Celebrating Debutantes 2017: The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser (Author Interview + Giveaway)

I’m super excited to welcome new author Karina Yan Glaser on the blog as part of Celebrating Debutantes 2017 blog event. Karina answered few questions for me about her upcoming debut middle-grade contemporary novel, The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street. I have read the book few weeks ago and I really love it. It has a classic-old-vibe feel to it, which makes me missed my younger days where my dad used to tell me stories during bedtime. This is a perfect read-out-loud book for kids, and also a perfect holiday read since the story is set around Christmas.

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street releases on October 3rd, so there’s plenty of time to pre-order a copy from your favorite book stores and receive it on release day. And if you’d like to know more what I thought about this book, stop by  again a week before the book release for my review.

Following the author interview is Karina Yan Glasers’ author bio along with places where to find her online. Then there’s also the book description and where to pre-order copies of The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street.

And if you would like the chance to win a signed advance readers copy of The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street, buttons and stickers, Karina is giving away below. Just enter the rafflecopter form a bit further down in this post. I hope you all enjoy the interview.

Interview with Karina Yan Glaser

Please tell us a bit about your journey with your book, The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street. When did you first come up with the idea and what were the timescales involved between the first draft and the novel being accepted for publication?
I began writing The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street in November of 2013. My youngest daughter had just started preschool, and since she only went there for three mornings a week, I would walk over to the local Coffee Bean and park myself at a table and write. I drafted the entire book during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). It was a terrible draft, but it gave me something to work with! I took some writing classes, got feedback, and wrote revision after revision in the next year and a half. When I finally felt like the manuscript was ready, I began querying for agents and the wonderful Ginger Clark at Curtis Brown offered representation in the summer of 2015. We went on submission in the fall of that year, and it got picked up by Ann Rider (best editor ever!) at HMH within a couple of weeks.

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street have a strong focus on family and community. How much does this reflect on your own life?
I live in Harlem with my husband and two kids, and like a lot of people I know that live in New York City, we don’t have a lot of family that live nearby. There’s no support network, which was really hard especially when our kids were young. As a result, we developed family relationships with friends and neighbors that really influenced the setting where the Vanderbeekers lived.

I love your characters, they are diverse and charming (even the bunny, Paganini). Which of them is the most fun to write?
Oh, that is a hard one! Hmm, I loved each character, but it was particularly fun getting into Laney’s head. I love the uncomplicated way she sees the world.

What scene in The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street are you most proud of, and why?
I really loved writing the climax of the book. I won’t give anything away, but it was a scene that played itself out over and over in my head before I actually wrote it.

What is the best part of writing for middle grade readers?
Middle grade readers are the best! It’s such a beautiful age for discovery. Kids that age are full of questions about the world and their place in it. Middle grade books were the ones that made me fall in love with reading, and they are still my favorite books to read now as an adult. I count myself as very lucky to be able to write for these kids.

Where do you see your work going after the release of The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street? Do you think you’ll stick with middle or branch out into something else? What are your writing career ambitions?
I plan to stick with middle grade, but I might want to try writing early chaper books. I have three more middle grade books with my Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, so that will keep me busy for awhile!

Thanks for having me on your blog!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Originally from California, Karina came to New York City for college and has stuck around for nearly twenty years. She has had a varied career teaching and implementing literacy programs in family homeless shelters and recruiting healthcare professionals to volunteer in under resourced areas around the world. Now as a mother, one of her proudest achievements is raising two kids who can’t go anywhere without a book. She lives in Harlem with her husband, two daughters, dog, cat, and house rabbit.

Find Karina

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Book Details:

Title: The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
Author: Karina Yan Glaser
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 03, 2017
Pages: 304
Format: Hardcover, eBook

The Vanderbeekers have always lived in the brownstone on 141st Street. It’s practically another member of the family. So when their reclusive, curmudgeonly landlord decides not to renew their lease, the five siblings have eleven days to do whatever it takes to stay in their beloved home and convince the dreaded Beiderman just how wonderful they are. And all is fair in love and war when it comes to keeping their home.

A modern classic in the making reminiscent of the Penderwicks series, The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street is about the connections we make and the unexpected turns life can take.

Book Links

Amazon | BAM | Book Depository | Goodreads | IndieBound

Giveaway:

What’s up for Grab?

• signed ARC of The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
  
• Buttons and Stickers
  

  The Rules:

• Open to US only
• There will be one (1) winner
• Winner will be chosen and announced by rafflecopter
• Winner will be contacted thru email & should response within 48 hours
• Ends September 22nd, 2017
• Prizes will be sent by the author

To enter fill out the rafflecopter form

Good Luck!!!

Treat yourself to a complete #CelebratingDebutantes2017 experience. Click the image below for the full list of schedule and links to each feature post or check out twitter and facebook using #CelebratingDebutantes2017.