So, Brandon, we're going to talk about publishing.

Good, sure.

Donald reminded us that on the podcast, we have not talked about, like, writing in a long time.

For a while.

Which, you know, it's fine.

This isn't a writing podcast, but we are writers and people are interested in that.

And I figure I've got fresh blood. Yeah, sure. That I can talk to about. And you work in like a different

world than me because you like live in the middle grade world. Yeah, that is my home. And I like,

I've done some middle grade. Yes. But it is definitely not what I am known for, so to speak.

Sure.

Have you ever done anything with like a publisher or primarily does adult?

Have you ever had an editor that primarily does adult?

No.

Like, what's kind of funny about it is I thought that's what I was going to do.

Yeah.

That was in my head.

Like, I'll do a bunch of adult stuff. Like that was like. Yeah. Shannon was the same way. If you talked to young me. Yeah, Goose Girl to Tor. Right. Yeah. Yeah. For me, it was the other end of the hippo, which ended up being, like, the first Beyonders book. And everybody who commented on it said, this kind of has a middle grade, but like the way you tell the story, the way you write. And then I wrote Fable Haven next. And I was like, yeah, you belong in middle grade. Like that's the vibe. And they weren't necessarily wrong. I think my voice, something in the pacing and something in the way my imagination works, it makes it a good home for me.

I've always said that one of the things is that you just really get a kid's voice

like well, like perfectly.

Like that's a struggle for a lot of us.

And I'm not sure if it's struggle for you or not.

You never tell when you're reading, but it feels effortless to you to be able to get those viewpoints.

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