Tag: Books (Page 2 of 7)

Katie’s 2018 Reading Wrap-Up

December 31, 2018 / Katie L. Carroll

My original reading goal for 2018 was fifty books, or rather I should say novels because I don’t keep track of all the hundreds of picture books I read (and reread) with the kiddos. I was way ahead of schedule about halfway through the year, so I amended that to sixty.

Browsing through my Goodreads report on what I’ve read in 2018, it looks like there are a couple of books listed twice on my list and a fantasy box set that is actually three (quite long) books that are listed as one. As of writing this post, Goodreads says I’ve read fifty-eight books with four in progress (one of which I may finish before the end of the year). Close enough for me!

Being in the book business, it doesn’t feel like a lot of books, especially compared to what I’ve done in the past and other voracious readers I know. And there always seems to be so many amazing books coming out every week that I haven’t gotten to that it never feels like I’m reading enough. Still, considering the
average American reads four books a year (see the article “How Many Books Did The Average American Read In The Last Year? This New Study May Surprise You” by Kerri Jarema), I’m pretty happy with what I’ve accomplished.

It was another year where I DNF (did not finish) quite a few titles and another year where I couldn’t get into audiobooks. It seems I’m not a auditory learner and I just can’t figure out how to pay attention when I’m listening to a novel. I’ve been trying to listen to more podcasts to help train my brain in that area. I’ve definitely continued to try and consciously diversify my reading (using the We Need Diverse Books definition of diversity) and I will continue to do that in the new year. I also read what turned out to be a lot of ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies…mostly from NetGalley).

I enjoy reading all those posts where readers list their top-ten lists and do fun things with their reading year in review, but frankly, I just don’t have time for that this year myself. I’m really pushing to finish this draft of ELIXIR SAVED (despite having computer issues for the last few weeks…my hand is sore from all the notebook writing I’ve been doing!). But I’ve peppered in a few covers here to give you a taste of my 2018 list.

Looking forward to 2019, I’m probably going to cut back on reviews, which means reading fewer books from NetGalley. It’s yet another area I just don’t have a lot of time to devote to, though I will try to write a few lines for any small press/indie books I read that I feel like would benefit from it. I’ll also keep mixing in older titles with new releases. And I’ll be reading a lot of ebooks again; every year my reading tips to the digital end a little bit more.

How did you all do on your 2018 reading goals? Any particular books that set your soul on fire? See you next year!

Weaving Historical Facts Into Middle Grade Fiction

May 15, 2018 / Katie L. Carroll

Coming on the heels of discussing the real history and legends that inspired my middle grade adventure PIRATE ISLAND (see my post “The Real Pirate Lore That Inspired PIRATE ISLAND”) and while I’m currently deep in research mode for my next middle grade novel, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to weave real history into novels. And how to do this for children’s books in particular.

Much of the history I’ve researched both on famed pirate Captain William Kidd (for PIRATE ISLAND) and on witch trials in Connecticut in the 17th century (for my current WIP) deals with dark topics and violence. Both involve execution by hanging, murder charges, and other not-so-pleasant topics. I’m a firm believer that children’s writers should not shy away from writing darker stories, and that these stories are important, so long as the material is handled in a thoughtful way (see Newbery winner Kate DiCamillo’s essay in TIME “Why Children’s Books Should Be a Little Sad”).

The key is to keep it age appropriate, which is hard to do when kids anywhere from say 7 or 8 all the way up to 13 or 14 might be reading your book. That’s where subtlety comes in. You can include heavier themes and images in a subtle way where more mature readers will get them and less mature readers will simply gloss over them. I like to think of animated movies for a good example of this. So many drop in jokes that are for the adults but that children just won’t (even if they’re funny to the kids on the surface, they won’t get the innuendo behind it).

Beyond making the material age appropriate, I think it’s important to make the history relevant. Whether that means making it fun (which isn’t necessarily the case of the history I’ve included) or by making it personal. Captain Kidd’s history is personal to Billy, the main character of PIRATE ISLAND, because Billy becomes obsessed with Kidd and models Kidd’s behavior to be brave. The history of the hidden treasure drives the plot of the story, but Billy’s emotional connection to Kidd drives the emotional story line.

I’ve only scratched the surface on this topic, but in the interest of keeping my blog posts short, I’ll leave you all on that thought for now. But there’s so much more material I have on weaving history into stories, I have to revisit this topic. Anything in particular you all would like me to discuss on the next post?

Announcing a School Visit Special

January 29, 2018 / Katie L. Carroll

This offer for local schools has been extended to include the 2018/19 school year. If you’re not local and are willing to pay travel expenses, email me and hopefully we can set something up. My email is KatieLCarroll (at) yahoo (dot) com.

I’m offering a school visit special for the first time ever! If your school or organization purchases 30 or more of my books directly from me (at $10.00 each, either ELIXIR BOUND or PIRATE ISLAND), I’ll do a free writing workshop or assembly. Some of workshop topics include writing fantasy, revision, and generating ideas. I’m also open to working a specific writing topic to fit your needs.

This is for school’s I’d be able to visit without an overnight stay. So that means pretty much anywhere in Connecticut and extending out into parts of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and possibly New York. If you’re not sure, just contact me at KatieLCarroll (at) yahoo (dot) com, and I’ll do my best to work something out.

Check out my School Visit Brochure here or my Author Visits page for testimonials. And here is the free Pirate Island Curriculum Guide that includes reader questions, a writing prompt, a nature lesson and activity, and a history of Captain Kidd and activity.

This offer is good for what’s left of the 2017/18 school year, though if I get interest for the fall as well, I might be able to accommodate you. If you know any educators who might be interested in this, please feel free to share my info with them.

Cheating On My Novels With Picture Books

January 23, 2018 / Katie L. Carroll

I’ve so not been in the mood to blog lately. I have lots of things I could write about (both on the blog and in my own writing) but nothing that’s really sparking for me. So I’d rather spend my limited words on my actual writing than here.

So I’m just popping in to say that the one aspect of writing that I’m excited about is picture books. I think the short form is fitting with my attention span right now. Plus, I’ve been reading so many picture books with the boys, it’s hard not to get inspired in that area.

Writing picture books is a fun break from novel writing, which has felt like so much work lately. I’m slogging trough the long sentences and paragraphs in the novels. But my picture book is coming to me in fun little spurts. The scenes are snapshots that I have to interpret into words. Then I have to piece those snapshots together for a whole…but a short whole!

Not to say that shorter = easier. That is certainly not the case. But picture books are different than novels, and a change must be what I need. It’s almost like I’m cheating on the longer form with the shorter stuff. For me, there is less baggage when it comes to picture books. I feel a lot of pressure to get things right with this novel I’m working on, but there’s none of that with my picture books.

So I’m going with it…riding this burst of picture book creativity for now.

Enter to Win a Signed Paperback of PIRATE ISLAND in a Goodreads Giveaway

September 6, 2017 / Katie L. Carroll

A signed paperback of my middle grade adventure PIRATE ISLAND is up for grabs on Goodreads. But if you don’t want to take a chance on winning one, you can always pre-order a copy. The paperback is on sale at Amazon for $7.07 and at Barnes & Noble for just $7.09! I’m always happy to send a signed bookplate to anyone who purchases the paperback. Use my CONTACT page to let me know you want one.

Big props to anyone who shares the giveaway to help spread the word about it!