Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Interview with middle grade author, Shelley Sly

Interview with middle grade author, Shelley Sly

What do you like best about writing middle grade fiction?

I love writing for young readers. I remember being completely smitten with books as a kid. I really dove into the stories and believed in the characters. Now, as an adult, I’ve talked to many young readers who feel the same way about books as I did. It’s the best feeling to see a kid’s face light up when they tell you how much they liked your book.


Where did you get the idea for One Hundred Thirty Stars?

I’m a video game geek, and in my college years, I attended conventions dressed up as video game characters. It was such a unique experience that I just had to incorporate it into a novel. The silliness, the awkwardness… it was all loosely based on real events.


What's your favorite part about writing?

To me, there’s something exhilarating about having the chance to go places that I’ve never been, and having the chance to be people who are different from me, if only for a short while. Yes, I’m just using my imagination, but there’s something very real about the worlds that we writers create. It’s a beautiful escape.


Thank you so much for having me here today, Tyrean!

Thank you, Shelley! I picked up One Hundred Thirty Stars the other day and couldn't put it down! Poignant, sweet, and brilliantly written, it's one of my favorite reads from this year! 

Shelley Sly lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with her husband and their chocolate lab mix. She writes middle grade novels about friendship, family, and figuring out where you fit in. Shelley is the author of WISHING FOR WASHINGTON, and her brand new release, ONE HUNDRED THIRTY STARS. You can find her online at www.shelleysly.com.


One Hundred Thirty Stars can be found at Amazon and Goodreads! (Highly recommended!)

35 comments:

Shelley Sly said...

Thank you so much for featuring me today, Tyrean! I enjoyed answering your questions. :)

Nick Wilford said...

Dressing up as video game characters sounds cool to me! I liked how Shelley summed up what's great about writing. It does feel real.

Tyrean Martinson said...

You're welcome, Shelley!

Tyrean Martinson said...

Yes, it does. Shelley's a great author!

Cherie Reich said...

Congrats, Shelley! I love how you came up with the idea for your book.

Shelley Sly said...

Thanks, Nick! Dressing up was a lot of fun, back in the day. :)

Shelley Sly said...

Thank you, Cherie! It was a fun story to develop and write.

Laurel Garver said...

Love that you're sharing your love of geeky things with the next generation!

Shelley Sly said...

Thanks, Laurel! I'm proud to be a geek! :)

Lori L. MacLaughlin said...

Congrats, Shelley, on your new release! Building your story around the gaming conventions must have been fun.

M Pax said...

How fun to attend geeky conventions. I've only been to a few, but would like to attend more.

DL Hammons said...

I went to those conferences, but I never dressed up. I saw lots of things that would make an interesting read. Thank you for the interview...and best of luck to Shelley with her book! :)

Shelley Sly said...

Thank you, Lori! It was so much fun to write about a convention!

Shelley Sly said...

They really are a blast. I haven't been in a couple of years, but I look forward to attending more.

Shelley Sly said...

Thank you! I didn't dress up at first, but after a little while, I just had to join in the fun. :)

L. Diane Wolfe said...

We can travel the universe through our writing. Congrats on the book, Shelley.

Heather R. Holden said...

Great interview! I can relate a lot to the "beautiful escape" Shelley feels while writing. It's one of the things I enjoy when working on webcomics! And how cool that she loosely incorporated real experiences into OHTS. That's always fun to discover as a reader! :)

Donna McDine said...

Watching a child's face light up with the wonder of the written word is worth ten-fold!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Cons can be weird! Lots of inspiration there.

Shelley Sly said...

Very true! And thank you!

Shelley Sly said...

Thanks! That's awesome that you experience that with webcomics, too! The escape is one of the most fun parts of writing. :)

Shelley Sly said...

Yes, it really is!!

Shelley Sly said...

Oh, definitely! The people you meet, the costumes you see... lots of weird stuff!

Dixie@dcrelief said...

I love the cover! Congratulations, Shelley!

Misha Gerrick said...

I'm not generally much of an MG fan, but this story sounds wonderful. :-)

Natalie Aguirre said...

Congrats, Shelley! I bet the kids will love the video game aspect of your story.

Shelley Sly said...

Thank you so much! I credit my cover artist, Steven Novak.

Shelley Sly said...

Thank you, Misha!

Shelley Sly said...

Thanks, Natalie! I hope so -- I loved video games as a kid.

Tyrean Martinson said...

Thanks everyone for visiting with Shelley! And thank you, Shelley, for rocking this convo for two days!

Jack said...

I LOVE this cover!! I will have to keep an eye on it for when I go on a book spending spree

Cathrina Constantine said...

What a great cover. Congrats to Shelley!!!

Shelley Sly said...

Thank you, Jack! That's great to hear! :)

Shelley Sly said...

Thanks so much, Cathrina!

Shelley Sly said...

Thank YOU, Tyrean! :)