I was thrilled when I heard that Penguin Random House had decided to make an audiobook for Operation Frog Effect. But my first thought was, “What about Blake?” Blake is one of my eight main characters in the book. It’s written from eight POVs, each with his/her unique style. Blake illustrates his entries in graphic novel form. Blake’s sections have minimal words. So . . . I wasn’t sure how an audiobook would work. How could anyone “read” it?

Luckily, the audiobook producer (the frog-errific Linda Korn) contacted me on the front end and was ready to help me brainstorm. She suggested we convert all of Blake’s sections into text that could be read out loud. I went back through my illustration notes and fluffed them out into a narrative that described what Blake drew. (To be totally honest, this draft was “meh” at best.) I am so grateful for Linda’s input. She suggested I re-write, not so much describing the illustrations, but as if I were inside Blake’s head in the moment, WHILE he was sketching. I loved this suggestion. Luckily Linda’s office was about an hour away, so we met at a mid-way point, purchased some highly sugared caffeinated beverages, and hashed much of this out together. Working as a team is my favorite. I tend to be the kind of author who gets so caught up in her story that she can’t see the forest for the trees. Having another perspective enriches my work. I’m so grateful that Linda took the time to help me coax Blake’s story from the images into full blown text.

The audiobook producer selected nine different actors to narrate this book. One actor for each character, and one actor to narrate the sections that didn’t fall solidly into a particular character’s voice (like signs, chapter headings, etc.) She selected a diverse cast of actors, which made me oh-so-happy. My characters are equally diverse, so this representation felt authentic to me.

The absolute highlight of the audio book experience was being asked to record author commentary for the end of the audio book. Me being me . . .  I prepped. A ton. I brought in my crinkly notepaper, all prepared to read my commentary word for word. Again, I’m grateful for Linda’s guidance and patience. She helped me get comfortable in the recording booth and instructed me to set my papers down and just talk to her. She was aiming for a relaxed commentary that showed my personality, not something prepared ahead of time. I finally relaxed, and once I got on a roll, I almost didn’t want it to end.

The audio book for Operation Frog Effect releases in late February, 2019. Hope you like it!

 

Sarah Scheerger is a school-based counselor in Southern California, helping students figure out who they are, and who they want to be. Her middle grade debut, Operation Frog Effect (Penguin Random House) releases in February but is available for pre-order now. Keep an eye out for her new picture book, “Mitzvah Pizza” (Kar-Ben) which launches in April. In addition to MG and PB’s, Sarah also writes YA. To learn more, visit www.sarahlynnbooks.com.

I’m an author, a reader, a counselor (in a school setting), and a mom. I learn so much by watching (and reading) the books my kids pick up. My two middle boys beeline it to anything with illustrations. Based on what I’m seeing in kidlit circles and school classrooms, they’re not alone. Graphic novels and illustrated novels have huge appeal amongst this generation of readers.

Interestingly, my oldest son was a new reader before this wave of graphic novels really surged. So as a middle grade reader, his book choices were often traditional text. I wondered if there was a way to write a novel with traditional text, but that incorporated a graphic novel thread. My hope was to increase appeal to additional readers.

My character, Blake, arose from this thought. He’s a unique learner, a bright student, talented artist, but a student for whom the traditional classroom environment is sometimes challenging. There are so many types of learners in today’s classrooms. I’m impressed by the skill I see in teachers who find a way to reach a variety of different learning styles. I wanted a forum to weave this skill into my storyline.

Having Blake illustrate his entries brings a new element to the storytelling process. The brilliant illustrator, Gina Perry, was able to convey a range of emotions and themes through her artwork. See below for an example.

The emotions speak volumes. I hope this additional modality of story sharing can reach more readers, and that some readers can use Blake’s storyline as a window (for some) and a mirror (for others).

I’m a huge fan of illustrations and their power on the reader. I sit in awe and wonder, because my pencil doesn’t do that. I’m indebted to the skill, time and heart that illustrator Gina Perry put into her work for this project. It’s . . . Frog-tastic! And she’s pretty Frog-tastic too!

 

Sarah Scheerger is a school-based counselor in Southern California, helping students figure out who they are, and who they want to be. Her middle grade debut, Operation Frog Effect (Penguin Random House) releases in February but is available for pre-order now. Keep an eye out for her new picture book, “Mitzvah Pizza” (Kar-Ben) which launches in April. In addition to MG and PB’s, Sarah also writes YA. To learn more, visit www.sarahlynnbooks.com.

 

Writing a novel with eight points of view is messy and complicated, but in the end each layer is distinct and enjoyable both on its own and as part of the whole. Kind of like making layered bean dip (I think.) Admittedly I’ve never made an eight-layer bean dip. Perhaps I’ll add it to my “for when I have free time” list, next to knitting and goat yoga (yes, it’s a thing).

In truth, writing from eight points of view was a long and layered process. First, I wrote the essence of the story, trying to lightly keep my voices distinct. At that time, I was mostly just pushing the plot forward. The true differentiation took place during revision. That was when each voice became its own, when I looked for consistency one voice at a time. Each character needed his/her own nuances of speech, reference points, stylistic differences, backstory, culture, and character arc.

In some ways, having so many points of view helped to push the plot forward. I had fun figuring out how different characters would react to the same events, and playing around with secrets and misunderstandings.

When I began revising with an editor, and making some significant changes, revision became a balancing act, as I had to consider the impact on eight distinct voices. I wanted to give each personality equal playing time. All changes needed to be wound through each POV, affecting each character in his or her own way. I had to be sure not to lose a thread. And when I did purposely need to eliminate a thread, it needed to be eliminated throughout all the POVs.

My characters arrive on my literary stage with their own unique personalities and diverse cultural/religious backgrounds, as well as learning styles. It was important to me to create diverse characters who both represented a typical Californian classroom and who were their own individuals with strengths and weaknesses. I found it extremely helpful to have authenticity readers. I identified a variety of different areas for which I might need an authenticity reader, and then I attempted to find multiple readers for each category. I’m so grateful for their assistance—if I’ve gotten it nearly right, it’s due to the help of my authenticity readers. Any mistakes that remain are my own.

Two of my characters are closest to my own personality, and perhaps for that reason, midway through the revision process, I felt they sounded similar to each other. I made special effort to work on those two voices over and over to strengthen their differences both in personality and presentation. One of my characters, Blake, illustrates his entire thread. I love the inclusion of illustrations for so many reasons. I think illustrations help reach an additional group of readers, and of course brings the story to light in a whole new way.

Much like a zesty bean dip, I couldn’t have achieved the same end result without the important contribution of each layer. Even though it was a ton of work and required some deep cleaning, I thoroughly enjoyed the process. I’d happily write in multiple POVs again.

 

Sarah Scheerger is a school-based counselor in Southern California, helping students figure out who they are, and who they want to be. Her middle grade debut, Operation Frog Effect (Penguin Random House) releases in February but is available for pre-order now. Keep an eye out for her new picture book, “Mitzvah Pizza” (Kar-Ben) which launches in April. In addition to MG and PB’s, Sarah also writes YA. To learn more, visit www.sarahlynnbooks.com.