Magnetic compost heaps, man-eating bubble baths
and other disasters erupt when an inventive seventh-grader meets a challenge to
win a David Beckham autographed soccer jersey if he can befriend an unsociable
nerd and introduce his sister to the nerd’s hunky brother.
The story is about the
disasters that pile up when a seventh-grader’s brilliant plan to meet his
sister’s challenge takes more than one wrong turn. Life tosses challenges at
all of us. It would be incredibly boring if it didn’t. What matters is what we
learn from them.
Title: Vin and the Dorky Duet
Publisher: Halo Publishing Int. & MuseItUp
Publishing (Canadian e-book publisher)
ISBN:
978-1-61244-091-0 (paperback)
ISBN:
978-1-77127-073-1 (eBook)
Genre of Book: Children’s Chapter Book Adventure
About the Book:
A twelve-year-old boy named Vin, goes on a
mission—reluctantly. He doesn’t share the optimism of the knights of old who
embarked on impossible missions without a doubt they’d succeed. When magnetic
compost heaps, man-eating bubble baths and other disasters erupt, Vin comes
close to packing in the whole ridiculous business. He calls it Operation BS,
his code name for a mission to introduce his sister to a boy she has a crush
on. He doesn’t want to play matchmaker, but Meg’s promise to reward him with a
David Beckham autographed soccer jersey is a decisive incentive.
Available wherever books are sold and online.
About the Author:
 |
| Maggie Lyons
|
Maggie
Lyons was born in Wales and
brought up in England before
gravitating west to Virginia’s
coast. She zigzagged her way through a motley variety of careers from
orchestral management to law-firm media relations to academic editing. Writing
and editing nonfiction for adults brought plenty of satisfaction but nothing
like the magic she discovered in writing fiction and nonfiction for children. Several
of her articles, poetry, and a chapter book have been published in the
children’s magazines Stories for Children Magazine and knowonder!
Follow Maggie Lyons at
Mini Interview:
What are some jobs you've had in your life? Have they influenced/inspired your writing?
For many years I gave private piano lessons to children of all ages, which
probably influenced my writing for children in an indirect way. Writing program
notes for concerts of the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, DC and other
orchestras in the USA and UK provided the basis for a career of writing in
other business fields—yes, the performing arts is a business. All that
nonfiction writing helped my efforts to become a better writer of both
nonfiction and fiction, though I’m far from fluent in the art. That’s still an
aspiration. My middle-grade adventure story Vin and
the Dorky Duet is directly
inspired by my love of music, which found an outlet in my work in performing
arts.
It has
been my experience, some things come quite easily (like creating the setting)
and other things aren’t so easy (like deciding on a title). What comes easily
to you and what do you find more difficult?
The first
sentence isn’t too difficult, but everything after that is.
Do you
consider yourself a born writer?
Not
really. I struggle with it because I’m fatally attracted to challenges and
because, especially in my dotage, writing offers a wonderful exercise for the
“little grey cells,” as Monsieur Poirot would say.
Who is
your favorite author and what is your favorite genre to read?
That’s a
supremely impossible question to answer. A recent addition to my “adult”
favorites is Jane Gardam whose Old Filth is a treasure of
beautifully crafted language and storyline. A recent addition to my
“children’s” favorites is Jerry Spinelli whose Maniac Magee is
another example of powerful writing. Though, with this book, I suspect adults
appreciate Spinelli’s powerful prose far more than the young readers it’s
written for. I don’t have a favorite genre. Any book that won’t allow me to do
anything except read it is a favorite.
Is there
anything you'd go back and do differently now that you have been published, in
regards to your writing career?
I wish I
had started writing for children decades ago, when my son was young enough to
draw me directly into his world and keep me up-to-date on kidspeak and
kidthink. I now have to consult my friends’ grandchildren to keep current on
the children’s world, which is my approach to continuing education.
