In the Middle with Rebecca Behrens

This week on In the Middle, we’re chatting with Rebecca Behrens, author of When Audrey Met Alice.

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It is ridiculously difficult to get a pizza delivered to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

First Daughter Audrey Rhodes can’t wait for the party she has planned. The decorations are all set, and the pizza is on its way. But the Secret Service must be out to ruin her life, because they cancel at the last minute for a “security breach,” squashing Audrey’s chances for making any new friends. What good is having your own bowling alley if you don’t have anyone to play with?

Audrey is ready to give up and spend the next four years totally friendless—until she discovers Alice Roosevelt’s hidden diary. The former first daughter’s outrageous antics give Audrey a ton of ideas for having fun . . . and get her into more trouble than she can handle.

When Audrey Met Alice is available on Barnes and Noble, Books a MillionIndie BoundIndigo, Amazon, and at bookstores near you.

Q&A with Rebecca

What draws you into writing for a middle grade audience?

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I’m fairly convinced that I am the world’s oldest living tween. And the older I get, the more I realize that the way I observed the world as a middle-grader—with wonder, optimism, and curiosity—is the way I’d like to look at it now. The middle-grade years are the age of discovery, and that leads to so much story richness. Most of all, middle-grade fiction is so much fun, to write and to read.

If you had a time machine and could visit middle-grade you, what would you tell her?

Don’t sweat the small stuff. Actually, don’t sweat some of the bigger stuff, too. I always was a worrier as a child, and a lot of what I fretted about, in retrospect, was silly. I’d tell middle-grade me that sometimes the best things happen when you venture even the slightest bit outside of your comfort zone.

Choose your own adventure: Is there an interview question you’d love to answer, but haven’t been asked?

Yes! I’d ask about any weird writing quirks. And then I’d tell that mine is that I’ve never actually typed the very satisfying words “The End.” It honestly never occurred to me to add that after a last line in a MS. After some writer friends shared that they always do (because aren’t we usually aching to get to those words?), I meant to celebrate finishing the last MS I wrote by typing “The End,” with a flourish—and then I forgot. Next time!

Thanks for stopping in, Rebecca. Congratulations on your launch!

Rebecca Behrens grew up in Wisconsin, studied in Chicago, and now lives with her husband in New York City, where she works as a production editor for children’s books. Previously, she helped create reading and literature textbooks for grades K-12. Rebecca loves writing and reading about girls full of moxie and places full of history. When she’s not writing, you can find her running in the park, reading on the beach, or eating a doughnut.

Visit her online at RebeccaBehrens.com or connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

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3 Comments

  1. I’m super excited to read this one! The premise is very intriguing. Congrats on your book birthday, Rebecca!

    Reply
  2. Great interview! And congrats, Rebecca, on the release of WHEN AUDREY MET ALICE! (Also, I don’t think I’ve ever typed “the end” for any of my MS’s either! But now maybe I will give it a try.)

    Reply
  3. Love this! I only typed The End on my very first manuscript (of course I also typed a dedication page and designed a book cover for it. Thank goodness I had the foresight to send it to a writer friend before querying it that way:) Congrats, Rebecca! I’m such a HUGE fan of this book!!!

    Reply

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