Interview with Author Carole Gerber

Happy Thursday Critters! This week we are catching up with author Carole Gerber, who last stopped by CritterLit in December 2019. You can read Carole’s first interview with CritterLit here. I’m thrilled to have her with us today to chat about her writing process, inspiration, and newest picture book, P IS FOR PURR, illustrated by Susanna Covelli, published by Familius this past November.

So without further ado, please welcome back Carole Gerber!

It's great to have you back!

Thanks for interviewing me, Lindsay.

Can you tell us about your latest book, P IS FOR PURR?

I’ve been a writer for decades—I won’t reveal how many! Over the years, I’ve started and set aside many manuscripts. While doing an end-of-year review and clean out of my files, I came across a previous version of a manuscript that became P is for Purr. I can’t remember exactly why I filed this away. Most likely it was because alphabet manuscripts fall in and out of favor and it had not been accepted. I reread it, reworked some verses, and added brief back matter to “extend” the facts in each verse. I then sent it to Familius, which had published two of my previous manuscripts. The editors liked it and accepted it.

Interior art from P IS FOR PURR by Carole Gerber, Illustrated by Susanna Covelli, published by Familius

Interior art from P IS FOR PURR by Carole Gerber, Illustrated by Susanna Covelli, published by Familius

What inspired this story?

For 15+ years, my family had an amazing cat named Winston that we adopted from an animal shelter in Ohio. He was a scrawny little guy who grew into a large, fluffy and beautiful orange striped cat who was known throughout our old neighborhood. Winston was part Maine Coon and was a stealthy and amazing hunter. He didn’t eat his prey – just bit them and brought them home as a gift for our family. After he died, I kept his ashes on my desk for years. When we moved to South Carolina, I buried his ashes in my garden under the catmint plant that he loved. I found Simon through an organization here in South Carolina that finds and cares for strays, then puts them up for adoption. Simon was named by his “foster mother” who fed and housed him until I brought him home. Like Winston, he was scrawny. Now he is big and fluffy. I guess that means I’m a good “cat mom!”

Interior art from P IS FOR PURR by Carole Gerber, Illustrated by Susanna Covelli, published by Familius

Can you share a bit about your research process for this book?

I wanted to present factual information about cats in an interesting way that would appeal to three groups of readers: children, parents and teachers. Writing a two-line rhyming verse for each letter of the alphabet was a lot of fun. It was also challenging, especially for the letters X, Y and Z. (I did it, but you’ll have to read the book to see how! 😊)

You write about a wide range of topics. How do you decide what you want to write about?

I study the markets! Knowing what various publishers are looking for helps me target which manuscripts to send to various publishers. Also, as with P is for Purr, I rarely throw anything away. When I am out of new ideas, I go through my “oldies” folders and try to find something I’ve written about a topic that is currently in demand. 

Then I read it as critically as I believe an editor would, and rework it with fresh eyes. 

Do you write daily?

No, but I do check out what is being published and at least think about what I have on hand or might write that could be of interest. It generally takes two years after a manuscript is accepted before it’s published. That means editorial needs may have changed, so I try to keep up on this by reading what various publishers are seeking or currently publishing.

What does your writing process look like?

I’ve had years of experience writing for ad agencies, private companies, universities, and directly for publishers through work for hire contracts. Based on this, I try to psych out the market. Also, I look on Amazon to see what has already been published on a topic that interests me and that I think might interest a publisher.

Do you prefer fiction or nonfiction? What do you feel are the challenges of both?

I’ve written a lot of both, but find nonfiction more interesting and challenging than fiction. Because it’s based on facts, nonfiction provides a structure on which to base a picture book. Potentially, fiction provides more freedom for “flights of fancy” than nonfiction. But it must still make sense and appeal to readers.

What do you find inspiring right now?

It’s gratifying to see so many first-time picture book writers being published! I make a point of checking their books out of my local library if they are available. 

What do you find challenging with writing right now?

I’m no longer naïve and hopeful about the likelihood of my manuscripts being quickly accepted. Publishing has always been a notoriously slow business and the pandemic slowed it even further. 

Are you currently offering school visits?

No, the pandemic shut down school visits for so long that I am out of practice. However, although I haven’t sought school visits, I don’t rule out visiting the nearby school my kindergarten-age granddaughter attends or other local elementary schools in Mt. Pleasant, SC where I live. 

Any reading recommendations?

I always read CritterLit, of course! It introduces me to the work of many new and talented writers. I also never miss Kathy Carroll’s “Celebrate Picture Books” blog. Like CritterLit, she gets to the heart of each picture book she reviews, which motivates me to buy or check out the books she recommends. l also love Vivian Kirkfield's "Will Write for Cookies" column which features interviews with authors of  some lovely, new children's books.

What's up next for you?

I will have a new picture book out in 2024 from Familius titled A Tree for Me. It’s about a little boy who takes a walk in the woods with his father. The art is gorgeous!  It’s told in first person verse from the point of view of the child. 

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Huge thank you to Carole for stopping by CritterLit today! Congrats on your new book! We can’t wait to see A Tree for Me in 2024!

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Carole Gerber has written 18 picture books, three chapter books, and more than one hundred elementary science and reading texts for major publishers. Her picture book, A Band of Babies , was named a Best Book for Children by Amazon editors. She holds a BS in English education and an MA in journalism from Ohio State, and has taught middle school and high school English as well as college news writing and factual writing at OSU. She lives in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Learn more at www.carolegerber.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION about Carole, visit her online at carolegerber.com.

BUY THIS BOOK To purchase a copy of Carole’s book, click here.

WIN A COPY! Want to win a giveaway copy of P IS FOR PURR?! Leave a COMMENT below or RETWEET this post on Twitter. One lucky winner will be announced on Thursday, January 26th! US addresses only please.

Interview with Author Tracy C. Gold

Happy Thursday Critters! Today we have an interview with an author whose debut board book, EVERYONE’S SLEEPY BUT THE BABY, illustrated by Adele Dafflon, will be released on April 13th with Familius. I love original board books and this one is very funny— especially for all you fellow parents out there who know the struggles of getting a baby to sleep. I’m thrilled to have her with us today, so without further ado, please welcome Tracy C. Gold!

Where do you live?

I live in Baltimore City, Maryland, in a tree-lined neighborhood full of houses from 1900.

When did you know you wanted to write picture books?

I actually never even considered it until I had a kid of my own! After she was born, I started reading tons of picture books and getting ideas for my own. I jot down ideas on my phone whenever they come to me and one of those became Everyone’s Sleepy but the Baby!

Tell us about your road to publication, what did that involve for you?

Oh goodness, it has been a long and winding road indeed. I’ve been writing novels for ten years and haven’t had one published yet. Despite getting into big contests like Pitch Wars and getting lots of interest from agents, ultimately, I faced down hundreds of rejections from agents across four different novels. At an SCBWI MD/DE/WV conference, my friend Kathy MacMillan raved about her picture book publisher, Familius. So when I had a draft of a picture book I thought was special, I just sent it straight to them as a cold query, without mentioning Kathy. I was utterly shocked when they wrote to me only ONE WEEK later saying they wanted to publish it as part of their board book line. That book is Everyone’s Sleepy but the Baby. For my second book, Trick or Treat, Bugs to Eat, the path was a bit more “traditional,” though still twisty. Somewhere in my novel writing education, I interned for literary agent Carrie Pestritto for a year or so. I wrote to her to tell her about my deal for SLEEPY, and that I was looking for an agent for other picture books. She said she’d represent me herself! It wasn’t until many months later, after we’d submitted 3-4 other picture books, that Sourcebooks said they wanted to publish my Halloween book about bats, Trick or Treat, Bugs to Eat.

Can you share a bit about your process?

All of my books, novels and picture books alike, are inspired by real life. That could be looking around my house and noticing that my dog and my husband were snoring, and I was exhausted, while my child was wide awake, for Everyone’s Sleepy but the Baby, or seeing a million bats fly out from under Congress Bridge while traveling in Austin, TX, and turning it into a picture book years later. I’m also working on a historical novel about a ship of Jewish refugees turned away from the US, Cuba, and Canada in 1939 that was inspired by a friend posting about her relatives who were on the ship amidst revelations of poor treatment of refugees in the US during the Trump administration. So, I never know whether I’ll get an idea right away or if something needs to marinate for a while, but the whole world is full of amazing stories.

What do you do to shake the rust off or get new ideas?

I try not to stress too much about it, really! I like to take breaks between heavy writing periods to refill my well. So if I’m not writing, or if I don’t have good ideas, I consume lots of media—reading books in many genres, watching great tv shows, and especially paying attention to interesting stories in the news. I play close attention to media coming from The Maryland Zoo and the National Aquarium, near me, as I love writing about animals. When I’m in the middle of an intense writing project, I close myself off to a lot of outside media, because if I’m reading a really good novel, I won’t put it down to work on my own writing. So I’m very aware that my creativity goes in cycles. Natalie Goldberg, who has a great craft book called Writing Down the Bones, compares this process to composting. Sometimes you’re loading the compost heap with all the raw material, and sometimes you’re taking out that rich soil to plant your garden.

Anything you can’t live without while you write?

I am actually quite flexible especially now that I am a parent—sometimes the only time I have to work all day is when my daughter is in the bath. I pull up a chair and open my laptop and hope I don’t get splashed! But if I had my way I would have my ergonomic keyboard and chair, huge monitor, black coffee in the morning, and peppermint tea at night. Plus lots of dark chocolate!

Any authors and/or illustrators who inspire you?

Well, Kathy MacMillan who I mentioned earlier is such an inspiration because in addition to being a wonderful writer of picture books and YA, she gives back to her community so much as the Co-RA of our region of SCBWI. I also admire Linda Sue Park, who also writes stories based in non-fiction, from the sparse yet stunning A Single Shard set in ancient Korea, to the hard-hitting A Long Walk to Water about the Lost Boys of Sudan, to Gondra’s Treasure, a sweet picture book about a dragon who’s a mix of different mythologies.

Dream project to work on?

Hello, Universe, hire me to do a Star Wars picture book? I would also completely flip out if the WWII refugee novel I am working on was published and *gasp* turned into a movie. I love working on picture books because of the collaboration with artists and think film would take that to a whole new level. I also think the message of this refugee story, and any refugee story, really, is so important. The United States needs to do a better job of living up to that Emma Lazarus poem in the Statue of Liberty: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Any US Citizen could have been a refugee if we had been born into different circumstances.

Tell us about your debut book.

Everyone’s Sleepy but the Baby, illustrated by Adele Dafflon, is a short, sweet and slightly sassy book about a baby who will just not sleep! It is directly inspired by my exhaustion as a new mother and I’d like to think it’s a version of Adam Mansbach’s “Go the F**k to Sleep” that you could actually read to your child. It will bring laughs as a baby shower gift book, but also actually help soothe fussy babies and toddlers to sleep.

Interior Art from EVERYONE’S SLEEPY BUT THE BABY written by Tracy C. Gold, illustrated by Adele Dafflon

What’s up next for you?

After Everyone’s Sleepy but the Baby is well out in the world, I will be focusing on launching my second picture book—technically my debut hardcover picture book, as SLEEPY is a board book. I have an additional book contracted with Sourcebooks as well, but I don’t know what it will be yet, so that will be fun to work out! I have a ton of ideas and drafts already!

And last, but not least, favorite 80s movie?

I’m going to have to say The Breakfast Club! When John Bender comes in, he goes out of his way to knock little things over because he just has so much energy and wants attention, and that makes me laugh so hard because it reminds me so much of my very hyper little brother. (Who is an adult now but just as full of energy as he was as a teen.) The whole movie is hilarious with an ultimately sweet message. Plus random 80s dance scene?!

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Huge thank you to Tracy for stopping by Critter Lit today! Congrats on your debut!

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TRACY C. GOLD loves bringing characters to life. She is a writer, freelance editor, and mom living in Baltimore, Maryland. She has two picture books forthcoming in 2021, Everyone’s Sleepy but the Baby from Familius in March and Trick or Treat, Bugs to Eat from Sourcebooks in August. She also writes short stories, essays, novels, and poems. Her work has been published in several magazines and anthologies. Tracy earned her M.F.A. in Creative Writing and Publishing Arts at the University of Baltimore and earned her B.A. in English from Duke University. When she’s not writing or editing, she’s playing with her toddler, or hanging out with her horse and dog, both rescues. You can find out more about Tracy or sign up for her newsletter at tracycgold.com or follow her on social media:

Twitter @tracycgold

Instagram

Facebook author page.

ORDER THIS BOOK To order a copy of EVERYONE’S SLEEPY BUT THE BABY, click here.

WIN A COPY! Want to win a copy of EVERYONE’S SLEEPY BUT THE BABY?! Leave a COMMENT below or RETWEET this post on Twitter. One lucky winner will be announced on Thursday, March 25th! US addresses only please.

Interview with Debut Author Lindsay H. Metcalf

Happy Thursday Critters! Today we have an interview with a debut picture book author that has not one, not two, BUT THREE picture books coming out this year! What a debut year! I’m thrilled to have today’s author with us and I can’t wait for you to read about her fantastic lineup of books this year.

So without further ado, please welcome Lindsay Metcalf!

Where do you live?

I live in rural Kansas, just three miles from the wheat, corn, and soybean farm where I grew up. My whole family lives here now, so my kids are blessed with abundant grandparent and cousin time. 

When did you know you wanted to write picture books?

I knew the day my youngest went to preschool and I finally had a few hours to myself. I had left my job as a newspaper reporter and editor a few years earlier to be a stay-at-home mom. In those early years caring for my sons, we read together constantly. The irreverent, funny new picture books we found surprised and delighted me. I wanted to try writing one, especially for my oldest, who was born with microtia/atresia—a malformed ear and no ear canal. I wanted him to see himself in a book. The day my youngest son went to preschool, I snuggled up with my Cavalier King Charles puppy in a cozy armchair and drafted the picture book of my heart, which spilled out way too long, descriptive, and didactic. But I couldn’t stop scratching the itch to write. I read up on how the heck people got published, and later that fall, in 2015, I found SCBWI and my first critique partners. The rest is herstory.

Tell us about your road to publication, what did that involve for you?

Because I had been writing daily for many years, I hoped my trajectory would be shorter than others who had less experience in writing. Ha. Pretty pompous, eh? Picture books spare no one, and my learning curve was steep!

I submitted that first story to all the editors and agents on faculty at my first regional SCBWI conference in 2015. Of course I submitted waaaay too soon. Fortunately, all those rejections included glimmers of kindness and encouragement. I began to understand what I had to do: attend more conferences and small, craft-focused workshops; collect critique partners; and devour craft books such as Ann Whitford Paul’s Writing Picture Books. I learned the basics in Susanna Hill’s Making Picture Book Magic course, began to thread nonfiction narratives in Kristen Fulton’s Nonfiction Archaeology course (which is no longer offered, unfortunately), and refined my craft in Renee LaTulippe’s Lyrical Language Lab. In the meantime I signed up educational webinars and participated in ReFoReMo, Storystorm (which was called PiBoIdMo at the time), KidLit Summer School, and other free craft challenges. I subscribed to newsletters such as KidLit 411 and joined writer-focused Facebook groups such as Sub It Club while following every kidlit blog I could find. 

Then in 2017, on the same day I won a mentorship through Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie’s Writing with the Stars contest, I had “the call” with my agent. That was probably the best day of my kidlit career thus far. It took another year and a half to sell my first book. 

What do you do to shake the rust off or get new ideas?

I get a lot of my ideas from reading the news. I subscribe to four newspapers — two local ones as well as the digital editions of the New York Times and the Washington Post. Email newsletters are also essential for nonfiction ideas. My favorites include the Smithsonian, JSTOR, Library of Congress, and the National Archives. I shake off the rust by playing with my kids. Whenever they say something clever, I sneak away to record it on my phone.

Tell us about your debut books.

I have three nonfiction picture books coming out in fall 2020. I consider all of them my debuts, so I hope you don’t mind if I tell you about all three.

BEATRIX POTTER, SCIENTIST, illustrated by Junyi Wu (September 1, 2020, Albert Whitman & Company), is a picture-book biography focused on the interplay between the author's foundational love of science and burgeoning talent as an artist. As a child, Beatrix kept a meticulous cabinet of labeled and pinned insect specimens, and even boiled her pets after they died so she could articulate and study their bones. Then, as she traveled northern England and Scotland as a young woman, she fell in love with fungi and fell down a decade-long rabbit hole of obsession that ended with her breakthrough science on spore germination being presented to the Linnean Society, which wouldn’t allow her to attend because she was a woman. 

NO VOICE TOO SMALL: Fourteen Young Americans Making History (September 22, 2020, Charlesbridge) is a picture-book poetry anthology co-edited by me, Keila V. Dawson (THE KING CAKE BABY) and Jeanette Bradley (LOVE, MAMA), and illustrated by Bradley. It features short biographies about contemporary young activists who are taking the lead where grown-ups aren’t moving fast enough. Subjects include literacy activist Marley Dias, water protector Jasilyn Charger, Scout for Equality founder Zach Wahls, and immigration reformer Viridiana Sanchez Santos. Contributors include Nikki Grimes, Joseph Bruchac, Lesléa Newman, Guadalupe García McCall, Carole Boston Weatherford, Traci Sorell, Hena Khan, G. Neri, and more. You can find a complete list of our amazing contributors at the link above. 

FARMERS UNITE! Planting a Protest for Fair Prices (November 10, 2020, Calkins Creek) will be illustrated with archival photos and targeted toward more of a middle-grade audience. In the late 1970s, grain prices had tanked, farm auction notices filled newspapers, and people had forgotten that food didn’t grow in grocery stores. So, on February 5, 1979, thousands of tractors from all parts of the US took to the highways and flooded Washington, DC, in protest. Farmers wanted fair prices for their products and demanded action from Congress. After police corralled the tractors on the National Mall, the farmers and their tractors stayed through a snowstorm and dug out the city. Americans were now convinced they needed farmers, but the law took longer. I grew up on a Kansas farm, so this rarely told story of grassroots perseverance and economic justice hits home for me. I wrote it imagining that it would be illustrated traditionally and reach an audience of children about age 5-9. My editor, Carolyn Yoder, saw the potential for a 9-12 audience using photos, and although my manuscript hasn’t changed fundamentally, the book now spreads over 64 pages! It’s strange how these three are all coalescing at the same time. I started writing FARMERS in October 2016 as part of the Nonfiction Archaeology class. That story has been through thirty-plus major revisions. I began researching BEATRIX a year later. NO VOICE TOO SMALL sold first, though—on proposal in a whirlwind collaboration in 2018 that began in a private Facebook group for #kidlitwomen. 

And last, but not least, favorite 80s movie?

Eighties me would say it’s a toss-up between “Mannequin” and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” These were my go-to sleepover flicks. My friends and I would fantasize about winning a TV dance contest or being a time-traveling mannequin while we played on a three-in-one pool, table tennis, and air hockey table and ate greasy pizza.

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Huge thank you to Lindsay for stopping by Critter Lit today! Congratulations on your THREE debuts! We can’t wait to see what you write next!

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LINDSAY H. METCALF is a journalist and author of nonfiction picture books: Beatrix Potter, Scientist; Farmers Unite! Planting a Protest for Fair Prices; and No Voice Too Small, her co-edited poetry anthology about young change-makers. Lindsay lives in north-central Kansas with her husband, two sons, and a variety of pets. You can reach her at lindsayhmetcalf.com.

FOLLOW LINDSAY ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

Twitter and Instagram: @lindsayhmetcalf

Subscribe for updates: lindsayhmetcalf.com/newsletter

BUY THIS BOOK To order a copies of Lindsay’s new books, click here.

WIN A COPY! Want to win a copy of BEATRIX POTTER, SCIENTIST?! Leave a COMMENT below or RETWEET this post on Twitter. One lucky winner will be announced on Thursday, September 10th! US addresses only please.

Interview with Debut Author and Illustrator Sarah Kurpiel

Happy Thursday Critters! I hope you are all staying healthy and safe. Today, we have an interview with author and illustrator Sarah Kurpiel, whose debut picture book, LONE WOLF, comes out on May 19th. Congrats Sarah! I adore Sarah’s illustrations and I can’t wait to share this sweet book about belonging and family with all of you today.

So without further ado, please welcome Sarah Kurpiel!

Where do you live?

A suburb outside of Chicago. I’ve lived in the Midwest all my life.

When did you know you wanted to write and illustrate picture books?

I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember, but it was always just a hobby, a way to relax. Then, in college, one of my English professors included graphic narratives in his course. Those books had a profound effect on me. That was the first time I started thinking seriously about drawing stories. Flash forward a few years to my first library job as a part-time cataloger. A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Stead and illustrated by Erin Stead crossed my desk. I read it on the spot. It had such heart and reminded me how much I loved picture books growing up. I knew that was the kind of story I wanted to make. It wasn’t until a few years later that I started drawing with the goal of publication, but these were the moments that set me on that path.

Tell us about your road to publication, what did that involve for you?

In 2018, a popular illustration account on Instagram shared one of my drawings. Thanks to that stroke of luck, I was contacted by Allie Levick and Rebecca Sherman at Writers House, who became my agents later that year. Their guidance and expertise was (and continues to be) invaluable. They helped me get my story, Lone Wolf, submission ready and secure a book deal with a great editor. In the months that followed, I went through several rounds of revision before starting the final art. The publication process is long and fluctuates between rushing and waiting. It’s helpful to have another project to focus on during the downtime.

Can you share a bit about your process?

I mostly use dry media brushes in Photoshop on a Wacom tablet connected to my computer. I started drawing digitally in 2016 and it clicked for me right away. I love the flexibility and possibilities of digital. I do a lot of sketching with pencil and pen on paper too. I always have a sketchbook.

What do you do to shake the rust off or get new ideas?

Doodle. I love drawing for no reason at all. I love not knowing what I’m going to make before I begin. Sometimes I doodle a character who sparks a story idea. I also keep a list of things I could draw a thousand times without getting tired of drawing them and then use that to limit the possibilities of stories I might tell. That said, I’m very new to this. I’m still learning my own process.

Anything you can’t live without while you write or draw?

Nothing in particular, but I do enjoy having coffee close at hand! 

Any authors and/or illustrators who inspire you?

So many. Erin Stead, Molly Idle, Christian Robinson, Oge Mora, Richard Jones and Rebecca Green, to name a few. I follow artists of all kinds on Instagram, and seeing their work brings me so much joy.

Dream project to work on?

I’d love to make a wordless picture book one day. I admire those who’ve done it well. Some of my favorite picture books are wordless. I’m also fascinated by the wordless woodcut novels of the 1920s and 30s. 

Tell us about your debut book.

Lone Wolf is about a Siberian husky mistaken for a wolf so many times that she starts to believe she is one. The main character, Maple, is inspired by my childhood dog, a husky who was goofy and stubborn in all the best ways. Lone Wolf is about identity, belonging, and family. I’m honored that it received a starred review from The School Library Journal. Lone Wolf will be published by Greenwillow/HarperCollins on May 19, 2020.

What’s up next for you?

I’m currently working on final art for my next picture book which hasn’t been formally announced yet.

And last, but not least, favorite 80s movie?

Back to the Future. (Part 1. Definitely not Part 2.)

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Huge thank you to Sarah for dropping by Critter Lit today! Congrats on LONE WOLF, we love it! We can’t wait to see what you create next!

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SARAH KURPIEL is a librarian and author/illustrator from the Midwest. Her stories are inspired by nature, animals, and everyday life. Sarah has been doodling in the margins of notebooks for as long as she can remember. She started drawing digitally in 2016 and never stopped. Sarah uses a power wheelchair and considers her disability an important part of her identity. Her debut picture book, Lone Wolf, will be published by Greenwillow/HarperCollins in May 2020.

FOR MORE INFORMATION on Sarah, visit her online or follow her on Twitter @SarahKurpiel and Instagram @sarah.kurpiel

BUY THIS BOOK To purchase a copy of Sarah'’s book, click here.

WIN A COPY! Want to win a giveaway copy of Sarah’s debut book, LONE WOLF?! Leave a COMMENT below or RETWEET this post on Twitter. One lucky winner will be announced on Thursday, May 21st! US addresses only please.