Books for kids, teens, & those who are young at heart

Tag: book release (Page 2 of 8)

Wrapping Up 2022 and What’s to Come in 2023

Happy New Year! It seems to be flying by already, and I don’t expect it to slow down. According to Goodreads, I read 52 books in 2022, but that doesn’t include the countless picture books I read. I set my usual goal of 50 books for 2023, though reading is off to a bit of a slow start for me. What are your reading goals for this year?

As an author, 2022 was a banner year as it was the first time I released two books in one year. And 2023 is set to be even bigger with five book releases! (Yes, I do sleep, but probably not as much as I should.)

The first of which is my nonfiction book SELFIES FROM MARS: THE TRUE STORY OF MARS ROVER OPPORTUNITY, which comes out February 13 and is up for preorder on most sites! I have some final proofing and uploading to do, but this one is mostly done and ready to meet readers.

From evidence of water to stunning images,
Mars rover Opportunity allowed humans to
experience the Red Planet as never before.
Ride along on the 15-year mission
that captured hearts a world away!

Then I’ve got three YA thrillers, one standalone and a duology, planned for the spring and summer months. Details on titles, covers, release dates, and ARC copies all coming soon. I’m working on getting a monthly newsletter going, so stay tuned for that. It’ll be the best place to get all my book news first.

And finally, another picture book in the Family Christmas Tales series called DADDY’S TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS. Phoebe Cho will be illustrating this one, and we will be getting started on that soon. The first in the series was MOMMY’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, which recently got a lovely 5-star review from Readers’ Favorite, earning it a shiny badge.

For anyone interested in a detailed workshop about self-publishing children’s book (picture books through YA), I’m presenting my 90-minute workshop “What to Expect When You’re Self-Publishing” on Saturday, January 21 at 10:30 a.m. (ET). It’s on Zoom, so you can attend from anywhere and there will be a recording available for 30 days after.

Alrighty, one last question for all of you…is there anything in particular you’d like me to blather on about here on the blog this year?

MOMMY’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Katie L. Carroll, illustrated by Phoebe Cho, Releases!

I’m so excited (and only a little bit exhausted) to celebrate another book release. Welcome to the world MOMMY’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS! This began as a spark of an idea in this tired mom’s brain one night shortly before Christmas. It lived for many years as an annual post on my blog until I finally decided to make it into an actual book.

The process of looking for an illustrator, landing with the amazing Phoebe Cho, and having the story illustrated was so rewarding. Phoebe’s style has just the right amount of nostalgia for a retelling of a classic but also the modern take I was searching for. And the way she brought the characters to life is truly magical!

I’m going live today at noon (ET) on Tiktok for a reading of the book. In the meantime, here’s a peek at a few of the pages.

I’ve mentioned how I believe adults should read picture books whether or not they have children to read them to (see my post “Picture Book Recommendations for Adults”), and MOMMY’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS is definitely a picture book that is as much for adults as it is for the kids.

Buy signed copies on the Purchase Books page, or find it at BookshopAmazonBarnes & NobleIndieBoundKobo, or Book Depository (for international folks), and more!

‘Twas the night before Christmas…

In this humorous take on the classic Christmas poem by Clement C. Moore, the concept of the serene night before Christmas is turned on its head. Instead of visions of sugar plums, the children are teething and playing loudly. There are presents to be wrapped and ornaments to be mended. Just when Mommy and Daddy take a moment to relax, a noise outside alerts them to a surprise visitor. But Mommy’s determined not to let anyone–not even Santa Claus himself–disturb the sleeping children on Christmas Eve.

Children and parents alike will be entertained and delighted by this new classic Christmas story! The perfect gift for all the moms who make Christmas so special.

When a Writer Doesn’t Have Time for Writing and New Books from Katie L. Carroll

I have been longing to get back into creative mode. I’ve got a revision of my YA psychological thriller Hamlet retelling that has been inching along so very slowly. NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) starts in a few weeks, and I really want to draft my next YA during November.

However, with two book releases this fall (and approximately a thousand soccer games for my kids), there’s been little time for the actual book writing and revising. It’s a case of the writer not getting to actually write. The fact is being an author means marketing our books, and being an indie author means producing our books as well. I’ll get back into the fun stuff eventually.

The good news is that WITCH TEST is out in the world and spreading all kinds witchy, crow, Halloween vibes. It recently hit #1 in all its categories on Kobo, so that was super exciting! Thank you so much to all who have read, reviewed it, or shared it. Posting reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, and other book retailers is so helpful to authors because it increases the chance of new readers finding it.

MOMMY’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS comes out in 12 days! It’s available for pre-order at all the usual places, like Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, and Kobo. I’ll soon be getting the listing up on my Purchase Books page for those of you who are interested in signed copies. I’ve probably mentioned this before, but MOMMY’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS makes for a great Christmas gift for any moms you know. I still can’t get over the beautiful illustrations by Phoebe Cho.

Here’s a little video I created for it. How’s your fall going?

@katielcarrollauthor

Mommy’s Night Before Christmas by Katie L. Carrol with illustrations by Phoebe Cho is the perfect gift for all the moms (and the kids). #mommysnightbeforechristmas #picturebook #christmasbooks #giftsforher #booktok

♬ We Wish You a Merry Christmas (music box) – yostimar

Happy Book Birthday to WITCH TEST by Katie L. Carroll and Bonus Playlist

Jump for joy! Throw confetti! It’s release day for WITCH TEST!!! I’ll be live on TikTok (@katielcarrollauthor) today at 11:00 a.m. (ET) to celebrate.

It feels really good to be releasing a book after what feels like forever since the last one…and to have another coming next month with MOMMY’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS.

I recently said that writing WITCH TEST was like giving a hug to my 11-year-old self, and I can’t think of a better way to describe how I feel about this book. It’s about finding yourself in the saddest place you’ve ever been in your life and feeling like the only way to get through the day is to put yourself in a bubble of protection. And how do you find your way out of that mindset?

As I mentioned in my post “The Historical and Personal Inspiration Behind WITCH TEST,” it’s also about long grief and about mourning someone you never really knew. Chapter 40, titled “Ritual,” makes me cry every time I read it, and I’m not a crier!

Some of my favorite things about the book are the crows, the Halloween night corn maze, the trio of witches, and tea time at Mother Goose Apothecary.

Anyway, thank you for all the support of this book and my author career in general. If you do end up reading the book (or a young person in your life reads it), please leave a review on Amazon. You don’t have to have bought the book there to leave a review. It helps boost the visibility of the book to help it find more readers.

Here’s a little playlist I put together of songs that I think Liza, the main character, can relate to. It includes a couple from my two favorite bands: “Are You Sad” by Our Lady Peace and “Good Grief” by Bastille. My new favorite song “W.I.T.C.H” by Devon Cole is the first on the list because this should totally be Liza’s theme song!


About WITCH TEST:

Liza is sinking in a bubbling cauldron of middle school rumors.

When the entire eighth grade begins studying the Salem witch trials, it seems everyone is on a witch hunt…with Liza as target number one. Worst of all, her ex-best friend is the one who started a rumor that Liza bewitched a boy with a love potion.

As the bullying intensifies, Liza’s loneliness grows. More than ever, she wishes her mother were still alive. A glimmer of hope arrives when Liza finds her mother’s diary…until she actually reads it. Turns out Liza’s family connection to witches goes back for centuries. So much for the witch stuff being rumors!

If Liza can channel her inner witch at the Halloween night corn maze, she might find the strength to stand up for herself. If not, she risks losing a piece of herself to a growing depression and any hope of happiness.

WITCH TEST is an upper middle grade Mean Girls meets The Craft novel for pre-teens and young teens.

Get it now from my Purchase Books page for signed copies, or find it on Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & NobleKoboGoogle PlayIndieBoundApple BooksBook Depository (for international folks), and many of your favorite book retailers!

The Historical and Personal Inspiration Behind WITCH TEST

My upper middle grade WITCH TEST comes out on September 13! Notice the “upper” as there are some heavy topics of bullying, depression, and dealing with the loss of a parent (though the actual passing of the parent occurs many years before the book takes place).

Image by MiblArt

Liza, the main character, is 13 and in eighth grade. I’ve been recommending WITCH TEST as best for the 10-14 age range, rather than the more typical MG one of 8-12. This has made the marketing of the book less straightforward than my other middle grade PIRATE ISLAND. Billy, the main character of PIRATE ISLAND, is also 13, but the topics of the book stay more firmly in the core middle grade range.

Despite the marketing challenges, I think being in that upper age range was the best thing for the story. The upper MG/lower YA category tends to be underrepresented in books, and those readers deserve stories. Plus, the bullying and what I refer to as “long grief” draw on my own teen/preteen experiences and beyond.

My bullying experience took place at the start of middle school in sixth grade and the rumors my ex-friends spread weren’t calling me a witch, rather a lesbian (keep in mind I was in middle school in the early 90s). It was intense to go through that as an 11-year-old, and I decided to age Liza up to 13 to show readers a character who was slightly more mature and introspective than I was when I went through it.

As for the topic of the bullying in Liza’s world, I didn’t want to completely mirror my own. I really loved how PIRATE ISLAND blended local history (in this case Captain Kidd’s pirate history) into a contemporary story, so I wanted an historical tie-in for WITCH TEST as well. When I was brainstorming topics of local history, one of those I came across was the witch trials that occurred in Connecticut, which predate the Salem witch trials. It felt like the perfect metaphor for bullying in modern times.

As my long-time readers might have guessed, the long grief inspiration stems from the death of my sister, Kylene, when she was 16 and I was 19. I’ve often written about how her death has made me the writer I am today and how it has continued to influence my work (see “Why Is It Taking Me So Long To Write the Second Elixir Book?”).

The process of mourning someone is not linear. It never stops. While it does get “better” as time goes on and you find what I call a “new normal,” your feelings can also loop back and it’s awful all over again. I wanted to explore this long mourning in WITCH TEST, so that meant giving Liza even more tough topics to deal with. Her feelings of grief over her mom’s death are largely brought up in response to the bullying, and she wonders how she might be better coping with life if her mother were still alive. As she was only three when her mother died, Liza also ponders how you can miss someone you can’t even remember.

Add in Halloween and a haunted corn maze, and it all makes for a heavy, spooky story. It’s one that I love, and though I’m not typically a crier, I tear up every single time I read the climax scene in the corn maze. And I’ve read it many, many times!

I don’t think there’s anything in the story that younger middle grade readers CAN’T read, but they’re not going to get as much out of it as a slightly older reader. My 10 (almost 11) year old has read it and enjoyed it. He said, “WITCH TEST is intriguing, interesting, and heart-touching.”

Cover art by MiblArt

About WITCH TEST:

Liza is sinking in a bubbling cauldron of middle school rumors.

When the entire eighth grade begins studying the Salem witch trials, it seems everyone is on a witch hunt…with Liza as target number one. Worst of all, her ex-best friend is the one who started a rumor that Liza bewitched a boy with a love potion.

As the bullying intensifies, Liza’s loneliness grows. More than ever, she wishes her mother were still alive. A glimmer of hope arrives when Liza finds her mother’s diary…until she actually reads it. Turns out Liza’s family connection to witches goes back for centuries. So much for the witch stuff being rumors!

If Liza can channel her inner witch at the Halloween night corn maze, she might find the strength to stand up for herself. If not, she risks losing a piece of herself to a growing depression and any hope of happiness.

WITCH TEST is an upper middle grade Mean Girls meets The Craft novel for pre-teens and young teens.

Pre-order now from BookshopAmazonBarnes & NobleKoboGoogle PlayIndieBoundApple BooksBook Depository (for international folks), and many of your favorite book retailers.

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