Category: News (Page 14 of 14)

Baby News: Meet The Gentleman!

February 23, 2017 / Katie L. Carroll

One can hardly compete with Beyonce’s Instagram announcement that set the Internet on fire earlier this month, so it is with much humbler origins that I announce my own baby news! Baby boy #3 is on the way, expected delivery in July, though my boys never seem to arrive as expected (see The Boy’s hurricane birth story and The Prince’s precipitous one).

We haven’t decided on a name yet (The Boy has made many suggestions thus far), and we generally don’t share the kiddos’ actual names here, but we do have an Internet nickname: The Gentleman.

So far this pregnancy has consisted of too many days of colds (whose idea was it to get pregnant when your oldest is in kindergarten and being exposed to all those wonderful germs?) and lots of morning sickness. But *knocks on wood* I think we’re finally past the morning sickness at least, and despite the illnesses, everything seems to be going well.

I will definitely not be sharing any bump pictures online, and all those sonogram pretty much look the same. So I’ll leave you with a recent pic of the boys and a teaser that I will be sharing some book news here on the blog next week!

The Highly Charged Political Environment We Are In

January 30, 2017 / Katie L. Carroll

I know I’ve been quiet on the blog lately. In part because I’ve been making it a priority to be noisy in real life and the blog has taken a backseat to that. But it’s not just that.

This blog–my Observation Desk–has always served as a safe space for me to share my thoughts. I’ve pointedly strayed away from highly charged political and controversial topics. Not necessarily censoring myself, but being careful in order to keep this a safe space…for myself and for those of you who actively participate here (and I’m incredibly thankful for all of you who take time out of your day to read my posts). It’s always served as one of my favorite creative spaces, and I’ve protected it to keep it positive because that’s what I’ve needed from it. I’ve needed to feel safe here in order to create.

I’ve seen how people (particularly woman and POC) can be harassed and attacked on the Internet for their thoughts and beliefs. In the past, I’ve protected myself and this space from that. I’ve had that privilege when others haven’t. I recognize that.

But right now, in the U.S.’s current political climate, everything has become political. Literature and art have always been political, but now the very places we shop, the causes we choose to support and donate to, whether or not we speak up..it’s all political. This is new to me, though I know this idea of life in general not being political is not new to others.

So I’m confronting my own decision to keep this a “safe” space. I’m confronting and recognizing my own privilege in ways I never have before. I’m listening and learning from people who do not have the luxury of having a privilege like mine, and I’m believing what they say. I’m challenging the lawmakers from my state and beyond to stand up for what is right by making phone calls, writing emails, standing with others, and voicing my beliefs in a way I never have before.

My perspective has shifted so much in the last year. I see the world in a different, often scarier, light than I used to. But this world that feels so new to me is an old world for many who have been fighting oppression and racism for their whole lives. I don’t always know the best way to act or react, and I have to fight my default to stay quiet and think that this isn’t my fight and to wonder what my voice can possibly bring to the table. I’m not always successful in my attempts, but I’m learning and listening, always listening.

I’m not saying any of this because I’m turning this blog into something new or different. Having a creative space and keeping my sanity enough to be able to create stories for kids is important. It’s always been a political act (as I said earlier, I believe all literature is), and the urgency of its importance is even more evident to me now.

The Observation Desk will still be a place to share creative thoughts and works, but I couldn’t ignore this part of me that was staying quiet here (I get a lot more political on Twitter @KatieLCarroll if you’re interested in checking that out). It felt dishonest, like I was keeping a secret, even though I wasn’t necessarily keeping it a secret (if you know me in real life, my political thoughts are certainly not a secret). So I may delve into that part of myself here more often.

With all that is going on in this country and around the world, it’s still going to be a big year for me personally and as an author. I’ll be sharing more about both of those aspects of my life here on this blog. I’ll continue to bring you guest posts, lots more #InkRipples each month, and pictures of the boys. This blog will continue to focus on creativity and books, no doubt about that. But now you know there’s been a lot more on my mind lately, and I’m happy to share that part of me with you (even though it feels like a messy, unfinished part of myself).

So stay tuned to learn more about my creative works-in-progress and the work-in-progress that is Katie as well!

Gearing up for National Novel Writing Month 2016

October 31, 2016 / Katie L. Carroll

November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo or NaNo). The idea is that crazy writers set aside the month of November in an attempt to draft 50,000 words of a novel. That’s approximately 1,667 words a day, including weekends and holidays.

Before I had kids I actually did NaNoWriMo one year, the whole 50,000 words. And it sucked. The process of writing that many words in one month sucked. The words themselves sucked. The story sucked. And it sucked the life out of me! It’s a manuscript where I really liked the initial idea, but when I revised it, nothing was working. I tried different point of views, shifting tenses, reworking the plot. Let’s just say I’ve moved on from this story and it kind of soured me on the whole NaNoWriMo thing.

Elixir Bound by [Carroll, Katie L.] But I’ve been in a bit of a writing funk the last few months, since summer really. I’ve done lots of “smaller” writing things (writing a new beginning for a finished manuscript, working on a picture book idea, and the usual parenting articles and such). I had a few spurts of productivity, but not a lot of new words flowing. And I really have been wanting to get a draft done of ELIXIR SAVED (a companion to ELIXIR BOUND). Like I’ve been working on a first draft of this manuscript for years and it’s really starting to weigh on me.

Now it’s a tough manuscript to write because one of the point-of-view characters is based on my sister Kylene (and even has her name) and can be emotionally draining. So I’ve been lenient on myself when I’ve had to take breaks, but it’s time to get this one done. I decided to come up with a plan to finish. Earlier this month I took a look at how much I’d actually written, and it was a lot more than I thought I had–over 50,000 words. To put that into perspective, the completed novel of ELIXIR BOUND is a little over 55,000 words.

Now I knew that SAVED, with its multiple points of views and more epic scale, was going to be quite a bit longer than BOUND, but it was a nice surprise to see that I had accumulated so many words. It was heartening, and it made me feel like I could actually finish this first draft…and soon. That’s was when I was like, “I could use NaNo to get this done.”

With so many words already, I don’t need to set the (unrealistic for me) goal of 50,000 words in a month. I’m going to halve it for a goal of 25,000 words, which would be about 834 words a day or 1,137 words a day if you only count weekdays. That seems doable to me, and it should be enough to finish off the draft. And you know what, even if I don’t meet my exact goal, it’s going to serve as a framework to get me to the finish.

I’ve spent the last few weeks outlining the plot I already have and listing out the scenes I still need to write. I’ve written, formatted, and scheduled all my November blog posts (with only a few updates needed when the dates get closer), so I don’t have to worry about those. I dusted off my old NaNo profile (for anyone else who is doing NaNo, my username is ktlc1113 if you want to look me up on their site) and got it all up to date. I’ve squared away all my other freelancing, etc… work. (The kiddos will still be around all month bugging me, but not much I can do about them!)

I’m ready to start…tomorrow. And hopefully by the end of the month, I’ll have a finished draft of ELIXIR SAVED. Wish me luck!

A New Home for THE BEDTIME KNIGHT

August 21, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

It’s a sad fact that I don’t give nearly enough love here on the blog for my picture app THE BEDTIME KNIGHT. It really is a fun, imaginative story (with some insight into what I was scared of as a child), and I love how illustrator Erika Baird brought it to life with pictures. The blurb reads:

When this mouse’s nightlight turns off, shadows turn into scary things in the dark. But when Daddy shines his flashlight on them, they disappear and turn into friendly things! Read along to find out if this tiny mouse can overcome her fear of the dark.

The thing that got me thinking about THE BEDTIME KNIGHT is that it now has a new home! It was originally published by MeeGenius, a children’t eBook subscription service, which was recently acquired by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (who earlier this year acquired Scholastic’s Educational Technology and Services business for $575 million).

THE BEDTIME KNIGHT will be and is still available through the MeeGenius platform. I’m excited about this new partnership and am hoping it will help my picture book app find new readers.

Happy Friday, everyone!