Category: Events (Page 2 of 17)

MOMMY’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Katie L. Carroll, illustrated by Phoebe Cho, Releases!

October 25, 2022 / Katie L. Carroll

I’m so excited (and only a little bit exhausted) to celebrate another book release. Welcome to the world MOMMY’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS! This began as a spark of an idea in this tired mom’s brain one night shortly before Christmas. It lived for many years as an annual post on my blog until I finally decided to make it into an actual book.

The process of looking for an illustrator, landing with the amazing Phoebe Cho, and having the story illustrated was so rewarding. Phoebe’s style has just the right amount of nostalgia for a retelling of a classic but also the modern take I was searching for. And the way she brought the characters to life is truly magical!

I’m going live today at noon (ET) on Tiktok for a reading of the book. In the meantime, here’s a peek at a few of the pages.

I’ve mentioned how I believe adults should read picture books whether or not they have children to read them to (see my post “Picture Book Recommendations for Adults”), and MOMMY’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS is definitely a picture book that is as much for adults as it is for the kids.

Buy signed copies on the Purchase Books page, or find it at Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Kobo, or Book Depository (for international folks), and more!

‘Twas the night before Christmas…

In this humorous take on the classic Christmas poem by Clement C. Moore, the concept of the serene night before Christmas is turned on its head. Instead of visions of sugar plums, the children are teething and playing loudly. There are presents to be wrapped and ornaments to be mended. Just when Mommy and Daddy take a moment to relax, a noise outside alerts them to a surprise visitor. But Mommy’s determined not to let anyone–not even Santa Claus himself–disturb the sleeping children on Christmas Eve.

Children and parents alike will be entertained and delighted by this new classic Christmas story! The perfect gift for all the moms who make Christmas so special.

New England SCBWI Conference Gems 2022

May 19, 2022 / Katie L. Carroll

This year’s New England SCBWI conference was yet again in a digital format, but just like in 2021 (see those conference highlights here), it was a weekend full of inspiration and community. As is my tradition, I’m sharing some conference gems here on the blog.

Since I was presenting both an intensive workshop on self-publishing (reminder to check out my Self-Publishing Reources) and leading an Ask-a-Mentor session, I wasn’t able to attend as many live sessions as I normally do. One of the advantages of the digital format is that the sessions were recorded, so I’ve been catching as many as I can before the viewing period is up.

Jane Yolen, author of over 400 books and founding member of the New England SCBWI, is a staple at the annual conference. She kicked off the conference with her words of wisdom. Her first dinosaur book, illustrated by Mark Teague, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight took 20 minutes to write and her book Owl Moon, illustrated by John Schoenherr, took 20 years. She encouraged everyone to go and find the time to write, make the time to write, steal the time to write.

Heidi E.Y. Stemple and Rajani LaRocca engaged in a conversation that offered insight and advice into staying creative. Heidi said to know your process and trust your creative brain. She admitted that a creative block can be scary, but if you believe in yourself and trust your process, you can get through it. Rajani said to “follow the dopamine” when writing and to “find that thing that makes you light up and hold on to that.”

In a workshop on work-for-hire, Rebecca Allen and Meg Thacher shared many insights on best practices in this particular field of children’s writing. One suggestion was to be comprehensive in selecting your genres and age ranges so you don’t limit the projects you’re eligible for. They reminded writers that you can always say no to an opportunity if it doesn’t fit your schedule or writing interests.

Looking not so professional in the social rooms

I always enjoy the evening social rooms. I stayed up later than I intended on Saturday night catching up with my fellow NESCBWI kidlit friends and meeting a few new ones. It seems I always end up dressing up like a pirate (it is on brand for my middle grade book Pirate Island). Last year, I donned my actual pirate hat, but this year I opted for a filter. I think I pulled off the 5 o’clock shadow!

Tara Lazar, founder of the idea-generating Storystorm, presented a very funny keynote filled with memes. She made the mistake of sending out stuff too early (haven’t we all!) and had to learn how publishing worked before finding success.

Illustrator John Parra offered up an insight that particularly resonated with me as I work on developing my illustration skills. He said to make sure your supplies are out and not in a closet. He reminded us that procrastination is not an artist’s friend. His words have inspired me to start setting up a space where I have easier access to my art supplies.

Padma Venkatraman in her session “STARRY-EYED: Looking at a story through different lenses” asked these questions when thinking about point-of-view in your story: What’s best for this story? Whose story is this? How do I want my reader to feel?

What has inspired your writing lately?

World Wide Writeathon Fundraiser & NESCBWI Conference Registration

March 18, 2022 / Katie L. Carroll

Lots of irons in the fire going on here! I’ll be making a very exciting book announcement soon, so stay tuned for that. I’m also getting very close to being able to share illustration and cover news for my upcoming picture book MOMMY’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. I also have a lot of book release news cooking for next year (I know it’s only March, but publishing thinks ahead!).

Today, I’m highlighting two upcoming events that are of interest to fellow writers. Tomorrow, Saturday, March 19, 2022, at 10 a.m. (ET), you can join me, Julie Zantopoulos, Katlyn Duncan, and Amber McManus for the World Wide Writeathon Fundraiser Sprint. Grab you WIP and get some work done with us!

The charity for the sprint is Rescue.org and our fundraiser will help the fleeing families of the Ukraine. Learn more about the charity here: https://help.rescue.org/donate/ukraine-acq.

The second event is the New England SCBWI 2022 Regional Conference , which takes place April 29 – May 1, 2022. Registration opens today! The theme is “find your star, let it shine.” This conference is once again virtual, so you can attend from anywhere (and in your pajamas if you’d like).

I’ll be teaching an intensive workshop called “What to Expect When You’re Self-Publishing.” I’m really excited to share what I’ve learned about this booming sector of the publishing world and give attendees a guide to start their own self-publishing journey.

There are a ton of other amazing workshops and keynotes from a distinguished group of kidlit creators, including Jane Yolen, Padma Venkataraman, Tara Lazar, Heidi Stemple, Rajani LaRocca, and John Parra. Check out all the workshop options, faculty bios, and registration on the NESCBWI conference page.

You can always check out my Events page for all my upcoming author events and don’t forget you can now buy ebooks and signed print books directly from me on my Purchase Books page. What have you been working on lately?

Ebook Redistribution and Author Updates

February 28, 2022 / Katie L. Carroll

Quick announcement about ebook availability. I’m redoing how I distribute some of my ebooks, so there’s a chance those titles won’t be available on some retailers for a limited time. I am now selling all my ebooks directly on my Purchase Books page, where you can also order signed paperbacks, and none of those listings will be affected. The Amazon listings also shouldn’t be affected, so you can find them there as well.

Is it just me or is this year quickly flying by in a big ball of stress? Let me be honest on here for a second (I’m always pretty honest here), I have felt very stressed out this year. The world is feeling ugly and I’m constantly worried about keeping my family healthy, and I’m guessing I’m not the only one feeling this way. It makes it hard to focus, so I keep telling myself writing books for young people is always important–maybe even more so in trying times.

So I’ve been doing my best to take the moments I have for work and keep my head down to make the most of them. Still, I’ve hardly written anything new this year. I have so many solid ideas waiting in the wings. Lots of projects in the works, though. One of these weeks, I’m going to dig into revisions of that NaNoWriMo book of mine, the young adult Hamlet-inspired tale of a teen mourning the loss of her sister. Here’s a little mood board I put together for it.

The illustrations for my upcoming picture book MOMMY’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS are coming along. Soon I’ll be able to share some of what the very talented illustrator Phoebe Cho has been working on for that book. I’m also working on fun marketing and release details for the October publish date.

Events for 2022 are coming along as well. I have a few writing workshops lined up to teach, and I’m hoping to have some in-person books events and festivals lined up for when the weather warms up. I recently did a virtual author visit for my son’s 5th-grade class, and they wrote me the sweetest thank-you letters, many of them sharing the story ideas they came up during the guided writing exercise I did with them.

Believe it or not, I’m making publishing plans for 2023 already. I have one other book that might come out this year and even more planned for next year. So I guess it’s okay that I haven’t been writing much. I’m working…in between sick days and snow days and stressing out about war. Also taking a moment to appreciate how lucky I am…always important to practice gratitude.

What’s on your mind lately? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

The Magic of a Highlights Foundation Writing Retreat

November 29, 2021 / Katie L. Carroll

Quick reminder that there are just a couple of days left to get 10% my entire catalogue of books using code NOVEMBER10. Just go to the Purchase Books page and I’ll ship them directly to you. All books are signed with an option to personalize, and all purchases come with fun book swag!

For those of you who have been followers of my blog for awhile, you may remember the last time I went to the Highlights Foundation or a writing retreat and wrote “Highlights Foundation Unworkshop: A Little Creepy, A Lot Productive.” My writing friend Katlyn Duncan and I enjoyed it so much, we scheduled one for the following fall.

Then COVID happened and we had to put the trip on hold, but we finally made back early this month! And it was amazing!!! Yes, amazing with three exclamation points.

With this retreat scheduled for early November and me just starting a draft of my latest young adult novel, all the stars aligned for me to attempt National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo (for short) occurs in November and a bunch of writers attempt to draft a book (i.e. write 50,000 words) in 30 days. It’s an intense experience, and one I was not in a position to attempt in recent years.

This year, I stayed in Cooper’s Cottage, which was a bright and airy cabin full of Floyd Cooper’s illustrations and with a view of the hiking path. It was not haunted, though one of the other writers I was on the retreat with stayed in my old cabin, and (spoiler alert) that one is still haunted. I actually didn’t write much in my cabin because I was retreating with three other writers this year and we mostly wrote in common spaces or in one of the other cabins (but not the haunted one!).

As I said, it was an amazing trip, and I highly recommend a Highlights retreat for all of you creative types. I wrote a ton of words and set myself up for successfully completing my NaNoWriMo challenge (as of November 28 when I’m writing this, I’m at 47, 250 words for the month and on track to finish on time). There’s much to be said of having everything taken care of for you so you have the brain space to only think of writing.

As a teaser for what I’m working on, I composed this poem in the Highlights word garden. As you can see, it’s kind of an intense story, but I’m really pleased with how it’s coming out. Though there will be a ton of revisions to come.

dark and light
scream within
the storm
Katie L. Carroll

My retreat mates are all vloggers, so you can check out their videos about the experience below. I kind of hate making videos myself, so I’ll be sticking to this old blog for now.