PJ McIlvaine joins Justin and Paul to chat about writing picture books, screenplays and so much more.

https://pjmacwriter.com for her website!

ABOUT:

PJ McIlvaine is a prolific kid lit writer/author/screenwriter/writer/journalist.

PJ’s debut middle-grade supernatural historical mystery from Darkstroke Books (April 2022) VIOLET YORKE, GILDED GIRL: GHOSTS IN THE CLOSET about the misadventures of a poor little rich girl who can see ghosts in NYC 1912 is now available on Amazon Kindle and paperback.

PJ’s second picture book DRAGON ROAR about a sick, lonely dragon who has lost his fierce roar and the brave village girl who helps him find it again through acts of kindness (October 2021) from MacLaren-Cochrane Publishing with artwork by Logan Rogers.

PJ’s debut picture book LITTLE LENA AND THE BIG TABLE (May 2019) with illustrations by Leila Nabih is about a little girl who discovers that sitting at the big table isn’t all it’s cracked up to be from Big Belly Book Co.

In September 2023, PJ’s debut Young Adult Alternate History Adventure THE CONUNDRUM OF CHARLEMAGNE CROSSE set in Victorian London featuring an evil Queen Victoria, a determined heiress, a psycho cat, lobotomies, corsets, solar eclipses, and doomed romance from Orange Blossom Books https://www.orangeblossombooks.com/

Coming in 2024-2027: a Creature Feature series and a standalone about a cookie thief for Young Dragons Press, an imprint of Oghma Creative Media.

PJ is also a co-host of #PBPitch, the premiere Twitter pitch party for picture book creators.

PJ has been published in numerous outlets including The New York Times and Newsday. PJ is also a regular contributor for the Children’s Book Insider newsletter, writing about the path to publication and featuring interviews with established and debut kid lit authors.

In addition, PJ’s critically acclaimed Showtime original family movie MY HORRIBLE YEAR with Mimi Rogers, Karen Allen and Eric Stoltz, was nominated for a Daytime Emmy. It’s still in the ether at You Tube.

PJ is a born and bred New Yorker and is proud to call Eastern Long Island her home. When she’s not writing or running after her four rambunctious grandchildren or tending to the capricious needs of Luna, a feisty French Bulldog who has a thing about feet, power tools, and following commands. PJ loves all kinds of international noir thrillers, period pieces, pizza, CSNY, John Hiatt, Steve Earle, Bruce Springsteen, horror movies, Stephen King, vanilla ice cream, and pretty much anything with Ted Levine.

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