Valerie -Welcome to Bookworthy. Today we're talking with Maryna Doughty about her middle-grade book titled Sincerely, Diary. This is a graphic novel about a girl who writes in her diary and her diary writes back with an unexpected ending that will catch you off guard and teach young girls what real friendship looks like. Welcome to Bookworthy Maryna.
Maryna -Thanks for having me.
Valerie- It's my pleasure. Now your book sends us to middle school. And I must tell you, when I read it, I had some middle school flashbacks. So I wanted to start us off by rating your middle school experience. So from one to 10, one being the lowest and 10 being the highest or the best. Where did your middle school experience fall?
Maryna -Well, the book is actually for sixth grade, which I know for other people might be considered middle school. For me, sixth grade was still elementary school. So I know it's like a weird in-between, but I'll just rate my sixth-grade experience. And I would say I, it was probably about an eight. I did enjoy sixth grade. Just because it was my first time going to public school, I went to private school up until fifth grade. So it was kind of exciting for me. But there was a lot of still drama. So I had fun, but still some drama.
Valerie- I think that's kind of one of those things we can never get out of that time in school and that, you know, early teen tween age. I think there's just drama in general, right? But I think, what is it? Yeah. Well, I mean, I have three boys, and let me just tell you that the boys can throw some drama too. Well, Sincerely Diary deals with understanding friendships and relationships. So, who was your best friend in sixth grade or middle school?
Maryna -Oh, that was a drama as I had. It was like a changing best friend, you know, I had one best friend and then one day it was another best friend. So, you know, it was kind of like, okay, well, at this moment, I'm best friends with her and this moment I'm best friends with her. So, I feel like there was kind of like an even level of best friend.
Valerie - Depended on what day, what day it was, right? I think that's kind of one of those at that young age still trying to figure out who they are. And I know I remember in sixth and seventh, I had like two best friends and we hung out all the time. And, once boys and clothing started to become a thing or be very important. There was this divide that happened and, you know, they went one way and I went another. With a lot of drama. Yes. Yes. Well, tell us a little bit about your inspiration for this book, Maryna.
Maryna -So it started as a picture book. The diary was the main character and then the diary was trying to tell the reader how to keep the secret and it's talking about different animals you can trust and it was kind of silly. So it went to acquisitions at a small press and it got rejected because the topic of secrets was a little controversial for little kids, which I understand. That wasn't my intention. I was just trying to do a silly little picture book. And I had a writing mentor at the time. And I sent the manuscript to him to get critiqued and say like, well, what do you think about this? And he was saying, you know, I think, what do you think about writing it as a middle-grade novel? And I was like, every time I write a picture book, that was like the feedback. People are like, it sounds like it's a book for an older audience. So I completely changed, you know I don't have any make-believe animals that talk or anything in my middle-grade book. So I changed that, but I kept Diary as the main character because I liked having a unique main character.
Valerie -I enjoyed the interaction between Anna Marie, kind of the main character, and the diary. And I love how it is introduced, what is it? Both secrets and how that, you know, them keeping secrets affected the relationships around them. And, but also how diary almost became kind of a different type of friendship relationship that sometimes people have to deal with, especially in middle school. So I enjoyed that play and back and forth. And what is it? I love that Diary had her backstory of drama that she had to contend with her own emotions and such. So, I thought that was really, really fun. In writing this kind what kind of turns you to I don't know, just the drama that Anna Marie experiences. Was there anything in your life that led to that kind of, I don't know, those topics being of interest to you?
Maryna -Yeah. I would say I wanted to write about betrayal because that's something that I experienced actually as an adult. And so I felt like I could write into that and how people can deceive you and make you think they're your best friend and you can tell them anything. And then they go and turn on you. And I realized, you know kids are getting deceived these days. And I think this would be good and helpful for them to see that things that look good and sound good and, you know, might seem innocent, they're actually, you have to be careful and you have to look for those red flags, make sure you're not getting tricked into telling people, you know, some deep things about yourself when they're not really, they don't have your best interest. So that was one reason why I wrote that. Another reason why I wrote it was because I loved writing about boys in my diary growing up. I loved writing about fashion. I had like a little fashion company with my friend. And so I thought, oh, this would be kind of fun to write about. And I'm sure kids would like it, maybe because I liked that at that age.
Valerie -It is neat how your own experiences influence us to make it very relatable and very searching for the word. I just, you know, easy for kids to connect with because I think at that sixth-grade age, they're kind of that 11, 12, kind of that different, not quite a teen, but not quite a kid anymore. And there is a lot of that really coming into understanding the world and understanding that, yeah, not every friend that we have is gonna have their best interests at heart, and being able to discern that is so important in our culture today. Now you have also done a devotional kind of as a little extra resource to go with this book. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Maryna -Yeah, so the devotional covers a few different topics. I wrote my notes so that I wouldn't forget what all it covers. Let's see. Yeah, so it covers how God made us, you know
because Anna Marie is trying to change her appearance to get accepted by her friends, by her dad. I wanted to help kids see, well, what does the Bible say about how God created us? And should we be trying to change ourselves to please other people? So again, people pleasing. What does the Bible have to say about that? You know, are we trying to please God or are we trying to please man? And you know, that comes into play when there's a lot of peer pressure. You know, what everyone else is doing. You don't want to be like the odd man out. So I wanted to focus on that in the devotional. Friendship. What does the Bible say about friendship? How do we find friends and bad friends, how do bad friends influence us? So talk about deception and what the Bible says about deception, acknowledging and confessing sin. So Anna Marie doesn't talk about God in the book, but you know, there's a part where she does realize her humility. She has to humble herself and confess her flaws and what she's done wrong. And I think, Christians parents Christian parents and kids can talk about how that relates to humbling ourselves and confessing our sins to God when we mess up and then protecting the vulnerable parts of ourselves so you know there's a time and a place to tell people the very deep parts of our soul you know things that are personal and you know, even our sin, you know, we don't want to go and confess things to people who are going to like to throw it into the public and make fun of us, you know. So I think it's just using wisdom and
who we choose to share those very vulnerable parts of ourselves with. And so I kind of wanted to make the devotional to help people and guide people through like a biblical lens of my book and using kind of my book as like a practical example of how people are living their lives, especially like tweens, and how this can relate to their middle school or sixth-grade experience. I know younger kids are reading my book. It's not just middle school or sixth graders, third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, how they can navigate those relationships of peer pressure and just making sure you're living your life for God. I wanted to outline that and kind of make it a fun reflection on the book. So obviously if parents and kids want to do the devotional you want to read the book first otherwise there's gonna be a lot of spoilers.
Valerie -Good to know. We don't want any spoilers, right? I know I'm trying to hold my tongue too, because like, there are just some unique things that happen with Anna Marie and her friends and in her family that drive both the drama as well as that establishing what is a good friend, you know, whereas our identity, you know, we, you know feeling love and accepting love and all that is all great themes that you have throughout the book. And I love that you've expanded that into a biblical narrative and conversation also in that extra resource. Now, what is it? I think what's great about your book is that it can, like you said, go to younger readers. It
doesn't just have to be kids that are over 10, but it really does set up what friendship is and what friendship is, how friendship is important. Cause I think our kids are exposed to so much, so much younger nowadays. Um, what is it with my kids? It seemed like, you know, the bullying and drama that happened in middle school when I was growing up was happening in third grade for him. And I was just one of those like, I love that you've made it a book that is accessible to kids no matter what their reading level is, but in a way that addresses so many different types of friendships. Because in those early elementary years, your friendships are pretty much whoever you're hanging out with that day. But there does become an emotional level and vulnerability that can come into play as they continue through their schooling. So what do you hope to communicate to kiddos with this book?
Maryna -I would say honesty, just learning the importance of honesty and how God wants us, how God made us, and how he doesn't want us to change ourselves when it comes to peer pressure, you know, just going with whatever the crowd wants. So I wanted to highlight that and then also just deception and how we can be deceived very easily. And Yeah, the Bible talks about that, in a lot of different areas. And I feel like it's very relevant nowadays with kids because I feel like they are being deceived. A lot of different areas, so I think this is kind of like a good way to introduce them to ways that you can think are innocent but are very harmful.
Valerie -I think that's one thing, you know, the first frozen movie was huge, but I think what was really powerful about that was that the villain was who we thought Anna was going to, you know, marry, who she was in love with. And I did, I loved that they introduced this deceptive character, and by all accounts, he looked, he was handsome. He could see he, you know, could finish her sandwiches, you know, those silly things. But, you know, it was, you know, not looking to the heart, not seeing what was deeper. And I, I really appreciated the conversations that came from me and my kids after we watched that movie, because yeah, sometimes the villain or the not so, you know, great character does look great on the outside, but it's that inside that just we have to be able to discern. So I think that's what's great about what your book is doing is just allowing those conversations too, it's not end up all flowery and perfect, but you know, learning through the process, which is what great middle-grade books usually do.
Maryna -I love that you brought up the Frozen character because my kids love Frozen. I think that would be a great way to talk about that with them too.
Valerie -Yeah. And it's, it's one of those things that, you know, I don't know with our culture these days and everybody coming from almost a different moral center, it's, we're having to be more discerning and teach our kids at young ages to discern what is true, what is good and lovely and all, all those things too. Now, uh, Marina, did you always want to be an author?
Maryna -No, actually, I wanted to be a teacher and a stay-at-home mom, which I was. I taught for six years, fourth and fifth grade. And then when I had my son, I became a stay-at-home mom. So becoming an author was something that I started doing because I was reading a bunch of picture books to my son. And I was like, oh, you know, I like all these stories. And I taught writing too to my students. So I had a lot of practice telling stories to my fourth and fifth graders. So I was like, and I think that's why like when I would write my picture books, people kept telling me, this sounds like a book for like an older audience. And I think that's because I was always around the fourth and fifth grade students and I'm used to that kind of literature. So that's why I think I naturally fell into that.
Valerie - Of the books that you read with your fourth and fifth graders, what was your favorite to read?
Maryna - Oh boy. Well, I really loved Sideways Stories from Wayside School because I would read it out aloud to a lot of my classes just because it was funny and I felt like humor is just a great way to fall in love with reading. It's lighthearted. There's no heavy stuff. They were very short chapters. So my students when I read aloud, you know, it's just boom. I don't have a lot of time, I read a quick little chapter and they'd like, oh, please don't stop. And once we finished that book, it's a series, so my kids went on to read the next book and that's the whole goal is to make sure students are falling in love with reading and then they have a plan when they're done with the book of what they're gonna read next. And so that's kind of what I wanted to do. That was my strategy with reading sideways stories from only side school.
Valerie -Yeah, the sideways stories for Wayside School are big favorites of my kids too. And I, I love that humor just has a way of making things feel more comfortable, you know, even so, that, you know, a kid that is struggling with reading that can feel like, I just want to keep reading this because I am enjoying it. I'm laughing, you know, there's naturally there, I don't know, just falling in love with reading, like you said. And so, yeah, those are some really fun books. What is your favorite book?
Maryna - kids book or adult book?
Valerie -Your favorite book. It can be anything.
Maryna - Okay, well, this probably wouldn't be something kids would read, but my favorite book is The Last Mrs. Parrish. And it's, you know, a psychological thriller, but I like it again because there's deception in it. And you'll see that that's a theme in a lot of my books deception. But yeah, I like that because I realized, like, I've had a hard time reading growing up. I didn't like it a lot. And so when I found this book and I could not put it down like I was just zooming through the pages, I realized, oh my gosh, reading can be fun. And I was like really inspired to write a book that would make reading fun for kids and like keep them guessing. So they're like, what is, you know, what's going to happen? I wanted to write a book like that. And that inspired my other novel that I wrote back in 2020 and that I'll be publishing this year. That's why it's my favorite book.
Valerie -Has some inspiration all around, right? It's those books that impact us the most that we pull from, and you know, woes that we, they say to read what you love. And if you, if you love a certain style of book, you tend to write that style too, because it's something you enjoy so much. So that's lots of fun. Now, you mentioned a little bit that you have another book coming out here soon, Tell us a little bit about that one.
Maryna -Yeah. So that is called Confessions of a Stepsister. And that is all about a wedding. So, my little tagline is something old, something new, something borrowed, stolen too. And so it's all about a 12-year-old girl named Emma, and she is trying to sabotage her soon-to-be stepsister in hopes of becoming the maid of honor at their parents' wedding. And so my other character Charity starts to suspect, you know, something's a little off about her and she stumbles upon shocking evidence, and she learns the power of forgiveness. So that kind of has a biblical tie-in. That one for sure talks a lot about the Bible. So when starting, it probably won't seem like it talks a lot about the Bible, but there's a huge lesson at the end about forgiveness and talking about Jesus, so I do talk a lot about the scripture actually in the book. So, it is very different from Sincerely Diary.
Valerie -Very neat, but I love that you are continuing with that stepping into hard places that kids do experience and have a hard time navigating their own emotions and their feelings, their identity, and how to handle other people's drama too. And you know, that's something I wish I had a little bit more insight into when I was 12 or 11 because maybe that wouldn't have led to so much drama in my own life, right? But I love that you're equipping young kids with just this idea that the world isn't perfect, but we can continue to work within our world, and having a firm grasp of who we are is important no matter whether, you know, with your Sincerely Diary, which is more of a general market book or with this next one that's coming out, being a little bit more, having more of a Christian theme of forgiveness, you know, but in each, I mean, no matter where you come from, we all need a little bit of help to deal with those things, right? Too fun. Well, what can, so this second book, Confessions of a Step-sister. I like that. Now, when is that set to come out?
Maryna -Oh gosh, I don't have a date yet, but we did just start working on the cover and the internal illustrations. So I know our deadline for the artwork is May, so maybe August. We'll see.
Valerie -Fingers crossed, right? You never know how it's going to go, but that's exciting that you hope to have that finished this year and out soon. So very fun. Now, where can people find out more about you and your books?
Maryna -And they can go to my website, which is www.marynadoughty.com. And they go to the free tab. I have the devotional on there. They can get it for free if they sign up for my email list. I also have a book club bundle that they can get, and that's not related to the Bible. It's just activities they can do that go along with my book. And they can get that for free, too, when they join my email list. My name is spelled. M -A -R -Y -N -A -D -O -U -G -H -T -Y. So if you have trouble finding my website, check the spelling.
Valerie -We'll make sure to have that link in our descriptions in the podcast and video and all those things so everybody can make sure to find you just right. So, well, thank you so much, Maryna, for joining us today.
Maryna -Thanks for having me.
Valerie -It's been my pleasure and thank you for joining Marina and me on this episode of the Bookworthy Podcast. Check the show notes for any books or links that we discussed and let us know in the comments where your middle school experience landed on a scale of one to 10 so we can all process the pre-teen trauma together. Be sure to like and subscribe and discover more great books together.
Happy reading.
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