middle grade

Happy New Year and 2022 Recap

/ J.R. Roper

It’s difficult to believe that 2022 is coming to a close. This was the year of many activities and full schedules, a product of my kids growing older and the post-pandemic reopening of the world–a new season of life as a parent. I didn’t cross off many of my goals for 2022, but I did fully enjoy my time watching others grow and flourish. Here’s to another year of wonderful life in 2023 and hopefully a few more goals met during the next 365 days.

A few highlights from 2022:

Writing and Publishing: My story, The Wicker Demon, was accepted by Eastern Iowa Review for Issue 14: The Elven Collection (I will post when it goes live). I also finished the first draft of a whimsical middle grade novel and submitted a finished project throughout the year.

Mushroom Hunting: My wife and I took a foraging and mushroom identification class and it was one of my favorite activities of the year. We will continue to learn and pursue this passion as a couple.

Books: My favorite book this year was Stop Fixing Yourself by Anthony De Mello. There is a lot of wisdom in this man’s writings. I also loved Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty.

Podcasts: I continue to get the most value out of The Minimalist podcast. I subscribed to the private podcast and they added TK Coleman as a regular, both of which have enhanced my experience.

Movies and TV: My wife a I finally sat down and watched Stranger Things. We absolutely loved it (oh the 80s nostalgia) and binged all four seasons during the months of October and November.

On to 2023! This year I will let go of the things that get in the way of time spent loving my family and working on projects that bring me joy. When there is space, creativity can flourish. Clearing away the physical clutter, emotional clutter, digital clutter, etc. can create a calming environment where I will either be more productive, or even better, at peace.

Thank you for reading. May you be in a calm place in 2023, full of possibility and creativity. Best wishes and big hugs.

Author Visits Rock!

/ J.R. Roper / Leave a comment

I have had an amazing time over the last month visiting classrooms, presenting and signing books at Pinewood Elementary, and signing at Authorpalooza, a Michigan author event. The kids have been amazing and meeting fans is the best experience an author can have. After thousands of hours writing and editing, having fans other than my wife is reason enough to write for the rest of my life. Here are some links related to the events:

An awesome article on the Superintendent’s blog for Jenison Public Schools.

And an article in The Pioneer about Authorpalooza.

Thanks for reading!

My Writing Process: Blog Tour

/ J.R. Roper / Leave a comment

New release date (300x251) (2)I would like to thank the fabulous Kelly O’Dell Stanley for tagging me in this magical blog tour. Kelly is a best friend and has an amazing book on prayer coming out from Tyndale in May 2015 titled The Art of Praying Upside Down. Her book is an exploration of prayer in her own life mixed with a palette of art techniques that merge majestically with new ways to pray. She is an award winning writer and future best seller. I just know these things, so trust me!

A bit about me.

What am I working on?

I am currently putting the polish on my first novel, The Hunter Awakens: Morus Chronicles Book One, which will be released July 8, 2014 from Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing. I am also at work on the second book in the Morus Chronicles. The title is still up in the air.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I am sort of split between adult horror and fantasy for middle grade readers and teens. In terms of my horror, I write simple prose that is thin on description and heavier on mood. I wouldn’t call it terribly dark or gory writing, but more distressing and slightly hopeful.

My fantasy for middle grade and teen readers tends to be easy to read and written with a simple voice. Many in this category are heavy on voice and internal distress. I certainly bring my own unique voice but I want to take the reader on an adventure in the vein of Indiana Jones more than an internal struggle.

Why do I write what I do?

Many of my family and friends are surprised by my horror writing because they see me as a comedy writer but the only stories that flow from my hand in short form are gifts from the dark. I don’t know why. I just go with it.

My fantasy is driven by my first love, Harry Potter. There are no words to express how much that series meant to me. So much that it inspired me to become a writer.

How does my writing process work?

My writing process changes with the season of the year and the season of life. I am a husband, father to two boys under three, social studies teacher, track coach, critique partner, and family member to the wonderful people at CHBB, Vamptasy, and Hot Ink Press #Onehouseunited. Needless to say, I have 25 hours of my day spoken for before I even think about writing. I tend to work a lot during the summer when I am off from school. I also go in spurts during the school year (I wrote 25,000 words in November!). I write best at night from 9:00-11:00 if I can only sit down for a bit and work. Some days I can. Some I can’t. All I know is that I am happiest when I am writing daily and some months that is a reality.

Enough about me! Tagging some of the best authors I know!

Liza Wiemer

Liza just announced that her debut YA novel HELLO? will be published by Spencer Hill Contemporary. Liza is absolutely wonderful, a best friend, and is the hardest working writer I have ever met. She reviews YA books and has fun contests at her whoRUblog. She has two non-fiction books published, Extraordinary Guidance: How to Connect with Your Spiritual Guides & Waiting for Peace: How Israelis Live with Terrorism. Connect with Liza:

Twitter: @LizaWiemer

Website: http://lizawiemer.com/

Blog: http://www.whorublog.com/

Sarah Jayne Carr

In a world short on heroes, we have Sarah Jayne Carr! Sarah is a writer and editor and was the editor for my first short story publication in Dark Light Three, a CHBB anthology. She is the author of the JackRabbit7 series, published by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing. Hunting Hamilton: A JackRabbit7 Novel releases April 25, 2014! Her Grim Reaper series is in progress with the prequel coming out October 3, 2014. I can’t hold back. She holds a special place in my heart and I love her dearly! Connect with Sarah:

Twitter: @SarahJCarr1

Facebook: Like her Page!

The Guardians Fan Page

Website: http://www.sarahjcarr.com/

Jennifer Raygoza

Wity and wonderful, Jen is an up and coming rock star. The Guardians series will be re-released from Vamptasy Publishing starting with The Guardians 1 on April 15, 2014. She has an uplifting personality and makes me smile constantly despite the fact that we are separated by the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, and a lot of corn fields. I can’t wait to see her rise to stardom. Connect with Jennifer:

Twitter @RaygozaJen

Facebook: Like her Page!

Goodreads: Author Page

Why I love writing for middle grade readers and young adults

/ J.R. Roper / Leave a comment

The more I work with middle schoolers, the more I like my audience. I don’t appreciate the occasional rudeness (sometimes often), and I slowly burn inside when I ask a student to stop doing something and he/she does the same thing five minutes later. But the beauty of this group lies in their only predictable behavior…

UNPREDICTABILITY

I value this as a writer because it is much more fun to make irrational, sometimes crazy, characters in my stories. That is what this readership expects. Not neat and perfect characters, but people who have outbursts, sarcasm, evil thoughts, and an underlying sense of invincibility. Come and visit a middle school classroom and you’ll know what I mean. Write on.