The Vent with Debbi Michiko Florence and LAST CHANCE ACADEMY
In Which the Author Comes Aboard to Discuss How No Agent is Better Than the Wrong Agent and Sales Numbers Determining Series Orders 📚
Flashback to ten years ago and today’s featured Vent speaker and I had just been picked up from the airport and were sitting in a car on our way to an author retreat in Michigan… or Minnesota… It for sure started with an M and wasn’t Montana and I apologize to anyone in the aforementioned states (cut to our guest being like, “It was Illinois!” in a couple days time. I’m sorry geography isn’t my strong suit and I promise your safety isn’t in jeopardy as I steer this metaphorical ship!). Anywho, I had just barely sold my first picture book, and Debbi Michiko Florence and I took no time to hit it off and chat about all our goals and dreams for the future, and have been regular cheerleaders for each other ever since. That’s one of my biggest pieces of advice for authors no matter where they’re at in their career: find other author friends who get what it means to want what you want, who understand what trials and tribulations as well as what thrills and utter explosions of pure joy you can go through. I’m so thrilled to welcome Debbi aboard the Ventorship, and her insight below reminds me of that day ten years ago when we were just so open and honest about what we wanted and how we could help each other get there ❤️
Jason June (JJ): When you started your writing journey, what was the biggest frustration you encountered as you tried to find an agent and/or went on sub to editors for the first time that you wish you could have vented about?
Debbi Michiko Florence (DMF): Wow! This takes me waaaay back! I'm going to pivot and say my biggest frustration as a newbie was thinking that having any agent was better than having no agent. My first agent and I were not the right fit at all, and yet I stayed with that agent for 9 years with no sales. The second half of that relationship was mostly me feeling ignored and unimportant. But I was convinced that if I left that agent, I would never get another one or make a sale. Fortunately, I did have two very good friends and writing partners who kept advising me to move on. It just took me a long time to realize they were right. It took an additional three years after splitting with that agent for me to feel like I could trust again and look for the right representation. I'm happy to say that I've been with my current agent for ten years and together we've made more than a dozen sales! Looking for an agent - researching, querying, waiting and waiting and waiting, collecting rejections, and starting over again and again - is exhausting, so when you get an offer, it's so tempting to just say, YES YES YES! But better to ask all the questions to make sure that agent is the right fit. It will be worth it!
JJ: How about once you got your first book deal? How did your frustrations (if you had any) change, and what would you have vented about or did vent about to author friends?
DMF: I was fortunate and my first book sale was a very good experience! If I may pivot (again), I wish I had had more confidence to ask for an Asian/BIPOC illustrator. But back then I was feeling just so grateful to make that sale (four books for a chapter book series) I didn't want to do or say anything to rock the boat. For my later illustrated books, I did speak up and request Asian/Asian American illustrators. I feel that it's important to at least ask for what you want!
JJ: Tell us about your latest book! And (I bet you know where this is going) what’s the biggest vent you’ve got about the process of creating this novel?
DMF: AHHHH! I'm so excited about my new middle grade series Last Chance Academy! Book 1, A Study in Secrets, released in March and it's not only my first middle grade series, but it's my first mystery-ish book. I say mystery-ish because I am who I am and I lean heavily into friendship stories. Someone said it best - it's a warm friendship story wrapped up in a mystery.
When twelve-year-old Meg Mizuno is sent off to an exclusive boarding school in the middle of nowhere, she's determined to keep to herself. But when she receives a mysterious envelope inviting the entire student body to participate in a secret treasure hunt, everything changes.
My biggest vent is that I am a pantser. Mysteries require a LOT of plotting forethought. I don't outline. I can't outline. When I outline a book before writing my first discovery draft, I lose steam because I feel like I already know what happens and how. That first draft, I like to take the journey with my characters. So, writing the first two books (I'm in copyedits for book 2 now and it will release on 3/17/26) took me longer than usual because I pantsed my way through the first drafts. Plotting out the mystery aspects took extra drafts. Whew! Also...another vent! I don't have the go-ahead to write book 3 yet. Sales numbers matter! I'm itching to work on the next book (and the ones after) so I'm really hoping this series takes off!
JJ: Any words of wisdom you have for writers whether they are at the beginning of their journey or multi-published?
DMF: Enjoy the journey. Sometimes I forget how hard I worked to get here. I'm so determined to keep on keeping on, I worry that maybe this will be the last book I get to write, that I forget to enjoy all the wonderful things that have happened and are happening. I have a friend who is VERY good at celebrating every single good thing that happens for her/her books. I want to be better at that! In fact, I'm going to celebrate that you asked me to be a part of your awesome newsletter because I so enjoy reading it when it drops into my inbox! (Ice cream seems like an appropriate prize!) Thanks for having me!
JJ: Thanks so much for joining us aboard the Ventorship, Debbi, and I’m having a scoop of ice cream over here with you! Author-passengers, read below for more info about Debbi and LAST CHANCE ACADEMY: A STUDY IN SECRETS!
About LAST CHANCE ACADEMY: A STUDY IN SECRETS
Only Murders in the Building meets Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library in this action-packed novel about a girl pulled into a mysterious treasure hunt at her new boarding school.
Ever since her mom passed away, twelve-year-old Megumi “Meg” Mizuno has been spiraling. After too many low grades and cut classes, she’s been expelled from school—apparently, everyone else has moved past her grief and expects the same from her. Her dad secures her a spot at the prestigious Leland Chase Academy, a boarding school in the middle-of-nowhere New York, called the Last Chance Academy by its student body. If Meg can’t make it work there, she’ll be forced to live with her horrible aunt.
At first, Leland Chase seems like an average, if very strict, boarding school, though Meg tentatively warms up to her roommate and some of their classmates. Then, one night, a mysterious envelope appears under her door, inviting Meg and her roommate to participate in a scavenger hunt. The only rules: don’t get caught by faculty or staff and no cheating. The grand prize? A luxury stay at a fancy resort in California. And after learning her dad has plans to sell their family home—with all its memories of Mom—Meg knows she has to win the competition and use the trip to convince Dad to stay.
Thanks to her mom, who taught her how to solve ciphers, Meg has a knack for puzzles she uses to get ahead in the hunt. But she quickly learns that her classmates seem to have their own sets of skills keeping them in the competition. And as they get deeper in the game, Meg and her fellow competitors realize the anonymous creator has their own agenda…and LCA isn’t quite what it seems.
About Debbi Michiko Florence
Debbi Michiko Florence, a third-generation Japanese American (sansei), is the acclaimed author of more than 25 books for children and tweens. Her books have received starred reviews, JLG Selections, and inclusion on lists such as Amazon Best Books and the Chicago Public Library Best of the Best. She loves to write stories about friendship, family, and first crushes. Her middle-grade novels include Just Be Cool, Jenna Sakai and the series Last Chance Academy. She is also the author of the award-winning Jasmine Toguchi chapter book series, which has sold more than 200,000 copies, and picture books, including the forthcoming Monster Maker: The Strange Creatures of Mark Nagata. A native Californian, Debbi now lives in Connecticut where she writes in her studio, The Word Nest.
Website: www.debbimichikoflorence.com
Authors, the Ventorship is looking for traditionally published writers to be featured with their latest book release in a future edition of The Vent! Email me at heyjasonjune@gmail.com with the subject: THE VENT to let me know you’re interested. All you’ll need to be featured are answers to the same four questions asked above, as well as an author bio, cover image, and book description.
If you’d like to vent about anything author/writing related, write to me at heyjasonjune@gmail.com with the subject: VENTORSHIP. I’ll give you my take in a post, and we’ll crowdsource author opinions in the comments. You’ll remain anonymous, and any haters will be thrown overboard. Ultimately, I think you’re going to be buoyed up by author love and support as we realize we really are all in the same boat 🛳️
What a lovely surprise to learn that Debbi and Jason are writing cheerleaders for each other! (I know Debbie though Highlights and saw Jason years ago at an online conference, maybe WriteOnCon, been following ever since. 😊)
Debbi, your new series sounds fantastic! Congrats!