Growing Toward the Light: Inside Millie Florence's "Beyond Mulberry Glen"

Read Clean YA with CJ Episode Thirty-Six

Welcome to another episode of Read Clean YA with C.J. Milacci, featuring middle-grade author Millie Florence discussing her upcoming fantasy novel, Beyond Mulberry Glen.

A captivating tale filled with heartwarming characters and an undertone of hope for readers of all ages.

Episode Show Notes below

Links to Things Discussed in this Episode

Beyond Mulberry Glen (Affiliate Link)

Millie’s Website

Growing Toward the Light: Inside Millie Florence's "Beyond Mulberry Glen"

Episode 36

Episode Show Notes:

Meet Millie Florence

At just 15 years old, Millie self-published her first fantasy novel. Now, through a chance elevator meeting with a publisher, Beyond Mulberry Glen is being republished by Waxwing Books (releasing January 7, 2025).

The Story

“Beyond Mulberry Glen is the story of 11-year-old Lydia Green, who lives in the magical realm of the Valleylands with her mismatched family of fairies and philosophers. Until one day… she hears about a mysterious force known as the Darkness that dwells within the forest Tenebrae.”

Themes: Growing Toward the Light

Using metaphors of plants and sunflowers, Millie explores:

Embracing growth while staying true to yourself
Finding your own pace in life
Facing darkness with hope
The journey of growing up

“Sunflowers constantly… turn to keep themselves facing toward the sun throughout the day. It takes effort, but they’re so much healthier and more vibrant if they do.”

Beyond Writing

When not crafting stories, Millie:

Acts in theater productions
Participates in English country dancing
Tackles escape rooms with her family
Goes hiking and camping
Cooks and bakes

Finding Inspiration

Millie finds story ideas in unexpected places:

“I think as we open our eyes to the creative world around us that God has designed, we can start to be inspired in unique and incredible ways.”

Connect with Millie Florence

Find her at:

Website: millieflorence.com
Social media: @Millie Florence Author
Newsletter signup (includes free copy of her first book Honey Butter)

Beyond Mulberry Glen releases January 7, 2025, from Waxwing Books.

For more clean YA and middle-grade book recommendations, tune in to Read Clean YA with C.J.

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Millie Florence

Author

Millie Florence’s earliest memories are of lying under the covers at night, whispering stories to herself long after her parents had told her to go to sleep. She published her first book, ‘Honey Butter’, at age 13 and hasn’t stopped since!

Millie lives in a picturesque blue house in the woods of southern Illinois. She loves adventure, good food, and just about all things yellow.

About Your Host

Award-winning author CJ Milacci writes stories for teens and young adults with heart-pounding action and hope. As the podcast host for Read Clean YA with CJ, she loves talking about books and the deeper themes woven into the pages of each novel. She’s passionate about crafting stories of good overcoming evil, finding hope in the midst of seemingly hopeless circumstances, and true acceptance.

Always willing to get real about hard issues, C.J. also enjoys the cheesiest of puns. She chats about writing, her faith, bubble tea, and other fun adventures online (@cjmilacci) and at cjmilacci.com.

CJ Milacci is the award-winning author of The Talionis Series, and she writes stories for teens and young adults with heart-pounding action and hope. As a referee, she’s always relearning the hard lesson that it’s impossible to make everyone happy, and she’s discovered that stories can be found anywhere, even on a lacrosse field. She’s passionate about crafting stories of good overcoming evil, finding hope in the midst of seemingly hopeless circumstances, and true acceptance.