Today I'm celebrating the summer publication of the paperback edition of Jo Hackl's terrific middle grade novel, Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe.
Set in an overgrown Southern ghost town, Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe takes readers on an adventure with 12-year-old Cricket, who sets out to survive on her own in the woods of an overgrown ghost town to try to solve a clue trail left by an eccentric artist, with a logic all his own, all
to try to find a secret room that may or may not exist. Cricket must use her wits and just a smidgen of luck to live off the land and solve the clues. With the help of a poetry-loving dog and the last resident of the ghost town, maybe, just maybe, she can do it.
Jo stopped by to answer some great questions. Enjoy!
What were your favorite books as a child?
My two favorites were My Side of the Mountain
and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I admire how My
Side of the Mountain draws readers into the natural world and makes
surviving in the wild a quest of its own. Spending time outdoors also changes
the main character. I love how From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E.
Frankweiler immerses readers in the intriguing setting of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art and takes them into an art mystery. For Smack Dab, I
challenged myself to combine those two elements—outdoor survival and an art
mystery clue trail—in one novel.
How did you go about crafting Smack Dab?
I began the first draft in a class offered
through Emrys, a local literary arts organization in Greenville, where I live.
I attended writing workshops and read books about the craft of writing. I
studied and wrote poetry. I wrote the first draft in five months and spent
seven more years revising, refining and polishing. I completed at least nine
full drafts. I was on at least the fourth draft and several years into the project
before I started sending it out.
What kind of research did you do for the
book?
I trained on everything from fire starting,
shelter building and water gathering, to foraging for edible and medicinal
plants. I camped out in the woods and recorded information about sights,
sounds, and textures. I studied which edible foods are available during each
part of the year. I researched the behavior and diet of woodland animals, the
migration patterns of Southern birds. I reached out to entomologists and experts
on human behavior and the natural world. I studied information about Leonardo
DaVinci, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and used that all in constructing the
clue trail.
What kind of a response to Smack Dab have
you gotten from readers?
I love to hear from readers and I’ve been
thrilled with their response to the book. One reader reported that she
read the book 14 times. Many others have written to say how much reading
about Cricket’s journey has helped them in their own. So far, half of the
readers from whom I’ve heard have been students and half have been adults. The
book has layers and it’s interesting to see what layers spoke the most to each
reader.
What are you reading these days?
I read mostly middle grade and I have about five
books going at once. I’m currently reading Shadows of the Lost Sun, the
latest in the Map to Everywhere
series by Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis, The Law of Finders Keepers
by Sheila Turnage, Serafina and the Seven Stars by Robert Beatty, Grenade
by Alan Gratz, and re-reading When I Crossed No-Bob by Margaret McMullan.
What advice can you give to aspiring middle
grade authors?
You can do it! Start an idea journal and
use it write down ideas for things such as character names, quirks, details
that help show character traits, and plot ideas. Give yourself permission to
write a really bad first draft. The goal of the first draft is just to get your
ideas down on paper. If you get stuck, leave a blank. You can always
brainstorm with a friend and fill in the details later. Once you have your
draft, you have something to work with. Go line by line and look for ways to
make your work better. Try to imagine how each character would feel in
each scene and give your readers details to make them feel as though they are right
there in the scene with your characters. Make sure that each word is the best
word and that each scene keeps the story moving. Cut any unnecessary
words. Read your story aloud to make sure that the rhythm of the language
feels right. Keep writing, looking for ways to make your work even
better. Don’t be afraid to take risks. As my character Cricket would
say, “sometimes it’s time to start taking chances on yourself.”
Thanks so much for stopping by, Jo!
Bio
Jo Watson Hackl was born in Biloxi,
Mississippi, not far from Ocean Springs, where her favorite artist,
Walter
Anderson, lived and once painted a secret room. When Jo was eleven, she moved
to a real-
life ghost town, Electric Mills, Mississippi. Mr. Anderson’s secret
room and the ghost town were Jo’s inspiration for this debut novel. She lives
with her family in Greenville, South Carolina. You can find her online at
JoHackl.com. Jo is also the Founder of
Outdoorosity.org
