Category: Great CT Caper (Page 2 of 5)

Find a Clue, Leave a Clue: Wrapping Up THE GREAT CT CAPER with Stacy DeKeyser

June 7, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

It’s with great excitement and a little sadness that I announce the final chapter of THE GREAT CT CAPER is here! What an amazing adventure it has been both helping to write the Caper and reading along. While the family and I are enjoying the Mystery Solved event at Gillette Castle today, you can catch up with Stacy DeKeyser, author of chapter 12 of the Caper. Welcome, Stacy!

Find a Clue, Leave a Clue: Wrapping Up The Great CT Caper

by Stacy DeKeyser

Lucky me, assigned the last chapter of The Great Connecticut Caper! I’d never done anything like this before—tying up all the loose ends that 11 other authors had unraveled. But I told myself it would be a fun challenge. And it was!

I started by reading the first 10 chapters of the story. (I’ll talk about Chapter 11 later.) As I read and re-read the story (6 or 7 times?), I hunted for clues that the other authors had hidden in their chapters. These would be the seeds I’d use I to write the final chapter. I added my own notes to the very detailed story chart compiled by the Caper’s editor, Theresa Sullivan Barger.

Next, I listed the things that HAD to happen by the end of the story. Our heroes, Li-Ming and Thomas, had to defeat the dreaded Lady Hallow, for one thing. And of course, Gillette Castle had to be found. But how? I jotted down a few possibilities.

One goal of the Caper is to get kids excited about visiting Connecticut’s historical and cultural landmarks. The story had already incorporated a few of them, and I wanted to keep that theme going. So I decided that the final chapter would include one more Connecticut landmark. But which one?

Once more, I studied the clues that were already hidden in the Caper. And those clues led me to the perfect setting for the end of the story. One more very special (and very secret) Connecticut landmark.

Things were coming together! I was almost ready to start writing.

One cool feature of the Caper is that each author could write his or her chapter only after reading the chapters that had come before. But Sarah Albee (the author of Chapter 11) and I were given a bit of leeway. Since Chapter 11 is actually “The Ending, Part One,” Sarah and I needed to work together to plan the final series of events. As it turned out, we both had similar ideas for the climax of the story. And so Sarah only needed to tweak a couple of details in her chapter so they would point to the resolution (and the secret Connecticut landmark) I had in mind.

Screen Shot 2015-03-11 at 4.30.35 PM Now I was ready to visit the secret landmark myself, to hammer out the details of the final chapter. Armed with notebook and cell phone camera, I soaked in the atmosphere and asked lots of questions. I took photos. By the time I was done, I knew that this setting would work perfectly.

Back at my desk, I studied all the photos I had taken at Gillette Castle. More ideas came, and Chapter 12 took shape.

Now you can read the entire story. You can find out how the mystery of Gillette Castle is solved, and discover the identity of the secret landmark! I hope you’ll agree that it’s the perfect place to end The Great Connecticut Caper. And I hope now you’ll be itching to visit that place, and Gillette Castle, to look for the clues that Li-Ming and Thomas left behind. Because the clues are there. All you have to do is find them.

About the Author:

Stacy DeKeyser is the author of five books for children, including ONE WITCH AT A TIME and THE BRIXEN WITCH (S&S/McElderry). Her books have been included in the Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best, the Bank Street College of Education Best Books of the Year, Amazon Editors’ Picks, KIRKUS REVIEW’s New and Notable Books for Children, and various state award lists. She lives in Simsbury. Visit her website at stacydekeyser.com.

Meet Sarah Albee Author of Chapter 11 of The Great Connecticut Caper

May 25, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

Chapter 11 of The Great Connecticut Caper is here! That means only one more to go! It’s been a wild ride. In honor of the mystery (almost) being solved, the Connecticut Humanities is hosting an event at Gillette Castle on Sunday, June 7 from 2-4 pm. It’ll be a great opportunity to meet some of the authors and illustrators and to participate in some fun events (I heard there will be bookish type prizes!). In the meantime, today you can get know Sarah Albee, author of chapter 11, a little better. Welcome, Sarah!

What was your approach to writing chapter 11 of The Great CT Caper? Given that it was the second-to-last chapter, how much did you feel you had to wrap up in order to set up the ending for the author of the final chapter?

I actually worked pretty closely with Stacy DeKeyser, my fellow Caper author who was slated to write the final episode. Together we hatched a plan to wrap up the various plot threads and resolve the story in our two remaining installments. There was quite a bit of back-and-forth and she had some great ideas that I incorporated into my chapter. I think the combination of brain power was a great way to work!

What were your expectations coming into writing a collaborative, serialized story for young readers? Had you written anything like this before?

I have written books that include lots of chapter cliffhangers and that have very controlled word counts, but never in collaboration with other writers. It was fun, but challenging, because my predecessors have wonderfully wild imaginations and took the story onto some wild tangents. I was in the role of “batting cleanup,” and I enjoyed the challenge.

What kind of research did you do for the project?

I visited the Castle and took a whole lot of pictures, so I felt I had a good grounding with the setting.

The Great CT Caper’s target audience is children in grades four through seven. What were some of your favorite books when you were that age?

I loved books with magic in them, like the Narnia chronicles and Edward Eager’s books (Half Magic, Magic by the Lake, etc.). I also loved detective stories, and devoured Sherlock Holmes stories and Agatha Christie mysteries.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received? What one piece of advice that you didn’t get but wished you had gotten?

I love Stephen King’s admonition in his book On Writing, where he says, “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” In other words, write with simplicity and clarity.

The advice I wish I’d gotten? Ignore people who say “Write what you know.” I love finding stuff out. I love not knowing about something and learning about it. It’s the best part of being a nonfiction writer!

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring two books and one movie, what would you bring?

I’d bring the collected works of P.G. Wodehouse, the collected works of Shakespeare (is that cheating??), and a Pixar movie. Every one of them is ingenious, but I guess I’d say Monsters Inc. No, Toy Story. No, The Incredibles. Ok. Monsters Inc.

Where else can readers find your writings? What’s up next for your writing career?

My latest book, which came out in February with National Geographic, is called Why’d They Wear That? Fashion as the Mirror of History. My next book, slated for 2017, is about poison in human history.

And finally, what is something funny/weird/exceptional about yourself that you don’t normally share with others in an interview?

After college, I lived for a year in Cairo, Egypt, where I played on a semi-professional women’s basketball team!

About the Author:

Sarah Albee is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 100 books for kids, ranging from preschool through middle grade. Her latest nonfiction middle grade title Why’d They Wear That? is about crazy fashions in history (National Geographic, 2015). She enjoys writing about topics where history and science connect, including Bugged: How Insects Changed History (2014) and Poop Happened: A History of the World from the Bottom Up (2010). When she isn’t writing books or visiting schools in person or via Skype, Sarah blogs about offbeat history at http://sarahalbeebooks.com.

Poop Happened coverBugged

Playing Catch Up Jessica McCadden Author of Chapter 8 of THE GREAT CT CAPER

April 13, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

Chapter 8 of THE GREAT CONNECTICUT CAPER is here! The adventure is really shaking and moving, and with only four chapters left, I can’t wait to see what happens next. While we all wait for find out what exactly is going on with Gillette Castle, let’s give a big welcome to chapter 8 author Jessica McCadden!

Playing Catch Up

by Jessica McCadden

From the moment my wonderful mentor, Sarah Darer Littman, brought this project to my attention I wanted to be a part of it.

As a graduate student pursuing my MFA in Creative Writing, I spend a lot of time reading, writing papers, and working on my young adult novel and though I work with wonderful writers and teachers, I’m always the sole author of my projects. One of the reasons the CT Caper was so intriguing to me was because I was excited about the prospect of creating a story that would be part of a larger work. The really cool thing was that the story would be a mystery not only to the readers, but to me—one of the authors! Participating in this process meant relinquishing some creative control, but was also freeing. I didn’t have to come up with a beginning or end—I just got to focus on my one small part of the story.

Since I was writing Chapter 8, I received the first seven chapters before writing my section. The main characters had been fleshed out, and the basic themes and plot already constructed. I will admit, before even starting to think about my chapter I had to map out what was going on. There were a lot of little details to keep track of, and the most important thing was to make sure I knew where each character was at the end of chapter 7 so that my chapter would be consistent with the events that took place before. This was very different from my solo projects because instead of planning the story from beginning to end, I was playing catch up. Once I was clear on what was going on, I wrote an outline for my chapter and figured out what Connecticut landmark I wanted to include, as well as which facts about William Gillette and Gillette Castle would fit into my story.

I was happy that I could include magic into my chapter because this fantasy world had already been established. My own novel and short stories are usually in the dystopian, science fiction, or fantasy genres, so it was fun to incorporate some of the elements I love to write in Chapter 8. I also wanted to add a landmark from the part of the state where I’ve spent most of my life (southwestern CT), so I did some research and found a historical mansion just a few miles from my old home that I included in the story.

As some of the other writers have mentioned, it was really difficult to stick to the word count! I think my first draft was over 900 words long, and I’d thought I was being frugal! Cutting the chapter down to 650 words took longer than writing the original draft. After some help from the project’s wonderful editor I made revisions and was very happy with the final draft—especially the cliffhanger at the end of my chapter!

Now that my part is finished I’m concentrating on school (pursuing my MFA in Creative and Professional Writing at Western Connecticut State University) and finishing my young adult novel. My goal is to finish the final draft by early next year and after that I will be seeking representation. In the meantime, I teach college English courses and lead creative writing workshops at Writopia Lab, which gives me the opportunity to help amazing and talented kids write their own stories.

I am so grateful for this opportunity to be a part of a unique, history-mystery for children that is educational and fun to read. I’m ready to write another chapter… sequel anyone?

About the Author:

Jessica McCadden is a freelance writer who received her B.S. from Boston University and has worked as a writer and producer at NBC, Nickelodeon, and TV Land. In addition, Jessica is in the process of earning her MFA in Creative & Professional Writing with an emphasis on Young Adult fiction from Western Connecticut State University.

Jessica teaches English Literature as a graduate assistant, has led creative writing workshops for kids at Writopia Lab, worked as an editorial intern at Talcott Notch Literary Services, and is one of the authors of The Great CT Caper, a serialized mystery story for young people.

One of her goals as a writer is to increase diversity in children’s literature. She currently resides in Connecticut and is writing her first YA novel.

Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn, her website, and Twitter (@JessicaMcCadden).

Meet J Monkeys THE GREAT CT CAPER Chapter 7 Author

March 30, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

Chapter 7 of The Great Connecticut Caper is here! We’re past the halfway mark and the story really took an interesting turn at the end of the previous chapter. It’s so hard waiting two weeks to see what happens next. J Monkeys, the author of chapter 7, stops by today to share a little about what it was like creating it. Welcome!

What was your approach to writing chapter 7 of the Great CT Caper? Did it differ any from your approach when creating a piece written solely by you?

It wasn’t much of a deviation for me; I’m a huge planner. I can’t “pants” my way through the day, let alone through a story. The biggest difference was the scale. I’ve written short stories before, but I was able to plan the whole thing, beginning, middle and end. That wasn’t the case for the Great CT Caper. So, I read the previous six chapters, thought about where we were in terms of the overall story then sketched a high level outline of what I wanted to do. I assigned a word count “budget” for each section, which I completely blew past. I’m a novelist by nature, so sticking to 650 words was really, very, impossibly hard for me.

What were your expectations coming into writing a collaborative, serialized story for young readers? Had you written anything like this before?

I’ve done collaborative writing before, with kids, but we do it together. This was very different because they didn’t want us to taint the creative process by hatching a plan from the start. We each just had to react to the stuff that came before us and go forward. It was neat.

Did you come across any particular challenges in writing your chapter?

Did I ever! The word count was rough. I decided to write out my chapter, then go back and edit it down to the appropriate size. Unfortunately, the first draft of chapter seven was 1400 words long, more than double what I was supposed to turn in. I edited it down to 700ish, but realized that I was breaking the most important rule of writing: “Show, don’t tell.” I was telling all over the place! The idea behind “show, don’t tell” is to allow the reader to experience the story with the characters instead of just telling them what happened. It takes a lot more words to “show” a conversation happening through dialogue, for example, than it does to “tell” a recap.

Did you do any research for the project?

Yup. Since my part was the middle of the story, I wanted to include some backstory on our villain. Who was Lady Hallow, why was she doing this and how? So I wanted to tie William Gillette back to Scotland and to the settling of Connecticut. I read up on Thomas Hooker, the Fundamental Orders, the Connecticut Charter and the history of the Charter Oak. I wanted to tie it all together more tightly than I did, but that durned word count got me again.

The Great CT Caper’s target audience is children in grades four through seven. What were some of your favorite books when you were that age?

Nancy Drew, for sure. I LOVED the Nancy Drew mysteries. I still have them on my shelf. I devoured the CS Lewis stories about Narnia, too. Little Women was a favorite of mine. Plus, I was a pretty advanced reader with a fairly permissive Mom. By the time seventh grade came along, I was reading adult historical romances. Certainly that wouldn’t be every parent’s decision, but I loved them. The stories, the swashbuckly-ness, the history. I still do love them.

What writers do you find inspire your own work?

I love adventure stories. Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson stories, JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books, Suzanne Collins’ Gregor stories, The 39 Clues and The Infinity Ring series are all books that I go back to again and again. And CS Lewis’ world building was amazing.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring two books and one movie, what would you bring?

Well, for books, I’d bring two humongous blank books with pencils smuggled inside them to write my own stories. And for a movie? Hmmmm. Tough call. I love history, so something really, really long, with lots of history to inspire ideas for my stories.

Where else can readers find your writings? What’s up next for your writing career?

All of my books are available on Amazon, and my website, of course. I expect to start book three of the Livingston-Wexford Adventures early this summer. I left my characters, 15-year olds Kayla and Quinn, in a bit of a tangle at the end of The Peacock Tale, so it’s time to move that story forward. And I wrote a tragedy as part of the “research” on my fictional pirate, Captain Peacock. I’m planning to revise that and release it as a companion piece. It’s really more of a Young Adult story than it is a Middle Grade adventure.

And I’m super excited about some work I’ve been doing this year. I’ve been working with kids, guiding them through a real-life writing adventure. We create, write, illustrate and edit a book, then publish it through Amazon. I’ve been working with schools and after-school programs, kids from Kindergarten through Fifth Grade. It’s been really fun and rewarding. When I get a minute, I need to update my website (www.jmonkeys.com) with links to their books. I’m starting to book programs for the 2015-16 school year now. There’s a link on my website, if anybody’s interested.

And finally, what is something funny/weird/exceptional about yourself that you don’t normally share with others in an interview?

Something funny. Hmmm. Well, it’s not so much funny “ha-ha” as it is funny “odd.” I have a pretty great vocabulary, but I’m a terrible speller. I mean awful. Like, spell-check can’t figure out what I’m trying to spell. Sometimes I don’t even know where to look in the dictionary to figure it out. And my handwriting is worse than my spelling. I sometimes take a break from the computer and go write by hand somewhere away from my house. Usually, when I get back and type it into the story document, there are at least two words that I can’t figure out, either because I butchered the spelling so badly or they’re simply illegible.

Visit J Monkeys here:

Author website

The Cordovan Vault

The Peacock Tale

Dixie and Taco go to Grandmother’s House

Why Do The Humanities Matter To You?

March 19, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

Today’s post is discussing a serious matter regarding the defunding of the humanities in my home state of Connecticut. My hope is that you (residents and non-residents alike) will join me in a rallying cry to help the state realize the importance of the humanities. I’m asking that you share in the comments what the humanities mean to you and how they have affected your life.

The situation is that Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy has proposed a new 2-year budget that would eliminate funding for the Connecticut Humanities Council, the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Community Investment Act. I know most of you who read my blog are of the mind that the humanities matter, but lets reiterate that here, today: the humanities matter. Let’s put human faces on why they matter.

What are the humanities? Stanford University Humanities Center has a wonderful definition on their website:

“The humanities can be described as the study of how people process and document the human experience. Since humans have been able, we have used philosophy, literature, religion, art, music, history and language to understand and record our world. These modes of expression have become some of the subjects that traditionally fall under the humanities umbrella. Knowledge of these records of human experience gives us the opportunity to feel a sense of connection to those who have come before us, as well as to our contemporaries.”

So, no, we’re not talking about the physical necessities of life like food and shelter. What we are talking about with the humanities is food for our souls, connection to others, a sense of where we’ve come from and where we’re going as people. They bring us a better understanding of our world, past, present, and future. We’re talking about what it means to be human; the very essence of the word “humanity.”

That’s a beautiful sentiment in and of itself, but let’s get specific about what’s at stake. If the proposed budget in Connecticut is passed, it will cut about two-thirds of the Connecticut Humanities budget. These funds go towards cultural organizations, historical societies, libraries, and educational institutions throughout the state. They support the Connecticut Center for the Book, the Connecticut Book Award, book talks, poetry festivals, and workshops for children.

These are the funds that made THE GREAT CONNECTICUT CAPER possible. The Caper, a collaborative, serialized mystery for middle grade readers, is near and dear to me as I am one of the twelve Connecticut authors who wrote a chapter for it. Once chapter 12 is released in June, any future plans to reach out further to libraries and schools to make the story more accessible and plans to develop an audio book of it will not be realized.

I was lucky enough to teach a writing workshop at a Connecticut middle school through the Caper. Seven sixth-graders in the special education program won the workshop by writing their own chapter for the Caper, and an additional 23 students got the attend the workshop. We talked about where creative ideas come from, and I took them through a writing exercise to help them begin to develop their own creative stories. What an enthusiastic and creative bunch of kids! I was just floored when they shared the ideas that had grown from the workshop.

That was all made possible by support for Connecticut humanities. So now I’m turning to you to bring attention to the humanities in Connecticut. Share your thoughts in the comments and talk about it on social media using #CTHumanitiesMatter, #CTPlacesMatter, and #CTHistoryMatters.

Connecticut residents can e-mail their legislators (find yours here) stating who you are, how the humanities are important to you, and letting them know what activities you participate in that will be impacted. You can also contact Governor Malloy through this link. Join the rally day in Hartford at the state capitol on April 8 (details here).

Now you’re up! Why do the humanities matter? What do they mean to you? I’m hoping to share some of the responses (with the commenters permission, of course) next week on the blog.