It’s a RHAP, Cat by Lee Y. Miao

In today’s post, children’s author Lee Y. Miao will share with us a little bit about her newest book in the Ellie & Co book series, as well as some perspectives on her writing process.

Welcome Lee!

Thank you, Jan, for asking me to do a guest post on your lovely blog. I’m delighted to discuss my second middle-grade novel, It’s a Rhap, Cat.

This book continues the Ellie & Co book series. However, the setting, primarily in the Los Angeles area, actually takes place about six weeks before the first novel, Wei to Go! Readers can also enjoy each book as a standalone with some recurring characters.

Book Description

When twelve-year-old Cat, a history nerd, discovers her look-alike in a portrait by Raphael, she can’t wait to research this mysterious lady from the 16th century. But sparks fly when she signs up for the Renaissance History and Art Project (RHAP).

To win, Cat needs to ask her one-time rival, Trey, to team up with her. She’s distracted by softball. He’s distracted by lacrosse. They’re both distracted by the class diva.

Will she find clues in old letters handed down over generations? Or will the lady’s secrets in a Rome art gallery remain undeciphered? It’s up to Cat to solve the riddle. If only more than five hundred years didn’t stand in her way!

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Writing Process Perspectives–The Outer Line of Defense: Indispensable Characters

The job of a main secondary character is to help propel the protagonist’s goals forward. These characters get oodles of credit, often being named in book descriptions or a synopsis or even on a coveted book jacket. An entire slew of lesser secondary characters may also appear who are not as prominent but still indispensable. First, I’ll digress into my rookie mode in spectator sports.

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Baseball infielders put out runners attempting base hits. Outfielders, though, play a valuable role backing them up as well as catching long-fly balls. In football, aside from the defensive heavyweights, the secondary line is trained especially to thwart long passes. The lacrosse defense is aided by versatile defensive midfielders in transitioning the ball to offense.

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In this spirit, I added an outer line of defense in my novel to further assist both the protagonist and the main secondary characters. The scenes with this cast provide depth, tension, and humor.

Let me introduce my line up:

• Fun Chum’s Little Brother: Ellie from book one is the to-die-for bestie. This quirky friend is the sidekick encouraging Cat to follow her instincts about a mysterious painting by Raphael. Additionally, Ellie’s little brother, a lacrosse player, provides comic relief when Cat confronts the antagonist and when she faces up to her feelings about a crush.  

• The Crush and His Bros: Speaking of the crush, Cat has to persuade her classmate, a lacrosse player with awesome art skills, to get on board in the school’s Renaissance project. Except, well, middle-school social dynamics make a linear path impossible for puppy love. Forced to go the zigzaggy route, she leans on two athletic bros in the crush’s orbit to ease the way and lend a hand in related subplots.

• A Mentor and One More: Cat’s history teacher provides wise counsel on the school project. But when she throws down the gauntlet to “study history to learn about yourself,” Cat struggles to dig deeper. Just in the nick of time, the teacher introduces her art historian sister who becomes a second mentor, both in Rome and back in Los Angeles.

• Family Ties Plus: Amidst the school drama and mystery of the painting, Cat aims to get closer to her workaholic, weekend-only mom. In this regard, her normal home life centers around her dad and her aloof teen sister. The tangles among the three provide both a spark and unexpected key assists integral to Cat making headway in the book’s plot.

How do all the heavyweights and outer line of defense converge to support Cat in the mystery? Read the book!

Author Bio

Lee Y. Miao grew up in a small Pennsylvania town and lives in New York now with her family and a tireless dog. After working in financial jobs and writing K-12 educational material, she turned to middle-grade fiction. Her stories are about contemporary characters who discover connections to their cultures and families from their pasts.

Lee’s novels are published by Clear Fork Media Group and illustrated by Penny Weber. Please sign up for her email newsletter at her website, http://www.leeymiao.com, for updates and announcements about her writing life.

Here are some bookseller links if you’re interested in purchasing It’s a RHAP, Cat.

Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/lists/lee-miao

Barnes & Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/its-a-rhap-cat-lee-y-miao/1142851937?ean=9781950169849

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Its-RHAP-Cat-Ellie-Book/dp/1950169847

Thank you Lee, my readers and I wish you all the best with It’s a RHAP Cat!

• On Reflection
• The Query-An Agent’s POV
• It’s a RHAP, Cat by Lee Y. Miao
• Storystorm Success!
• The Eye of Storystorm!

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Take A Peek!

Today I’m excited to share some news and a cover reveal for the second book in the Ellie and Co book series written by Lee Y. Miao, cover art by Penny Weber and published by Clear Fork Publishing. It’s a RHAP, Cat is set to be released this coming February 21, 2023.

In this, the second book of the Ellie and Co middle grade adventure series; Ellie Wei’s bestie from Wei To Go! takes center stage. In fact, Cat’s story and exploration of Italy take place about a month before Ellie’s adventure in Hong Kong.

It’s a RHAP, Cat, is all about twelve-year-old Cat, a history nerd, who sees her mysterious double in a sixteenth-century portrait by Raphael. Cat enters the school’s Renaissance history and art project (RHAP) with an art partner—aka her crush—that just might help her uncover puzzling family ties.

Lee Y. Miao

So far, each of Lee’s books in the Ellie and Co book series involve travel abroad. Here’s a photo of Lee in Italy, one of the settings for It’s a RHAP, Cat.

Please take some time to sign up for Lee’s email newsletter on her website www.leeyemiao.com in order to follow her continuing book journey.

To learn more about Lee Y. Miao and the first book in the series check out Jeffrey Sanzel’s book review in the August 25, 2022, Times Beacon Record,www.https://tbrnewsmedia.com/book-review-author-lee-miao-takes-us-on-a-journey-to-hong-kong-with-her-first-book-wei-to-go/.

Mr. Sanzel summed up the book’s appeal in this way, “While Wei To Go! is immersed in Chinese and Chinese American culture, the story’s universality complements an enlightening narrative and makes for an entertaining, engaging and memorable reading experience.”

Wei To Go! is available for purchase on Amazon, through Barnes&Noble, or Clear Fork Publishing.

https://www.amazon.com/Wei-Go-Ellie-Co-Book/dp/195016967

Barnes&Noble-

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wei-to-go-lee-y-miao/11405330

Clear Fork Publishing-

https://www.clearforkpublishing.com/product-page/wei-to-go-an-ellie-co-book–

Best of luck Lee! I enjoyed Ellie’s adventure in Wei To Go! and I’m looking forward to more adventure in It’s a RHAP, Cat !

• On Reflection
• The Query-An Agent’s POV
• It’s a RHAP, Cat by Lee Y. Miao
• Storystorm Success!
• The Eye of Storystorm!

Calling All Readers!

Support authors, illustrators too, they need you.

Just think about it, they’ve poured all of themselves into creating that book you enjoyed. They’ve revised, reworked and fine tuned the words and images you escaped into. They’ve worked hard to get their book(s) published and made available to you.

They deserve a shout out, or a pat on the back, you know they do.

So, that book you’ve just started, or are mid-way through, or are close to finishing? Once you’re finished, use your power as a reader to share your thoughts.

Here are two super easy ways to do just that.

Give it a rating and a review.

It won’t take long. Ratings and reviews can be found on most bookselling sites as well as Goodreads.

You have the power. Books and their creators need your input. It’s a harsh publishing world out there. A little appreciation goes a long way.

Illustrator, Debi Ridpath Ohi says it all!

Your star rating and review can help new readers find and enjoy the book you loved. The more new readers that a book gets, the more likely it is that the writer and illustrator will have opportunities to publish again.

So please, take a few moments to flex your reading power. Help the authors and illustrators you enjoy have the opportunity to create more books. Your imagination will reap the benefits.

The Imaginators by Linda Scott is licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0

• On Reflection
• The Query-An Agent’s POV
• It’s a RHAP, Cat by Lee Y. Miao
• Storystorm Success!
• The Eye of Storystorm!

Feeling the Pull

What is it about the draw of books?

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Not everyone recognizes, or feels it to the extent that some do. But among those who do feel the intense draw of books, it is definitely a shared experience.

Walking into a place where books reside is like walking into a space where magic is at your fingertips. Book stores, libraries, second hand bookshops, anywhere there’s a stacked pile, or a shelf lined with books, spells are waiting to be conjured. Forget about window shopping. Shelf scanning, or stack perusing, is an otherworldly way to spend a morning, an afternoon, or an evening.

First, you might notice the titles on the spines, or the authors’ names. You might pull a book from the shelf just to view the image on the cover and then slip it back in its spot. But, when the cover catches your eye, you, if you’re like me, will read the first paragraph, and then maybe more, most probably more.

Holding the top right edge of the cover of the book between your fingertips, you sense its possibility.

Photo by Harrison Haines on Pexels.com

What world will you enter? Where will you go within that world? With whom, will you travel?

How will your perspective be challenged, or changed?

Will it be challenged? Will it be changed?

There’s a book out there waiting to weave its spell.

It might be among a stack, or wedged between its neighbors.

Find it and invoke its powers. You, and most especially your imagination, will feel all the better for it.

“Many people, myself among them, feel better at the mere sight of a book.” – Jane Smiley

WEI TO GO!

I have good news to announce! My good friend Lee Y. Miao has recently revealed the cover of her debut middle-grade story, WEI TO GO!

I was privileged to enjoy reading an advanced copy and can tell you that it has believable characters you want to root for, a layered and fast-paced plot that keeps pages turning, and a whole bunch of heart. Lee has very generously agreed to an interview and to sharing her book journey with us on this week’s blog post.

Book Description:

WEI TO GO! is about what happens when twelve-year-old Ellie W. Pettit decides to save her dad’s California company, under a mysterious takeover threat. Ellie takes her teacher’s advice to meet a secretive CEO in Hong Kong, while on a trip with her family, and finds she’s at a crossroads. Annoying brother, unexpected weather, new customs, a hovering mom—it’ll take everything she’s got to solve the mystery.

WEI TO GO! will be released on April 5, 2022, by Clear Fork Publishing.

It is available for pre-order on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1950169677/

and at Barnes and Noble: https://bn.com/s/9781950169672

INTERVIEW with Lee Y. Miao:

Who is the ideal reader for your book?

I hope ten to twelve-year-olds who like mysteries and are curious about the world will discover this novel. If they’re on the cusp of being independent and like competitive sports and humor, maybe they’ll also see parts of themselves on the pages. Fingers crossed!

I think they definitely will, Lee, on both occasions.

Tell us, what inspired you to write this book?

The last time I traveled overseas, I realized how challenging or comical it can be to navigate mass transportation or even dine out. I wanted to capture this setting from a middle-schooler’s perspective as the main character chases down a mystery.

What makes your characters unique?

Ellie, the main character, and her pesky brother are third-generation, with partial Chinese heritage. They are pretty much all American and know little Chinese. Ellie isn’t always obedient, and English is her forte, not math and science. Her brother Kipp excels in competitive sports.

What techniques did you use to get to know your main characters?

I tried to capture how kids manage relationships with their parents and each other in changing situations. Sometimes they step up to the plate, and other times they strike out. Like real life, both are absolutely fine.

Did you face any challenges to writing this story?

I was used to being an absurd punctuation and grammar nerd while writing nonfiction for K-12 English language arts projects. When I delved into fiction, I was initially afraid to use slang or lose the occasional comma in kids’ dialogue. Once I did, boy did I feel liberated.

What’s been easy and/or difficult on your writing journey?

Writing middle-grade fiction was hard but made easier as I love to write, especially in my favorite genre. The difficulty was engaging on social media—worried about privacy and not even knowing how to do a DM. Plus, I rarely take pictures. So far, I’ve hobbled along primarily because a few core followers offer unwavering support.

Do you write every day?  When do you prefer to write?   Do you ever find it difficult to start writing? If so, what do you do to get yourself going?

My best time to write is in the mornings when I’m usually alert. I’ll try to write a different chapter in the afternoons or evenings. In between, I do email, social media, read, and all the other things that writers do. Most importantly, I don’t need any excuses to take multiple breaks.

How long has it taken WEI TO GO! to get from submission to publication?

I started writing intermittently about five years ago because I had a full-time day job back then.

Do you have any advice for other middle grade authors who are looking to get their manuscripts published?

I looked for opportunities to improve my writing craft when selecting workshops and conferences. This helps to submit a polished manuscript to agents or editors. Also, I liked meeting other writers to hopefully exchange critical feedback on our manuscripts.

How do you polish your writing?

I apply my notes from workshops or books on writing craft to chapters, scenes, and characters. After my critique partners review them, I inevitably make revisions, even if I initially resist the majority opinion. After all, they always look out for your best interests.

Who are your favorite authors?   What are your favorite books?

My favorites books include the Run with the Horsemen trilogy by Ferrol Sams. I love any books by Gary Schmidt, especially The Wednesday Wars. My all-time favorite, for kids or grown-ups, is A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.

Are you  presently working on another project? If so, can you share a little bit about what it is?

I’m finishing a manuscript related to WEI TO GO! It’s actually a prequel about Ellie’s bestie, Cat, who’s a dead ringer for a Raphael portrait painted during Renaissance Italy.

What do you do for fun?

Concerts, travel and spectator sports are my favorites. I swim regularly and walk my dog. Some day I’d like to resume playing the piano, except I’ve been on beginner book II for more than a decade. My piano teacher is deliriously happy I’m on a lengthy hiatus.

Lee Y. Miao is the debut author of Wei To Go! To find out more about Lee check out her Instagram account @leeymiao.writer and her website www.LeeYMiao.com

Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences and your book journey with us, Lee! Best of luck with your writing and WEI TO GO!