WARNING: Short Stories for Middle School Boys Only, Because Girls Have Cooties!
By Gene J. Miller
Dive into a collection of coming-of-age tales! Perfect for middle school boys, teachers, and homeschoolers. Expect adventure, fun, friendships, and life lessons at every turn. A chuckle a chapter guaranteed!
WARNING: Short Stories for Middle School Boys Only, Because Girls Have Cooties! is a captivating anthology of fifteen standalone stories, each one a unique exploration of youth, camaraderie, and the trials and triumphs of growing up. The book, penned by the talented Gene J. Miller, is a delightful blend of Tom Sawyer’s mischief, Stand by Me’s nostalgia, and The Sandlot’s youthful exuberance.
Each chapter is a self-contained narrative, allowing readers to embark on a new adventure every day. The characters, some recurring and others making a single appearance, are relatable and engaging, making the stories all the more immersive. The overarching theme of coming-of-age is masterfully woven into each tale, making this collection a perfect read for those who enjoy narratives about personal growth and self-discovery.
But the book offers more than just stories. Drawing from his educational experiences, Miller has included a collection of Chapter Lessons at the end of the book. This feature makes the book a valuable resource for educators looking for engaging material to inspire their students to read, especially on those irregular schedule days.
This book is not just for the classroom, though. It’s an excellent choice for a summer enrichment read or as a part of a homeschool curriculum. The connected lessons and the engaging narratives make it a valuable tool for learning and entertainment.
Set against the backdrop of the Delaware River in Delanco, New Jersey, this collection is a heartwarming journey through adolescent adventures, friendships, decision-making, and personal responsibility. It’s a trip down memory lane for adults, a time capsule of the 60’s era of growing up.
In WARNING: Short Stories for Middle School Boys Only, Because Girls Have Cooties!, every chapter promises a laugh, a lesson, and a look into the timeless journey of coming of age. It’s a book that celebrates the joy, the challenges, and the unforgettable moments of growing up.
Author Interview
At what point did you decide to be an author, and what was your path to publication?
I decided to become an author under the most nondescript means-I received an online storybook for Christmas ’21 from my son and daughter-in-law called Storyworth. A person receives a question about their life for 52 weeks. For example, “What was your father like growing up? Was there a situation that came up where you were in trouble with your father? What happened?”
You then write a short piece about a situation that arose. I received my first question in the third week of January. By late February my mother had taken ill, ended up in hospice and passed away on June 11th. From the time she became ill (I am an only child), I was teaching at Stockton University and assisting Mom with the help of my wife every day. I wrote nothing for 6 months.
By September, I had returned to work and realized that I had not completed any information for Storyworth and its 52-week hardbound addition for my children. To fill pages, I decided to write short stories of the adventures, trials and tribulations of growing up along the Delaware River in my mostly middle school years for my two oldest grandsons approaching their middle school years. I was hoping to be completed by Christmas ’22, but I didn’t finish until Mother’s Day ’23.
In May of ’23, I began the literary agent query letter campaign. 28 queries, 18 rejections, 1 resubmit and 9 ghosted contacts.
By late September I shifted gears and believed that this humorous middle level 15 short story collection was an educational story collection that taught a valuable lesson about life in the adolescent years. I approached Scholastic Book online to discover that it posted, “All manuscripts must be submitted through a literary agent. However, if you have developed a Teacher’s Guide to go with your manuscript, you may submit the guide with your manuscript with no literary agent.” EUREKA!
From November ’23 until the end of February ‘24 I constructed a set of “Chapter Lessons” for each story in the book. Each Chapter Lesson contained: The Introduction of New Vocabulary, Root Words, Prefixes/Suffixes, Critical Thinking Questions, Writing Prompts, and Cross Curricular Research Ideas. Universal Literary Terms and Types of Story Conflicts were also created for all chapters or just one chapter further back in the book.
I then discovered when completed, that the Scholastic Book site had changed its submission policy as of January 1, 2024. All entries must be made through a literary agent. I was ready to submit my manuscript and my Teacher’s Guide, but now all Big Ten publishing dreams had vanished. It was in March of ’24 when I researched legitimate self-publishing companies and discovered Palmetto Publishing in South Carolina. A legitimate and reputable publishing house.
The book had a publishing date of June 27th for preorders and came out on July 8th to the online markets at Amazon Books and Barnes & Noble. I had achieved my goal of publishing, despite the hurdles laid out in front of me.
What do you do when a new idea jumps out at you while you’re still working on a book? Do you chase the squirrel (aka “Up syndrome”) or do you finish your current project first?
When I get a new idea jumping into my head I stop and manually write it down into a notebook for safe keeping later. This happens more than you know. The fact is when one idea jumps out, many times more will follow. You must be ready to catch them and release them onto paper for future reference; or else you may lose that idea forever. I then immediately go back to my current writing task at hand.
Who is your favorite character to write, and why is that person your favorite? If picking a favorite character would be like picking a favorite child, which character seems to be the most demanding of your attention and detail as writer?
That’s a challenging question. In my book, Mark is my favorite character. He was my best friend. We did everything together and we were like two peas in a pod. He passed before I finished the book, and that made me very sad that he never got to read any of the humorous adventures we embarked upon. I desired his affirmation on each of the stories he was a part of. Getting his character right was important. I know I did capture his character accurately because after his sister read the book, she then called me all choked up and said,” Gene, you brought Mark back to life the way I remember him as my big brother. Those stories were right on. You really made me laugh!!” The most demanding character was John Hall in the short story,” Ockanickon, the Tribe Has Spoken.” John Hall was complicated because he played in the gray area. He was a good guy and sometimes a bad guy from the narrator’s perspective. That took some formulation to interpret and present accurately.
Describe your writing process. Do you outline, plot, and plan, or is your writing more organic?
Short stories are much easier to write as an author. Since the book is a collection of non-fiction short stories, they just flowed organically from the true story itself. I began the first ten writing on a pad in longhand, however later I began typing them into the notes section of my phone, paragraph by paragraph.
What are some books or authors that you would recommend to our readers?
Over the summer I read a quality indie middle level mystery book entitled “The Crooked Tree” by Una Mannion. It was well written and held the mystery for the entire length of the read. I also got in George Pelecanos, “Owning Up.” An urban level read with real characters in true life situations. It grabs your attention through the fine story telling.
Tell us what you enjoy most about writing.
What I enjoy most about writing is the feeling as a writer I get when someone-a Beta Reader-thoroughly reads a chapter, then discovers the twist, humor and life lesson that shined through the story. I like to see people enjoying the humor of the stories. My genre is confusing. When I wrote the book it was for my grandsons, I considered it a middle level/YA read. It even contains the Chapter Lessons in the back. When the Burlington County Library went to catalogue it for their shelves, they commented that it was a Non-fiction Adult/Memoir read. I said, “Fine.” Kirkus Reviews then positively reviewed it indicating that it is a Non-fiction and Memoir adult read as well. Therefore, I’m not sure what it is any longer, but I enjoy the flexibility of the readership-for both young and old!
What have you found to be most challenging about writing?
Because the collection of stories is a memoir, yes some of my earliest jobs surface. As a first-time worker, you can imagine the challenges that a young person faces and find the where with all to overcome early obstacles on the job.
Do you identify with the main character, or did you create a character that is your opposite?
I am the main character narrating all the 15 short stories; therefore, I do identify as myself throughout all the stories in the book.
Describe the book or series in 10 words or less for people just learning about it.
An adventurous and humorous non-fiction, time capsule (’65-’70) short story collection.
Is there anything you would like people to take away from your book?
The idea that this book, with its Chapter Lessons in the back, is a great read for middle level readers when used as a supplemental read, a curriculum read, or a summer enrichment read. It gives young readers a chance to reflect on growing up with no technology vs growing up in the Hi-Tech world of today. The Cross Curricular Research Questions focus on the reader-not the book. Young readers can reflect on what has changed in going through adolescence and what has remained the same today. There have been far more adults reading the book than middle schoolers so far. The adults love it for its “Time Capsule” value to take them back through a portal in time to see many of the adventures and challenges that they too faced while attempting to grow up. They all comment about the humor contained in each of the short stories.
Author Bio
Gene Miller is a first-time author with his collection of 15 non-fiction short stories. His 44-year career in public education from grades 7th through college provided him with an experienced background educating children, adults and having many related experiences with adolescents.
Each story in this collection includes humor, adventure, friendships and the goal of attempting to grow up I the time of the 1960’s.
https://www.genemiller56.com
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