Interview with Mike Steele: Not Lucille and Giveaway

Not Lucille cover art by Kelsey Grass

 

 

Mike Steele’s debut middle grade novel, Not Lucille, is set in Trenton, New Jersey during the Great Depression and tells the friendship story of two fifth grade girls, Lucy and Florence. This story encompasses the financial and physical hardships of the 1930s and the attitudes of the time including those toward left handed people and deaf people.  Lucy and Florence meet when Lucy climbs the tall fence of the Academy for the Deaf, sneaks past some ball players and climbs through the window of a garden level classroom. The girls endure ongoing challenges that are not limited to meeting and communicating. Mr. Steele evokes the heat and humidity of late summer and later the bitter cold of winter in drafty houses without insulation. This empathetic novel depicts friendship and is recommended.

Kelsey Grass illustrated the engaging cover of Not Lucille which was published by Creative James Media in 2025. The novel is 236 pages long with additional pages devoted to history.

Giveaway!!! Leave a comment below by 11pm, EDT, September 18, 2025 to be entered to win a gently used ARC of Not Lucille. (U.S. addresses only.)

 

Two Question Interview with Mike Steele

ETC: Welcome Mike. Congratulations on the publication of your debut novel, Not Lucille. That is so exciting.

What advice would you give K-12 students on writing plays?

MS: See lots of plays. Pay attention to how the stories are structured. Note
how audiences respond to specific moments, specific dialogue, and
specific character types. You’ll find there are trends. You’ll discover
what works and doesn’t work onstage. Then start writing. You’ll never
know if you can do it until you try. When you’re stuck, ask a friend for
advice (preferably one who enjoys theater). Push forward. Keep writing.

ETC: What advice would you give K-12 students on getting their plays
produced?

MS: The first production is the hardest to get because you don’t have
evidence your work is good. After all, no one has ever seen one of your
plays. Write something you can produce yourself at your school or local
arts center. Invite everyone you know with an interest in theater. You
may have to repeat the process until the right person sees one of your
shows at the right time and recommends it to their community theater
troupe or some other organization that will want to mount a play you’ve
written. Writing talent is important, but luck and grit are just as
important.

ETC: Thank you, Mike.

    Visit author: Mike Steele

    Visit cover art illustrator: Kelsey Grass 

    Learn about: Kelsey Grass Cover Art Process for Not Lucille 

    Visit Greg Pattridge host of: Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

    Short videos for common phrases, an online: American Sign Language Dictionary 

    National Association of the Deaf American: Learning American Sign Language 

    Learn about Leonardo da Vinci Museum of North America: Leonardo da Vinci   

    Visit your local book store: Second Star to the Right Bookstore

    Learn about insulation for houses: Energy Star Insulation and Energy Star Insulate