Intro Hi everyone and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect kids between 8-12 to books they will love. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of two and a teacher of 23. And last weekend, I had the huge pleasure of meeting and having lunch with Amy Skelding from the KidLit Drink Night Podcast! We had apple cider martinis and spent hours chatting about Parks & Rec and Harry Potter and Wegmans and everything we’ve been reading and everything we want to read. So if you haven’t yet had the chance to check out her show, Alan Gratz - the author of Refugee and Ban This Book, is her most recent guest and he is just phenomenal. So make sure you subscribe to Kid Lit Drink Night. This is Episode #37 and today I am welcoming author Orli Zuravicky to the show to chat about her paranormal middle grade series Happily Ever After, and then I am sharing with you three new books about the power and perils of friendship. Before we start today’s interview, I am excited to tell you that this month’s episodes are sponsored by WriteAbout.com - a writing community and digital platform that is perfect for classrooms.  And their school platform can connect every child in your school to build that community of writers. Write About for Schools makes it really easy for kids to read and respond to each other’s published writing.  So, if you or someone you know is looking for a way to bring your school together by celebrating student authors, definitely check out WriteAbout.com. And at the end of the show, I’ll share with you the fall themed creative writing that my students are writing about. Main Topic - A Conversation with Orli Zuravichy Today I am so happy to welcome Orli Zuravicky to the podcast. She is a senior editor at Scholastic and the author of several books including the recently published middle grade series Happily Ever Afterlife. Take a listen. Happily Ever After Series Your new middle grade series Happily Ever Afterlife was released last year and now has two new books coming out this fall. For those listening who aren’t familiar with the series, can you tell us a bit about it?   One of the reasons that I love paranormal stories is that phase of figuring out the rules of the world the story is set in. For example, there is no interaction between the ghost world and the previous world, once someone becomes a ghost, they stay that age forever…. How did you decide on the parameters of the afterlife in this book? With a book that is essentially about a middle school girl dying, it could have gone very dark. But it’s an upbeat and fun read. How did you strike that balance to avoid having the story be too morbid? What is next for Lucy and the others students at Limbo Central Middle School?   Scholastic So you work at Scholastic! What do you do there? What is your day like? So I follow you on Instagram - which I recommend everyone do - and I have a couple questions: What amazing polish do you have on your nails right now?   I notice you have a lot of Parks & Rec references on there - Who is your favorite character?   Your Writing Life You previously wrote a couple of board books.. What made you decide to try a paranormal middle grade? Right now my 5th graders have been working on writing narratives - personal narratives and stories. What is one piece of advice you would give them about how to make their stories come alive?   What are you working on now? Your Reading Life What were some of your favorite books as a child? What have you been reading lately that you’ve liked?   Thank You!   Episode Links: Orli Zurvicky’s website Books We Chatted About: Lyle, Lyle Crocodile by Bernard Waber Corduroy by Don Freeman Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans Eloise by Kay Thompson & Hilary Knight The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace Baby-Sitters Club Series Sweet Valley High Series Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain 1Q84 by