This week, we’re celebrating Carol Larese Millward’s debut! Carol Larese Millward is a writer who for several years was a family advocate and parent educator working with teen parents through Family Support and Education Centers, and made in-home visits to teach life skills and best parenting practices to young parents. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and lives in Maryland with her husband and two cats. STAR IN THE MIDDLE is her debut novel.

Here’s a little bit about STAR IN THE MIDDLE (WestSide Books).

At sixteen, Star Peters is determined to keep her baby, but it is becoming increasingly more difficult each day. Instead of training for her high school’s cross-country team and preparing for her junior year, she is struggling to meet her baby’s needs, while trying to cope with painful, haunting secrets that she’s shared with no one. Wilson Fletcher, the baby’s father, someone Star had loved and trusted, won’t even acknowledge that the baby is his. To make things even more complicated, Star’s grandmother, concerned with her granddaughter’s struggles as a teen mother, is threatening to put Star in foster care and find adoptive parents for the baby. Star finds support from friends, especially Todd Ryan, a teen father caring for his infant daughter—and at a center she attends for teen parents. Wilson, at seventeen, is smart, athletic and popular. He just wants to get on with life, but he’s finding it difficult to forget about Star. As family and friends encourage Wil to accept his responsibility as a father, he begins to understand some important truths about the girl he can’t forget, himself, and what he believes to be true. In alternating chapters, Star and Wil voice their most intimate secrets, feelings, hopes and fears about themselves and their baby.

If you had to give your book a movie rating: G through Rated R, which one would you give and why?

PG 13. STAR IN THE MIDDLE deals with sensitive issues facing teens, and some scenes may be too intense for younger teens.

What topics, issues, or themes does your book address? What drove you to write about them?

While working with teen parents, I was often struck by the many layers that some of them had accumulated in their young lives — layers that may have attributed to their at-risk behaviors; and hampered them as they attempted to care for themselves and their babies. They often exhibited low self-esteem, which may have been the result of some trauma in their lives — and may have led them to make poor choices. It was important to me, after working with teen parents, to tell this story. I was both concerned about the glamorous way teen pregnancy was being portrayed in the media, and on the flip side, the very negative ways in which I heard people talk about teen parents. I truly enjoyed working with young parents – and continue to respect the resiliency and determination they showed as they tried to better their own lives and the lives of their children.

I was also responding to media reports, and what appears to me to be an increase in sexual abuse against our children. And, since research shows that sexual abuse is one indicator in increasing the chances of a teen becoming pregnant – I wanted to deal with that topic in this book as well.

I believe what makes STAR IN THE MIDDLE stand out is that both the young mother and father tell their stories in alternating chapters. I hope that it will be a teen pregnancy book that will appeal to both genders. I also hope that it will help young adults understand that believing and accepting stereotypes can lead to invalid assessments of others. My highest hope is that it will show that keeping dangerous secrets can be destructive.

Name three examples of readers who would identify or like your book.

• Any young adult who feels pressured to become sexually active.
• Any teen that believes becoming pregnant will make her life better, because she will have someone to love her.
• Any young adult who has been emotionally or sexually abused, and struggles with feelings of low self-esteem, and the fear of seeking help.

Some young adults give in to peer pressure and engage in risky sexual behaviors. I hope that reading about characters that wish they had waited will help teens think about the importance of this decision – and in the importance of protecting themselves against unplanned pregnancies and STD’s should they choose to become sexually active.

Some young women feel that having a baby to love and love them will solve their problems. I hope that young adults will see that although Star loved her baby, he didn’t make her life easier, and, in fact, complicated it in many more ways than not.

Children who have been emotionally and/or sexually abused often hide the abuse due to fear and shame. I hope the book will show the importance of seeking help and support.

List a few statistically improbable phrases or sentences one might find in your book. These are phrases or sentences you might never find anywhere else.

“Begging a baby to go to sleep is like begging your body to produce a period when it’s intent on producing a baby instead.” (Star, pg.9)

… “I’ve outgrown what you do in your diaper, but big guys crap things up in other ways. My advice, try to limit crapping things up to your diaper years. I mean it’s okay to smell like a toxic waste dump when you’re wearing diapers. Beyond that, it becomes very unattractive. There’s no hiding it. People notice.” (Wilson talking to his baby, pg. 159)

How can your book be used in the classroom?

WestSide Books has published a wonderful companion Teacher’s Guide with STAR IN THE MIDDLE. It is available through their website, and in addition to outlining basic themes, has many activities to both engage and challenge students – as well as support classroom teachers.

I believe the book can be used effectively with school Language Arts programs, health curriculums, programs for at-risk students, and school book clubs.

Now tell us about other already-published books that readers of your book might enjoy.

• Bechard, Margaret. Hanging on to Max. Simon & Schuster, New York. 2003.
• Dessen, Sarah. Someone Like You. Viking Juvenile, Penguin, New York. 1998.
• Pennebaker, Ruth. Don’t Think Twice. Henry Holt & Co., Macmillan, New York. 2001.

Now whet our appetites with a teaser.

“Grandma was really mad about the baby. Okay, so I screwed up, but I didn’t do it to mess with her. I was prepared for hollering, not crying. I could barely look at her snotty nose and her red eyes. Why’d she go and act like that anyway?”

Are you offering authors visits to schools, libraries, or other organizations?

Yes. My first book talk is scheduled for the end of January with the book club at Bel Air High School, Bel Air, MD.

Are you willing to speak nationally?

Yes.

List a few example titles of presentations, talks, or workshops you might give for an author visit.

• Empathy: Writer’s Gold
• Face to Face with Fictional Characters!
• Crossing the Finishing Line: Before it becomes a Stumbling Block

This concludes our interview with our latest author, CAROL LARESE MILLWARD. We wish her much success with her debut novel STAR IN THE MIDDLE. To see what Carol is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.carollaresemillward.com.

*GIVEAWAY ALERT* Carol is giving away a signed copy of STAR IN THE MIDDLE to a winner. Tell your friends and leave a comment for the author! Enter by March 16th, 2010 11:59 PM CST. (U.S. and Canadian residents only, please.)

Your email address will not be displayed publicly and will only be used to contact you if you win! And don’t forget to participate in our other AuthorsNow! giveaways.

About The Author

Carol Larese Millward is a writer who for several years was a family advocate and parent educator working with teen parents through Family Support and Education Centers, and made in-home visits to teach life skills and best parenting practices to young parents. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and lives in Maryland with her husband and two cats. Star in the Middle is her debut novel.  Read more about Carol Larese Millward.

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1. STAR IN THE MIDDLE by Carol Larese Millward
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4. Author Spotlight: J.E. MacLeod, WAITING TO SCORE (Giveaway Now-03/04/09)
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