GUEST POST AS PART OF MY MIDDLE GRADE FEATURE - ILANA WATERS

Do you think children at schools these days are encouraged enough to read and/or do imaginative writing?

I’m going to be perfectly honest here—I don’t have a lot of direct experience with present-day school systems. I hear kids are using e-readers there more, so that’s an interesting development. But with so much focus on preparing for mandated tests (at least in the U.S.), I fear much creativity and reading for pleasure is getting lost. 

Did you read a lot at school and write lots of stories, or is being a writer something newer in your life?

I’ve always been a reader and a writer. I just never took the writing thing seriously until a couple of years ago. Follow your dreams, people! They are the only thing worth pursuing.

Did you have a favourite author as a child?

I was (and still am) in love with Beverly Cleary. My first chapter book was her Ramona Quimby, Age 8.

I remember thinking no one else got kids the way she did. She never talked down to them, and always took their concerns seriously.

I tried to do the same thing in my first novel, The Adventures of Stanley Delacourt: Book I of Hartlandia.  

BLURB from Goodreads

Ten-year-old Stanley Delacourt loves his quiet life in the peaceful village of Meadowwood. At least, he does until his best friend is killed. Then the town library—where Stanley lives and works—is burned to the ground. The individuals responsible for both tragedies are a nasty group of soldiers. They work for the kingdom’s new leader, Christopher Siren. With the grown-ups too fearful to take action, Stanley vows to confront Siren. He plans to get answers and demand justice. Little does he know that his journey will involve sword-wielding knights, kidnapper fairies, and dark magic. 

Stanley has only two allies back home: a witch named Meredith, and a young apothecary called Sophie. Can they help him discover the reason behind Siren’s crimes and end this terrible reign? Or is Stanley set to become the next victim in the tyrant’s evil plot?

Do you have a treasured book from your childhood? If yes, what is it?

My favorite book was/is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith. It’s the story of a bookish girl (!) who grows up in poverty, but manages to overcome her circumstances. The author doesn’t gloss over the hardships faced by the characters, but always offers hope and a chance at redemption

Are there any New or Existing Children’s/Middle Grade Authors you are interested in for us to watch out for? Why should we watch out for them?

A few that come to mind are Papa G. (a nom de plume), author of Fing. 

He’s the funniest, most slightly-macabre author I’ve seen since Roald Dahl. 

Lissa Evans, who gave us Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms (released as Small Change for Stuart in the UK), for magical inventions and endless mystery. 

And J.K. Rowling, who’s written a quiet little book about a boy wizard. I don’t know why, but I have a feeling she’s gonna be big. ;-)

Want to purchase or just learn more about Ilana Waters books? Below are the links you need.
“Paying Piper” is FREE on Smashwords, Kobo, and Ilana Waters’ website. You can also check it out at Amazon, Amazon UK, and B&N. Castles in the Airis available exclusively at Amazon! More of Ilana’s work can be found here.