I’m very excited, and also a little nervous, to announce that I will be attending my first in-person author event next month! It’s outdoors, everyone will be required to wear a mask, virus numbers are looking good in my state, and I’ll be fully vaccinated, so I think it’s the right time. Though socializing on this scale will definitely take some getting used to.
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.”
A fun little project I’ve been working on all year long is my Tales from the Field series, high school soccer short stories on the Lightning Quick Reads blog. I’ve featured a few of them here, and I think I’ll continue to do so. They’ve brought up a lot of fun memories of when I played high school soccer and have been really fun to write.
This month’s is a sort of follow-up to August’s tale, which is called “Paloma’s Night Out” and is the first half of the infamous prank night known to the players as Dog Day Eve. You don’t have to read this one to enjoy September’s tale, but it might be fun to check it out first.
September’s tale is called “Mac’s Ultimate Prank” and really gets into the prank they women’s soccer team is pulling. Here’s a teaser:
Tales from the Field: Mac’s Ultimate Prank by Katie L. Carroll
Central High women’s soccer team: schooling the boys’ team on the field since 2012. Now it’s time to school them off the field.
I mute the music and kill the lights on my mom’s SUV, packed full of my teammates, as we approach our rival school, Valley High. The speedometer hovers below 20 mph. A block away from the school, I park behind a beat-up sedan, also packed full of soccer players.
Malcolm, the captain of the boys’ team (yes, I said boys, not men…because no high school guy is actually a man), leans against his car, his dreadlocks peeking out from under a black winter hat. We’re all dressed in black to blend in with the October night. Megan and I slip out of the SUV to talk strategy with him.
“Mac. Megan,” he whispers in greeting, his breath puffing in the cold air. We’re not close enough to the school to be heard by anyone there, but we’re not taking any chances of talking loudly and disturbing the neighborhood. “You ladies ready for this?”
“We were born ready,” I say before Megan can answer. She’s our captain and the boss on the soccer field, but I’m in charge tonight.
The thing is every year the Central High women’s soccer team has a better record than the boys’ team. And it goes without saying (though I’m going to say it) that we look a helluva lot better out on the field than they do.
But there is one thing the boys’ team is better at than us: they always pull the best Dog Day Eve prank. So this year (my senior—and final—year), I’m determined to one up them by stealing Benji the Bulldog, Valley’s mascot. And I’ve come up with a brilliant plan…
I’ve got a great in-person event coming up at the Avon Public Library on June 30 at 7:00 pm. Steven Parlato, Cindy Rodriguez, Anissa Pesce Zucker, and I will be discussing the “Reader Experience” and offering our books for sale at the Teen/YA Author Night. It’s shaping up to be a really fun program. And today, I have Anissa, author of THE TRUE STORY OF SANTA CLAUS, with some thoughts about FEED by M.T. Anderson. Welcome, Anissa!
The Feed : A Brilliant Satire for the Next Generation
by Anissa Pesce Zucker
What if our brains were constantly connected to the internet via a micro-chip implant? This satire depicts the nature of humanity and its ominous connection with technology. Have we become too close? Here is a story that interweaves concepts from Huxley’s “Brave New World”, with coming of age novels like “Star Girl” and “Catcher in the Rye.” The pacing of this novel is quick and engaging. The dumbed down language of the teenagers can be confusing at first, but after the first few chapters, you being to understand all the made up slang words. This novel is STARKINGLY close to a not too distance future. This prophetic story exposes a dark undertone of what society would look like if we become too dependent on the internet and what truths could be exposed by those that rebel against THE FEED…
This book has become a hit at Canton High School. Student’s love reading this book and I believe it should be incorporated into the English Curriculum. It’s a modern day coming of age novel following one boy, Titus, and his attraction to a girl who is fighting THE FEED. Violet, is a smart, sassy, beautiful girl who challenges Titus to try to think for himself. He doesn’t change much throughout the story, which I liked because it made it more believable for the time period, rather than have the cheesy “girl saves boy” kind of ending. The kids enjoy this because the language veers closely to text language and the pacing of the story is engaging and captivates the reader. The satire style along with the prophetic and political undertones make the story exciting to even the most reluctant reader!
THE TRUE STORY OF SANTA CLAUS blurb:
Every child has indulged in a fantasy world. It’s part of our human development. But there comes a time in one’s life where we begin to question everything and that fantasy slowly fades away, leaving us with only ripples of confusion between what is real and what is “make believe”. Darlene is getting older and starting to wonder about the mystery behind Santa Claus. She wonders, “How on earth can one man travel around the world on one night and deliver all those presents?” and “do reindeer really fly?” and “do elves really make toys in the north pole?” When she confronts her mother with some of these questions, her mother decides it’s time for her to hear the real story of Santa Claus, passed down from generation to generation. The story of how the “Santa Tree Organization” began fascinates Darlene and her curiosity only grows stronger every night her mother reads to her and she asks more and more questions. As the truth slowly unravels, she feels a sense of pride knowing she now knows the truth and it’s not as grim as what her classmates tried convincing her, which was that there was no Santa Claus. But what will she do with this knowledge? One thing is known for sure, Santa will not leave her alone with her pride. She will be assigned a special mission just like her mother was when she was coming of age. Where will that mission take her and what will she learn along the way? This story within a story captures the innocence of childhood and the magic of Santa, in a way never revealed before! Shh! the secret is out, only to those ready to hear the message. True magic and the spirit of giving come together in the heart of an adolescent girl searching for the meaning of Christmas.
About the Author:
Anissa Pesce Zucker, M.ed. resides in New Hartford, Connecticut with her husband, David, their daughter, Melody Anne, and their coon hound mix, Reece. She holds a master’s degree in Literacy Education and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology / Counseling. She works as a Language Arts Consultant at Canton High School. Her first solo publication was a poetry book titled, “Fearless Expressions: A Time for Us” (2011). Her hobbies include outdoor adventure/traveling, tennis, yoga, knitting, reading, writing poetry & the practice and teachings of the martial arts- Mu-Shin-Do.
You would think with so many snow days that it would feel like a lazy time of year. But snow days means days with no baby-sitting and missed school for The Boy, which means less work time for me. So all these “lazy” snow days have me feeling behind on my work. With quite a few workshop opportunities booked for the first half of the year, it’s got me feeling a bit frantic.
Plus, February has to be my absolute least favorite month of the year when I tend to be low on both energy and good spirits. So that always takes its toll on me this time of year. I don’t even have any place to ground myself right now and I’m itching to get my feet on some grass…even in this crazy cold. (Normal high this time of year is around 40 degrees. This year our warm days have been in the low 20s.)
I have many ideas for thoughtful blog posts, but they take more time and brain energy than I have right now, so unfortunately thoughtful blog posts have taken a back seat for now. Lucky for all you blog readers, I’ve had some wonderful guest posts to share with you all to make up for my lack of ones. Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll find the time and energy for some good blog content soon.
In the meantime, here are some other places where you can find me on the web. I have lots of short posts with my thoughts, trials, and triumphs as a mother on Tumblr called Observation Mommy. You don’t have to be on Tumblr to check these out.
Lightning Quick Reads is a great short story blog I’ve been contributing to. Each month there is a different theme and each author posts once a month. My day is the 11th of the month and throughout the year I’ll be posting a series of related stories called “Tale From the Field” about a women’s high school soccer team. Each post is form a different players point of view, and I’m really enjoying tapping into my own memories of when I played competitive soccer. January’s was Captain Megan with a goals theme, and February’s was Addison in Love? with a, wait for it…love theme.
And if you’re local, the New Haven, CT launch party for The Great CT Caper has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 25th from 4-6 p.m. It’s at the Yale Peabody Museum and all first floor exhibits will be open, including the Great Hall of Dinosaurs! Parents, kids, educators, librarians…everyone is welcome to come, and it’s free. Sign up here!
