Author: Katie L. Carroll (Page 1 of 142)

Out with the New; In with the Old!

February 12, 2026 / Katie L. Carroll / 0 Comments

The last few years, I’ve come up with a word or phrase for the year instead of a resolution. I know most people do this in January, but last month was really busy, so I’m just getting to it now. This year’s phrase is “out with the new; in with the old!” (And no, I didn’t write that wrong.)

Every January, I do Storystorm, which is a brainstorming activity created by author Tara Lazar. My critique group and I read the daily prompts and type our ideas (not always related to the prompts) into a shared document where we can comment on them. It’s a really fun way to kick off the year with creativity.

Only this year, I was struggling to think of any new ideas. Part of that was because I was deep in revision mode on a novel, so I was singularly focused rather than in brainstorming mode. I also kept thinking about ideas from past years that I haven’t yet pursued. There’s a lot of good stuff in my backlog of ideas!

Finally, I was preoccupied with learning about octopuses (not octopi as I’ve learned). I’ve been working on a new picture book about an octopus and was reading all the books about the cephalopods. One particularly good nonfiction one was Octopus Ocean: Genuises of the Deep by Mark Leiren-Young.

That got me thinking about the phrase, “out with the old; in with the new.” It fits our modern society with our short attention spans, disposability of goods, and a desire for all things new and shiny. But I haven’t been feeling that way, so I decided to flip the phrase.

This year, I’ll be taking a look back at the old things. Old ideas. Old hobbies. Old hopes and dreams. I have lots of good old things that have been waiting in the wings for my attention. This is the year to give them that attention.

And while I may replace things that are truly worn out (I’m looking at you, my old handbag whose strap is about to break), I’m going to be thinking twice before going all-in on anything new. This phrase may also be a reflection on being a middle-aged woman, but that’s a post for another day.

Do you have a word, phrase, goal, or resolution for this year? I’d love to hear it!

Pushing Back Against the Hustle Culture as an Author

November 11, 2025 / Katie L. Carroll

It’s been awhile. I know. I’ve thought about posting, and I have many topics I’d love to write about, but things come up and more things come up…and here we are. Me posting about not posting.

A view of a tree-lined yard from a hammock. The book When the World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson nestled into the hammock, a thumb just visible from a hand holding the book.

Part of that is a deliberate choice, despite the fact that I think of you often. Some of you have been with me from the beginning of my blogging journey. This was the first place on the Internet that I expressed myself in writing. I like keeping in touch with you, albeit in a one-sided kind of way.

Here’s the thing: I’ve grown weary of the hustle. I got my very first job when I was nine, delivering newspapers door-to-door to my neighbors. Then it was baby-sitting, cashier at the local hardware store, physical therapy assistant, puzzle magazine editor, and author. Not to mention parenting three kiddos, which I wouldn’t call a job so much as an all-hands-on-deck contact sport that involves advanced logistics.

I’m at a point in my life where I’m seriously evaluating where my time and energy go. And go they do…at a more rapid rate than I care for. I’ve also come to appreciate the impact of working locally and making a bigger impact there, not only as an author but as an activist.

And it’s not just about time and energy. Pushing back against hustle culture in a world that only seems to value capitalistic ventures feels revolutionary. I don’t make a living on my writing. Most authors don’t make a living off their writing. The system isn’t set up for us to be successful at financially supporting ourselves (see “Authors Guild of America Author Income Survey Seems to confirm ALLi Author Income Findings”).

So I’m writing what I want, on a timeline of my choosing. I’m lucky I get to make this choice, and I’m publicly recognizing my privilege here. I’ll post here when I feel like it, I’ll send off my author newsletter when it feels important to do so, and I’ll post on social media as it suits me. Take that hustle culture!

I’ll also be reading, taking walks, gardening, volunteering in my kids’ schools, fulfilling my role on the Library Board, speaking out against books bans and other injustices. You’ll see some of that online but not most of it.

In the meantime, here are some old posts on topics that are still relevant:
“Heartstopper by Alice Oseman Should Not Be Banned From Middle School Libraries”
“A Guide to Standing Up to Book Bans for Banned Books Weeks”
“Young Adult Literature Should 100% Be For Teens”
“What Nonfiction Picture Books Teach Us About How Rich A Billionaire Is”
“Let’s Stop the Billionaires from Controlling Space Exploration”

Christmas in August with Mommy’s Night Before Christmas Audiobook!

August 2, 2025 / Katie L. Carroll

The cover of Mommy's Night Before Christmas, written by Katie L. Carroll and illustrated by Phoebe Cho. The illustration shows a woman with a messy bun and a coat on her shoulders standing outside the door of a house with Christmas lights. She is looking up at Santa and his reindeer silhouetted in the moonlight.

I know it’s usually Christmas in July, but I’m making it Christmas in August this year with a picture book special and a Middle Grade Back to School Bundle.

That’s because my picture book Mommy’s Night Before Christmas, illustrated by Phoebe Cho, is coming to audiobook this holiday season! Even more exciting is that I’ll be doing the narration myself because this book was very much written from personal experience and I’ve always enjoyed reading it aloud.

Some of you longtime readers may remember that Mommy’s Night Before Christmas started out as a poem that used to appear on my blog every year. It was quite the journey from that initial burst of inspiration when I was a very mom with two young kiddos to it coming out as a picture book. This will be my first time narrating an audiobook, so it’s a whole new adventure for me and Mommy’s Night Before Christmas.

The cover of the picture book Daddy's 12 Days of Christmas, written by Katie L. Carroll and illustrated by Phoebe Cho. The illustrated cover shows a family with two dads and their five diverse kids. They are dressed in winter coats on a snowy landscape, and they hold music books as they sing Christmas carols.

To celebrate, the ebook of both Mommy’s Night Before Christmas and my other Christmas picture book Daddy’s 12 Days of Christmas, also illustrated by Phoebe Cho, will be on sale for $2.99 for the month of August. My next goal for 2026 is to create a musical audiobook of Daddy’s 12 Days of Christmas since that is a sing-along book.

To keep the celebration going, my upper middle novel Witch Test is in a bundle with five other middle grade novels. From August 11th – 17th, you can get all six books for just $8.00. You can find the Middle Grade Back to School Bundle at this link, but bookmark it because the link won’t be live until the sale starts on the 11th.

Chalkboard background with text that reads "Middle Grade Back to School Bundle! August 11 - August 17, Only $8 USD for 6 Great Reads!" Six book covers are underneath the text for the books Witch Test by Katie L. Carroll, Goblin Girl by K.A. Mielke, The Berge Sisters Tour the Neitherswarth by JL DuRona, The Young Necromancer's Guide to Ghosts by Vanessa Ricci-Thode, Bad Grains by Susanne Schmidt, and River of Crows by N.P. Thompson.

Have you noticed I haven’t released any new books yet this year? I’ve been working on a lot of things, including an adult cozy dystopian series that will have four books. Yes, you read that right, an adult series! I’m also working on a few picture book things that I may have news on soon. But maybe nothing brand-new this year, which be the first year I won’t have anything new in many years…since 2020, I think. Wow, that’s a long streak.

It’s been a busy year personally, and this fall is no exception. My oldest kiddo will be starting high school, my middle kiddo will be starting middle school, and my youngest is going into 3rd grade. That’s three different schools with three different start and end times. Plus, they all play soccer in the fall. It’s a much different busy than when they were little and I wrote my silly poem about being a mom on Christmas, but it’s busy all the same.

A graphic with the book cover of ONLY DARK EDGES by Katie L. Carroll with a background of a stormy sky and sea. The book cover shows a girl with auburn hair flying around her face in the wind, a stormy sky and sea behind her. Text reads, "Beware the Storm! We Were Liars meets You've Reached Sam in this modern-day Hamlet retelling. Sale $1.99"

Summer Reading & Book Deals 2025

July 7, 2025 / Katie L. Carroll

A person in a hammock, holding the book When the World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson. A yard of trees in the background. — The hammock is one of my favorite summer reading spots!

How’s your summer reading going? I’m usually a mood reader, meaning I don’t really plan my reading lists ahead, rather I read whatever I’m in the mood for. This summer, however, I’ve decided to make a list and see if I stick to it. No promises!

The month of July is my birthday month, so I’ve decided to celebrate by putting all my novels on sale! ONLY DARK EDGES, my modern-day Hamlet retelling is $1.99 all month long on all ebook platforms, including directly from me on the Purchase Books page. If you’ve been watching the TV show adaptation of We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, ONLY DARK EDGES will devastate you in all the same ways.

My five other novels are 50% (that’s $2.49 each) on Smashwords for the month of July! Choose from My YA fantasies ELIXIR BOUND and ELIXIR SAVED, the YA dystopian thriller BLACK BUTTERFLY, and the middle grade books PIRATE ISLAND and WITCH TEST.

After finally having conquered the ability to read audiobooks (see “Long-Awaited Update on Training My Brain to Read Audiobooks”), I’m right on track with my reading goals for the year. I’ll be doing a bit of traveling in July, which should give me some time to conquer my summer reading. I’ll also be working on revising my first ever adult novel, a cozy dystopian that I plan on releasing this fall, so keep an eye out for more about that. If you subscribe to my newsletter, you’ve already gotten a sneak peek at the cover. Busy, busy as always over here!

I’d love to hear what’s on your summer reading list this year, so please feel free to share in the comments.

Long-Awaited Update on Training My Brain to Read Audiobooks

May 20, 2025 / Katie L. Carroll

If you’ve been around here for awhile, you may remember my post “Training My Brain to Read Audiobooks,” written way back in 2019. It’s been a long time, but I’ve finally cracked the code on successfully reading audiobooks! For my brain, at least. No guarantees my strategies will help you if you struggle with audiobooks, but maybe it’ll give you some ideas to try.

Why did it take so long for me to figure out how to read an audiobook? I had to figure out what worked for my brain, and that was hard to do. I tried all kinds of things–like changing playback speeds and listening to shorter form works and podcasts–to try to and get used to listening to stories. But when it came to novels, I just couldn’t pay attention. I would get about 5 minutes into a listening session and then my mind would start to wander.

Enter last Memorial Day weekend! My oldest son and I had a long car ride to a soccer tournament. In an effort to keep him from playing on his phone to entire time, we decided to pass the time with an audiobook. He had recently read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which is one of my favorite books, so we decided to try it out as an audiobook. We didn’t have enough time to listen to the whole thing, but I decided to try and finish it when we got home. And I was finally able to read an entire novel-length audiobook!

@katielcarrollauthor
Really enjoying walking and reading audiobooks during my kids’ soccer practices. Today, I was listening to Starling House by Alix E. Harrow. #audiobooks #walking #momswhoread #soccermom
♬ Dreaming of Mountains – Placidity

Turns out, driving engaged my brain just the right amount to also allow it to pay attention to an audiobook. This keyed me into the fact that I can’t try and be totally engaged in the audiobook; I have to engage my brain/body just enough to keep my mind from wandering. Now I read audiobooks while walking, cooking, doing dishes, gardening, and folding laundry.

It also helped that it was a book I knew well. That way if my mind did wander for a minute, I didn’t have to stop and relisten to what I missed. I could just keep moving forward because there was nothing new for me to miss.

I stuck with rereads for awhile, finishing up the Hunger Games series and moving on to other favorite books. Eventually, I felt comfortable moving into books that were 100% new to me. Now, a year later, I’m pretty much always in the middle of an audiobook. And it’s made cooking dinner each night a lot less tedious, sometimes even to the point where I’m looking forward to my cooking/reading time!

@katielcarrollauthor
My picture book The Bedtime Knight makes for a great bedtime story. It’s about facing fears and turning them into not-so-scary things. Available in paperback, ebook, and now as an audiobook! #picturebook #thebedtimeknight #bedtimestory #readaloud #audiobook #kidsaudiobooks
♬ original sound – Katie L. Carroll Author Shop

If you have children that love audiobooks, my picture book The Bedtime Knight, illustrated by Erika Baird, is part of an Audiobooks for Children promotion. Here’s the time if reached #1 and earned an orange banner on Amazon! It’s available on all different audiobooks platforms, including many libraries via Hoopla.