Make Note of Micki Bare

Greetings, Noters ✍️

We’re in back-to-school mode, my LEAST favorite time of the year. Even without school or children of my own, something in the air always leaves me feeling a little melancholy. However, I’ve been keeping my spirits up with lots of manga reading and revising Book One in my upcoming Book Blogger Mysteries.

Working on these revisions has been quite the journey for me. As I delve deeper into the manuscript, I find myself rediscovering my characters, plot twists, and the intricate web of clues I carefully wove together five years ago. Five years is a long time, and in that time, I’ve really grown as a writer. All that growth has made this process the trickiest rewrite yet. With each revision, I strive to sharpen the pacing, heighten suspense, and deepen the emotional arcs to ensure an engaging reading experience for my audience. Revisions allow me to refine the details that make the story come alive, ensuring that every chapter immerses readers into the quirky world of a dedicated book blogger turned amateur detective. As I polish the prose and tinker with dialogue, I am growing more confident that Book One will soon be ready for the next step in the publishing process.

My guest this week knows what a labor of love publishing a book can be. Without further ado…

A Bit About the Author: Micki Bare, a graduate of NC State University, is the author of three early-reader chapter books. She wrote a weekly human-interest column for 18 years and published articles in Thrive Magazine, Piedmont Parent, and Our State. Her career in education spans more than three decades, with service as a teacher, administrator, and marketing director. Her first middle-grade novel, Society of the Sentinelia, was published under the Level Elevate imprint of Level Best Books on May 27, 2022. It is the first of five books in the Zahra of the Uwharries series. The title earned the 2022 AAUW NC Young People’s Literature Award and was a long-list nominee for the 2023 Green Earth Book Awards. Book two in the series, Blind Fairy, was released May 18, 2023, and is a nominee for the 2023 AAUW NC Young People’s Literature Award. Bare loves to garden, read, cook, travel, and hike. She and her husband reside in Asheboro, NC.

Micki, it’s always a pleasure to get to know my fellow Level Best Book authors better. Thank you for joining me here on Noteworthy. To get things started, let’s go back in time. What book made you first fall in love with reading?

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig was the book that not only had me fall in love with reading, but also fantasy. Sylvester’s loneliness and the life lessons he acquired during his misadventure imprinted on my heart.

I fell in love with fantasy at a young age. It all started with Brian Jacque’s Redwall for me. How did your love of reading evolve into a love of writing? How did you begin your writing journey?

Reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis with my aunt solidified not only my love for fantasy, but also my love for storytelling. That was when I began making up alternate scenarios and other stories about the characters from the books. I used my diaries to write stories, often with pictures for words I didn’t yet know (I was about 4). My cousin and I became pen pals at the age of 4 as well. My love for reading and writing began early and grew intensely with age.

That’s wonderful that your family helped foster your passion for storytelling. Tell us about your Zahra of the Uwharries series. Your character Zahra is described as a scraebin? What is a scraebin?

A scraebin is a creature I made up. Most are not fairies, but some are, as in Zahra’s case. Scraebins live in trees, because tree sap absorbed into their pectoral and dorsal fins keeps them healthy. It also ensures their wings are a color that cannot be seen by human eyes.

This seems like such a magical world you’ve created in North Carolina! How did you “meet” Zahra? How did this character develop in your mind?

Zahra spoke to my heart on the trail. I love to hike in the Birkhead Wilderness, a section of the Uwharrie Mountains near where I live. Along the trail, I took pictures of knotholes and interesting trees. Then the scraebin species began to develop in the back of my mind. In August of 2018, I awoke at about 3 a.m. with a nagging scene in my head. I got up, wrote it out with a pencil on a piece of notebook paper in the dark. The next morning, I reread my scribbles, which introduced me to Zahra and her human friend, Danni. I knew then that her story was a middle grade fantasy, so I registered for the SCBWI-Carolinas fall conference and learned everything I could about writing middle grade novels. I spent the next year drafting and editing Society of the Sentenelia, the first book in the series.

What is Zahra’s best character trait? Her worst?

Zahra’s best traits are her ability to find hope in the face of overwhelming odds and her willingness to see the good in others. Her worst are her lack of trust, despite wanting others to trust her; and her lack of faith in herself at times.

What drew you to writing for young readers?

I drafted my first first early reader children’s book, Thurston T. Turtle Moves to Hubbleville, while still in college. I believe my love of reading at an early age along with my love and empathy for children drove me to want to create stories that would pull them into a love for reading. Books are respite, they provide adventure, they are unconditional friends, and they increase our capacity to learn, love, and think. To be part of that process in young lives is a privilege. 

What does your workspace look like? Is there anything you need for a successful day of writing?

I’m fortunate to have a home office with a door I can close. The room is adorned with dry-erase boards, sticky notes, inspirational quotes, and photos. There are bookcases filled with books on writing, children’s books, family mementos, my books, and my award for Society of the Sentinelia. I’ve got a couch and chair in addition to two desks—a writing desk and a secretary. Also included are my ring light and selfie stick/stand for all the social media posts. That said, what I need for a successful day of writing is instrumental smooth jazz or classical music playing in the background and time. When I began writing the Zahra of the Uwharries series, time was the thing I decided to gift to “Author Me” as a means to support my dream. No, I haven’t binge-watched the latest craze. No, I don’t hang out at the local watering hole regularly to catch up with neighbors. No, I don’t do a lot of housecleaning (thank goodness for Hubby). Having the time to write and edit is a choice I make every day.

What is your favorite, can’t-live-without writing tool?

There are two. Scrivener is the software I use for the first couple of drafts of my novels. To be able to create and print chapter summaries, compile drafts for back-up, and rearrange paragraphs, scenes, and entire chapters is invaluable. Loud Typer (the latest iteration of Noisy Typer) is the second. Its tactile sound helps me drift into a writing or editing trance that can last for hours.

It’s vacation time. What literary hero do you enlist to be your travel companion? Why?

This year, it was Stephen King because I finally had time to read On Writing during our beach trips. Vacation is also when I typically catch up on Sheila Turnage, Alan Gratz, Robert Beatty (all NC middle grade and YA authors) and novels by fellow Level Best Books authors, especially those published under our Level Elevate imprint.

Micki, thank you for spending time here at Noteworthy to share a bit about yourself, your writing, and Zahra. Noters, you can pick up Micki’s Zahra of the Uwharries series wherever books are sold!

Society of the Sentinelia: Zahra, a sprite-like tween no bigger than a loblolly pinecone, befriends an 11-year-old human on a quest to find her parents and sister. When a neighbor muddles their plans, kidnaps Zahra, and threatens her new friend, Zahra discovers unnerving truths about herself and her family.
Set in the Birkhead Wilderness of the Uwharrie Mountains in central North Carolina, Society of the Sentinelia is the first book in the Zahra of the Uwharries series that chronicles Zahra’s unique and critical role in saving her species.