The gorgeous cover of THE INVENTORS AT NO. 8 by debut author A.M. Morgen pulled me in immediately. Imagine my delight when I realized it was a middle grade #STEM historical adventure fantasy starring Ada Lovelace and written by a NC author! Like a moist, delicious piece of chocolate cake, I ate it up much faster than I wanted to! The Inventors at No. 8 publishes on 5/8/18!

George, the third Lord of Devonshire, is the unluckiest boy in London. Why is he so unlucky? Well, he’s an orphan, for one, and unless he sells EVERYTHING quickly, he’ll lose is house. Not that there’s much of anything left to sell. And then, his prized possession and his family’s last heirloom, a priceless map to the Star of Victory, is stolen by criminals.

No only is George the unluckiest boy, but he’s also the loneliest. That is until Ada Byron, the future Countess of Lovelace, bursts into his life and promises to help George recover his family legacy. Ada is also determined to find her own father along the way–in a flying machine she built. (Yes, check out that glorious flying bird on the cover!) With the company of a mischievous orangutan and the long-lost son of an infamous pirate, Ada and George embark on a cross-continental journey that will change their lives, and perhaps the world, forever.

Prepare to be transported to 1820s London! A.M. Morgen’s stellar writing is masterful and imaginative. The adventure is fast-past and full of heart (just the way I like my novels)! The two main characters, Ada and George, are very different but they share two things in common. Both are desperate for a friend and have been abandoned or neglected by their fathers. Despite their difficult and unfulfilled family relationships, this longing for something more fuels their bravery.

In the Author’s Note, there’s a paragraph that sums up exactly the feeling this book gave me:

I hope (this book) inspires you to be brave in the pursuit of your own accomplishments and adventures. Though it is still far from perfect, the world Out There has infinitely more opportunities than in 1828, when this story takes place. There are new discoveries to be made, friends to be found, and adventures to be had. So the next time you find yourself in a George-ish mood thinking I can’t do this-it’s impossible, try thinking like Ada: Nothing is impossible.

Yes, you can! And now I’m thrilled to welcome A.M. Morgen to The Winged Pen!

AM: Thanks so much for having me!

ML: As a former engineer, I found The Inventors at No. 8 wonderfully satisfying to my geeky heart. Ada Bryon (Lovelace) as a heroine? Yes, please! Historical machines and automatons? Bring it on! Tell us about your relationship with the gear and gizmo aspects of The Inventors at No. 8.

AM: I love engineers. You guys are the BEST. My dad is a nuclear engineer, my mom is a biologist, and many of my other relatives, both close and distant, are engineers of various kinds. With my family history, I’m still shocked I’m not an engineer myself!

Even though I didn’t choose to work in a STEM profession, science was a big part of my childhood. My childhood heroes were Marie Curie and Rachel Carson. My parents were always doing something STEM-related with me and my brother: building a treehouse, planting a garden, studying insects, or raising quail in our backyard. We lived close to an awesome museum called The Museum of Life and Science, which has great interactive exhibits. As a kid, all those things were just fun. Science was never mysterious or inaccessible. It was everywhere! I hope I was able to bring that sense of fun to the science-y bits in my book.

Yes, you did! The story is set in 1820s London. Could you tell us about how you researched the time period for your story? Or do you have a personal connection to pre-Victorian England?

I have to admit I didn’t know much about 1820s England before I started my research. I worked as a proofreader on the historical papers of James Madison so I was fairly familiar with the time period in America. I read books and articles about the social history of England of Regency and Georgian England as well as biographies of Ada Lovelace and her father, Lord Byron. (My favorite book ended up being a Regency slang dictionary!) I also used as many primary sources as I could including maps, letters, and scientific journals from the time period. And of course I Googled. A lot.

What made research somewhat difficult is that the late 1820s were one of the “quieter” periods in European history and literature. Nothing major really happened so there aren’t a lot of books about that decade. The Industrial Revolution was winding down and Queen Victoria hadn’t yet taken the throne. Europe was taking a collective breath after the death of Napoleon. But underneath the surface, tensions between social classes were bubbling. People were moving to cities or to colonies because automation had changed the rural economy, urban poverty was skyrocketing, and there was a growing movement to end slavery. Technology was changing rapidly and society couldn’t keep up with it. I think there are a lot of interesting parallels between then and now. So, I guess that’s my really long way of saying that I think we all have a personal connection to pre-Victorian England!

How true! Two hundred years later!

Your main characters are the perfect duo: the world’s unluckiest boy and a brilliant girl who builds a flying machine to take them on an adventure to recover his family legacy. Tell us about how you developed the characters.

George’s personality came to me all at once, fully formed. I figured there were plenty of nice, well-adjusted orphans in children’s books already. George didn’t need to be one of them. He’s someone who was born with every advantage but blames all of his problems on outside forces.

Ada, on the other hand, never met a problem she couldn’t solve. Her character was easy to develop because she’s based on a real person! The real Ada was brilliant, funny, and confident, but she was also lonely. She really wanted a sibling or a close friend, but didn’t have one.

The arguments between George and Ada were my favorite parts to write. They’re alike in so many ways but they’re both too stubborn to admit it!

This is your debut novel. Congrats, by the way!!! Is it the first novel you’ve written?

It is not. It’s the third novel I’ve completed. (I won’t even mention the ones I’ve started and abandoned partway through.) I’m really grateful for all the lessons I learned from writing my first two books. They made me a much stronger writer.

What are you working on now?

I’m finishing up the sequel to Inventors at No. 8, which is currently titled The Inventors at Sea! It will be available next year.

How exciting! I can’t wait! And speaking of exciting: buckle up for the lightning round, A.M.!  *hands you a chocolate croissant for strength* How did you know I love chocolate croissants?

🙂 If you had a superpower, what would it be? Invisibility. I’d never have to put on pants to take out the garbage again.

Ha! Wooden pencil or mechanical? Mechanical. *click click*

Coffee or tea? Tea

Sweet or salty? Sweet

Dog, cat, or other?  I have the meanest cat in the world, but I’d pick him over a dog any day because I don’t have to take him on walks.

Plotter or pantser? 80% plotter, 20% pantser 

One last question: Any advice for all those aspiring authors out there? Finish! All other writing advice is useless until you’ve finished a draft.

How true! Thank you so much, A.M.!!!

Everyone make a note on your to do list: head to your favorite local bookstore tomorrow and pick up this gem of a novel for all the adventure-loving readers at your home or school!

A.M. Morgen comes from a long line of engineers and researchers but chose to pursue literature over the laboratory. To her family’s surprise, she has managed to make a decent living as an editor with her English degree. In her spare time, A.M. enjoys taking long walks in the forest, trying out new hobbies (then abandoning them), and complaining about her mean cat. Despite what you may think, A.M. is not a morning person.

Connect with A.M. on her website, Facebook, or on Twitter.

MICHELLE LEONARD retired from engineering after developing the world’s first commercial blue LEDs with a dream team of engineers at Cree Inc. She lives in North Carolina with her science-savvy husband, three inspiring daughters, and a border collie who hates numbers. Her young adult sci-fi short story IN A WHOLE NEW LIGHT, about a teen girl who uses technology to fight racism, is part of the BRAVE NEW GIRLS ANTHOLOGY: STORIES OF GIRLS WHO SCIENCE AND SCHEME. All proceeds from the anthology go to scholarships for young women through The Society of Women Engineers. Michelle is a member of SCBWI Carolinas and a bookseller at her local indie. You can also find her on Twitter and Instagram.