You may have noticed that I like trying new things when it comes to my author career. My published books alone, with their varied age ranges and genres, would clue you in to this. Which brings you my latest endeavor of the audiobook for Grammy’s Halloween Scare!
Listen to the audiobook on Chirp, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Libro.fm, and Google Play, Spotify and more to come. Also, you can check Libby and Hoopla from your local library and request it if they don’t already have it.
Because it’s me, I decided to not only narrate the audiobook myself, but also record a musical version of the book where I sang, played guitar, and mixed in sound effects. Am I good singer? No. Am I a good guitar player? Also, no. Do I know how to produce songs? Again, no.
Did I do all those things anyway? Yes!
Do I think it turned out okay? I think it turned out more than okay. I think it’s a lot of fun! I wasn’t going for perfection, more an experience that was real that kids would like. What’s more fun than having an author sing their book to you while playing guitar? Honestly, it was a lot of fun to make it as well.
That also means that the long-awaited audiobook of Mommy’s Night Before Christmas is also on the way. I know, I promised you that last year, but I didn’t get all my ducks in a row in time for a holiday release. But you’re really getting it this year!
While we’re still in spooky season, my upper middle grade book Witch Test is on sale for the whole month of October! Eighth grade is a bubbling cauldron of rumors in this Mean Girls meets The Craft book for tweens and teens. Get it for just $2.99 at my Purchase Books page (my favorite place for you to buy my books), Bookshop, Amazon, Itch, Kobo, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, and more.
I’m excited to have author Gayle C. Krause on the blog today to talk about her latest release ZADIE AND THE WITCH’S TEA, written by Gayle and illustrated by Kate Talbot. I love Halloween books, and this one looks adorable. Welcome, Gayle!
Katie, thank you for having me on the observation deck.
I’m happy to share my latest picture book news with you and your readers. ZADIE AND THE WITCH’S TEA, a reimagining of the classic Cinderella tale, with a Halloween twist and no prince, has just released. Here are the links to Barnes & Noble and Amazon if you know a child who would love the fanciful illustrations of Kate Talbot and the whimsical Halloween story of little Zadie’s kindness.
My favorite holiday is Halloween and my favorite genre to read and write is fantasy. So, it’s easy to see the inspiration for this book. Also, my sisters were a huge influence. We often tease each other about our “witchy” powers. (When one calls, the other already has the phone in her hand.) So to celebrate our sisterhood and our sibling thought waves, we gather every summer for fun, food, wine, and of course, ‘dress-up.’ We call it our Witchy Weekend.
Add to that my love of fairytales, which I absolutely adored, as a child, and still do. My teaching career, training prospective educators for the Pre-K and Elementary classrooms, (I taught Children’s Literature at the secondary and post-secondary levels), and my Fairytale Seminar – BEYOND THE FAIRYTALE – which teaches prospective children’s writers how to reimagine a traditional fairytale and make it their own, and you can see how I love this little witch.
Book blurb: When Little Zadie’s sisters dash her hope of attending the biggest event of the Halloween season because she has no “witchy” magic, her determination and a surprising Fairy Godspider enchantment sends her as a special guest. The adult witches try to outdo each other by casting spells and chanting charms to become the assistant to the most powerful witch in the land. But a kind gesture from Zadie wins the night and the title, and her sisters learn that kindness proves stronger than any magic they possess.
Zadie’s path to publication took many turns. First written in 2016, it had too many words. Then I tried to illustrate it myself. I drew my version of the pictures but could do nothing else beyond that. In 2018, I signed with an agent, and she loved it. But when she subbed it to publishing houses, they said it was too long, and they’d like to see it in prose. So, reluctantly, I revised to write less words and no rhyme. But it hurt my heart to do that. Picture books come to me in rhyme. Asking me to write them in prose is like asking me to write them in another language.
I’m aware of good rhyme vs. bad. I belonged to The Poets’ Garage for six years, was the assistant poetry editor for Beneath the Juniper Tree, and served on Angie Karcher’s Rhyme Revolution Committee, helping to write the rhyme rubric, and select the “BEST” Rhyming picture book in the U.S. for three years. And they wanted me to write it in prose! So, I took a break and used my creative time to design and sew Zadie, her sisters, and the Grand Witch.
During my time at the agency, Kate Talbot and I were agency sisters, in fact, we shared the same agent. Since then the agent left the business and Kate and I left the agency. But it was easy to reach out to her because her whimsical illustration style was perfect to bring Zadie’s story to life.
Kate’s work is beautiful.
If I have any advice for children’s writers, it’s to write what’s in your heart. If it’s rhyme, so be it. If it’s non-fiction biographies, go for it. If it’s board books or novels, the only rules to follow are know your craft, and give it your all.
ZADIE AND THE WITCH’S TEA is published by Trowbridge Books, a small, independent, traditional publishing house. www.trowbridgebooks.com
I am offering a signed copy of ZADIE AND THE WITCH’S TEA to one of your readers who comments on Zadie’s story, and shares news about my little witch on social media (please list where you shared). I also have Zadie swag that will accompany the book. (USA only)
Thank you for having me and letting me share Zadie’s story with your readers.
