This week I’m off to Nashville for the Public Library Association conference. I’m super excited for Stacey Abrams’s keynote (and sad that I’ll have to leave before Samantha Bee’s). Of course, I’m excited for the reception for the Indie Author Project winners. A bunch of us have connected online and it’ll be fun to meet at the event. I was hoping to leave my winter coat behind, but it’s going to be just as cold in Nashville as CT…oh well.
You can now purchase copies of ELIXIR BOUND, winner of Best YA for the Connecticut Author Project, with the award badge on it!
I’ve been working really hard on ELIXIR SAVED to get it ready for pre-order…just copyedits to go. I know I’ve been promising a cover reveal, but it’s really going to happen in March (I even created a video for it). Big thanks to Susan Tait Porcaro for once again creating a gorgeous image to represent my book.
There is also an old book of mine that is getting a second life this year! So keep an eye out for news on that…gold star for anyone who guesses what book I’m talking about.
I haven’t been reading much lately. I’ve only finished one book this year, though I’m in the middle of at least five books right now. I haven’t been writing either. The last drafting I did was in the fall, though I’ve been working through edits of ELIXIR SAVED, which, of course, are taking longer than expected as has everything with this story.
(If you’re curious about how an indie author differentiates between writing, revising, and editing, I’ll be blogging about my process later this year.)
So what have I been doing? I’ve been taking part in a few challenges. In January I did Storystorm, which was created by author Tara Lazar and is a brainstorming event where you come up with 30 story ideas in the 31 days of January. Are all my ideas winners? Definitely not, but I think there may be a few gems in there when I sort through them when I’m looking to start a new project.
This month, I’m doing Nonfiction Fest, presented by the Nonfiction Chicks and is a “month-long crash course in writing nonfiction for children.” I’ve been reading through the daily blogs, but I’m little behind in the daily challenges. I should have some time to catch up by the end of the month.
I like these types of challenges because it forces me to think about writing-related things every day, but they’re quick and you can do as much or as little as you want towards the challenge. For me, it’s not always about “winning” (i.e. completing every aspect of the challenge) but about learning and trying new things.
I’ve also been taking some time to celebrate ELIXIR BOUND for winning the Connecticut Author Project for Best YA Fiction. It’s not every day your book wins an award, so I’m trying to pause and enjoy it. I’ll be heading to Nashville later this month for the Public Library Association Conference where there will be a reception for all the Indie Author Project winners. My awesome cover artist Susan Tait Porcaro took the time to put the award badge onto the cover, so that version is now available (with a couple of small updates to the text as well, though the story is still the same…I might blog about this later, too).
I’ll be revealing the cover for ELIXIR SAVED soon, which I love so much, and was also created by the talented Susan Tait Porcaro. If you like Frozen 2, feminist matriarchal worlds, magical queens holed up in an ice palace in snowy woods, and epic quests, then you might just like ELIXIR SAVED. My goal is to get it up for pre-order in the next month or so…stay tuned for all that!
Finally, I’ve been working on planning some events. In addition to going to the PLA Conference, I’m scheduling local library events, I’ll probably be going to the New England SCBWI conference, and I’ve already booked a group Unworkshop retreat to the Highlights Foundation in the fall with my writing bestie Katlyn Duncan and a few other writers.
And of course, all the usual parenting stuff with the kiddos! I’m a room parent for both my kindergartner’s and 3rd-grader’s classrooms, so I get to help organize the parties. I’m coaching my 3rd-grader’s basketball team. And the usual story time at the library and such with my two-year-old. Busy times!
I’ve mentioned on the blog before how I’m not a big New Year’s resolution person. I always seem to be in the middle of things at the beginning the year and not in the right place to take stock and set new goals. And this year is no exception, as I’m deep in work to get ELIXIR SAVED published in the first quarter of this year. I do, however, enjoy taking a look back at what I’ve read.
My handy Goodreads 2019 Reading Challenge shows that it was a low year as far as the number of books I read, only 41, nine shy of the goal I set at the beginning of the year. That doesn’t count the hundreds of picture books I’ve read (and reread) throughout the year. It doesn’t bum me out that I missed my goal because it’s just a number I set at the beginning of the year that seems attainable. There have been years when I’ve adjusted my number up because I was so far ahead of my original goal.
There are lots of reasons why I had a slow reading year. I read aloud to the boys a lot, and as I mentioned, much of that reading doesn’t get counted. I also stopped nursing The Gentleman in early October, so that cut at least 15 minutes of guaranteed reading time a day for the remainder of the year, and those little stretches add up. And then there was the epic time suck of finishing up ELIXIR SAVED, which was totally worth cutting down on my reading time. I’m also in the middle of a bunch of books right now, so those will all count towards this year.
I read a couple of complete YA fantasy series that I really enjoyed: Stephanie Garber’s CARAVAL books and Holly Black’s The Folk of the Air series. The latter was a nice surprise because fae stories aren’t always my favorite, but all three books (I haven’t read book 1.5) were so fast-paced, I just flew right through them. I also finished up Jenny Han’s TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE series.
Finally big shout-outs to a couple of my fellow author friends that I read this year. I described Patrick Scalisi’s THE KEY TO THE UNIVERSE as “an intergalactic, intergenerational adventure that’s equal parts thrilling and philosophical.” I loved THE CITY OF VEILS by S. Usher Evans, winner of the Florida Indie Author Project for Best YA Fiction!
In what is becoming a Christmas Eve tradition on the blog, here’s my version of Clement Clarke Moore’s beloved “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” Love and solidarity to all you fellow parents getting ready for tomorrow. Happy holidays to you all from me and my cutie pies!
Mommy’s Night Before Christmas
by Katie L. Carroll
‘Twas the night before Christmas, the kids were in bed
Anxiously awaiting the Big Man in Red;
The stockings weren’t hung (we don’t have a chimney),
We just set them down in front of the TV.
Who am I kidding? The kids weren’t sleeping,
The baby was teething, drooling, and weeping;
The preschooler was playing with a million toys,
Driving his cars and making lots of noise.
Half an hour later, the baby passed out,
His brother went to bed (not without a good pout);
I let out a great big sigh of relief,
Then I looked around and thought, “Oh, good grief!”
The house was a mess, the laundry never-ending,
And there was still that ornament that needed mending.
At least we were done hiding that stupid elf,
Went back where he came from, him and his shelf;
Hours passed, we thought we were finally done;
We found more gifts, the fun had just begun;
We were out of wrapping paper and tape,
Reused gift bags put us back in good shape;
I sat down to relax, put my feet up,
Snuggled into a blanket with my tea cup;
A bang outside roused me to my feet,
I peeked out the curtains, looked down the street.
“I don’t think it’s the neighbors,” Daddy said;
“What? You think it’s Santa in his big sled?”
He went to check it out, shot me a look,
And told me to go back to reading my book;
A minute later, I heard a great yell,
And said under my breath, “What the hell?”
I put on my shoes, grabbed the monitor,
Slipped into a coat, and stomped out the door;
The clear winter night brought no Christmas snow,
Instead moonlight washed the yard in a soft glow;
Daddy stood there staring up at the roof;
I hissed, “What are you doing, you big doof?”
He merely pointed, his face full of fear,
And gave a soft whisper, “It’s a reindeer.”
Now, I haven’t believed since I was six,
Thought surely his eyes must be playing tricks;
Then I heard a stomping and a nicker
That made my heart beat a little quicker;
Looking up, I saw the brown muzzle, red nose,
The Fat Man himself, and I simply froze.
Daddy and I exchanged a look of wonder,
The shock could’ve put us six feet under;
I shook my head and came to my senses,
Glared at Santa, went on the offensive;
“Get off my roof, your reindeer too,” I hissed;
I glared at Santa, feeling really pissed;
He laughed, “Don’t end up on my naughty list.”
Clearly this guy wasn’t getting my gist.
“With all due respect, get the hell out of here;
If you wake my kids, you won’t see next year.”
Quiet as a shadow those reindeer took flight,
Santa whispered, “Merry Christmas and good night.”
Updated to add that here is the official announcement for the winners of the 2019 Indie Author Project awards.
A couple of weeks ago, I received an email that at first had me skeptical and then had me speechless. As someone who lists their email address directly on their website, usually when an email hits my inbox with a subject line referencing one of my books or being an author, they’re trying to sell me something. I tolerate those in order to keep communication channels open for readers, educators, and reviewers.
So when I saw on my phone this particular email from an address I didn’t know, I had the usual thoughts of it being a sales pitch. Then I actually read the email and I felt a strange buzzing sensation overcome me and render me speechless. ELIXIR BOUND, my YA fantasy that I self-published last year (after getting my rights back from the original publisher) had been selected by the Connecticut Indie Author Project as the winner in the YA fiction category!
The email went on to ask for a headshot and the book cover and explain that I would be getting badges to put on the cover. And it asked where to send the prize money! That’s when I started to get kind of light-headed and I called my husband to tell him the good news, all the while still kind of a in state of shock.
When I made the move to self-publishing, it was with a lot of excitement but also with a lot of trepidation. Would people think I was self-publishing because my books weren’t good enough to be traditionally published? Was I reducing my chances of ever getting traditionally published? Would I ever find an audience doing this myself? Some days it’s hard not to think I’m toiling away in obscurity, putting hours and hours and hours of energy and heart into these books with very little external validation.
That’s not to say I don’t recognize the wonderful support I’ve gotten from readers who have found my books, from local libraries and organizations, and from my family and friends. I appreciate every single person who has played some part in my journey as an author. But, yeah, those darker thoughts creep up and make me wonder if I’m wasting my time.
So to have an organization like the Indie Author Project, whose goal is to connect indie authors to libraries and readers, in conjunction with BiblioBoard and Library Journal recognize my work…well, that just helps to quiet all those doubts and let the good thoughts shine through. That what I do matters, that being in this for the long haul will hopefully pay off, that I am putting out quality work.
It looks like the winners haven’t been announced on the website yet, but my local librarian congratulated me when I stopped by the library last week, so I figure that makes it official enough to announce it here.
