives on an island in the Pacific. Decades ago, while exploring a remote, high-altitude landscape with his children, he came upon a mountain made of black glass which inspired his debut novel. His other work includes Clint Eastwood’s Invictus and Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes. He is a Writers Guild of America Award winner and an NAACP Image Award nominee. Children of the Black Glass is his novel-writing debut.

Howl’s Moving Castle meets Neil Gaiman in this middle grade fantasy, set in a world as mesmerizing as it is menacing, following children on a quest to save their father who get embroiled in the sinister agendas of rival sorcerers.

In an unkind alternate past, somewhere between the Stone Age and a Metal Age, Tell and his sister Wren live in a small mountain village that makes its living off black glass mines and runs on brutal laws. When their father is blinded in a mining accident, the law dictates he has thirty days to regain his sight and be capable of working at the same level as before or be put to death.

Faced with this dire future, Tell and Wren make the forbidden treacherous journey to the legendary city of Halfway, halfway down the mountain, to trade their father’s haul of the valuable black glass for the medicine to cure him. The city, ruled by five powerful female sorcerers, at first dazzles the siblings. But beneath Halfway’s glittery surface seethes ambition, violence, prejudice, blackmail, and impending chaos.

Without knowing it, Tell and Wren have walked straight into a sorcerers’ coup. Over the next twelve days they must scramble first to save themselves, then their new friends, as allegiances shift and prejudices crack open to show who has true power.

Middle Grade Ninja Episode 157: Authors Don Handfield and Joshua Malkin

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Don Handfield, Joshua Malkin, and I talk about the differences between writing screenplays and collaborating to write a graphic novel, such as their newest, UNIKORN. We talk about acting with Robert Duvall, getting around lawsuits from McDonalds for THE FOUNDER, persevering to make KNIGHTFALL, being a videogame architect, guest staring on SAVED BY THE BELL: THE NEW CLASS, a potential rift in time/between universes, ghost hunting, and so much more.

Don is the co-creator of History Channel's drama series Knightfall and produced The Founder, starring Michael Keaton, and Kill The Messenger, starring two-time Academy-Award nominated actor Jeremy Renner. Don also wrote and directed the Saturn Award-winning film Touchback starring Kurt Russell and Christine Lahti. His first comic series The Rift was produced by Steven Spielberg/Amblin Entertainment as an episode for the upcoming Apple reboot of Amazing Stories. His second series, The Mall, was optioned by Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters) for development into a TV show. Don was named one of the top new faces of independent film by Filmmaker Magazine and has written screenplays or produced films for all the major studios.

Joshua has written feature projects for Sony, Warner Brothers, Cross Creek Entertainment, Universal Pictures as well as for more than a dozen production companies, both big and small. These include: an adaptation of the 80's cult franchise Beastmaster, a supernatural thriller for Australian company See Films and a “re-boot” of the franchise Buck Rogers In the 25th Century. He also wrote and produced three documentaries: two about the art of puppetry, and the other about underground comics. In 2008, his screenplay Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever completed production for Lionsgate. He is currently developing an animated family film for Intrigue Entertainment, a horror movie for Traveling Picture Show, and a TV series for showrunner Jonathan Glassner (Outer Limits, Stargate SG-1.) Joshua is a professor of screenwriting at the University of California Riverside, a story architect for the video game industry, and the proud father of twins.

A middle schooler inherits an old horse from her long lost mother she believes is a unicorn with a broken horn in this heartfelt coming-of-age story of hope, faith and magic. 
 
Young Mae lost her mother in a tragic accident a few years back, although mother's body was never recovered from the raging river into which their car crashed. Mae is devastated because her father, now that enough time has elapsed for proof of death, must sell off his wife's farm, along with her wild stallion Percy, who seems dangerous to anyone who comes near him. However, when Mae realizes that Percy is really a unicorn with amazing powers, she teams with a group of her young friends to save the creature from an age old billionaire who sustains his life through unicorn blood -- and who is now determined to get Percy in his clutches. But unless Mae can find Percy's missing unicorn horn, and restore the full extent of his magical powers, it appears that he is doomed -- unless Mae can pull off a last-minute miracle to save Percy from a terrible fate...

Middle Grade Ninja Episode 42: Author Gregg Millman

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Gregg Millman and I talk about his time in Hollywood as a screenwriter and advertising expert, as well as his time working for MSNBC. He gives several practical tips for pursuing a screenwriting career from his time as an assistant on shows such as BOSTON LEGAL to working with Nicolodean on movies such as ONE CRAZY CRUISE. And naturally, we discuss his new middle grade fantasy novel THE KANDY KINGDOM SAGA, which he wrote in collaboration with his nine-year-old son.

Gregg Millman is a Screenwriter and Middle Grade Novelist, who's created movies, TV shows and novels for kids, including a Nickelodeon movie, ONE CRAZY CRUISE. His new fantasy novel, THE KANDY KINGDOM SAGA, is the first in a series about the adventures of two kids in a magical world of candy torn apart by war between the Sweet Treats and Sour Powers.

Gregg started writing for MSNBC, but realized writing for kids was much more fun. So he moved out to La La Land, where he took his lifelong love of John Hughes teen movies and put it to good use: creating all sorts of kid content, from angsty teen TV soaps to silly Nick movies to post-apocalyptic YA sci-fi series. Gregg has now landed in the alternate dimension of The Kandy Kingdom, where he plans to reside while he completes the book. series.

Middle school can be tricky enough. But things get really crazy when two 7th graders are transported to a magical world of candy. With all the sweets they can eat, it seems like heaven. But danger lurks everywhere - monsters, magic spells, and marshmallow mountain avalanches! Can these regular kids lead an army of candy creatures to victory in an epic battle and save Kandy Kingdom?

This humorous, quirky novel is perfect for tween and Middle Grade readers from 8 to 12 years old:

3rd / third grade

4th / fourth grade

5th / fifth grade

6th / sixth grade

7th / seventh grade

With strong female and male tween leads, this is a quirky, offbeat adventure fantasy filled with awesome action, epic battles, and surprising plot twists. Plenty of jokes and a sense of humor will keep readers laughing along with the wisecracking candy creatures.

GreggMillman.com