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The Niche Between: Teaching, Writing Lower YA, & a Debut Novel with Connie Richardson (E188)
Description
In today’s episode, I’m chatting with Connie Richardson. Connie is the debut author of Rapid City Summer. She teaches middle school English and Language Arts in the Chicago suburbs. She has published articles, short stories, and blog posts for the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and Scribbler. Additionally, Connie is a former graduate and current mentor in author Mary Adkin’s MFA-alternate program, The Book Incubator. When she is not teaching or writing, she enjoys fly-fishing out west, running, coaching cross-country and track & field, and cooking for her family and friends.
This episode with Connie is so much fun, and her energy and passion for reading shine through the entire conversation. We talk about big life moments, the joy of finally seeing a debut novel out in the world, and what it means to fall in love with stories that open doors to new experiences.
Episode Highlights:
- Writing for the space between middle grade and YA, which Connie calls lower YA.
- Her work as an ELA teacher and her school’s participation in a One Book, One School program that brings authors directly to students
- How Rapid City Summer is set in South Dakota and centers around the niche topic of fly fishing
- Why Connie loves writing and reading niche topics that readers may never experience firsthand
- A book flight featuring middle grade and YA novels that readers of all ages can connect to
Connect with Connie:
Books and authors mentioned in the episode:
- The Mystery of Locked Rooms by Lindsay Currie
- Slider by Peter Hautman
- Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
- Alone by Megan Freeman
- Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
- It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
Book Flight
- The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
- The Canyon’s Edge by Dusti Bowling
- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
The BFF Book Club is becoming a family affair! ❤️ This our FREE virtual book club, where we read together each month and have live author chats.
Each Family Book Flight pairs our BFF Book Club pick with:
- One chapter book for growing readers
- One picture book for our littlest readers
- A few family conversation starters + a simple activity
Three books. One common theme.
→ Join us here: https://bookishflights.kit.com/bfffamily
Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!
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