You’re confused and maybe a little scared. When you’re in it, you have no idea what’s going on with yourself or anybody else. JS: I love middle schoolers! I think this is the hardest age for a reason.
![roll with it book characters roll with it book characters](https://i.pinimg.com/474x/7d/6e/07/7d6e072351af55507298e46f38b6e271--thunder-taylors.jpg)
MUF: What made you turn to fiction, and then specifically, middle grade fiction? What is it about MG readers that made you want to write for them? And then later, there were so many things I wanted to share with kids who are like Charlie! There were so many things I wanted to tell other parents who might be in the same boat as me. And writing about Charlie is how I first jumped back in.
#Roll with it book characters full#
I’ve written off and on ever since, but began to pursue it full time after Charlie and my twins got a little older. My teacher loved it and I felt so important when the words I wrote made someone else feel things. It was fourth grade and the story was seven pages longer than the requirement and it followed the perilous journey of an elephant in India trying to escape from the zoo. JS: I still remember the first story that caused someone to call me “a writer”. Had you always wanted to write or was being a mom to Charlie what sparked that interest? MUF: You’ve written personal essays about your son, Charlie.
![roll with it book characters roll with it book characters](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ef/62/5d/ef625dad5d4f730a0f20f79dca11998a.jpg)
And I’ve also written a faith-based parenting book, Unbound, which came out last year and I have another faith-based parenting book, this time for parents of children with special needs, called Eat, Sleep, Save the World, that comes out with Lifeway March of 2020! I am also the reviews editor at Literary Mama so not only do I get to write, but I get to read great stuff as well. I’ve written essays, both personal and reported, for The New York Times and The Washington Post. She comes into herself here.Īs for my background as a writer, it’s all over the place. She finds freedom in this most unexpected place and she makes friends and pursues her dream of becoming a famous chef. It’s a tight fit, but there is so much love in that small space and that small town. The story follows Ellie, a 12-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, who moves with her mom into a trailer park in Oklahoma to help take caring of her grandpa who has dementia. And so the idea of ROLL WITH IT was born. It would be impossible! It would be insane to even try! But maybe, just maybe, if you’re determined enough and young enough to brave it, it could be awesome. was this vision of someone in a wheelchair trying to navigate my grandparent’s old trailer in Oklahoma. I needed more distance from real life to let my imagination go where it would.
![roll with it book characters roll with it book characters](https://i.pinimg.com/236x/59/e1/7e/59e17e8e0766fb93bba79a02f5a9aaed.jpg)
But I knew I couldn’t tell Charlie’s story. My son has cerebral palsy and the notion of writing a story that he could relate to had been percolating for a while. one late night/early morning with the idea for ROLL WITH IT rattling around in my head. Mixed-Up Files: Tell us a little bit about ROLL WITH IT (& CONGRATS!!!), as well as your background as a writer. Here’s what Jamie had to say about writing for middle-grade readers, why stories about being the new kid are so appealing, and what’s on her TBR (to be read) list. This week, author Jamie Sumner stopped by MUF to talk about her brand-new middle-grade title from Simon & Schuster, ROLL WITH IT (giveaway below!).
![roll with it book characters roll with it book characters](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/MG4AAOSwWxNYnsJX/s-l400.jpg)