Maddie Mozley
Author of the McCades in Space series
Contact
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (505) 433-1727
Author Bios
Short:
Maddie Mozley writes middle-grade sci-fi where wonder meets grit, and hope prevails against impossible odds.
Medium:
Maddie Mozley writes middle-grade sci-fi where wonder meets grit, and hope prevails against impossible odds. When she’s not writing, Maddie serves as Dungeon Master for her children’s D&D campaign, practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and bakes oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that mysteriously vanish.
Long:
Maddie Mozley writes middle-grade sci-fi where wonder meets grit, and hope prevails against impossible odds.
As a homeschool parent, Maddie is always on the lookout for great reads for her kids. With her background as an editor and writer, and with her deep love for all things sci-fi and fantasy, she decided to write them books herself. Complete with starships, daring adventure, and real science that feels almost like magic.
When she’s not writing, Maddie serves as Dungeon Master for her children’s D&D campaign, practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and bakes oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that mysteriously vanish.
Keep up with her current projects and join her author mailing list at MaddieMozley.com.
Current Book
Seraph’s Flight – A Middle-Grade Science Fiction Adventure
A brother and sister search for their missing mom across a distant planetary system where being a child is outlawed.
The powerful Corp outlawed children long ago, but ten-year-old Kieran McCade and his younger sister Tallulah were born anyway. When the siblings discover their missing mother is alive and being hunted by the Corp, they convince their dad to dust off their grounded starship and launch a daring rescue mission across the stars. The brave duo must learn to fly, recruit a crew, and outsmart a cunning Corp agent if they want to save their mom and keep their family together in a galaxy where their very existence is illegal.
Back Cover Blurb
In a world that forbids children, two kids will break every rule to find their mom.
Nothing exciting happens on Nebo, a tiny moon in the Avianis Dyad system. It’s home to Kieran and Tallulah McCade, a brother and sister who dream of being anywhere else, even though Dad says it isn’t safe. Even though their starship, Seraph, hasn’t flown in years.
The only thing they want more than adventure is their mom to return home. She disappeared a year ago on a mysterious trip to Kepler, a planet run by the powerful Corp, which has outlawed children.
Except Kieran and Tallulah were born anyway.
When a Corp bounty hunter comes looking for Mom, the McCades realize she might still be alive–and in terrible danger. The family flees aboard Seraph with new hope that they can bring her home.
The kids must dodge the Corp, recruit a crew, and find their mom. But first, they’ll have to learn how to even fly a starship to begin with.
ISBN: 978-1-952743-11-5
Publication Date (projected): August 3, 2026
Age Range: 8-12
Book excerpt
Read an excerpt from Chapter One of Seraph’s Flight HERE
Endorsements
“Seraph’s Flight delivers a gripping, hope-filled adventure with characters your family will see themselves in. Blending the world-building of Star Wars with the mood of Firefly, Seraph’s Flight will keep you—and your kids—on the edge of your seats. Ideal for middle-grade readers who crave sci-fi stories that spark imagination while honoring faith.”
— Samantha Rae Ortiz, Award-Winning Author of Behind the Veil
“A delightful family read full of suspense and heart, Seraph’s Flight invites young readers into a wondrous world with high-stakes adventure that’s sure to make their own imaginations take flight!”
— Glenn McCarty, author of the Tumbleweed Thompson Adventures
Resources
Discussion topics
- The Pro-Family Rebellion: Why Childhood is the Ultimate Act of Defiance
- Engineering Seraph‘s Flight: Weaving Realistic Science into High-Stakes Sci-Fi for Kids
- Beyond the “Chosen One”: The Power of Sibling-Led Adventures
- Faith in Sci-Fi: How Outer Space is the Ultimate Setting for Illustrating God’s Power
- The D20 Effect: Using DnD to Teach Your Children Life Skills
- The Professional Eye: 15 Years of Editing Secrets Every Author Needs to Know
- The Science of Safe Struggle: How BJJ Gives Kids a Place to Learn Resilience
Sample Interview Q&A
1. “Seraph’s Flight features a world where children are outlawed by a powerful corporation. Why did you choose such a high-stakes premise for a middle-grade audience?”
The McCade siblings in Seraph’s Flight represent a sense of wonder that terrifies the dystopian Corp so much that they try to suppress it. Yes, that’s high stakes, but it’s a valuable struggle to consider at any age. Childhood is the greatest blessing, and I want to assure kiddos of that and remind them that they have immense value just as they are. They often feel pressured to grow up as fast as possible. But there’s power in wonder, childhood, and family, and that’s what McCades in Space is all about.
2. “Most middle-grade adventures rely on a ‘lonely chosen one’ trope, but Kieran and Tallulah are sibling best friends. Why was it important for you to center this story on family dynamics?”
Many young readers have siblings, so they’ll already be familiar with the challenges Kieran and Tallulah face being on the same team. They’re the best of friends, but at times, they’re also one another’s biggest adversary (or at least, that’s what it feels like to them). It was important to me to show not only the struggles that siblings face between themselves, but how being a team makes them far stronger in facing struggles. I always remind my kids, “Your siblings are your very best friends in the whole wide world, for life.” Kieran and Tallulah give a picture of what that journey looks like.
3. “You have fifteen years of experience as a technical and book editor. How does that professional background influence the ‘realistic science’ and ship repairs we see aboard Seraph?”
Part of my editing experience was working as a technical editor with some brilliant scientists for over five years. I helped them write complex procedures, translating scientific jargon into understandable (but technically correct) language. That experience helped me find ways to make the hard science shown in Seraph’s Flight approachable for kids. In sci-fi for young readers, I think the “science” should feel like a natural part of the adventure rather than a classroom lesson.
4. “You’ve described your series as ‘hopeful realism.’ In a market full of dark dystopias, how do you help kids navigate real danger while still delighting in wonder?”
The key word here for me is “hope.” As an author, I started out writing post-apocalyptic sci-fi for adults. Those books are very dark, but I always threaded hope through the dark narrative. When I shifted to writing for kids, that dynamic was inverted—the books are incredibly hopeful, but there’s a thread of real danger running through them. Without hardship, there is no need for hope. Light shines brightest in the darkness. The reality is that life will be hard sometimes, and through McCades in Space, I want kiddos to understand that they can and should always choose hope.
5. “How does being a DM for your children’s DnD campaigns shape the way you write for kids?”
DnD is incredible for teaching empathy and problem-solving (two things you see the McCade children constantly exploring). When my kids and I play DnD together, I get to see where they’re struggling and where they’re shining. For example, when the big bad guy appears and starts an epic fight with them, how do they react? With courage? Recklessness? Despair? How can I help them overcome their fears as a DM? How can I encourage them to solve problems creatively? DnD gives me a sneak peek into their minds that I might not otherwise be privy to. After a session, I get to consider if/how some of what they’re currently feeling might also be what Kieran and Tallulah are dealing with on their adventure. I think my books have become more authentic as a result.
6. “You utilize a hybrid model of classical education where your children spend half their time at school and half at home. How does this ‘best of both worlds’ approach influence the way you portray ‘schooling’ and learning in a sci-fi setting?”
What I love about the hybrid model is that it allows the connection and comfort of home while still challenging kids to ‘go out’ into the world and use what they’ve learned. There’s time for learning at home, learning at school, and learning outside of both classrooms entirely with hands-on experiences. In McCades in Space, you see Kieran and Tallulah doing their lessons at the big table in their ship’s galley. They do math, theorize inventions, and learn Latin. But then, they also have their own areas of creative pursuits—Kieran with his engineering workshop, Tallulah with her art and gardening. I love the “whole man” approach of classical education, and I think you can see that in the way my characters learn.
7. “Kieran and Tallulah fly a rundown starship called Seraph. How did the ‘Space Western’ aesthetic of shows like Firefly influence the way you designed your ships and settings?”
I adore the worlds of Firefly, Guardians of the Galaxy, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, and more. These shows/movies have the organic, real-world frontier vibe juxtaposed with advanced technology, and I’ve just always loved that contrast. Part of my love for this aesthetic is that no matter the setting, no matter how advanced technology gets, we’re still imperfect, flawed humans trying our best to make sure we’re living a worthwhile life. The technology doesn’t stay perfect and shiny, and we have to make do with what we have. In Seraph’s Flight, Seraph herself is rusty and worn, but the McCades love their ship anyway because she’s “home.” That mashup of humanity and tech is fun to explore.
8. “As a DnD player and as a Dungeon Master for your own children, how does the collaborative nature of DnD affect the way you plot your novels?”
More than anything, DMing for my kids (and playing DnD in general) has helped me to be better at improvising as a storyteller! No matter how much you prepare as the DM, you can’t prepare for everything. You certainly can’t prepare for when your players shock you by charging into the dragon’s cave or making silly faces at the prison guard. When those unforeseen things happen, you have to pivot, making up NPC backstories and stat sheets on the fly. Now, when my characters do something unexpected, I’m better able to adjust than I used to be.
9. “Every ragtag sci-fi crew needs a guardian, and yours features a robot companion. What role does technology play in the McCade family’s survival against the Corp?”
Technology is used by both good guys and bad guys in the McCades in Space series. Think of a knife. It’s a valuable tool, but it can also be used for evil. Technology is much the same way, and that’s how it’s portrayed in the series. I also touch a bit on how humanizing technology like AI raises important questions, and many of those are explored throughout the series, especially through the lens of the McCades’ robot guardian, Selah.
10. “You ran a successful Kickstarter for Seraph’s Flight before it hit retail stores. How does involving your readers in the funding process change the way you interact with your fans?”
It was an absolute blast involving my readers from jump. In a world full of machine-written books and online separation of readers from human authors, Kickstarter gave us the opportunity to get to know one another, person to person. The collaboration Kickstarter facilitated also helped me to make sure that Seraph’s Flight would bless the people it’s intended to. They got to tell me through the campaign what they did and didn’t want for this series, and that’s invaluable.
Sample Previous Appearances
