Category: Family (Page 2 of 27)

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.

Exciting News About Mommy’s Night Before Christmas

December 23, 2021 / Katie L. Carroll

October 2022 Update: If you this poem, check out the newly revised and illustrated picture book MOMMY’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Katie L. Carroll and illustrated by Phoebe Cho.

Available now from Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Kobo, and more! Find signed copies on the Purchase Books page.

This is normally the week where I share “Mommy’s Night Before Christmas,” my parody of Clement C. Moore’s poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” Unfortunately I’m not doing that this year because I’ve done a slight revision in anticipation of it becoming a picture book! (Don’t worry, you can still enjoy the old version here.)

I’m currently working with an illustrator for a fall 2022 release. So keep an eye out for more news on this!

In the meantime, I want to wish all of you a peaceful rest of the holiday season. I know there’s a lot that makes this time of year stressful, especially these last couple of years, so it is my wish for you all to find the calm in the storm whenever you can. Health and happiness in the New Year!

Mommy’s Night Before Christmas by Katie L. Carroll

December 21, 2020 / Katie L. Carroll

October 2022 Update: If you love this poem, check out the newly revised and illustrated picture book MOMMY’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Katie L. Carroll and illustrated by Phoebe Cho.

Available now from Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and more! Find signed copies on the Purchase Books page.

I think we could all use a good laugh to end this year, so I’m breaking out my parody of Clement C. Moore’s “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” It has become something of a tradition to post this each year. I’ll be posting about my newest book, the picture book THE BEDTIME KNIGHT (you can find more about it on my picture book page), and a reading round-up when I return to blogging in 2021. In the meantime, Happy Holiday and wishing you all the best in the New Year!

‘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.”

New School Year & New Book Teaser

September 1, 2020 / Katie L. Carroll

First off, I know a lot schools started back this week (in one form or another), so I wanted to send good wishes out to all the teachers, parents, and students embarking on this new school year. My kids don’t start until next week, and I’m having a lot of feelings about it, many of which I’m keeping close to the chest because I want to stay as positive as possible for the kiddos. I wrote a post about change back in 2015 and find much of it is relevant to the year 2020.

This was the school year where all three kiddos were supposed to have some form of formal schooling. The year where I would have a little more time to write. The fact that this isn’t happening is a small thing in comparison to a lot of other problems, but I’m still trying to allow myself to feel some resentment about it without wallowing. I’ve had a ton of writing ideas lately, so at least my creativity is flowing again.

In bookish news, I have a secret project I’ve been working on. Some of you may already know this one, and it’s getting a second life! It’s a project I’ve been working on in the in-between spaces. I was stuck on it for a little bit, but now that I’ve solved a particular problem, it’s well on its way. I don’t have the timeline pinned down yet for a release. Maybe I’ll just do a surprise release with it whenever it’s done.

Here’s an adorable teaser image for it that I cannot take credit for as it was done by an illustrator. I’ll let you know all the details soon!

What have you all been up to lately?

Celebrating Book Birthdays and Baby Birthdays All Week Long

July 13, 2020 / Katie L. Carroll

With ELIXIR SAVED releasing tomorrow and three family birthdays this week, it’s all about books and birthdays on the blog (say that three times fast!). Stop by tomorrow for the official ELIXIR SAVED launch video…where I may have taken the idea of a book birthday a little too far.

On Wednesday, I’ll be on author Kai Strand’s blog talking about my biggest challenge in writing book 2 (I cheated a little on this one and wrote about two things that challenged me). Then here on Friday, I have an author interview with Estelle Laure, whose book MAYHEM shares a book birthday with ELIXIR SAVED.

There will more fun on the blog the rest of July. Next week, you can take a quiz (don’t worry, it’s only 7 questions and there are no wrong answers) to find out what element fuels your magic. And then some posts about the process of writing ELIXIR SAVED. If you have any questions about the writing process or any of my books, drop them in the comments and I’ll answer them here on the blog.

Today, though, is all about birth stories. I’ve shared here on the blog the exciting birth stories of my first two kiddos, one of whom was born during a hurricane (check out “A Beautiful Life Is Born”) and the other who was almost born in the car (check out “The Precipitous Birth of Baby Boy #2”). When I went looking for a post about the third kiddo’s birth story, I realized I never wrote it up (such is the way of parenthood after the first couple of kids), all I found was a post called “Summer 2017 in Pictures – All About Adjusting” with me saying his birth story will get up on the blog eventually.

The Gentleman (kiddo #3) came in an equally exciting way as the other two. The only reason we made it in time to the hospital was because we knew from the very quick birth of kiddo #2 to head there at the very first sign of labor. We still never made it to labor and delivery, and he was born in one of the tiny triage rooms before my doctor made it to the hospital. This was despite the several warnings my husband and I gave them about how our previous baby was born in one of those same triage rooms and maybe they should go ahead and send me to labor and delivery. It all worked out in the end, and that’s the important thing.

Turns out my own birth story was rather exciting as well. My dad worked for the local newspaper at the time and wrote about it in his column. My parents didn’t have health insurance, so when my mom went into labor at about 9:00 p.m., she decided to try and labor at home until midnight to avoid the extra night’s charge. The hospital was down the road from our house, so they almost decided to walk but got a ride from my aunt at the last minute. My mom was admitted at 12:01 a.m. (with my dad double-checking the time on the paperwork) and I was born at 1:03 a.m. I guess quick births run in the family!

Anyone else have an exciting birth story? See you all tomorrow where I embarrass myself on video and share ELIXIR SAVED’s birth story!