Hello friends! As promised, today’s spotlight will be on The Maypop Kidnapping, by CM Surrisi, and at the end of the post I’ll give the details for how you can win a gently used and *signed* copy–just in time for Halloween!

But today’s spotlight on the book will be a little different from my norm, because I also want to share with you all the excellent writing tips I learned recently in a mystery workshop C.M. Surrisi taught. She was also one of our keynote speakers at the SCBWI Carolinas conference this past month, and did a fabulous job helping us feel like this writing gig could be possible for us, in addition to providing the best scoop on MG mystery writing I’ve come across, ever. So, let’s see what I can pass on to you while highlighting her story, too!

The first point which really resonated with me is that a MG mystery follows many of the same rules as a cozy mystery. For example, in her books, you have an ameuteur sleuth who cares deeply about the case and is trying to solve the crime without (general) cooperation from the local law enforcement–this, even though her main character, Quinnie, is the daughter of the sheriff. You also have a quaint or appealing setting which is capable of turning spooky–in her case, a small coastal village in Maine with a row of empty summer houses and a crumbling convent with ten times the cats as nuns. The crime which kicks off the mystery happens early in the book and offstage, with a minimum of violence and no gore. There’s no bad language, of course, and you also have a cast of characters in the background that are memorable and add some nice color. In the case of the Maypop Kidnapping I enjoyed Quinnie and her friends, but also the adults of the town. There’s Quinnie’s dad, who would seem out of place anywhere outside his diner, and her mom, who manages to hold down the positions of sheriff, mayor, postmaster, and town realtor while acting as if that’s perfectly normal, thank you very much. There are the nuns and their cats, who’re a real hoot, and the various love-interests of Ms. Stilford, and then the lady herself, who is Quinnie’s teacher and the kidnapee. She’s the kind of colorful character everyone needs in their life, and I would LOVE it if she could have been my teacher!

In addition to these basics in setup, a few other MG mystery-writing tips which clicked with me were:

• Backstory–make your antagonist’s motive unique to this story. Ideally, the backstory or motive behind the crime should be something that has never happened in any other mystery, ever, and would only happen in this story. That’s definitely true of the Maypop kidnapping, though unfortunately in this case I can’t tell you what the motive was so you’ll just have to trust me. 😉
• Think like a puppeteer, not a reader–this is especially important given that in MG (like cozies), the story should unfold in such a way that the clues are shared and the reader can potentially figure the mystery out. However, in order for the mystery to be satisfying for the reader and not too easy to figure out, clues must be hidden in plain sight, and red herrings employed so the reader still has to put some work into figuring out what’s going on. In the Maypop Kidnapping, one example I really loved was that in the kitchen where Quinnie searches for her teacher, there is a cup of tea out on the table. This will be important, and is actually the clue. However, the detail Quinnie focuses on is that the peanut butter jar is open–indicating that her teacher left in the middle of fixing her food, and therefore has been missing since dinner time because she only eats peanut butter with dinner. Since Quinnie visits the kitchen the next day, it’s distressing to realize her teacher has already been gone overnight, and that emotion is what the reader picks up on. In this way the tea is there and the readers can draw on that clue later, but like in a good magician’s act their attention is directed elsewhere.
• Use your protagonist’s age to your advantage–kids can’t do some of the things adults can, like drive, and pass for (or be) a law enforcement officer. However, their age can be an asset when they’re out sleuthing because kids can get away with being more direct than adults, including asking questions adults wouldn’t. They can also fit in smaller space, and are more readily overlooked or underestimated. All of these are things a savvy MG mystery writer can use to their advantage. And, let me add, when Quinnie and her friend claim they’ve accidentally fallen in the ocean thanks to a seagull deposit on the friends’ head, that accident is more believable than if an adult claimed the same thing. So, adult’s perception of kids can be an advantage, as well.
• Choose an appropriate number of suspects to sustain the book–the longer the book, the more suspects you need. For a 50k MG Surrisi recommends 4-5 suspects, but the focus on the suspects and the number ‘in play’ will ebb and swell as the sleuth adds to that number, or eliminates some based on information learned.
• Remember MOM–in other words, that your eventual villain must have Motive, Opportunity, and Means. I think of this as they must have a reason to commit the crime, a chance to do it, and the ability to carry it out. Some suspects may have one or another, but in the final tally only the the villain will have all three.
• Your MG protagonist will ideally need to sustain a series, and it also needs to be believable that they’d keep poking their nose into danger again and again. So, it’s helpful if they have certain deeply entrenched character traits like a strong sense of fair play, and a need to get involved and fix things. It’s also helpful if they have a big personality and will make for entertaining reading–which is definitely true of Quinnie!

As many of you know, on the adult side of things I write romantic suspense that’s fairly scary as to the suspense–enough so that I’ve had a book club hosting me act a little nervous when they asked how I wrote my villain like that, and reviewers wake up from nightmares. Additionally, when I worked as a content editor for Red Adept I was the editor most often tagged to edit our mystery, detective, and thriller books. Given that, it seems like I should have known all of the above when setting out to write a MG mystery, but that was not the case! I found CM Sirrisi’s workshop to be hugely helpful. So much so that I think I’ll have my graphic novel adaptation ready to send back to my agent by the end October! Although…I admit that with Halloween fun in the mix, it may take a liiittle longer, and if so, I’m okay with that. Candy coma is a real problem. ;D

I hope you’ve found these insights helpful, and gained a bit of a glimpse inside the book, as well! I find it challenging to spotlight mysteries since I detest spoilers so am paranoid of giving anything away. However, I truly think you’ll take to this tiny town like I did, and love Quinnie and her gang! She makes for a super fun main character, and the small-town hijinks and quirky characters blew through my mind like a refreshing New England coastal breeze. If you’d like to win a gently used signed copy of The Maypop Kidnapping, comment below to tell me so, and for extra entries give this giveaway a boost on twitter or follow CM Sirrisi. Because she’s awesome.

ETA the contest will remain open through this week, with the drawing on the 27th at midnight EST. If I can quickly confirm your mailing address I’ll have it out to you early that next week, so hopefully you’ll get the book in time for Halloween!

I hope you have fun plans for Halloween! I’m determined to dress up in a real costume this year, having slunk by the past couple years with outfits like a bathrobe and a witch’s hat (‘I’m a witch dressed up as a muggle!’), and may even carve a pumpkin. I hope you’ll also enjoy many of the great MG books on the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday roundup gathered on Greg Pattridge’s blog! Happy reading, my friends!

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