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Jo Watson Hackl

Goodreads Author

Born

Biloxi, Mississippi, The United States

Website

https://johackl.com/

Twitter

JoHackl

Genre

Children's, Mystery

Member Since

November 2013

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I am the author of SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF MAYBE, which won the Southern Book Prize and is an Indie Next and Okra Pick. The book takes readers on an adventure with 12-year-old Cricket in an overgrown Mississippi ghost town as she tries to survive on her own and solve a clue trail left by an eccentric artist with a logic all his own, all to try to find a secret room that may or may not exist. Cricket must use her wits and just a smidgen of luck to live off the land and solve the clues. With the help of a poetry-loving dog, maybe, just maybe, she can do it. The book includes curriculum tie-ins to art, history, geography, literature, mathematics, and science. I am also the Founder of Outdoorosity.org, a free resource for inspiration and inf ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Jo Watson Hackl I take a walk outside in our woods and try to pay attention to each of my senses. Then I try to see the woods through the eyes of whichever character …moreI take a walk outside in our woods and try to pay attention to each of my senses. Then I try to see the woods through the eyes of whichever character has me most stuck.
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What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Jo Watson Hackl The best thing about being a writer is that you can learn really cool things like how to survive on your own in the woods and count it as research. Yo…moreThe best thing about being a writer is that you can learn really cool things like how to survive on your own in the woods and count it as research. You can follow your curiosity to anything that interests you and see if you can find a way to work it into your book. In addition to outdoor survival, some things that I love are the works of Leonardo da Vinci, the gorgeous scarlet tanager bird, ghost towns, dowsers, and art. Getting to plot out a clue trail with things I love it in was challenging but oh, so fun.(less)

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Jo Watson Hackl’s books

Average rating: 3.97 · 1,030 ratings · 250 reviews · 1 distinct work • Similar authors

Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe

3.97 avg rating — 1,030 ratings — published 2018 — 10 editions

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Jo Watson Hackl's Blog

Backyard Challenge #10

What kind of birds would you like to attract to your yard? Research bird feeders and bird food. Place a bird feeder outside your window, fill it with the best food for your area, and watch what happens. Identify the birds that come to the feeder in your Nature Journal.

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Published on September 11, 2020 06:26

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Jo’s Recent Updates

Jo Hackl is now friends with Cindy Campbell
Oct 31, 2025 06:43AM · like
Jo Hackl joined the group Middle Grade Madness!
Oct 31, 2025 06:42AM · like
Jo Hackl is now following A.A. Vacharat Author of This Moth Saw Brightness
Jul 22, 2025 04:29PM · like
Jo Hackl finished reading This Moth Saw Brightness by A.A. Vacharat (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Quotes by Jo Watson Hackl (?)

“Sometimes it's time to start taking chances on yourself”
― Jo Watson Hackl, Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe

tags: inspirational-quotes

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