Beagles and Books is honored to kick off The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl Blog Tour organized by Jaime of Rockstar Book Tours. I had the great pleasure to read an ARC of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl as part of my #bookexcursion group. To read my full review, please click here.
The tour begins with an interview with author Stacy McAnulty. Thank you so much Stacy for taking the time to visit Beagles and Books!
1. Tell us a little bit about your new middle grade novel, The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl. On 1 level, it’s a story about fitting in and making friends in middle school. It also has a 12-year-old girl with amazing math skills, quirky friends, a doomed dog, lots of junk food, OCD, musical references, a tells-it-like-it-is grandma, and an epic birthday party.
2. What inspired you to write The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl? I definitely love math, and that’s not common among authors. Or at least, there’s a stereotype that writers should dislike (or be bad at) math. I’m more comfortable with a Sudoku than a crossword. And when my kids need homework help, I’d rather assist with math than help with vocabulary (I’m talking to you, Wordly Wise books!) But I didn’t set out to write a “math story.” I was intrigued by savants. I believe everyone’s brain works differently. We all see the world and compute in our own way.
3. The main character, Lucy has acquired savant syndrome and also lives with OCD. Tell us about your research before and during the writing of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl to make Lucy authentic. To begin, I watched a documentary about OCD treatment and did the usual Google searching. I also spoke with two experts—a mom of an OCD child and a psychologist. I’m so thankful to these women for sharing their experiences and knowledge. For the savant syndrome, I read a few memoirs and a book by a leading savant researcher. Because it’s so rare, I’ve never encountered someone with savant syndrome.
4. On your website, you share that like Lucy, you counted words instead of reading them. Are you and the main character Lucy similar in other ways? This is something I did in 4th grade. I’d just moved to a new school, and I was assigned the book How to Eat Fried Worms. We had to sit quietly after recess and read for a set period of time. I struggled with the reading. So instead, I counted the words. I did it because I couldn’t read well. Lucy also counts the words, but for her, it’s an obsession. Her genius-math brain insists she calculate everything, including the number of words on each page. Lucy and I have a few other similarities. We’re both better at math than language arts. We both love Oreos. And we’d both rather hang with our close friends than go to a big bash.
5. I think we can all agree that navigating middle school is tough. Did you draw on any of your own experiences to include in the novel? Not specifically, but I recall being worried all the time in middle school. Am I wearing the right jeans? Will I embarrass myself in gym class? Where will I sit at lunch when my friend is absent? Nothing too terrible happened. I just felt like it could at any moment. It was not an easy time.
6. You have written 8 picture books and 2 chapter book series, The Dino Files and Goldie Blox. The Miscalculation of Lightning Girl is your first middle grade novel. Tell us a little about this transition to writing a novel. While MLG is my first published novel, I have attempted to write several others. So I’ve been juggling picture books, chapter books, and novels for years. I love being able to jump around. If I’m stuck on 1 project, I can focus on something else. And I truly believe my subconscious is toiling away on the problem project while I look somewhere else.
7. We both share a mutual love for dogs. Tell us a little bit about your dogs. Did any of your dogs inspire Cutie Pi? Yay for dogs! We have 3—Jack, Munchkin, and Reykja (“Ray-Ka”). Cutie Pi is not based on any specific dog, but the love and affection is inspired by every pet I’ve ever had. Sadly, we lost our dog Pepper in January. I was devastated. Immediately, I emailed my editor, Caroline, and asked her to change the acknowledgments. (The book was ready to go to print.) I begged her to put “In memory of Pepper…” and she did without hesitation.
8. One of my favorite parts of the novel was when Lucy meets Cutie Pi. Did you plan to include dogs as part of the plot? Out of all the relationships Lucy has in the novel, why is her relationship with Pi important? Cutie Pi has been in the story since the first draft. I think Lucy’s relationship with Pi is vital because she assumed she didn’t like dogs. At the beginning of the book, she’s pretty certain she knows who she is and what she needs. Meeting and falling in love with Pi is part of her self-discovery.
9. As a reader, I would love to check in with Lucy and her friends as they navigate middle school. Is The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl a standalone novel or is there the possibility of a series? For now, it’s a standalone. Though, I’ve had a few kid readers, who got their hands on advance copies, ask for more Lightning Girl. And they had some great suggestions for another book. I’m currently working on another middle-grade novel about a 7th grader who learns the world is ending in a few months, and no one believes her. But maybe we’ll get to go back to East Hamlin with Lucy, Windy, Levi, and Pi too.
I certainly hope readers will be able to visit East Hamlin again and catch up with Lucy and her friends (and Cutie Pi too)! Thanks so much Stacy for chatting with Beagles and Books.
Enter the Giveaway
3 winners will receive a finished copy of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, US Only. Enter the giveaway by clicking the link below.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389ba2734/?
Be sure to join us at all the stops on the Miscalculations of Lightning Girl blog tour:
The Tour Hosts
Week One
4/23/2018- Beagles and Books– Interview
4/24/2018- Mrs. Knott’s Book Nook– Review
4/25/2018- A Dream Within A Dream– Excerpt
4/26/2018- Here’s to Happy Endings– Review
4/27/2018- She Dreams in Fiction– Excerpt
Week Two
4/30/2018- 100 Pages A Day- Review
5/1/2018- Wonder Struck– Review
5/2/2018- Nerdophiles– Review
5/3/2018- The Underground– Guest Post
5/4/2018- Feed Your Fiction Addiction– Review
About the Book:
Title: THE MISCALCULATIONS OF LIGHTNING GIRL
Author: Stacy McAnulty
Pub. Date: May 1, 2018
Publisher: Random House
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 304
Find it: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, TBD, Goodreads
Book Summary: Middle school is the one problem Lucy Callahan can’t solve in this middle-grade novel perfect for fans of The Fourteenth Goldfish, Rain Reign, and Counting by 7s.
Lucy Callahan was struck by lightning. She doesn’t remember it, but it changed her life forever. The zap gave her genius-level math skills, and ever since, Lucy has been homeschooled. Now, at 12 years old, she’s technically ready for college. She just has to pass 1 more test–middle school!
Lucy’s grandma insists: Go to middle school for 1 year. Make 1 friend. Join 1 activity. And read 1 book (that’s not a math textbook!). Lucy’s not sure what a girl who does calculus homework for fun can possibly learn in 7th grade. She has everything she needs at home, where nobody can make fun of her rigid routines or her superpowered brain. The equation of Lucy’s life has already been solved. Unless there’s been a miscalculation?
A celebration of friendship, Stacy McAnulty’s smart and thoughtful middle-grade debut reminds us all to get out of our comfort zones and embrace what makes us different.
“An engaging story, full of heart and hope. Readers of all ages will root for Lucy, aka Lightning Girl. No miscalculations here!” –Kate Beasley, author of Gertie’s Leap to Greatness
About Stacy:
Stacy McAnulty is a children’s book author, who used to be a mechanical engineer, who’s also qualified to be a paleontologist (NOT REALLY), a correspondent for The Daily Show (why not), and a Green Bay Packer coach (totally!). She is the 2017 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor Recipient for Excellent Ed, illustrated by Julia Sarcone-Roach. Her other picture books include Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years, illustrated by David Litchfield; Max Explains Everything: Grocery Store Expert, illustrated by Deborah Hocking, Brave and Beautiful, both illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff; Mr. Fuzzbuster Knows He’s the Favorite, illustrated by Edward Hemingway; and 101 Reasons Why I’m Not Taking a Bath, illustrated by Joy Ang. She’s also authored the chapter book series Goldie Blox, based on the award-winning toys, and The Dino Files. Her debut middle grade novel, The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, will publish in May 2018. When not writing, Stacy likes to listen to NPR, bake triple-chocolate cupcakes, and eat triple-chocolate cupcakes. Originally from upstate NY, she now lives in Kernersville, NC with her 3 kids, 3 dogs, and 1 husband.
Beagles & Books 
I like the idea of working on different projects at once–it really is helpful to turn from one to the other, to the other….
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