Tag: middle grade mystery

Find a Clue, Leave a Clue: Wrapping Up THE GREAT CT CAPER with Stacy DeKeyser

June 7, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

It’s with great excitement and a little sadness that I announce the final chapter of THE GREAT CT CAPER is here! What an amazing adventure it has been both helping to write the Caper and reading along. While the family and I are enjoying the Mystery Solved event at Gillette Castle today, you can catch up with Stacy DeKeyser, author of chapter 12 of the Caper. Welcome, Stacy!

Find a Clue, Leave a Clue: Wrapping Up The Great CT Caper

by Stacy DeKeyser

Lucky me, assigned the last chapter of The Great Connecticut Caper! I’d never done anything like this before—tying up all the loose ends that 11 other authors had unraveled. But I told myself it would be a fun challenge. And it was!

I started by reading the first 10 chapters of the story. (I’ll talk about Chapter 11 later.) As I read and re-read the story (6 or 7 times?), I hunted for clues that the other authors had hidden in their chapters. These would be the seeds I’d use I to write the final chapter. I added my own notes to the very detailed story chart compiled by the Caper’s editor, Theresa Sullivan Barger.

Next, I listed the things that HAD to happen by the end of the story. Our heroes, Li-Ming and Thomas, had to defeat the dreaded Lady Hallow, for one thing. And of course, Gillette Castle had to be found. But how? I jotted down a few possibilities.

One goal of the Caper is to get kids excited about visiting Connecticut’s historical and cultural landmarks. The story had already incorporated a few of them, and I wanted to keep that theme going. So I decided that the final chapter would include one more Connecticut landmark. But which one?

Once more, I studied the clues that were already hidden in the Caper. And those clues led me to the perfect setting for the end of the story. One more very special (and very secret) Connecticut landmark.

Things were coming together! I was almost ready to start writing.

One cool feature of the Caper is that each author could write his or her chapter only after reading the chapters that had come before. But Sarah Albee (the author of Chapter 11) and I were given a bit of leeway. Since Chapter 11 is actually “The Ending, Part One,” Sarah and I needed to work together to plan the final series of events. As it turned out, we both had similar ideas for the climax of the story. And so Sarah only needed to tweak a couple of details in her chapter so they would point to the resolution (and the secret Connecticut landmark) I had in mind.

Screen Shot 2015-03-11 at 4.30.35 PM Now I was ready to visit the secret landmark myself, to hammer out the details of the final chapter. Armed with notebook and cell phone camera, I soaked in the atmosphere and asked lots of questions. I took photos. By the time I was done, I knew that this setting would work perfectly.

Back at my desk, I studied all the photos I had taken at Gillette Castle. More ideas came, and Chapter 12 took shape.

Now you can read the entire story. You can find out how the mystery of Gillette Castle is solved, and discover the identity of the secret landmark! I hope you’ll agree that it’s the perfect place to end The Great Connecticut Caper. And I hope now you’ll be itching to visit that place, and Gillette Castle, to look for the clues that Li-Ming and Thomas left behind. Because the clues are there. All you have to do is find them.

About the Author:

Stacy DeKeyser is the author of five books for children, including ONE WITCH AT A TIME and THE BRIXEN WITCH (S&S/McElderry). Her books have been included in the Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best, the Bank Street College of Education Best Books of the Year, Amazon Editors’ Picks, KIRKUS REVIEW’s New and Notable Books for Children, and various state award lists. She lives in Simsbury. Visit her website at stacydekeyser.com.

Meet Sarah Albee Author of Chapter 11 of The Great Connecticut Caper

May 25, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

Chapter 11 of The Great Connecticut Caper is here! That means only one more to go! It’s been a wild ride. In honor of the mystery (almost) being solved, the Connecticut Humanities is hosting an event at Gillette Castle on Sunday, June 7 from 2-4 pm. It’ll be a great opportunity to meet some of the authors and illustrators and to participate in some fun events (I heard there will be bookish type prizes!). In the meantime, today you can get know Sarah Albee, author of chapter 11, a little better. Welcome, Sarah!

What was your approach to writing chapter 11 of The Great CT Caper? Given that it was the second-to-last chapter, how much did you feel you had to wrap up in order to set up the ending for the author of the final chapter?

I actually worked pretty closely with Stacy DeKeyser, my fellow Caper author who was slated to write the final episode. Together we hatched a plan to wrap up the various plot threads and resolve the story in our two remaining installments. There was quite a bit of back-and-forth and she had some great ideas that I incorporated into my chapter. I think the combination of brain power was a great way to work!

What were your expectations coming into writing a collaborative, serialized story for young readers? Had you written anything like this before?

I have written books that include lots of chapter cliffhangers and that have very controlled word counts, but never in collaboration with other writers. It was fun, but challenging, because my predecessors have wonderfully wild imaginations and took the story onto some wild tangents. I was in the role of “batting cleanup,” and I enjoyed the challenge.

What kind of research did you do for the project?

I visited the Castle and took a whole lot of pictures, so I felt I had a good grounding with the setting.

The Great CT Caper’s target audience is children in grades four through seven. What were some of your favorite books when you were that age?

I loved books with magic in them, like the Narnia chronicles and Edward Eager’s books (Half Magic, Magic by the Lake, etc.). I also loved detective stories, and devoured Sherlock Holmes stories and Agatha Christie mysteries.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received? What one piece of advice that you didn’t get but wished you had gotten?

I love Stephen King’s admonition in his book On Writing, where he says, “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” In other words, write with simplicity and clarity.

The advice I wish I’d gotten? Ignore people who say “Write what you know.” I love finding stuff out. I love not knowing about something and learning about it. It’s the best part of being a nonfiction writer!

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring two books and one movie, what would you bring?

I’d bring the collected works of P.G. Wodehouse, the collected works of Shakespeare (is that cheating??), and a Pixar movie. Every one of them is ingenious, but I guess I’d say Monsters Inc. No, Toy Story. No, The Incredibles. Ok. Monsters Inc.

Where else can readers find your writings? What’s up next for your writing career?

My latest book, which came out in February with National Geographic, is called Why’d They Wear That? Fashion as the Mirror of History. My next book, slated for 2017, is about poison in human history.

And finally, what is something funny/weird/exceptional about yourself that you don’t normally share with others in an interview?

After college, I lived for a year in Cairo, Egypt, where I played on a semi-professional women’s basketball team!

About the Author:

Sarah Albee is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 100 books for kids, ranging from preschool through middle grade. Her latest nonfiction middle grade title Why’d They Wear That? is about crazy fashions in history (National Geographic, 2015). She enjoys writing about topics where history and science connect, including Bugged: How Insects Changed History (2014) and Poop Happened: A History of the World from the Bottom Up (2010). When she isn’t writing books or visiting schools in person or via Skype, Sarah blogs about offbeat history at http://sarahalbeebooks.com.

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Playing Catch Up Jessica McCadden Author of Chapter 8 of THE GREAT CT CAPER

April 13, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

Chapter 8 of THE GREAT CONNECTICUT CAPER is here! The adventure is really shaking and moving, and with only four chapters left, I can’t wait to see what happens next. While we all wait for find out what exactly is going on with Gillette Castle, let’s give a big welcome to chapter 8 author Jessica McCadden!

Playing Catch Up

by Jessica McCadden

From the moment my wonderful mentor, Sarah Darer Littman, brought this project to my attention I wanted to be a part of it.

As a graduate student pursuing my MFA in Creative Writing, I spend a lot of time reading, writing papers, and working on my young adult novel and though I work with wonderful writers and teachers, I’m always the sole author of my projects. One of the reasons the CT Caper was so intriguing to me was because I was excited about the prospect of creating a story that would be part of a larger work. The really cool thing was that the story would be a mystery not only to the readers, but to me—one of the authors! Participating in this process meant relinquishing some creative control, but was also freeing. I didn’t have to come up with a beginning or end—I just got to focus on my one small part of the story.

Since I was writing Chapter 8, I received the first seven chapters before writing my section. The main characters had been fleshed out, and the basic themes and plot already constructed. I will admit, before even starting to think about my chapter I had to map out what was going on. There were a lot of little details to keep track of, and the most important thing was to make sure I knew where each character was at the end of chapter 7 so that my chapter would be consistent with the events that took place before. This was very different from my solo projects because instead of planning the story from beginning to end, I was playing catch up. Once I was clear on what was going on, I wrote an outline for my chapter and figured out what Connecticut landmark I wanted to include, as well as which facts about William Gillette and Gillette Castle would fit into my story.

I was happy that I could include magic into my chapter because this fantasy world had already been established. My own novel and short stories are usually in the dystopian, science fiction, or fantasy genres, so it was fun to incorporate some of the elements I love to write in Chapter 8. I also wanted to add a landmark from the part of the state where I’ve spent most of my life (southwestern CT), so I did some research and found a historical mansion just a few miles from my old home that I included in the story.

As some of the other writers have mentioned, it was really difficult to stick to the word count! I think my first draft was over 900 words long, and I’d thought I was being frugal! Cutting the chapter down to 650 words took longer than writing the original draft. After some help from the project’s wonderful editor I made revisions and was very happy with the final draft—especially the cliffhanger at the end of my chapter!

Now that my part is finished I’m concentrating on school (pursuing my MFA in Creative and Professional Writing at Western Connecticut State University) and finishing my young adult novel. My goal is to finish the final draft by early next year and after that I will be seeking representation. In the meantime, I teach college English courses and lead creative writing workshops at Writopia Lab, which gives me the opportunity to help amazing and talented kids write their own stories.

I am so grateful for this opportunity to be a part of a unique, history-mystery for children that is educational and fun to read. I’m ready to write another chapter… sequel anyone?

About the Author:

Jessica McCadden is a freelance writer who received her B.S. from Boston University and has worked as a writer and producer at NBC, Nickelodeon, and TV Land. In addition, Jessica is in the process of earning her MFA in Creative & Professional Writing with an emphasis on Young Adult fiction from Western Connecticut State University.

Jessica teaches English Literature as a graduate assistant, has led creative writing workshops for kids at Writopia Lab, worked as an editorial intern at Talcott Notch Literary Services, and is one of the authors of The Great CT Caper, a serialized mystery story for young people.

One of her goals as a writer is to increase diversity in children’s literature. She currently resides in Connecticut and is writing her first YA novel.

Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn, her website, and Twitter (@JessicaMcCadden).

Meet Melissa Crandall Author of Chapter 6 of THE GREAT CONNECTICUT CAPER

March 16, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

We’ve reached the halfway mark of THE GREAT CONNECTICUT CAPER! So much has happened since that opening chapter on the Connecticut River when we first learned Gillette Castle had gone missing. Check out chapter 6 and then read about the making of as author Melissa Crandall graciously answers some questions about the making of it and her writing life. Welcome, Melissa!

What was your approach to writing chapter 6 of the Great CT Caper? Did it differ any from your approach when creating a piece written solely by you?

The big difference, of course, was that there were five other writers ahead of me, so my preparation involved reading those five chapters, seeing how they meshed together, and then working to make my chapter fit as another piece to the puzzle. I’ve had a lot of experience doing that sort of thing – I’ve been writing collaborative pieces since high school – so I was familiar with the drill. Whether I’m working solo or in collaboration, my chief goal is to write the very best I can.

What were your expectations coming into writing a collaborative, serialized story for young readers? Had you written anything like this before?

Oh, yes. Back in high school, my friends and I wrote serialized stories where one of us would start, write the plot into a corner, and then gleefully pass it on to the next person to figure out. My first professional novel – Star Trek’s ICE TRAP – was written in collaboration with two other writers under the name L.A. Graf, and for the past several years I’ve participated in The Exquisite Project at Bill Library in Ledyard, CT. In essence, that’s a writer/artist version of the old “Exquisite Corpse” parlor game.

The Great CT Caper’s target audience is children in grades four through seven. What were some of your favorite books when you were that age?

I was (and still am) a voracious reader, so there were many. Some that readily come to mind are: Peter Pan (J.M. Barrie), Misty of Chincoteague and King of the Wind (Marguerite Henry), Black and Blue Magic (Zilpha Keatley Snyder), Andy Buckram’s Tin Men (Carol Ryrie Brink), Steel Magic (Andre Norton), and the Moomintroll books (Tove Jansson).

What writers do you find inspire your own work?

Truthfully, every writer I read affects me in some way. Some teach me ways to be a better writer, and others show me things I don’t ever want to emulate. Some of those who energize me about the craft of writing are J.M. Barrie, Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Barbara Hambly, and Jonathan Carroll.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring two books and one movie, what would you bring?

The books would be Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. (And if I could sneak in one more, it would be “Red Ranger Came Calling” by Berke Breathed.) As for movies…that’s hard, because my favorite changes all the time depending upon my mood. Probably JAWS.

Everyone is always trying to sneak in an extra one on that desert island! Where else can readers find your writings? What’s up next for your writing career?

Most of my books are currently out of print, but can be found wherever used books are sold. In the past year, my short story “Centaur” appeared in the online magazine Allegory, and I also sold essays to CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL: THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS and the Journal of the American Geriatric Society. They can also check out my website at www.melissacrandall.com and my blog “The Wild Ride – Caretaking Mom Through Alzheimer’s” at https://melissacrandall.wordpress.com/.

Currently, I’m working on a fantasy story and doing research for what I hope will turn into a novel based during the American Civil War.

And finally, what is something funny/weird/exceptional about yourself that you don’t normally share with others in an interview?

I once baby-sat a convalescing elephant.

About the Author:

Melissa Crandall writes “whatever needs writing.” To date, that’s included science fiction novels, fantasy short stories, and non-fiction essays. For several years, she served as fiction judge for the Darien Library Teen Writing Contest. Crandall enjoys hiking with her dog and pursues nature photography as a hobby.

The Process of Serial Writing and Chapter Two of The Great CT Caper

January 19, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

THE GREAT CT CAPER, a serialized mystery for young readers about Gillette Castle gone missing, launched at the beginning of the month. I’m thrilled to announce Chapter two is out! And I wrote it! If you haven’t read chapter one yet, I highly recommend you do that before heading on over to my chapter.

I’m avoiding any major spoilers in this blog post about writing chapter two, but you might want to read the chapters first, just so you’re not unduly influenced during your reading. So far it’s been great fun creating a chapter and finally getting to see both the illustration by a Connecticut artist and the curriculum guide for my chapter. Here’s my journey of being a part of this adventure.

Getting the Assignment

When I heard that the CT Humanities was looking for authors and illustrators from CT to create a serialized story based on a missing state landmark, it sounded like a fun project, so I sent out my writing sample, personal statement, and resume. I was super excited to get a phone call informing me I was selected as one of the twelve authors and that I would soon find out what chapter I would be writing.

A sneak peek at Gillette Castle as we approached it from the grounds.

We were told the public has chosen Gillette Castle as the missing landmark (the landmark I voted for in the poll!) and that the target audience was kids ages 9-12. We would be provided with some facts about the castle and William Gillette, the man who designed the castle and lived there, and the previous chapters. Then the authors would be given free rein to be creative, fun, informative, whatever we wanted to be in our chapters. The only hitch was that we would each have just one week to write the chapter and then a follow-up week to edit it. Phew!

I originally thought I’d be writing one of the middle chapters in early 2015, but then I got an email that asked me if I’d be able to write chapter two in late September (which was only a few weeks away). I was nervous about getting it done (with The Prince only being a few months old and a family vacation planned for early October), but excited. Chapter two seemed like the perfect chapter to write in this kind of serialized storytelling with multiple authors.

I wouldn’t have the responsibility of laying the groundwork of a whole story like the chapter one author (read about Yelizaveta P. Renfro’s approach to chapter one here), but I also wouldn’t have too much story to keep track of like authors of later chapters. And I figured I’d have lots of leeway to put my mark on the story since I was assigned such an early chapter. All in all, a pretty good deal.

A view of the Connecticut River from Gillette Castle.

Doing the Research

As part of being involved with the Caper, all the authors and illustrators were offered a free visit to Gillette Castle. Now I had seen the castle from the Connecticut River while on a boat tour, but I had never been up close to it or inside. After reading some information about it on the Internet, I decided I just had to try and get there before writing my chapter. With the crazy, brilliant mind of William Gillette behind the design of it, I wanted to see the spying mirrors, secret passages, and medieval design in person.

The boys and I hanging out on one of the balconies.

So the hubby took a day off from work; we packed the boys, lunch, diaper bags, and supplies into the car; and took a drive to East Haddam, CT to check out Gillette Castle State Park. Boy was it worth the trip! It was rainy that morning, so we didn’t get to explore the grounds much (there are acres of hiking trails in the park), but we got full run of the castle and the tour guides because there was hardly anyone else there on a random, rainy weekday in early September.

William Gillette posing as Sherlock Holmes.

With The Prince strapped to me in a baby wrap and my phone camera and notebook in hand, I was ready to explore. I asked the gracious tour guide lots of question (he even had questions for me about the Caper…he had heard of it but didn’t know much about it), took a ton of pictures, and really just took it all in. The castle is small, as castles go, but there are so many little details to it and lots of information about William Gillette, who was a fascinating person. Most notably, he was the actor who created the character of Sherlock Holmes as we know it today with the deerstalker cap and curved pipe.

Seeing the castle and learning about William Gillette really got my imagination going. On the ride home, I jotted down some key ideas and images that popped into my head and hoped that I’d be able to include even a little of what had inspired me.

Writing the Chapter

Before I knew it, I had received my email with chapter one and the plot and character cheat sheet (pretty short given there was only one chapter before mine). Then it was time to get my creative juices on! As I read through chapter one, little bubbles of excitement percolated in my belly as I met the characters and got a feel for the voice of the story. There was a lot to work with, and so many places I could take the story. Then I read the first chapter again and I continued to look back at it as I began writing my own.

One of the many doors, not two of which are exactly alike, in the castle. This particular one plays a role in my chapter.

One of the many doors, no two of which are exactly alike, in the castle. This particular one plays a role in my chapter.

I saw lots of opportunities to use some of the ideas and notes from my visit, but I knew I would have to be selective. I had only 650 words to work with and lots I wanted to do. First, I had to make sure to move the story forward and I wanted lots of action in my chapter. I also wanted to continue to develop the already established characters and maybe add in a few new ones. I wanted to add some magic, because that’s what I love to read and write about, and it made sense that magic would be involved in the disappearance of a castle!

And I really, really wanted to include Gillette Castle in my chapter. That detail was a bit tricky because the chapter was so early in the story and I couldn’t have them finding the castle and the characters being like, “Okay, mystery solved.” So I used the magic system I had come up with to accomplish being able to have the castle in the story but without solving the mystery. I decided to start the chapter with a bang (literally a boom!) of magic and get right into the action.

One other idea I had toyed around with was including one of my favorite places in CT, a place I had visited many times growing up and continue going to as an adult with my kids. (Want to know which place that is? Well, you’ll have to read the chapter to find that out.) I’ve lived my whole life in CT and I think it’s a special place, so I really wanted to highlight one of the things I love about the state.

On location at the other place in CT I wanted to feature in the story.

The new characters came in the form of villains because I thought it was important to introduce them early on in the story. Chapter one had established the protagonists very well, so I added in a couple of antagonists right at the end of the chapter.

The first chapter had ended with a great cliffhanger, and I had to end the next one like that as well. It’s important to end any chapter in a novel in a way that keeps the reading turning the page, but this element is especially important in a serialized story. I also wanted to conclude in a way that the next author could pretty much take the story in whatever direction they wanted. If they wanted to continue using the magic system I had established, they could, but they could also chose not to use magic in their part as well.

Plus it all had to make sense, it had to feel complete and not rushed, and it had to have a story arc of its own with some semblance of a beginning, middle, and end. All the while, I wanted to move the story forward. I was always conscience of having “stuff” happen and making the most of my words.

In retrospect, looking back at all the things I wanted to accomplish seems like it was a big task, but it kind of all flowed. (Thankfully, because I had to write it all in one week!). The hardest part was paring it all down to fit in the word count. I kept going back and trimming, trimming, trimming. I cut out unnecessary words. I took out all but the most important details and descriptions. I threw out anything that just wasn’t essential to the plot.

And you know what? I had a lot of fun doing it. Before I knew it, I had written my chapter, completed my edits, and just had to wait for the story to come out.

Marketing and Partying and Such

Since completing my chapter, I’ve also had a lot of fun meeting the other authors and illustrators and marketing the story. I invited them to guest post on the blog and I met a bunch of them in person at the launch party in Hartford, CT. It was great to have an evening out with adults (I had to actually change out of my sweatpants!). I also met some really enthusiastic teachers and librarians who are bringing the Caper to their schools. I’m looking forward to the second launch party next week at the Peabody Museum in New Haven, CT (sign up here for the free event).

The CT Humanities brought the idea of a serialized, state centered story to CT and other state organizations have gotten involved too. And all the people involved have been great to work with and meet. It’s really made the whole experience worth it (because, yes, all the authors and illustrators volunteered our time to the project…i.e. we didn’t get paid). I’ve always found trying to market my writing to be really hard and a bit of a drag, but I’ve actually had a lot of fun spreading the word about the Caper. I think having a solid network behind the project has really helped with that. I plan on taking what I’ve learning about marketing to future releases of my own titles.

Like the rest of you, I have not read the rest of the chapters. So I’m really excited about seeing where everyone else has taken the story. I’ve heard some rumors, which I could mention here but then I’d have to track you all down to silence you, so I’m keeping my mouth shut about those! I hope that many kids enjoy following along with the story and the games and activities. I hope, too, that other states see what CT has done with the Caper and do their own versions. Maybe CT will even do another one in the future. There are so many possibilities with this kind of storytelling.

So go read those chapters and share here what you think will happen next in THE GREAT CT CAPER!