The CHOW: Exploring Middle Grade Fiction with Catherine Arguelles

From Bullying to Geocaching Adventures: A Journey Through Traditional and Indie Publishing

Author Catherine Arguelles brings a unique perspective to us today. First off, she is a middle-grade author who has tried her hand in the traditional publishing space and gone the independent author route. Her first novel, Flip Turns, tells the story of a girl in middle school navigating the world of bullying, adolescence, and permissive "boys will be boys" culture. She also recently released First To Find, a high-stakes adventure involving geocaching and a missing girl where kids are the heroes of their own stories and a throwback to the stories Gen Xers will remember. Before writing novels, Catherine earned a BA in English with a minor in Women’s Studies and a MA in Psychology, Counseling. She has worked as a counselor with middle school students, as a fundraiser for non-profits, and is the proud parent of two feminist readers. She lives in Northern California, and her favorite event was once the 100-yard backstroke.

[VW] Welcome Catherine! You've published two novels in Middle Grade. What draws you to this genre?

[CA] It's a little cliched, but the answer is my kids. The first books I wrote were picture book-type stories for my daughters when they were little. They drew pictures to illustrate them, and I took photos of their illustrations and had them printed on Snapfish. Fun little memory. As they got older and started reading bigger books, I discovered the Middle-Grade market, and I got ideas for stories featuring middle schoolers. My first middle grade book that didn't get published was very much influenced by my older daughter, who was around 10 years old at the time (she's 18 now!)

I do have to say, however, that I loved reading when I was in late elementary and middle school. I'd read books over and over, Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, Paula Danziger-I loved Nancy Drew and all kid-centered mysteries. I think I read Blubber like 10 times. I read Paula Danziger's It's-An-Aardvark-Eat-Turtle World a bunch because I was enthralled with the romance. I'm sure that drew me to writing Middle Grade as well.

[VW] Your first novel, Flip Turns, has a significant message about bullying and gender dynamics. What drew you to write such a powerful message that readers of that age need?

[CA] That's a really important question, thanks for asking it. I came across a study published around 2016 I think that reported that over 40% of middle schoolers had experienced sexual harassment, primarily verbal but also physical, and much of it persistent. It reminded me of a boy in middle school who liked me and wouldn't leave me alone even after I told him I didn't like him. He gave me a Valentine's Day gift that said I Love You! I was horrified and terribly uncomfortable, but everyone told me to just be nice to him. The study reminded me of that experience, then the MeToo movement hit, and I knew between the memory and the study and the movement, it was time to talk about specifically sexual harassment with middle schoolers.

That said, I wrote an entire book before Flip Turns that delved into harassment even more, and my agent couldn't get it published. Even now, I think publishers have some hesitations on stories where middle school boys are harassers.

[VW] We all dream of how publishing will go, from securing an agent, signing a book deal, working with an editor, and down the line. What surprised you most about the process going through it?

[CA] Oh, that's a hard one. I've been in a pretty rough time with publishing lately. I parted ways with my agent over a year ago and have been struggling searching for a new one. This is a downer, sorry, but the thing that's been surprising me lately is that rejection is getting harder to deal with instead of easier. Maybe that's not how it works for everyone, but every rejection lately feels like a deeper twist of the knife and farther away from my dreams and goals. I knew there would be rejection; I just didn't know there would be so much of it. Maybe I'm also a little surprised that I keep trying even after it gets me so down. Sometimes I get mad at myself for that, like why do I keep putting myself out there just to get torn down again and again? But I can't help hoping. Darn hope.

[VW] With First to Find, you've gone a different route with story and publishing. Why did you go indie?

[CA] Because my agent couldn't sell it! That's really it. It wasn't a choice I wanted to make, but I couldn't let this book go unread. I loved writing First to Find and felt like there were kids out there who needed it.

Even though it wasn't what I wanted, I have enjoyed the indie process. I liked not having to compromise on decisions about things like word choices and cover design. I got to make the calls. I like seeing how sales are doing in real time - you don't get that with traditional publishing. Also, I'm in control of it, and I've been able to really be generous with this book. I've been doing a lot of leaving it around in little free libraries and giving it away more than I had the liberty to do with Flip Turns. I'm not as worried about making sales or proving myself to anyone, I just want kids to find and read it. And then maybe try geocaching!

[VW] Did you take what you learned through your Flip turns experience into First to Find? Did you need to change your mindset?

[CA] Somewhat - I initially wrote the proposal for First to Find as an option for my Flip Turns publisher, so I had to have a detailed outline before I started any of the writing. I hadn't done a detailed outline for Flip Turns, but it helped a ton with the writing for First to Find and with my anxiety over knowing whether or not I could actually finish the story.

[VW] What is your writing process? Are you a discovery writer, a pantster? Or do you plot out your stories?

[CA] I'm a plotter now, but I leave room for change and discovery. I start with quarter-point plot beats: 1/4 Accept the quest, 1/2 you think it's over, but it's not, 3/4 all is lost, Conclusion. Then I plot out about 20 plot beats around those, more if it's an adult book. The YA I'm writing now, I plotted 24 beats to begin with. I'm always open to changing things, though, and mixing it up as I go.

[VW] What do you find is the most complex and most rewarding part of your process?

[CA] The most challenging is rejection, by a long shot. It really breaks my confidence. Because I've had so much rejection, it plagues me even when I'm writing something that no one has even read. I really need to figure out a better way to deal with it because it's totally getting in my way.

When I have a good writing day, I feel good. I definitely get into a flow, and I love when the ideas just keep coming. That's rewarding. But the most rewarding is meeting readers. I met a 4th-grade girl at my last signing who said a boy had given her a Christmas gift, and she didn't like him, and she felt really weird about it. It felt so good to offer her Flip Turns and say, I know, girl, I've been there, you're not alone. I think that's a big part of why we do this, right? Why we read and why we write, so we don't feel alone, and so we can let others know they're not alone either. It's incredibly rewarding to know I can do that for a kid. I guess that's why I keep putting myself out there!

[VW] I know you've written in other genres, so what's next in your writing journey?

[CA] I'm working on a YA romance that's a retelling of a classic musical and it's honestly so fun. I haven't done a retelling before and it's nice to both have the plot direction but also get to be creative with how it fits in the goal of the retelling, which in this case is feminism, and classic musicals definitely need that! I also have another YA romance I'm trying to figure out what to do with. Again, with the cliche, my kids got older, and I just started having ideas for YA instead of MG. I'm not sure how long I'll stay here. I like writing in YA, but publishing in YA is a big challenge.

[VW] Thank you so much for coming on.

[CA] Thank you for having me, and thank you for highlighting writers!

Side of Mustard

Lose Yourself will be available on Audible on April 15. One year after its release, I worked with the talented narrator Ian Seguenza to bring the stories of Brett Austen, Dana Peck, Will Jenson, Fred Stephenson, Derek Nguyen, and Lizzie Hernandez to life through audio.

I’m going on a mini tour to promote the Audible release. I’ll be with Catherine at Crafts and Drafts at Drake’s The Barn in West Sacramento on March 29 from noon to 4 p.m. On March 30, I will be at Face In A Book in El Dorado Hills to give a talk on baseball life.

The Intern

The audio release allows me to remind folks of The Intern, my five-part prequel serial to Lose Yourself.

Javier is an intern with the Oakland A's (fictional reality) during a historical season when All-Star Brett Austen is on the verge of a historic achievement. Javier navigates good-natured indoctrination, relationships, and more in this coming-of-age story.