WILL WRITE FOR COOKIES

INSIGHT – INFORMATION – INSPIRATION

FOR WRITERS

TODAY’S GUEST

KIRSTI CALL

I love relaying how I met each of our Will Write for Cookies guests – I think it shows what a close-knit kidlit community we have. As co-coordinator of ReFoReMo (Reading for Research Month), Kirsti was one of my first kidlit mentors. I loved participating in that challenge – it really helped me focus on the importance of using published picture books as mentor texts for my own writing. And I’m grateful to her and to Carrie Charlie Brown for creating such a helpful resource.

Kirsti Call is the co-host of the Picture Book Look Podcast and the co-coordinator of ReFoReMo. She reads, reviews, revises and critiques every day as a 12×12 elf, a blogger for Writer’s Rumpus, and a member of critique groups. She’s judged the CYBILS award for fiction picture books since 2015. Kirsti’s picture book, MOOTILITA’S BAD MOOD (Little Bee) debuts fall 2020. COW SAYS MEOW (HMH) and COLD TURKEY (Little Brown) release in 2021. Kirsti is represented by Emma Sector at Prospect Agency.

And I count myself fortunate to have connected with Kirsti in person…we’ve met at our regional NESCBWI conferences, as well as at other local book events. Plus, she generously invited me and Alleanna Harris to be the very first author-illustrator duo to be interviewed on her fabulous new undertaking: Picture Book Look Podcast.

ME: Howdy, Kirsti! I’m thrilled to have you visiting here today! And I know that everyone is excited to hear more about you and your writing journey – so let’s get to the Q&A.

Who were your favorite authors/illustrators when you were a child?

Kirsti: I absolutely loved Maurice Sendak’s quirky stories and his expressive illustrations. 

ME: What do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started writing?

KIRSTI: I wish I had known how little I knew.  Haha.  But seriously. There’s so much that goes into the craft and business of children’s writing—I had no idea. I wish I had slowed down and enjoyed the journey and been less frustrated about the concrete results (or non-results) of my work.  I now know that I’m closer to creating exceptional books with each new day that passes.

ME: Where do you like to write – inside, outside, special room, laptop, pen and paper?  

KIRSTI: I like to mix it up.  I write on paper and on my laptop.  I write inside and outside.  I just finished converting my sunroom into a writing studio! 

It’s the perfect place for creating. I have a desk and a papasan and windows that overlook a backyard teaming with birds and animals.  And of course I have a stream filled with frogs.  And children to enjoy all of it with me.

ME: When do you write – early morning, late in the day, middle of the night, on schedule, as the muse strikes?

KIRSTI: Early mornings are my favorite time to write.  But in actuality, I write in the open spaces and the ten minutes crevices of time between kid interruptions.  Having five kids and my husband home full time makes for a chaotic (and fantastic!) household, so focused writing time is rare. 

ME: Why do you write for children?

KIRSTI: I write for children because I love them. I love how silly kids are, how they let curiosity lead them to learn, how easy it is for them to love other people, how kind and open hearted they are, how they soak up stories.

I write for children because reading has been one of favorite things for as long as I can remember.  I hope my words make children laugh and maybe even learn a little too.

ME: Kirsti…thank you so much. I love that you write for kids because…you love them! Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

KIRSTI: I sure do, Vivian

Failure lives in the neighborhood of success. 

The more rejections we get, the closer we are to getting those book contracts.

Just. Keep. Writing.

My first book came out 7 years ago.  It took me 5 years after that to get an agent.  And now I finally have another book coming out.  Persistence, baby!

Enjoy the journey.

There’s nothing better than putting words together in a way that will influence other people for the better!

Thank you so very much, dear Kirsti! We are all loving your insights…and I know you are sharing a great recipe with us – because when it comes to cookies…there is nothing better than putting great ingredients together!

KIRSTI: This has been so much fun, Vivian! And I sure do have a super yummy recipe for everyone.

WOWOWOWOW! Rice crispies in date balls…that is an amazing combination. Thank you so very much, Kirsti!

Hey, dear readers…I know we are all grateful to Kirsti for her thoughts and for the recipe…and please don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway of a signed ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of MOOTILLA’S BAD MOOD, written by Kirsti Call and Corey Rosen Schwartz, illustrated by Claudia Ranucci, and published by Little Bee Books.

If you’d like to check out the other stops on the book blog tour for MOOTILLA’S BAD MOOD, check this out:

August 17   The Story Behind the Story

August 19   Grog

August 24    Kidlit Oasis

August 28    deborahkalb.com

September 1    ReFoReMo

September 1    Picture Book Look Podcast

September 2  Future Bookworms

September 4  Perfect Picture Book Friday 

September 10  https://www.nancychurnin.com/

September 12  Will Writer For Cookies

September 15  Writer’s Rumpus

September 25 Mining for the Heart

And remember…the best way to help your favorite books success is to buy them if you can, review them on Amazon and other sites, share them with friends and on social media…and ask your local library to purchase them for their collections.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend…and please swing by next week for more Picture Book awesomeness when we feature NO VOICE TOO SMALL and authors Jeanette Bradley, Keila Dawson, and Lindsay Metcalf.