<h2 style="margin-left:0px;">The Dynamic Duo: Exploring Pannell &amp; Sigfusson’s Writing Process</h2><p style="margin-left:0.0px;"><img data-ot-ignore class="image_resized image-style-align-left" style="width:25%;" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/strapi-images-bookfinity-prod/image_e5f9ad87f7/image_e5f9ad87f7.png">Victoria Pannell and Thorir Sigfusson make up this award-winning writing duo, and their backgrounds are as diverse as their stories. Thorir grew up in Iceland until he was twelve, then his family moved to the US. Victoria was born in Wilmington, Delaware, and spent her childhood in Pleasantville, New Jersey. They met on the job, during the massive Reagan National Airport renovation over 35 years ago. They’ve lived in the nation’s capital, the mountains of Virginia, and the deserts of Nevada. Today, they make their home near the Delaware beaches. Victoria, with her extensive experience in teaching and public relations, brings a nuanced understanding of young readers’ minds to their collaborative works. Thorir is a retired architect who discovered his passion for writing later in life, finding joy in translating his artistic inclinations into words. Together, they draw inspiration from their rich life experiences and four grandchildren, who spark their creativity and drive their storytelling. They’re thrilled to bring young readers their series, The Crow’s Tales, with <i>The Bird Caper, The Big Dream</i>, and a new installment to release next year! Cool Moms and Dads check out this unforgettable mystery adventure series for your young readers!</p><h3 style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://bookfinity.com/book/The%20Bird%20Caper/9781964064000" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>The Bird Caper</strong></a></h3><p style="text-align:center;">by Victoria E Pannell - Thorir Sigfusson - Mikey Brooks</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><a href="http://bookfinity.com/book/The%20Bird%20Caper/9781964064000" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img data-ot-ignore src="https://CWSImages.ingramcontent.com/cdsImages/imageloader?id=u6k87wQ2tXhYN+fspdICiEfenar1TdqGJDSz9mY4SxPOZjaSWe2GdgqGmdJP2CLUhLbq1Mwvg7wkMPncXwbOsV6kQLdVZAxH2tHsDNshnDdTvRvTSy5/i538hDLbR7+bC8jnQKoUshCO/QWCkJV8V3sDPE34ApZjw2QEUiiBNHM=&amp;size=640" alt="isbn: 9781964064000,template: list"></a></figure><h3 style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://bookfinity.com/book/The%20Big%20Dream%3A%20Middle-Grade%20Fiction/9781964064055" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>The Big Dream: Middle-Grade Fiction</strong></a></h3><p style="text-align:center;">by Victoria E Pannell - Thorir Sigfusson</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><a href="http://bookfinity.com/book/The%20Big%20Dream%3A%20Middle-Grade%20Fiction/9781964064055" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img data-ot-ignore src="https://CWSImages.ingramcontent.com/cdsImages/imageloader?id=RdpNjikbWa4EwspnC7jKQ03Iq3m84Jowj4buHZiW/NKHdpb79kXIABNzSRuMgWo2XgdGJ2fkCjVw9Y0RWGl4WWUnnxw44BpL+LOnUfp4bDWZwVOCCsd0X2rB9o8Bd1oJGO1O7E8Paoux/vao8J7IgcpTZxciBJ3ClYnnHi5jemA=&amp;size=640" alt="isbn: 9781964064055,template: list"></a></figure><h3>Interview with Pannell &amp; Sigfusson</h3><h4 style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">Q: What inspired you to start writing, and how did you know you wanted to create content for children and families?&nbsp;</span></h4><p style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">A: It’s always been about family. I wrote some unpublished short stories for my kids in the 80s and then spent the next few decades starting stories I couldn’t finish. As Thorir got closer to retiring, he began writing his childhood memories from Iceland into a story for the grandkids. While I was attempting to write a screenplay, our projects merged, and it was decided—we’d work together on a book that would be a gift for the grandchildren. Who knew we’d end up writing an indie middle-grade mystery adventure series?&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><blockquote><p style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;color:#286FA9;">Now that we’ve set a course in this direction, we want to create a safe space between the pages, spinning tales that interest young and old, spawning opportunities to read together and have fun conversations.</span><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">&nbsp;</span></p></blockquote><h4 style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">Q: What's the key to writing stories that truly resonate with a middle-grade audience?&nbsp;</span></h4><p style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">A: We’ve read stacks of middle-grade books since starting our writing journey, and it’s been a phenomenal learning experience. Middle-graders are a fantastic audience to write for; they love humor, mystery, and happy endings. The first few pages of the story are critical and need to have a strong hook. It’s most important to make the main character someone they can relate to, with flaws and real growth, create a plot that’s exciting with actual stakes, and write clearly and directly without talking down to them.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><p style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">In crafting the story, we think it’s all about pacing. While maintaining the integrity of the creative process, we monitor the number of syllables in a word, the number of words in a sentence, and paragraph length. We vary the length of sentences and strive for shorter chapters. Our experience has shown us that heavy text on a page does not come across as reader-friendly and frequently discourages young readers from reading. We find this group also likes white space and graphics to balance out the text.&nbsp;</span></p><figure class="image"><img data-ot-ignore src="https://storage.googleapis.com/strapi-images-bookfinity-prod/image_136e23edd0/image_136e23edd0.png"></figure><h4 style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">Q: How do you find ways to connect your books to a classroom environment or make them more appealing to a teacher or librarian audience?&nbsp;</span></h4><p style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">A: Making our books useful and appealing to teachers and librarians is paramount. We’ve taken great care in crafting our books’ backmatter. We surveyed teachers about useful classroom resources and customized them for the end of each book. The results are terrific! (1) Backstory (2) Literature Circle Questions (3) Thinking Skills (4) Word Guide (5) Authors’ Chat. We’ve also included a STEM element. Students and teachers find that integrating fictional narratives into science lessons improves comprehension and enjoyment by making complex ideas more relatable. In The Bird Caper our protagonist conducts a ladybug experiment and documents the life cycle, making it an ideal prose to augment a classroom science unit.&nbsp;</span></p><h4 style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">Q: Walk us through your creative process as a writing team. How do you work in partnership to create these stories?&nbsp;</span></h4><p style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">A: We’ve been told co-authorship can be a prickly pear, and we live together! Actually, our process is rather magical. But like most writing, it’s work. With our third book well underway, we can tell you we’ve done it differently each time. But the basics are always something like this. One builds the story… like building a house with a strong foundation and interesting lines and architecture. The other comes in and decorates the house, giving it additional character, charm, and drama. When we write, we each have our own voice. After blending our work, it becomes a third voice… magical. It surprises us every time.&nbsp;</span></p><p style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">Often, new authors are encouraged to have a critique partner to bounce ideas off and seek support from. In our situation, we’re fortunate to have live-in critique partners, which works well for us. We take turns lifting each other up, editing each other’s work, celebrating the high points, and providing each other with endless support. And when we get a great review, it makes all the effort worth it and keeps us going.&nbsp;</span></p><h4 style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">Q: What do you love about the independent publishing process and being an indie author?&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></h4><p style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">A: Marching to the beat of our own drum has always been our preference, so independent publishing works well for us. We love the freedom of making our own schedules and decisions. We managed to publish our middle-grade series while our grandkids were still in middle school because we’re indie authors. If we had gone the traditional route, the kids would’ve probably aged out of the books by the time they came out. We’ve done a lot of learning and created a terrific team that includes a marvelous editor in New York, an award-winning illustrator in Utah, and talented collaborators in the U.K.&nbsp;</span></p><p style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">IngramSpark is a valued partner on our writing journey. This partnership lets our books reach more readers, especially in libraries and schools, which we’re aiming for. We love how their printing makes our books look as good as traditionally published ones. Plus, IngramSpark gives us resources like their </span><a href="https://www.ingramspark.com/hubfs/downloads/title-metadata-guide.pdf?hsCtaTracking=e854bbd2-17d7-41f4-a774-3412d865d6d5%7C2d905ce0-dbfb-4d0d-aa69-77067768becc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;color:#386573;"><u>Metadata Best Practices Guide</u></span></a><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">, with tips to boost how easily people find and buy our books.&nbsp;</span></p><h4 style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">Q: Tell us about your series The Crow’s Tales!&nbsp; What do you hope your readers take away from the series?&nbsp;</span></h4><p style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">A: The Crow’s Tales series follows protagonist Brandon Woodberry, his friends, and pet crow, Ralph, on their fast-paced, fun mystery adventures through the middle-grade years. Each story is standalone, exploring themes of change, honesty, and truth along with a pervading light on friendship, perseverance, and community.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><p style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">When the first story was in development, we saw it as a boy’s book intended to encourage reading and to entice outdoor activities as an alternative to electronic games or spending too much time on social media. But as the story grew, we introduced new characters, and the addition of girls added a dimension to our writing that we liked. We think readers will enjoy seeing the characters grow older in the stories, where Brandon is ten in Book One and nearly fourteen in Book Three. Even though there are no cliffhangers, we suggest reading the series in order. We often say we write for the joy of reading and hope our readers, young and old, feel happy in the end.&nbsp;</span></p><h4 style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">Q: These books have received countless rave reviews and awards. What feedback has been the most meaningful to receive, and how does it feel to see children enjoying and responding to your stories?&nbsp;</span></h4><p style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">A: The accolades have come as a welcome surprise. It is truly an honor to be recognized by fellow authors, educators, and book enthusiasts. It gives us the sense that we are on the right track. The most meaningful feedback has been from our target audience, the middle-grade reader. Winning GOLD in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards has meant the world to us, judged by readers 8-12 years old. Comments we receive from young readers about our books are like an out-of-body experience. Knowing that your words on a page bring a child happiness is almost beyond words themselves. When you receive a review that says, “The authors just really ‘get’ kids this age,” it makes you want to do your very best.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><h4 style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">Q: You’re currently working on Book Three, The Crow’s Ring, to be released in early 2026. What can your readers expect from the upcoming installment?&nbsp;</span></h4><p style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">A: It’s the gang’s last summer before starting high school, Brandon’s pet crow, Ralph, finds a ruby ring, and Brandon and the gang encounter a salty old sea captain with an interesting past. The kids get involved in solving The Stony Creek Case, an unresolved jewelry heist from the 1930s that’s been a mystery in their town for decades. A twisty journey ensues to discover the truth. Young readers will delight in the suspense as the characters develop theories through investigative thinking and collect evidence to support their curiosities.&nbsp;</span></p><p style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">The behind-the-scenes of this story is different. A book log ensured details of the three books were consistent, and a timeline kept names and dates organized. Perhaps the most challenging was the subject matter itself in writing a complicated who-done-it plot in a clear and entertaining way. We’re crossing our fingers that it’s a fun read. Launch plans are set for early 2026 in time for March Middle-Grade Madness!&nbsp;</span></p><h4 style="margin-left:0.0px;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">Q: What are you most excited about these days?&nbsp;</span></h4><p style="margin-left:0.0px;">A: Taking the third book, The Crow’s Ring, to the finish line and completing the series is exciting for us. The original goal was to write just one book. Having a series is far and away from where we started. Adding to this, Thorir has a bonus story already written for the series. We’re also looking forward to taking part in several upcoming book fairs, meeting new readers and fellow authors. Our school authors’ visit program is ready to take to the classroom, and we can’t wait to talk to students about our books, the writing process, and how they can write a book too!</p><figure class="image"><img data-ot-ignore src="https://storage.googleapis.com/strapi-images-bookfinity-prod/image_0a572b7b9e/image_0a572b7b9e.png"></figure><h2 style="margin-left:0.0px;">Follow the authors</h2><p style="margin-left:0.0px;">Visit Pannell &amp; Sigfusson's <a href="https://www.bookfinity.com/explore/Popular_%26_New_Releases%0A/2025/a/977/Middle-Grade_Storytellers_Pannell_%26_Sigfusson_On_the_Magic_of_Co-Authorship" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">website</a> and follow them on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C5yivR5OZhc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pannellsigfusson/videos/pannellsigfussoncomhello-friendsthis-pretty-much-says-it-allhttpsamazoncomauthor/3636578419992488/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook</a>!</p><p style="margin-left:0.0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0.0px;"><strong>Ready to create your own magic? Start publishing your children's title with </strong><a href="https://www.ingramspark.com/how-it-works" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>IngramSpark</strong></a><strong> today!&nbsp;</strong></p>

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