ARC readers – Katie L. Carroll

The next couple of months are shaping up to be very busy and exciting with a new book coming out, book sales going on, and book events.

New Book

The biggest news is that my first book for adults is coming out on May 15th! My cozy dystopian romance SUNFLOWERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD is up pre-order and ARCs have gone out. I’ll be leaving ARC sign-ups open for a few more days if anyone is interested in getting one.

The cover of Sunflowers at the End of the World by Katie L. Carroll. A big yellow sunflower in a painted style is on a dark green background. The words of the title go in a circle within the flower petals.

When you’re the last person on earth, there’s nothing to do but survive.

Mel is the only survivor of a devastating worldwide virus. After an epic crash out on a solo road trip, she comes to terms with having lost everything. Even though she’s utterly alone, Mel is more determined than ever to become self-sufficient. She builds a home in her mountain cabin where she tends her garden, rides her bike to the library, and shares meals with her crow and chicken friends.

When Mel’s water supply is compromised, she hits a new low and questions whether the effort to survive is worth it. A handsome stranger turns up with just the right knowledge to help solve her problem. When he decides to stick around, Mel’s lonely world is suddenly turned upside-down.

Sunflowers at the End of the World is the first book in a cozy dystopian romance series perfect for readers who love the slow-burn romance of Divergent and the cozy vibes of The Spellshop.

Book Sales

Banner for the Narratess Indie Book Sale. A chonky dragon reads a book at the bottom, a pile of skulls with a candle and ghost sit on the left of the text, and a space ship flies by a planet on the right of the text.

Text: Indie Book Sale

indiebook.sale

Fantasy, Sci FI & Horror

11 - 13 April

Banner designed by Arden Powell

I have two book sales going on right now. My award-winning YA fantasy Elixir Bound is just $.99 through April 16th! This is part of the big Narratess Indie Sale, happening April 11-13. You definitely want to check out this massive sale of fantasy, sci-fi, and horror books.

Ghost Stories Bundle on itch.io April 3rd to 24th 2026.
Graphics by Susanne Schmidt
Works in Bundle:
Only Dark Edges by Katie L. Carroll
Ghost of a Life by Ruth Miranda
DEVIL'S LIMINAL by Studio Interlude
5:37 by A. P. Howell
The Ghost of You and I by Angelique Drummond
The Winchester Collection by Beth Jackson
Magical Mayhem by Niranjan
Water's Edge by Ellie Lieberman
Linger by manmadezines
The Final Deed by Jennifer S. Lange and Aaron McQueen
The Spirit in the Door by Jennifer S. Lange
The Library by Leo Healy
L'Héritage Hanté/Haunted Bequest by VItheSixth
Gleam by Victoria Audley
The Hunt and the Haunting by Victoria Audley
Rotten Roots by Susanne Schmidt
Black Masquerade: The Third Nightmare by Stuart Tudor
Where Dreams are Lost by Stuart Tudor

My YA psychological thriller Only Dark Edges, which is a modern-day, gender-swapped Hamlet retelling, is part of a book bundle on Itch. You can get 19 ghost stories for just $10! Itch books can be downloaded to any type of ereader.

Book Events

A fun event happening April 18 – 19 is the Connecticut Book Festivals Bookstore at the Westbrook Outlets! I won’t be there in person, but a large selection of my books will be signed and for sale. This is a great chance to support local Connecticut authors.

A graphic with an illustration of a black tree full of colorful birds. Text reads, "Create Boldly! The World Needs Your Story. I'm presenting at the NESCBWI Spring Conference 2026. May 15 through 17. Stamford, CT."

And, finally, I will be attending the New England SCBWI Spring Conference at the UCONN Stamford campus May 15-17! I’m on the faculty and will be presenting my “What to Expect When You’re Self-Publishing a Children’s Book” workshop.

There will be keynotes by Heidi E.Y. Stemple and Nina Crews, your choice of 4 craft sessions, publishing and agent panels, professional critiques, and so much more. This is one of my favorite events, and I’m so glad to be heading back to it this year!

That was a lot! What are you all looking forward this spring? What books are you reading?

I’m very excited to announce that my middle grade novel WITCH TEST will be coming out later this year! I don’t have an exact release date, but look for it in September. Of course, I’ll have all the details here on the blog as things move forward. You can make sure you’re subscribed to the blog by entering your email address on my website homepage https://katielcarroll.com.

I talked a little about this book in my post “WIP Update: Witchy Middle Grade & a Fear of Asking for Help.” Think of it as an upper middle grade Mean Girls meets The Craft.

Not the real cover…just something I was playing around with.

Liza thought her summer fight with her ex-best friend, Abby, would blow over, but a month into eighth grade and the rumor firestorm has reach a whole new level of awful. And everyone believes that Liza is a witch! Even as a rekindled passion for art leads to new friends, Liza retreats into a bubble of depression. All these feelings get tied up in the never-ending grief of having lost her mom at a young age.

A glimmer of hope arrives when she finds her mother’s diary…until she actually reads it. Before Liza was born, her mom and aunt performed a ritual to conjure an ancestor persecuted in the town’s witch trials. So much for the witch stuff being rumors! As Liza digs into her witchy ancestry, everyone else is making plans for the Halloween night corn maze. If Liza can channel her inner witch on Halloween, maybe she can find the strength to stand up to Abby. If not, she risks losing not only her new friends but also a piece of herself to the growing depression.

I’m currently working on edits and developing a cover with the cover artist (not the real cover above, just a fun visual I put together myself). Some of my favorite things about this novel are the crows, the Halloween night corn maze, Liza’s aunts, her aunt’s shop Mother Goose Apothecary, and all the tea drinking! And the ending of this story never fails to get me all choked up, no matter how many times I read it.

I’ll be looking for ARC (advanced reader copy) readers soon, so let me know in the comments if that’s something that interests you. What is an ARC reader? That’s someone who gets an early copy of the book (these will be in ebook form) in exchange for a honest review.