Meredith Davis
https://meredithldavis.com/
Read the review for The Minor Miracle here.
T4JYM: Your books look like so much fun! Even your website looks exciting. (I LOVE that they can submit their own superpowers to be listed on your site. So cute!) Do you have any new books in the works?
MD: Thanks, Trisha! Book Two of this series, The Minor Rescue, comes out in May 2025, and I’m working with the fine folks at Waterbrook (my publisher) during this final stage of editing and reviewing the art form my amazing illustrator, Billy Yong. I’m so excited to continue the story of Noah Minor and his friends! I always have several projects going, so I’m also working on a few picture books and another middle grade.
T4JYM: Where do you come up with the ideas for your books?
MD: My fiction ideas come from all around me. I walk through the world with eyes peeled for a good premise or character, asking, “What if?” What if that kid who looks totally ordinary has a superpower? And what if he finds out by taking an ordinary eye test, but the eye chart isn’t so ordinary? What if the government uses eye charts to identify kids who can manipulate gravity? What if’s lead to more what if’s.
T4JYM: I see you attended college and obtained some training in writing. Can you tell our readers about what you learned and the experience you had going through the degree program?
MD: I got a degree in advertising from the University of Texas (Go Horns!), where I took classes to learn to be a copywriter. I learned a lot about rejection and revision from that program, and I learned how to keep my writing on point.Years later, I got my Masters of Fine Art in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. I learned plotting and character development and so much more. I learned most writers have a common theme that threads through all our work. For me, that theme is finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. You can see it in my nonfiction middle grade “Her Own Two Feet: A Rwandan Girl’s Brave Fight to Walk” and in my fiction books like “The Minor Miracle: The Amazing Adventures of Noah Minor.” My advice to other writers? Never stop learning. Iron sharpens iron. Find good teachers and listen to them.
T4JYM: What does the writing process look like for you? Walk us through everything that happens from ideas to publication and distribution.
MD: Once I get an idea I start plotting, doing a very rough outline, and then writing. For a novel, it takes from three months to a year to get a first draft I’m proud of. I share my work with other writers to get feedback, and once it’s ready I share it with my agent. More revisions, and then she sends it out to editors at publishing houses. It can take months to hear back, and sometimes you get a lot of no’s before you get that yes. It can take years and years to sell a book to a publisher. Writers need to be persistent. When an editor likes a story, they share with others at the publisher, and if everyone agrees, a contract is signed and revision begins. It took about a year to edit and illustrate The Minor Miracle, which came out May, 2024. My publisher, Waterbrook, has been wonderful to work with. They have talented people in sales and marketing and publicity that get the book into many hands. I try to do my part spreading the word on social media, speaking at conferences and doing author visits.
T4JYM: How long does it generally take for you to write a book?
MD: Anywhere from three to six months for the first draft, and more months editing after sharing with critique partners.
T4JYM: What’s next? Do you want to continue writing, or do you think you might try something new?
MD: I will always write, and I’m always doing something new, which is where I get a lot of ideas. I write children’s books that are published, but I do lots of other writing, too. I write poetry, including a project I call the Bible Poetry Project, where I’m working on writing a poem for every book of the Bible. I also write themed picture book reviews which I share through my monthly newsletter Face Out. These can also be found on my website, where you’ll also find my blog, which I started back in 2011.
T4JYM: Worked in a bookstore…. I would spend every penny I made on books! Wow, what a temptation! Did that experience help you with navigating the writing process and getting published/promoting your books?
MD: I loved working in an independent children’s bookstore, it was amazing! I learned SO much, the owner was super generous with advice and let us take home crates of books to read as long as we brought them back. I learned about the breadth and depth of children’s books and what publishers consistently put out good work. I met many authors and learned what publishing looks like from the POV of a bookstore talking to salespeople from publishers and hand-selling books to customers. And I learned about the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), an international organization that is a huge resource for writers and illustrators. I started an Austin chapter of SCBWI in Austin, Texas, and they helped me grow as a writer as well.
T4JYM: Did you write when you were younger? Did you know you wanted to publish books?
MD: I did write when I was young. Short poems and stories, and an essay test was my favorite kind of test. But I didn’t think about writing books for kids until I was in my 20’s. I never had an author visit my school when I was younger. Maybe if I had, I would have started writing books for publication sooner. It’s one reason I love doing author visits! When I visit kids, I always wonder if I’ll inspire someone to be an author someday.
T4JYM: Who was your biggest influence in life? And who has influenced your writing?
MD: My parents were my biggest influence in life. Their faith sowed the seeds for my faith, and I am certain God has led me down this writing path and opened the doors for the books which were published (and closed many, many doors in the process). I’ve been influenced by all the books I’ve read, the teachers I’ve had at grad school or workshops and conferences, and writers I meet with weekly so we can share our work. Books range from Anne of Green Gables and Ramona, “The Secret Garden” and “Little Princess”, to Roald Dahl’s work, Harry Potter, “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” . . . too many to name them all. Kathi Appelt was maybe one of the most inspiring teachers I’ve ever had and is still a dear friend. There are many writing friends I’m grateful for-you can find their names at the back of my books where I try to say “thank you” to all the people who’ve had an influence on my writing.
T4JYM: What is your favorite book of the Bible and your favorite verse? Why?
MD: Oh gosh this is a hard one! This changes over the years, but I guess I’d say I most love books that are a narrative, that tell a story. The gospels, Acts, 1 and 2 Samuel, and even Numbers, which has quite a bit of story despite its name! That’s where you find Balaam’s talking donkey 🙂 I have lots of favorite verses. One of them is the passage in Matthew 6:25-34 about not being anxious, and trusting God is in control. I also love verses with beautiful words and images, like Genesis 1:1-2. Imagining “darkness over the face of the deep” and “the Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters” brings a powerful image to mind.
T4JYM: What was the last book you read?
MD: I’m in a book club that’s met for 25 years, and we recently read “The Buried Giant” by Kazuo Ishiguro which I loved. I’m also listening to “Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt (it’s beautiful). And I’m always reading middle grade, currently enjoying “The Strange Wonders” of Roots by Evan Griffith.
T4JYM: Who would you want to meet if you could pick any person from the past or present?
MD: Jesus, which is tricky, because he’s past and present and technically we’ve met, but I’d like to give him a hug, hear his voice, and share a meal.
T4JYM: If you could have 15 minutes with Jesus, what would it look like? What would you ask Him?
MD: I promise I didn’t see this question when I answered the previous one! For fifteen minutes we’d sit on a front porch just as the season is turning from summer to fall, cool breeze but not too cold, and I’d ask him about those years of his childhood we don’t hear about in the Bible. What was he like as a teenager?
T4JYM: What advice would you give to someone interested in publishing?
MD: Join SCBWI, join a writer’s group where you can share your work, read a lot in the genre you want to publish in and make note of who publishes what you love to read, and embed yourself in the writing community. Go to conferences, local meetings, join online groups. You’ll not only get educated about where to submit, and to who, you’ll make valuable friendships you’ll need when the no’s come rolling in. Expect the no’s. We all get them. It’s part of the process, the journey, and they refine you and your writing. They create a common bond amongst writers. Be persistent and watch for open doors. They can be in the most unexpected places!
T4JYM: What advice would you give to the youth of this world?
MD: Tell three people you love them every day. You won’t believe what can bloom from those three words.
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