Firstly, I apologise for not posting a Middle Grade Monday blog last week. It was quite a crazy time, with my exam on the Monday and the Music Festival all week. But I wanted to make sure I got this blog up on the right day! Today, I'll be discussing how to put magic into a setting, particularly for middle grade books. One of the key points to make is that magic is not unusual for children. It is quite normal for a class of children to believe that magic exists, and this has both benefits and drawbacks. The benefit is that you don't have to spend as long persuading the reader that a magical place is relatable. The drawback is they already have a set idea as to what magic is like and, if you want to go outside the box as many authors do, it can cause problems. When planning how to put magic into your setting, you can ask yourself some questions: Is the whole world magic, or just select places? Perhaps there is an underwater kingdom of magic, while the folk on shore are just lik...
Written by Michael Wray Illustrations by Anne Marshall Edited by Chris Firth ☆☆☆ I was born in Orkney, but I grew up in Lincolnshire. I went to primary school there and only moved back to Scotland after I had started at John Leggott College. As a result, I feel a certain connection with the place. Growing up in a village on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, I was very aware of the ghost stories around where I lived. My mum grew up in Epworth, so I was well accustomed to the tale of Old Jeffery that is featured in this book. Our house, itself, was very old and I'm pretty sure it was haunted. It talked - creepy floorboards when no-one was there, doors closing when I couldn't feel a draught - that sort of thing. Close to our house there used to be a wood where apparently someone hanged themselves. We were also down the road from Thornton Abbey with its headless ghost who sometimes runs across the road. (The story, as I heard it, was that someone was fishi...