Camp Twisted Pine and Interview with Ciera Burch!

 I'm so excited today! Not only do I have a read, which is releasing with perfect timing to introduce some spooks and mystery to the approaching Halloween season, but the author has agreed to answer several questions. It's always interesting to learn more about the mind behind the tale...and I don't mean that in a spooky way. 

Anyway, let's head right in because this is quite the post today!

CAMP TWISTED PINE

by Ciera Burch

Margaret K. McElderry

Middle Grade Horror

272 pages

ages 8 to 12

COMING...

SEPTEMBER 17th!!!

Whispering Pines meets Small Spaces in this spooky middle grade novel about a girl whose first summer camp experience is disrupted by a menacing creature abducting her fellow campers.

Eleven-year-old Naomi loves all things outdoors—birds and beetles, bats and bunnies—in theory. She explores nature in the best possible the cold, hard facts in books. So when her parents’ announcement of their impending divorce comes hand in hand with sending Naomi and her younger twin brothers to summer camp while they figure things out, it’s salt in the wound for Naomi and her avoidance of hands-on experience. Camp Twisted Pine could be worse. The counselors are nice, and Naomi likes her cabinmates, especially Jackie, whose blunt personality and frank dislike of the camp draws Naomi in quickly. Jackie is also hard of hearing and uses a hearing aid, and the girls quickly develop a routine of sign language lessons in their free time, which Naomi sees as a welcome break when all the s’mores-making and nature walks get to be a bit much. But the campers aren’t the only ones who roam the grounds of Camp Twisted Pine. 

When people start to go missing, including Jackie, Naomi has to find a way to save everyone—and herself. Her practical knowledge of the outdoors may still be rudimentary at best, but she has years of studying and the scientific method to fall back on. 

Can Naomi identify and stop the dangerous predator before it’s too late?

GOODREADS   /    PUBLISHER

MEET CIERA BURCH!!!

I'm super excited that Ciera Burch was kind enough to answer a few questions for us today. It's always fun to learn more about the authors behind the tales. So, thank you very much, Ciera Burch, for taking the time to answer these!

After doing a bit of research, I discovered that one of your passions is Dungeons and Dragons. So, I’m just going to start off by asking what your favorite role(s) is/are.

Ha, yes, I do love dnd! I’ve been playing for about a year and a half now and still on my first campaign, so I’ll have to go with a warlock, seeing as it’s my current class and the only one I’ve ever played! I really enjoy a good druid wild shape, though.

*sigh* I do have a weak spot for a good druid myself.

As a successful author, you’ve already published several spooky and slightly fantastical tales (Finch House, Something Kindred).  What draws you toward this ghostly direction? Why have you chosen to write for the young adult and middle grade audiences?

Is it weird to say that I just love ghosts? Because I do. More seriously, however, I think that the supernatural is a curious lens through which we can see ourselves or our society or the roles we play in the world, just about anything, really! Myths and legends and superstitions were our ancestors’ way of making sense of things—the world, death, themselves—and I think they’re important to keep around and share, but also to elaborate on or delve deeper into.

 In the same vein, I’ve chosen to write for kids and teens (and anyone who reads YA and MG!) because they’re still getting to see and explore a great deal of the world for the first time, but also experiencing so many new changes in themselves. I think having interesting stories in which you can see different changing or blossoming aspects of yourself, or something you’re interested in, was always comforting to me as a child and a reader.

It's also just…really fun!

I do believe you've hit the nail on the head with the ghosts and legends, and how nicely all of this incorporates into kidlit. I'm not sure adult literature could offer the same exploration of possibilities in the way that middle grade does.

Writing a novel is always an accomplishment and involves so many aspects. What is your favorite part about the writing process? If you could shove any aspects to the side, which would it be?

Hmm, I’d have to say that my favorite part is when I slip into the groove. When I’m fully inhabiting a scene or a character’s mind and I get to the point of “Yes! This is what I’m writing for!” It can be cathartic, if it’s something I’ve been thinking about or wrestling with myself, or just fulfilling to have imagined something a hundred times and finally get it down on paper in a way that really just makes thing click.

If I could shove an aspect to the side, I’d probably say deadlines! I have so many more of them now that my writing is actually being published and it’s so different to work on a schedule now compared to just scribbling something down in a notebook or on my phone and attempting to piece those things together whenever I feel like it.

Is there one message that you hope your readers can take with them after finishing your upcoming release, Camp Twisted Pine?

Ah, just one! Well, this book was borne from a love and respect for nature despite my big indoor kid energy, and so I hope that readers take away a new love for just how lovely nature is and can be to immerse ourselves in but also to appreciate, especially those of us who live in cities.

What were your favorite books while growing up? What are you currently reading?

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor is forever my honorary mention when it comes to favorites. But I also really loved the Percy Jackson series (which is what sparked my desire to go to summer camp; I adored Camp Half Blood) and Girl of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor and A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. I could go on and on, but I’ll stop there!

As for what I’m currently reading, I’m reading some adult romcoms, but most often I’ve been on a kick for the manga, Spy X Family by Tatsuya Endo.

When you were a child, what was your dream job?

Besides a writer, which I’ve always wanted to be, I did also want to be a fashion designer and an obstetrician!

I always love to end interviews on a delicious note (I might be a bit of a snack fan). So of course, I noticed in your biography that you’re an ice cream enthusiast…which leaves two questions: What flavor(s)? And bowl or cone?

Love a good snack, love a good ice cream question! My go to is normally mint chocolate chip, because it’s my fave, but lately I’ve been in a strawberry cheesecake ice cream mood, so I have to go with that. And, of course, a bowl. Cones get so messy and I’m a very slow eater, even when it’s my favorite treat.

Mmmm...I'm going to be mint chocolate chip dreaming tonight.

Thanks again for taking the time to do this, and hopefully, the deadlines leave you plenty of room to still dream!

Ciera Burch is a lifelong writer and ice cream aficionado. She is the author of the middle grade novels Finch House and Camp Twisted Pine, and the young adult novel Something Kindred. She has a BA from American University and an MFA from Emerson College. Her fiction has appeared in The American Literary Magazine, Underground, Five Points, Stork, and Blackbird. Her work was also chosen as the 2019 One City One Story read for the Boston Book Festival. While she is originally from New Jersey, she currently resides in Washington, DC, with her stuffed animals, plants, and far too many books.

And here are my thoughts on this amazing read:

Dark forests, unknown surroundings, and a the monster of a local legend already promise tons of spooky goodness, but this camp adds an extra, unexpected twist.

Naomi doesn't really want to go to camp...staying with her father and brothers would be so much better...but since she doesn't have a choice, she'll deal as best she can. While everyone at the camp has their own quirky personality or traits, she soon finds herself getting along pretty well with several of the kids. While not everything is perfect, and the campfire tales surrounding the Jersey Devil and creepy thoughts, nothing really goes wrong until the see strange lights during a walk through the woods. The real Jersey Devil appears, and the creature isn't exactly what they expected, especially since it claims that they are the key to overcoming a dark evil.

This is a quick-paced read for spook fans, especially those who enjoy a good camp story.  The camp has many usual traits (kids facing various problems, odd counselors, mysterious places), which make it easy to sink into before taking off in a fairly unique direction. There isn't as much drama as some camp stories hold, and for that, I'm grateful. This group has enough to go up against, anyway. While there still are some personal issues to add character depth and a few messages, these don't threaten to take over the more general plot. Instead, the hidden shadows, secrets, and approaching danger keep these pages turning.

The addition of the Jersey Devil adds a nice local legend aspect, which was a nice touch. Just when it seemed that this might be heading in that sort of spooky direction, it takes an unexpected turn. Not only does this give the a unique touch, but it keeps readers guessing. There are spooky moments and scenes with higher tension, but it doesn't head into the extreme, either. This feeds more into delicious creepiness as new friends do their best to figure out what is going on. 

It's an enjoyable read with a touch of fantasy, a little imagination, and a creepy tone to delight fans of paranormal, monsters, and mystery.