Tag: Lynne Jonell

YES! MORE BOOKS LIKE MINE!

6/9/2020

There are so few middle-school fantasies that have anything like a loving God watching over his people and responding to them. 

Whenever I submit a book to my publisher, I am supposed to come up with 3 recent, widely-read books that are similar to mine.  I always use one of C. S. Lewis’ Narnia books even though they’re not recent.  I’ve used books by Lynne Jonnell, which I’ll probably use again, and I’ve stretched things to include E. D. Baker, Andrew Peterson, and S. D. Smith, but I really wanted to find a new one before I submit Benk and the Ugly Princess—the last of the Montaland series.

 So I have been desperately reading and have ACTUALLY FOUND ONE.  Jessica Day George’s Castle Glower series that begins with Tuesdays at the Castle and ends with Saturdays at Sea isn’t a Christian series, but it does have a castle that is alive and watches over its people, responding to them when they ask for help.  Each of these stories has its trauma and upsets, but there’s that overarching presence of something living that is kind and good and powerful.

It’s not exactly the same.  The Christian God is much more powerful and good than the castle, which has weaknesses and limitations.  However, it’s similar and I am delighted to have found these books.

Recent/bestsellers/ comparable to Montaland stories

When I’m preparing a story to be published, I’m supposed to come up with comparable titles—books like mine that have sold well and were written in the last two or three years. They are one of the most important tools book buyers use in deciding whether or not to buy an author’s books.

It’s been hard, really hard.  There isn’t much popular fantasy out there that is light, recent, and distinctly Christian. My stories are not retellings of Bible stories. They aren’t allegories or parables or cleverly disguised sermonettes.

I fall back on C. S. Lewis’s Narnia stories and Lynne Jonell’s Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat series, even though they don’t fit the time frame. I’ve included E. D. Baker’s The Frog Princess books–they’re not Christian, but they are light and fun to read.  I’ve stretched things to include Andrew Peterson’s The Warden and the Wolf King and S. D. Smith’s rabbit books, because they are written by Christian authors. 

The reason I’m writing this post is to ask for your help. There’s one more story coming in the Montaland series—Benk and the Ugly Princess.  I’ll need comparable titles for it!  If you know of any recent popular fantasies for 8-12 year olds, please share with me!