I Wrote a Chapter Book for Kids!

Embers ~ Spring 2025

Photo by Jaredd Craig on Unsplash

Hi, everyone. It’s been a while!

First off, thank you for being here and for reading my work. And to my new subscribers: welcome!

You may have noticed that I’ve been less active on Substack lately. I apologize for this unexpected vanishing act, both on the reading and writing front. The winter season turned into spending my free time on local mountains, teaching my kids to ski. Needless to say, it was time well spent.

I’ve been busy writing at night, too.

Just a few days ago, I finished drafting a chapter book for kids. I haven’t had this much fun writing anything in quite some time, and I’m beginning to wonder if I’ve landed in my wheelhouse. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something about the brevity, pacing, and sense of wonder feels like it meshes well with my writing style.

I keep getting pulled in this direction year after year, and I keep falling more and more in love with the idea of inspiring children and helping them fall in love with reading.

The most rewarding part of this process was sharing the story with my daughter as I wrote it. She motivated me to keep writing because she couldn’t wait to see what happened next. After every chapter, I read it to her, and she gave me plenty of good ideas and feedback to consider.

The Trail of Books is my working title, and the story follows two siblings who stumble upon a magical book (and, in turn, a portal) in their local library. Their adventure takes them to another world where they must help their librarian retrieve stolen books from an evil wizard thief who hopes to claim the works as his own.

The story, world, and characters got bigger than the initial idea, and I believe it has series potential. The reading level and target audience are third to fifth-graders, but I imagine adults would enjoy it, too. In total, the story is under 15,000 words, and it can be read in under two hours.

If anyone is interested in being a “beta” reader, or if you’re simply curious to check it out, please let me know. I can send you a PDF copy of the draft. I am hoping to get some feedback from trusted readers to help improve the story in revision. I don’t think I will share the story here on Substack, but hey, you never know.

In other writing-related news, I plan on continuing my bi-weekly Fifties by the Fire writing exercises next week. They are perfect for my writing practice because they allow me to focus on economizing language and trying to figure out the best way to tell a tale. But hands down the best part of these exercises is getting a chance to read others’ work and hang out with fellow fiction writers. I’ve missed you all!

I have also been busy compiling my second self-published book. It will land somewhere in the 100–150-page count, and it will be comprised of my flash fiction. Its working title is Birdsong and Other Stories from Along the Hudson. The plan is to chip away and schedule a release date for November 2025, but nothing is set in stone.

As these writing projects unfold, I plan to share some of my older archived stories in the weeks and months to come. On occasion, I may share a new work of flash fiction, but I have fallen deeply into another world and am finding it difficult to leave!

That’s it for now. I hope to see you around…perhaps I’ll even see you by the fire!

Happy writing,

Justin