Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!

Where we celebrate new books from Michigan's authors, illustrators and translators.

Congratulations to F.P. LaRue on the release of The Legend of the Serpent Witch

This is your second book release this year. What are some unique challenges of multiple releases and how do you stay organized?

One challenge is to space the new releases far enough apart, so there’s no confusion regarding the order of the books. I make it very clear as to which is the second book and which is the third book. This way there’s enough time for readers to see the press kit and to find out what the story is about. I try to make the release process easy so readers can purchase the books for themselves or give them as gifts.

I stay organized by focusing on one book at a time. This way, I can do interviews, podcasts, and presentations and provide all the information necessary for readers. As I focus on one book, I do mention when the next one is coming out.

What was the inspiration for your story?

One day, while driving down a rural road, I saw a knit cap hanging on a tree limb. The tree was close to the road. I thought a child may have lost their hat, and someone placed it on the tree in case the child returned looking for it. As I continued down the road, I wondered, what if the hat was placed there deliberately by a person who wanted to get a child’s attention? The story that became The Legend of the Serpent Witch came from that idea. In this book, the main character, Ollie, finds items that belong to children. He brings in his friends to find out who these items belonged to. Then, the mystery begins.

What is something you hope your readers will take away from your book?

I want readers to take away that reading can be fun! I want readers to see that whatever problems come their way, they can successfully find solutions. Also, I want to show that we can strengthen each other through friendship and working together.

What are your marketing plans for the book and where can we find it?

My marketing plan includes doing:

Promotions on my websites, www.FPLaRue.com and www.ScaryShivers.com

Promotions on social media, including my Facebook account: FPLaRue

Interviews

Podcasts

Presentations

Participation in local craft and art shows and book signings

The book is available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and BooksaMillion.com. It is available at select retail bookstores and can be ordered through any bookstore.

What's next for you?

The fourth book in the Scary Shivers Mystery series will be coming out next year, 2025.

More about the book . . .

When Ollie walks through the woods on his way back from school one day, he notices a scarf and a baseball cap caught on a bush on the side of the path. Ollie thinks nothing of them and walks on. But then he finds a pair of gloves under a rock the next day. This isn’t right, he reasons with himself. Who could have left their belongings in the woods? And why?

In The Legend of the Serpent Witch, Ollie, Mellie, and Scotty stumble upon a new mystery when they learn that the clothes belong to two boys who mysteriously vanished. Nothing is as it seems when the trio confronts an evil witch with snakes as pets who cast scary spells and wicked curses, trying to stop them from finding the missing boys. Delving deeper, they realize the witch may not be acting alone and there could be a larger, more sinister plot at play.

Ollie, Mellie, and Scotty know that they must act quickly to save not only themselves but the entire town. Will they survive long enough to solve a mystery centuries in the making?

Publisher: Mascot Books

More about the author . . .

F.P. LaRue is the award-winning author of the Scary Shivers Mystery series. Her book, The Weeping House, won First Place Awards for Juvenile Mysteries and Juvenile Fantasy & Magic at the Spring 2024 BookFest Awards. The Curse of Shadow Park was released on July 9, 2024, while The Legend of the Serpent Witch will be released September 10, 2024.

The Scary Shivers Mystery series are adventure mysteries written for middle-grade children and are designed to show them that reading can be fun! She loves scary stories and particularly sharing her own frightening tales. F.P. is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Before writing children’s books, F.P.’s career was in education. She progressed from being a teacher to the dean of academic affairs for a small Michigan college. When not writing, F.P. loves to travel, having visited all fifty states and fifty-four countries worldwide.

F.P. hopes her stories inspire children to discover the wondrous adventures reading can bring – no matter their age.

Facebook: FPLaRue