From Poetry to Prose: One Writer’s Journey into Middle Grades Fiction

Poetry has been good to me over the years: I’ve authored five collections of it over the last two and a half decades, received my fair share of awards and recognitions, and been interviewed by a variety of literary venues. So why, after twenty-five years of reasonable success in poetry, did I decide to write a middle-grades novel? Here's From Poetry to Prose: One Writer’s Journey into Middle Grades Fiction, and how Vidge Floyd came to be.

Vidge Floyd, by award-winning poet John Davis, Jr., is a neurodivergent hero whose obsession with CB and HAM radios leads to crime-solving, intrigue, and adventure.

The answer begins several summers ago. My two sons were nine and twelve, and school was out. Typically, our family takes one week-long vacation somewhere, and the rest of the summer is devoted to reading, swimming, kayaking, and a host of other Floridian family activities. This one summer was different, however. I’d tried to find a new series for my boys to read and share, and I was having trouble.

We’d been through several classics: Treasure Island, The Yearling, and The Hardy Boys, to name a few. They’d both been exposed to Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, Holes by Louis Sachar, and a tremendous series called The Dreamhouse Kings by Robert Liparulo. But now, something had changed. Our trips to the library were growing less exciting because the selections for boys their ages were slim. Many of the books were preachy, containing some kind of overt moral or political message at the price of plot, characterization, and overall reading engagement. My boys scowled.

“Dad,” they said, “can’t you just write us something?”

Challenge accepted. For many years prior, I’d been pondering the creation of a neurodivergent protagonist. I’d taught at an international boarding school for students with various learning differences including autism (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, dysgraphia, and a broad array of other diagnoses. These students were inspirational. Despite challenges, they gave their everything to my classes, and their lives beyond the classroom on our 77-acre campus were often filled with unexpected adventures. Some of my greatest memories as a teacher come from that place, that time.

Before I was a teacher, I’d been a newspaper reporter, and before that, I’d been a neighborhood snoop. Some of my adolescent interests involved using police scanners and CB radios. I knew things about our town and neighbors that few teenagers would have cared about: who’d been arrested, where the latest car crashes occurred, whose house burned down. This acquisition of semi-dark knowledge eventually motivated me toward journalism, where I could use writing and investigation skills together.

. . . the decision-makers at Amazon ranked the book number one among new releases in their Parenthood and Children Fiction category

Fast-forwarding about 15 years, I combined my love of teaching neurodivergent learners and my experience with surveillance technology by developing a character who allowed me to leverage both: Harrison “Vidge” Floyd. A nosy teen of the nineties in small-town Florida, his electronic obsessions take him into situations and places he can’t quite handle, and his neurodivergence complicates things, as well. All these factors combine to create an action-packed coming-of-age story and episodic mystery. I had no idea that the story would go beyond the four walls of my home, though.

When Wayward Writers Press accepted the manuscript for Vidge Floyd and the Secret Frequencies, I was surprised and ecstatic. Here was this personal project I’d done mostly for fun and family, and it was turning into a real book. I also had no idea that it would receive such a warm initial reaction: reviewers and fellow authors called it “powerful” and “heroic.” Vidge, the story’s narrator and protagonist, was found “endearing.” Best of all, my sons and my wife got to see this tale I’d woven turn into an authentic product.

Then, the decision-makers at Amazon ranked the book number one among new releases in their Parenthood and Children Fiction category. News of that achievement spread, and the book gained steam. All of this was unusual and wonderful and bewildering to someone whose prior books received a kind but quiet reception in the literary community.

Poetry continues to be my first love, and I write it regularly. But these days, poetry’s tools also allow me to create vivid, cinematic fiction. After all, the imagery and sound that go into stanzas are equally at home in prose. They just get used differently.

I’m still navigating how to be a fiction author, and I’m still reckoning with a different genre’s commercial demands. But I’m happy to be in this strange, exciting place. Like Vidge himself, I’m learning as I grow, and the lessons so far have been rewarding.

Award-winning poet and novelist, John Davis Jr.

John Davis Jr. is the author of the middle-grades adventure novel Vidge Floyd and the Secret Frequencies (Wayward Writers Press, 2025) and five poetry collections. He has received many literary awards including the Florida Book Awards Bronze Medal and the 2021 Sidney Lanier Poetry Prize. His writings are published in literary journals throughout the South and around the world. He teaches English and Literature in the Tampa Bay area.

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