I hope you’re doing well! I’m sorry I haven’t written lately. I’ve been hunkered down with a slow-moving first draft of a writing project, growing moss between the toes and cobwebs behind the ears and generally transforming into a neglected garden gnome as I try to pull words together into a shape that looks something like a story. (I occasionally have to leave the house to take my kids to school or events, so if you have seen a neglected garden gnome wandering the sidewalks of western Pennsylvania in a daze, that’s why.)

Anyway, I’m writing to you quickly today because if you live in or near the Philadelphia area, I wanted to be sure you knew about an upcoming kidlit event where I’ll be speaking with two middle grade author friends of mine, Cordelia Jensen and Laurie Morrison, at Celia Bookshop in Swarthmore! We’ll be in conversation on June 13th at 7 pm, and you can RSVP at the shop’s website here. Readers of all ages are welcome! (I promise to clear away some of the ear cobwebs for the occasion.)

If you aren’t yet familiar with Laurie and Cordelia’s writing for young people, I highly recommend their books! Laurie writes novels for upper middle grade readers (think ages 10+), often about girls who are passionate about sports. Cordelia is a fantastic poet who writes novels in verse for middle grade and YA readers. They have even written a middle grade novel together, half in prose and half in verse! Even if you can’t join us next month, please take a look at Cordelia’s Lilac and the Switchback and Laurie’s Where Ella Went for the kids in your life.

I have loved hearing from many of you who’ve read The Tinkerers over the past six months, by the way. Thank you for picking up the book and for sharing it with your young readers! (If you haven’t gotten a chance to read it yet, I hope you’ll check it out for your kids’ summer reading lists—or your own.)

Okay, back to gnome form for me. Have a wonderful summer!

Caroline

It’s been wonderful to hear from you over the past month as my new book, The Tinkerers, has gone out into the world! I have loved seeing your photos of the book in the wild, reading your reviews, and especially getting to spend time with some of you at bookstores and schools! Thank you for embracing this book and for sharing it with other readers. I’m so glad it’s been finding its way into your hearts.

If you’ve spotted The Tinkerers around town, if you have a review to share, or if you’ve found a great alternate household use for your copy of the book (stepstool, tofu press, dumbbell), please let me know—I’m excited to hear from you!

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Signed books for the holidays

I would love to help you make a little holiday magic for your favorite reader! If you’d like to give someone you love a signed and personalized copy of one of my books, now is the best time to place your order so you’ll get your book in plenty of time for the holidays. Please order through Riverstone Books and, in the comment section of your order, be sure to say how you’d like your copy signed and personalized. While print editions of all of my books (with the exception of The World’s Greatest Detective) are technically available to purchase, I’d encourage you to spring for The Tinkerers or Wicked Marigold if you have a time-sensitive order, since those will be easiest to ship quickly.

Order The Tinkerers

Order Wicked Marigold

Middle grade author panel in Pittsburgh

Later this month, I’ll be joining two other wonderful authors of new middle grade books, Ally Russell and Karuna Riazi, to talk about writing with readers of all ages! If you’re in the Pittsburgh area, we’d love to see you and your young readers at Riverstone Books Squirrel Hill on Saturday, November 22nd at 2 pm. You can find more info and RSVP for a free ticket here. If you can’t make it to the event, I’d still encourage you to check out Ally and Karuna’s books, which are wonderfully full of magic and adventure. Ally’s latest is the truly spooky Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave, and Karuna’s is the One Thousand and One Nights-inspired fantasy Sabrena Swept Away.

The Tinkerers audio edition

I know that a lot of you were first introduced to my books when you listened to the audiobook of Magic Marks the Spot, so I’m especially delighted to share that The Tinkerers is now available in audiobook format from Listening Library, read by award-winning narrator Michael Crouch! (The producer on this project actually worked on my Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates audiobooks many years ago—how cool is that?) I have to admit I haven’t listened to all of The Tinkerers yet—listening to my own books makes me deeply uncomfortable—but a well-regarded audiobook expert1 has listened to the whole thing and says it’s excellent. If you’re an audiobook lover, please check it out for yourself and let me know what you think! You can order it from Libro.fm, which supports indie bookstores, or anywhere else you like to buy audiobooks. You can also ask your local library to acquire a digital version.

Link roundup

I’ve written a bunch of articles about The Tinkerers over the past few weeks, which I’ll link below in case you’d like to read an overwhelming amount of information about my writing process and how this story came to be:

• A Tinkerers Q&A on Deborah Kalb’s blog

• The Stressed-Out Hero’s Journey: Writing About Anxiety in Middle Grade Fantasy at School Library Journal’s Teen Librarian Toolbox

• Process Talk: Caroline Carlson on The Tinkerers at Writing with a Broken Tusk

• Interview with Jen Kraar at From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors

• And one that’s not written by me—The Tinkerers was included in the November book corner at L.A. Parent!

That’s it from me for today. I’ll probably pop into your inbox once more before the end of the year, but for now, I’m wishing you peace and good health and lots of time to get cozy with a favorite story.

Happy reading,
Caroline

When I have a new book coming out, my favorite thing to do on publication day is to visit my local bookstore, sign any preordered books that have come in over the previous weeks, catch up with booksellers, and pick up a few books by other authors that I’m excited to read. Today was publication day for The Tinkerers, so I made my way up to Riverstone Books here in Pittsburgh and signed this glorious stack of books: preorders, store stock, and copies of almost all of my books for the local school book fairs that Riverstone runs throughout the fall.

Thank you so much to all of you who preordered the book! If you haven’t yet picked up a copy of The Tinkerers, you can find it online or in your favorite bookstore starting today—and if your favorite bookstore doesn’t have a copy in stock, you can ask to place a special order. You can also still order a signed copy from The Penguin Bookshop, where I’ll be signing books on October 18th from 12:00-2:00 pm. Just remember to leave a note with your order telling me that you’d like the book signed and how you’d like it made out! If you’d like to check out a copy from the library, you can put in a request asking your local library system to purchase the book, and they’ll put you first on the waiting list when a copy becomes available.

News and Reviews

• Last week, The Tinkerers received a starred review from The Horn Book, the beloved professional journal of children’s literature. The text of the review is not yet final, but I can share that the reviewer says, “The ideas around time travel, do-overs, and responsibility are refreshingly relatable, and the story, whose every character is distinctly and humorously drawn, comes together in a brilliant synthesis of plot, theme, and good-natured chaos.” (This is not, incidentally, the first time a professional reviewer has described one of my books as chaotic!) I have always loved The Horn Book for their smart and thoughtful reviews, and I’m truly delighted that they’ve given this book of my heart such a meaningful honor. Thank you, Horn Book!

• If you are in the Pittsburgh area, don’t forget that the Tinkerers launch party is this Saturday, October 11th, at 7 pm at White Whale Bookstore in Bloomfield!

• And wherever you are, you can attend the launch party virtually by signing up at this link.

If you pick up a copy of The Tinkerers, I’d love to know what you think—it’s a little different from my previous books, but I hope you’ll love it just as much. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to share it with you! As always, thanks for reading.

Caroline

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My next fantasy novel for young readers, The Tinkerers, comes out on October 7th, which I’ve discovered is only two weeks from now. That means it’s time for me to pop into your email inboxes with a few quick book-launch updates.

Events

Yes, there will be book parties! I would love to see you there, either virtually or in person.

On Saturday, October 11th, at 7:00 pm Eastern, I’ll have a launch party for The Tinkerers at White Whale Bookstore in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. If you are in the area, you’re welcome to attend in person! If you are anywhere in the world, you can attend virtually via the bookstore’s livestream. To sign up for the in-person event or the livestream, click here. (I am excited to be in conversation with my friend and fellow children’s author Joy Givens for this event!)

On Saturday, October 18th, from 12:00-2:00 pm, I’ll be signing books at the Penguin Bookshop in Sewickley, PA. Drop by in person if you’re in the area, or order The Tinkerers from the Penguin Bookshop and request to have a copy signed when I’m at the store! More details & ordering info can be found here.

Signed copies

I would love to sign a copy of The Tinkerers for you, your kids, your friends, or anyone else you’d like. You can order from any of the stores below, but please specifically request a signed copy in the notes area when you check out, and be sure to include the name of the person to whom you’d like the copy signed.

Order from White Whale Books (to be signed on October 11th)

Order from the Penguin Bookshop (to be signed on October 18th)

Order from Riverstone Books (to be signed any time)

Audiobook update

I’m thrilled to share that The Tinkerers will be available as an audiobook from Listening Library, narrated by Michael Crouch! The audio version is being recorded now and will be released in early November, a little later than the print edition. Here’s a link to the book’s listing on Libro.fm in case you are an audiobook fan. I think it’s going to be a spectacular production.

School & community visits

Last order of business! I am still booking visits for the 2025-26 school year and would love to come to your town, your kids’ school, or your local library or bookstore, or even for a virtual visit with your book club. If you’d like more information about my school visits to pass on to your administrators or PTO, you can find it on my website.

Thanks again for your support, and happy reading!

Caroline

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I hope you’ve had a wonderful summer! Since we’re now only one month away from publication of my next novel for young readers, The Tinkerers, you might be hearing from me a little more frequently, and I’ll be sending out some more information soon about my fall events and a few other nice things.

Until then, if you already know you’re going to pick up a copy of The Tinkerers, I would be tremendously grateful if you’d consider preordering it from wherever you love to buy books. If you have an indie bookstore in your town that you like to support, that’s a great option! This book is my favorite thing I’ve written so far. It’s a good fit for confident readers ages 8-12, I think that older kids and adults will enjoy it just as much, and I would highly recommend getting a physical copy if you can, since the cover art and interior details are absolutely gorgeous.

Preorder THE TINKERERS

The rest of today’s newsletter is the third in a series of occasional essays about the making of The Tinkerers. I’ll be talking about how I revised the novel with my editor before publication, so if you’ve ever been curious about all the things that change between a first draft of a book and the final text, you’re in the right place! The Tinkerers went through lots of behind-the scenes revision work, and I have a bunch of fun extra things to show you today, like maps and charts that don’t appear in the book itself. Like my other Behind the Book essays, this is a longer read, so take a minute to get comfy!

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After I’d written a complete first draft of The Tinkerers, I sent the whole thing to my editor at Candlewick Press, Miriam Newman. A few months later, she wrote back with her thoughts in an editorial letter. Most editorial letters are lengthy, especially the ones that editors send after reading a book’s earliest drafts, because their purpose is to help an author shape the entire story—not just words and sentences, but character arcs and plot points and even the world of the book. Since The Tinkerers is a complicated book set in an imaginary world I’d built from scratch, I knew Miriam would have a lot of ideas for me, and she did not let me down! Her first editorial letter for the book was eight single-spaced pages long and asked me to consider smart questions about the book’s characters, the fantasy world I was building, and the structure of the novel. Before I could embark on a second draft, I knew I’d have to work out my own answers to Miriam’s questions.

The Characters

At the very beginning of the writing process, when I’m brainstorming a new book, I usually take detailed notes about my main character and their emotions and motivations. My protagonist’s desires and fears are going to drive the plot of the book, so it’s important that I understand them as early in the process as possible! But characters sometimes change as you get to know them, and they certainly become more complex, so after I’ve written a first draft, I often have to take another, more thoughtful look at my protagonist and make sure that their story makes sense. How do they grow over the course of the book? Are their emotional reactions and decisions believable and consistent? Have I said everything that I want to say about this person?

I was actually pretty happy with my first draft of The Tinkerers because I’d done a decent job with my main character, Peter, and his growth and change over the course of the story. In early drafts of other books, I’ve had trouble tapping into my protagonists’ emotions, but I never struggled much with Peter’s character arc because I knew from the very beginning that his anxious quest for perfection would form the emotional core of the story. (You can read more about that in my first Behind the Book essay.)

There are lots of other characters who show up in a first draft, though. In a book like The Tinkerers with a large ensemble cast, I don’t get a chance to think carefully about all of the important characters and their backstories in the first draft, and it’s during the revision process that I start to know them better. As part of my revision work for The Tinkerers, I wrote character biographies for many of the secondary characters whose presence in the first draft was a little bit underdeveloped. Those character biographies are kind of like encyclopedia entries for an imaginary person. They include a lot of details that never made it into the book itself, but knowing those details about my characters helped me write about them with more understanding of their full, well-rounded selves.

The Fantasy World

I think there must be fantasy authors out there who start each new writing project with a full understanding of their imaginary story world: how their magic system works, how the government works, what the geography of the world is like, and so on, down to the nuts and bolts of things like commerce and foreign policy and weather patterns. I am not this kind of author. If I tried to plan my stories this extensively before I started to write, I’d never get any writing done!

When I start a first draft of a fantasy novel, I’m aware only of the bare bones of the story world, and I hold on to faith that the details will fill themselves in as they become important to the book. (When I wrote about a character in The Tinkerers paying for a room at a hotel, for example, I had to decide what kind of money was used in this world, what it was called, and how it functioned. Did they have credit cards? Paper money? Coins? A bartering system based on knitwear?)

By the time I’d finished a draft of The Tinkerers, I knew a lot more about the world of the story than I had when I’d started, but there were still some pretty big holes in the fabric of my fantasy world. The authoritarian government and its ruler, Empress Belvedere the Eighth, were both important to the book—but how did the empire come to govern my characters’ village of Stargazers Valley in the first place, and how did Empress Belvedere rise to power? What kind of technology allows her to surveil her subjects in a way that leads to some major conflicts within the story?

There were smaller questions to address, too: How does the café in Stargazers Valley get so much excellent hot chocolate? Can the climate and landscape of the empire support cacao farming? Where does everyone get groceries, and how is the mail delivered? How do people in Stargazers Valley fix their washing machines?

And the magic in the book, a substance called starstuff that comes from the sky, posed its own set of questions. How did people discover it? How long can you store it? What are the myths and legends that have developed around it? What happens to you if you eat it?

To answer these questions and a few dozen others, I wrote more encyclopedia entries. Some of these entries required real-world research (where can you grow cacao beans?); some just required a lot of brainstorming and playing around. Once I’d written all about my characters, their world, and the world’s magic system, that collection of encyclopedia entries ended up being about 10,000 words—the length of a shortish book all by itself! And maybe about ten percent of that information ended up going directly into the novel. But my hope is that when you read The Tinkerers, you’ll feel like the world of the story is real enough that it extends beyond the borders of the page.

To make sure my descriptions of Stargazers Valley were consistent throughout the book, I also drew two maps: one of the whole town, and one of the Spindle Whorl, the inn where Peter and his family live and work. If I hadn’t had these maps to study as I revised the book, I would have gotten lost in my own story. I think the cover designer and artist may have had these maps on hand at as they planned the book’s cover art, too.

The Story Structure

You might remember from my last essay that The Tinkerers is told partially in documents. Like the details of worldbuilding, the documents weren’t a story element I’d planned out meticulously before I started to write. I relied instead on my (questionable?) storyteller’s intuition: Did it feel like a document should go in this space? If so, what kind of document should that be? Hmm, I’d think, it’s been a while since we’ve seen a decrypted letter from the spy agency, and I’d pop one in.

During revision, I had to figure out which documents were working well, which were necessary but in the wrong place in the story, which weren’t necessary at all, and which contained important information that needed to be delivered in a different format. I tossed out a bunch of documents, I wrote several new ones, I revised most of the rest, and I made myself a ridiculous color-coded chart to keep track of all the elements in the book. Each narrative scene and document is listed in the chart, along with a colored tag to show which plot threads and thematic elements are included in that scene or document.

On this chart, narrative chapters are in regular text, and documents are in italics. Yellow indicates a star tale (the equivalent of a folktale in our world), light blue indicates information about the magical time-altering device that Peter finds, light green shows the chapters that are mostly about Peter’s family and everyday life in the village, and so on. Once the chart was finished, I could see at a glance which story threads I’d been neglecting for a while, and I could easily spot the places where I’d used too few or too many documents.

One more tool I had to create for myself during revision was a timeline of story events. I haven’t ever built a timeline for one of my books before; my other novels were compact and straightforward enough that I could keep the story events lined up in my head without too much trouble. The Tinkerers, on the other hand, is set over the course of three months, and the climactic events of the book all take place on a holiday called Empire Day, to which the narrative counts down. Because the story isn’t told in an entirely linear fashion, and because many of the important events of the book happen simultaneously to different characters, I needed to build a timeline of everything that happens in the book: the events you’ll see on the page, the events happening to characters behind the scenes, and even events in the characters’ distant pasts. Once it was finished, my timeline was 10 pages long, stretching all the way from a character’s birth almost 70 years before the story begins to the final story events several months after Empire Day. On some days in the timeline, so many story events were taking place that I had to work out the order of events down to the minute! (And if you’ve remembered that this book involves some small-scale time travel, you’ll be able to imagine exactly how complicated this timeline turned out to be.) I pulled the whole thing together partly for my own sake but also as a reference for my editors, especially the copy editor, whose job it is to make sure that time within the story runs just as it should!

Putting It All Together

When I embark on a large-scale revision like this, I prefer to start with a blank page in front of me. I’ll usually print out my first draft and retype the whole thing from scratch, making changes as I go. This way of working makes me feel like I have the freedom to stray from the previous draft as much as necessary, adding new scenes and deleting whatever’s not working. In this revision, I added so much new material that the second draft of The Tinkerers ended up being almost 20,000 words longer than the first draft.

My editor and I did one more round of revision together, focused on smaller-scale changes, and some of those new additions came right out again. That’s because storytelling is not just about sharing information with your audience, but also about being selective with that information to create the most powerful and compelling story possible. Does my reader need to know everything? Usually not. But all of that background work helps authors decide what information to share and what to hold back, it informs the entire world of the story—and it’s a lot of fun to share the extra bits and pieces with readers once the book is complete.

Until next time,

Caroline

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I hope you’re well! I know summer is a busy time, and I don’t want to keep you staring at your screen for any longer than necessary, so I’ll try to keep this email short. Here’s a bullet-pointed list of bookish news for you!

• Wicked Marigold is now available in paperback in the US and Canada. This format is easier to slip into a backpack than a hardcover, it’s at a nicer price point for young readers—$9—and it has a sneak peek of my next book, The Tinkerers, in the back. You can order it from your favorite bookshop or ask them to stock a couple of copies if you can’t find it there!

• Speaking of The Tinkerers, you can now read the first several chapters online (and check out the brilliant interior design by Lissi Erwin and the team at Candlewick). Click on the “Look Inside” link for a preview—I hope you enjoy! If you like what you read, you can even preorder the book. (B&N is having a preorder sale right now, but I’m happy for you to order from anywhere that makes sense for you.)

• I’m delighted (and relieved) that The Tinkerers received a very nice professional review from Kirkus, who called the book “a warmhearted fantasy tale about discovering the world’s complexity and finding one’s place in it.” Thanks, Kirkus!

• Over at LitHub, I’m sharing a list of ten new books out this month that you and your young readers might enjoy.

• I’m currently scheduling school, library, and book club visits for the 2025-26 school year. Please check out my page for educators, or pass this information along to your school’s librarians or administrators if you’re interested in inviting me for an in-person or virtual program!

• I know rhubarb season is over, but if you’re a baker, I really recommend the rhubarb pie from the Four and Twenty Blackbirds pie book. It’s excellent.

  

• I’m doing some exploratory writing on a couple of new potential projects that may or may not become books someday. One is narrated by a cranky dragon, and one is narrated by a cheerful ghost, and since I’m having trouble figuring out where to focus my attention, I thought I’d ask you all what you think. Dragon or ghost?

Happy reading,

Caroline

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This is the second in a series of occasional essays about the making of The Tinkerers, my upcoming novel for young readers. In the first installment, I told you about my brainstorming process and how it took me almost twenty years to pull together all the ideas that eventually found their way into the book. (If you missed that essay, you can read it here.) This is a longer read than my usual newsletters, so if you’re interested in seeing a few behind-the-scenes details of how a book gets written and published, maybe make yourself a cup of tea and settle in for a few minutes.

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Back in 2021, my literary agent and I were extremely fortunate to sell Wicked Marigold to Candlewick Press as part of a two-book deal with an unspecified second book. This meant that Candlewick had agreed to publish both Wicked Marigold and… something else. What was that something else? We didn’t know! Nobody did!

This is a wonderful kind of deal for an author to get. When you sell a book before you write it—or even before you know what it’s going to be—you can work on your new project in relative comfort and security. You may feel safe enough to take big creative risks, knowing that if all goes as planned, your book won’t disappear into a forgotten pile of drafts. In other words, your publisher is giving you the gift of creative freedom. It’s not a gift that artists receive all that often these days, but I have a hunch that when they do receive it, they’re able to produce some of their best work.

Still, there are some challenges when it comes to selling a book that doesn’t exist. I don’t want to work on a book that my publishing team doesn’t also love. If my editor doesn’t love my book, she won’t be able to put her best work into it; if the publishing team isn’t excited to publish it, it’ll have a harder time finding its way into the world and connecting with readers. I knew that I was excited to write The Tinkerers, but I didn’t know if it would be a book that the rest of the team would be excited to publish. To find out, I had a Zoom meeting with my brilliant editor, Miriam, and my brilliant agent, Alli. I told them about my idea for The Tinkerers: A kid who lives at a cozy inn in a remote mountain town finds a magical device that can turn back time, but only by a few minutes. I pitched another idea I’d been playing around with, too, but Miriam said she could tell that The Tinkerers was the project I really wanted to work on.

She also said it sounded awfully similar to another upcoming book on her list.

Of course it did! Because in addition to being my brilliant editor, Miriam is the brilliant editor of novelist A.R. Capetta, and when A.R. and I were in graduate school together once upon a time, we often ended up writing really similar things completely by chance! I should have known that A.R. would also be writing a time travel story set in a cozy magical valley! (That novel, Costumes for Time Travelers, is available now, and I hope you’ll check it out—it looks splendid.)

When I heard that news, I was a little heartbroken. Surely Miriam couldn’t publish two cozy-valley-time-travel fantasies in one year. But she told me that it would be okay, that even two very similar-sounding pitches will almost always end up as two very different stories, and that I should write the story I was most excited to tell—another real gift.

After that meeting, I felt ready to start drafting The Tinkerers. I knew from page one that I wanted to tell this story in documents, in part because I’d really enjoyed writing the documents in my Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates books, and also because The Tinkerers had so many different story threads that I needed a few different tools to handle them all. I would have to write my own folktales. I would have to try my hand at writing something like a movie script, a form I hadn’t attempted since my 10^th grade creative writing class. It all sounded like a huge amount of fun—but once I sat down to write, I realized that it was also going to be a huge challenge. I knew the story I wanted to tell, but I wasn’t convinced I had the talent required to tell it. It could easily turn into a mess.

Maybe it wouldn’t be a mess?

I began at the beginning. This may sound like a silly thing to say, but some people like to jump around their books backward and forward from scene to scene when they write, and I don’t usually work that way. I prefer to encounter my stories in the same way a reader eventually will, from beginning to end, with no jumping around—at least not in the first draft. I wrote the first 40 pages, sent them to Miriam and Alli, and asked them to warn me right away if those pages were awful. They said the pages were not awful, and more importantly, they said to keep going.

I kept going. I consulted my twenty-six single-spaced pages of notes, but I didn’t write an outline; while I still consider myself to be a plotter, I haven’t formally outlined a book since The World’s Greatest Detective. For this book, I knew the general shape of each of the different plot lines, and I knew that I wanted all of them to come together at one crucial moment near the end of the book. Whenever I reached a natural stopping point with one plot line, I’d pause that part of the story and jump to another plot line to move it along. That strategy worked well enough to keep me writing until very close to the end of the draft, when I did finally make a list of all the scenes I wanted to include in the climax and resolution.

I took a lot of writing breaks to look things up, because even books set in magical lands require real-world research. I searched for photos of the Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve in New Zealand and took virtual tours of astronomical observatories. I watched videos of people shearing sheep, spinning wool, and setting up looms for weaving. I read about bouldering techniques and considered trying them out myself, and then reconsidered. I learned more than you might think about the nesting habits of falcons and the hibernation habits of newts. I aged up my youngest character from 2 years old to 3 because my youngest child was getting older and I wanted to mimic the rhythms of his language.

I kept waiting for the book to become a mess. It kept not quite becoming one.

Although it had taken me twenty years to brainstorm The Tinkerers, it took me only nine months to write the first draft. When I reached the end of the story, I wasn’t entirely sure it all made sense… but it seemed like the sort of book that could make sense one day. And in a first draft, that’s really all you need.

Until next time,

Caroline

THE TINKERERS comes out on October 7, 2025 from Candlewick Press! Preorders really make a difference to authors—you can order your copy from your local indie or anywhere else you love to buy books. Thank you for supporting my work and sharing it with the young readers in your life!

Today’s newsletter is a collection of nice springtime odds and ends: a promotion I’m running to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day, a reminder about my free virtual visits to classroom groups & book clubs, information about a surprise Pittsburgh book event, and a sneak peek at The Tinkerers advance copies!

Signed bookplates for Indie Bookstore Day

Independent Bookstore Day is coming up on Saturday, April 26th, and I want to encourage you all to support your favorite indie bookstores, so I’m running a signed bookplate & bookmark giveaway until the end of this month! All you have to do is buy a copy of Wicked Marigold from an independent bookstore by April 30th. (It can be for yourself or for a young reader. You can pick up the hardcover or preorder the paperback. You can go to the store in person or order your copy online. You can even special order a copy if it’s not in stock at your favorite store. All options are okay as long as you’re supporting an indie you love!)

Once you’ve made your purchase, send me a photo or screenshot of your receipt at caroline [at] carolinecarlsonbooks [dot] com. (I don’t need all your personal details, just proof that you ordered Wicked Marigold from an independent bookstore!) Tell me how you’d like your signed bookplate personalized and where I should send it, and I’ll pop it in the mail, along with a very cool Wicked Marigold bookmark and possibly some other swag depending on what fits in the envelope.

Free book club visits

I had a great virtual visit earlier this month with members of a 4th and 5th grade book club in Massachusetts, and I wanted to remind you all that I offer free 20-minute virtual Q&A-style visits with any group of readers that has read at least one of my books! This is my favorite kind of visit because it revolves entirely around the questions readers have for me, which I love hearing and answering. Your group can be a classroom group, a book club, or just a group of friends. I’ve spoken to after-school book clubs, mother-son book clubs, library book clubs, girl scout troops, classes where teachers have used my books as readalouds, and more!

(Oh, and by the way: If you’re a teacher and you’d like to use Wicked Marigold or The Door at the End of the World in your classroom, I’ve got downloadable readers’ guides for both of those books on my website. You can read the book as a class, check out the readers’ guide for fun activities for your students, and invite me for a virtual visit when you’ve finished reading!)

To schedule a virtual visit, email me at caroline [at] carolinecarlsonbooks [dot] com.

Surprise Pittsburgh event

If you happen to be in Pittsburgh, I wanted to let you know that I’ll be in conversation with the children’s author Jonathan Auxier at Riverstone Books Squirrel Hill on Saturday, May 3. Jonathan’s new book, The War of the Maps, is a wonderful fantasy adventure that readers of all ages will adore. If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll come to hear our conversation about Jonathan’s books and his writing process. If you’re not in western Pennsylvania, I hope you’ll check out The War of the Maps in your own part of the world!

The Tinkerers advance copies are here!

If you follow me on social media, you might have seen a video of the gorgeous advance copies of The Tinkerers that I got in the mail recently. They are absolutely dazzling, designed by Lissi Erwin and put together by the whole talented team at Candlewick Press. I’ll have more behind-the-scenes looks at The Tinkerers in upcoming newsletters, but for now, you can preorder the book or add it on Goodreads! I can’t wait to share this story with you in October.

Happy reading,

Caroline

(And if you’re just here for the occasional news updates, not the craft essays, feel free to put this email aside—it’s a long one!)

Preorder THE TINKERERS

When I visit schools, I tell kids that each of my books starts with the brainstorming process. (They like hearing that, because they brainstorm, too!) When I come up with a story idea, I write down everything I can think of that might be connected to that story: character names, exciting plot events, themes I’d like to explore, or little details that make me laugh. I tell the kids that my brainstorming, note-taking work for a book might last for weeks or even months, depending on what else I’m writing at the time. For The Tinkerers, though, that brainstorming work took decades. And its story also happens to be the story of how several of my other books came into the world along the way.

In its simplest form, The Tinkerers is a book about a kid named Peter and his best friend, Linnet. While he’s working at his family’s inn, Peter discovers a magical device that can nudge time backward—but only by a few minutes. Strands of these elements show up in lots of my old writing notes and unpublished manuscripts, going back to my earliest serious attempts at writing fiction. Twenty years ago, after I graduated from college, I started working on a story about a group of mysterious people gathered at a remote inn; I loved the Agatha Christie-esque idea of throwing a bunch of different characters together and letting them reveal one another’s secrets over the course of a story. But I was still learning my way around novel-writing, and while I eventually finished a first draft of that manuscript, it was messy. I wasn’t ready to tell that story.

Almost ten years later, around the time I finished working on the Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates trilogy, I jotted down some notes about a girl named Linnet and a boy named Peter who live at a remote inn where scientists have gathered to research an unexplained local phenomenon. I liked this idea a lot, and my notes are pretty extensive, but I couldn’t figure out what the unexplained phenomenon might be or why it would matter to the young characters in the story. So I turned my attention to a more fully formed idea and wrote The World’s Greatest Detective—another story about a group of mysterious characters stuck in a house together, revealing one another’s secrets.

The World’s Greatest Detective was the first book on a two-book contract, and I knew I didn’t want to write another mystery unless I had a great, twisty idea to give to my characters and my readers. I didn’t have a great, twisty idea. Staring down the question of what to write next, I looked through my notes and came back to my character Linnet: a girl living not at an inn this time, but at a strange fortress at the end of the world, where she finds a magical device that’s capable of turning back time. I felt good about this idea; for a few weeks, I felt sure it’d be my next book. But when I sat down to write, I couldn’t get through more than a page or two. The narrative voice felt all wrong, the scope felt too ambitious for that moment in my life, and I could tell that although the story idea might be promising, I wasn’t ready to write it. (I did like the thought of someone living at the end of the world, though, so I kept playing with that idea. With a different character, a different voice, and an entirely different plot, it eventually turned into The Door at the End of the World.)

I worked on a few different projects after that, including Wicked Marigold, but as the world around me grew more uncertain, I started to think again about the idea of a device that could turn back time. (In the middle of political uncertainty and pandemic quarantine, the concept of changing the past to fix the problems of the present holds a certain appeal.) I thought about my own anxious tendencies, my own desire to control a world that absolutely refused to be controlled. And I realized one day, taking my habitual covid-era stroll around and around my home office, that I’d spent my life engaged in a particular kind of unconscious magical thinking: that if I could do everything right, I could prevent disaster.

It wasn’t true. Of course it wasn’t. But I’d spent my whole life believing it—and I was willing to bet that other people had, too. Maybe some of those people were my young readers. Maybe one of those people could be a kid in a story.

I knew right away that my magical-thinking, anxiety-fueled conviction was the thematic key that could tie two decades’ worth of story ideas together. I wrote it down with my other brainstorming notes, tying it to my thoughts about time-traveling devices and mysterious strangers with secrets and inns at the end of the world. But I was still in the middle of working on Wicked Marigold, so I couldn’t sit down to give The Tinkerers any devoted creative effort. Still, for the next eighteen months or so, I’d run back to my brainstorming document whenever I had a new idea that seemed like it might fit with the story: There would be hiking! And star magic, a mystical aurora! And a cozy town full of interesting people! And art! And folktales! And spies! And toddlers! And parents, actually present on the page! And real talk about what it’s like to be a kid with an anxious brain! And documents! (I hadn’t written a book in documents in years, and I missed it.)

By the time I’d finished writing Wicked Marigold, my brainstorming notes for The Tinkerers were 26 single-spaced pages long. I felt like I had a real story on my hands, a story I’d been trying to figure out how to tell for twenty years. But I didn’t know if my editor at Candlewick would want to publish anything like it—and I wasn’t convinced that I was finally capable of writing it.

Until next time,

Caroline

THE TINKERERS comes out on October 7, 2025 from Candlewick Press! Preorders really make a difference to authors—you can order your copy from your local indie or anywhere else you love to buy books. Thank you for supporting my work and sharing it with the young readers in your life!

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I’ve always been excited to share my new work with you, and I’ve never played favorites when it comes to my books… but at the risk of giving away my true feelings, I’ll admit that I’m especially excited to tell you about my upcoming novel, The Tinkerers, coming from Candlewick Press this fall.

This book is close to my heart, and I hope it’ll be close to yours, too. It’s got magic, if you like that sort of thing. It’s set in the mountains, mostly, and in the night sky. It’s about starstuff and hot chocolate and friendship and spies and folktales. It’s told in documents, which I think is good news for all of you who liked the documents in the Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates books. It’s got some funny parts, and maybe some parts that’ll make you cry—but only for a minute, I promise. And it’s full of everything I know about what it’s like to be an anxious kid in an uncertain world and how we might go about helping each other through that world, magic or not. I wrote this story for my childhood self and for lots of the kids (and adults) I know and love today. It’s the most complex book I’ve worked on, it’s the one I’m most proud of, and I can’t wait for you to read it.

The cover of The Tinkerers was designed by Lissi Erwin and illustrated by the incomparable Junyi Wu. It’s a spectacular, take-your-breath-away piece of art, and I particularly love it because Junyi has taken tremendous care to include a lot of small details from the story in the image. Here’s what the front of the book will look like:

And here’s the flap copy to tell you a little more about the story:

The astromancers in Peter’s star-touched village have an amazing device that nudges time—surely it wouldn’t hurt if Peter used it to fix a few mistakes? Cozy fantasy alight with wonder from the author of Wicked Marigold.

When Peter leads two Tinkerers to his family’s inn in Stargazers Valley, he imagines they’re like other astromancers, researchers from the Imperial College who study starstuff. The valley is a special place, where the magical aurora called the Skeins appear in the sky and starstuff falls in their wake, as thin and wispy as fluff from a seed pod. But starstuff is powerful, and astromancers are the only people allowed to handle it—a law enforced by the strict and stealthy Outbounder Task Force. When Peter discovers the Tinkerers have used starstuff to invent an incredible not-a-clock that can turn back time for a few minutes, he realizes it’s his chance to undo his mistakes: if he can go back and put away his new boots, he doesn’t need to add their destruction by falcons to his list of ten worst mistakes (#7: stepping on a star-eating newt). But while using the not-a-clock is easy, stopping using it is hard. And maybe not everything that feels like a mistake at the time actually is. Family, friendship, and budding self-confidence are at the heart of Caroline Carlson’s stellar fantasy.

The Tinkerers will be in stores on October 7th, 2025, but it’s available to pre-order now from your local indie, Bookshop, Amazon, B&N, or wherever you love to buy books. You can also add it on Goodreads if you’d like.

Over the next several months, I’m hoping to share some behind-the-scenes glimpses of my writing process for The Tinkerers here in this newsletter, so keep an eye out for those messages if you’re interested in seeing the piles of notes I had to take in order to keep all my story elements straight. And if there’s anything in particular you’d like to know about the book, please ask! (You can post a comment using the button below.) I’d love to answer your questions.

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Thanks to all the folks who’ve been sharing Wicked Marigold with their kids and sending such nice messages along! It means a huge amount to me to know that readers are enjoying Marigold’s antics. You can still grab the hardcover or the audiobook if you haven’t already, or you can preorder the paperback edition, out in July, which will include an excerpt from The Tinkerers!

And if you’ve read and enjoyed Wicked Marigold, I’d be over the moon if you left a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or any of the other sites you might use to share your thoughts about books. Reviews and word of mouth are hugely important ways to help readers find new stories they’ll love.

Thanks for following along, for being a reader, and for sharing your love of stories with the kids in your life. I know it means the world to them.

Happy reading!

Caroline

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I hope the end of the year finds you not running around frantically in search of holiday gifts for the loved ones in your life, but as a person who’s often been a panicked last-minute gift giver, I appreciate a good present-related tip, especially when that tip involves buying books. So I’ve put together a few suggestions for books you might enjoy if you like my books. Not coincidentally, most of the books I’ve chosen were written by the wonderful authors who blurbed Wicked Marigold!

First, though, a couple special notes about my own books. If you’d like to buy one of my books for the holidays (and I really hope you would), I’d be happy to mail you a signed bookplate for your gift recipient. Just write to me at caroline [at] carolinecarlsonbooks [dot] com and let me know how you’d like the bookplate made out. I’ll pop it in the mail to you as quickly as I can; I can’t guarantee delivery by a certain date, but I’ll do my best.

And the second note: The audiobook edition of Wicked Marigold is here, narrated by Katherine Anderson! It’s on sale for only $5 over at Libro.fm, a site that supports independent bookstores—and there’s an option for you to purchase it as a gift for someone else. Very cool.

On to the list of book recommendations!

Braided by Leah Cypess—a middle grade retelling of Rapunzel, told from the point of view of Rapunzel’s little sister. Sounds like a perfect match for Marigold lovers, right? It’s part of Leah Cypess’s Sisters Ever After series of fairy tale retellings, so if you love this one, there are plenty more.

The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis—I love all of Steph’s books for young readers, but this one would be a great wintertime gift paired with a tin of hot chocolate mix or a nice box of fancy chocolates. (I like these.) The story is about a dragon who drinks hot chocolate that turns her into a human; it’s sweet and funny and delightful, and it’s the first in a series.

Rump by Liesl Shurtliff—another fairy tale retelling! Rump is the very fun and clever (fairly) true tale of Rumpelstiltskin, and again, it’s the first in an excellent series. Liesl and I were debut authors together back in 2013, which means that my Magic Marks the Spot and her Rump are basically book siblings. I love this book and everything else Liesl has written since!

The Girl from Earth’s End by Tara Dairman—maybe we could call this one a modern fairy tale? It’s a lovely, lightly magical story about Henna, who grows up with her two papas on a small island and learns all she can about the plants that grow there. When Papa Niall becomes sick, Henna travels to find the one plant that she believes can cure him. You could pair this as a gift with a little succulent, or maybe a LEGO flower kit?

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani—a fairy tale, a school story, the start of a wildly popular series! Soman’s books tackle questions of what it means to be truly good or truly wicked, just like Marigold does. If your young reader hasn’t checked these out already, get them started!

The School for Wicked Witches by Will Taylor—I didn’t badger Will to blurb Wicked Marigold, but I wanted to recommend his latest to you because it is the perfect gift not only for lovers of fractured fairy tales but also for any kid who’s seen the Wicked movie and needs more Oz-related content pronto! Once you’ve read that, be sure to check out Will’s very funny Maggie and Abby’s Neverending Pillow Fort and his stunning The Language of Seabirds (which I go around recommending to everyone. Have I recommended it to you already? Oh well, I really mean it!).

The Case Closed series by Lauren Magaziner—my daughter’s favorite author. “I love your stories, Mom,” she says, “but I love Lauren Magaziner’s just a little bit more. They’re so adventurous! So funny!” Friends, she’s not wrong. Our favorites to read together are the Case Closed pick-your-path mysteries, but if fantasy is more your style, check out the Mythics series or Wizardmatch.

The Legends of Lotus Island series by Christina Soontornvat—another magical series our family has loved reading together this year, about a girl named Plum who trains to become a Guardian, one of the powerful beings who protect nature. All four books are out now; they are quick, illustrated reads and lots of fun.

If you missed the recommendations in my latest Lit Hub column, you can find those here! Any one of them would make an excellent gift.

I’ll be back in your inbox in 2025 with more news about my new middle grade novel coming out next fall… but until then, happy reading!

Caroline

I have a few pieces of long-awaited news to share with you today… and also a few things I forgot to tell you about earlier. Let’s do the long-awaited news first!

Will you ever do an event in the Boston area?

I’ve had this question from several of you, and I’m thrilled to say that the answer is yes! I will be in Boston twice this fall: once for a professional conference for teachers, and once for a public event open to all.

On Monday, October 28th, from 6-7 pm, I’ll be at the Weston Public Library in Weston, MA for a Boston-area Wicked Marigold launch party. Bring your friends, your kids, your parents, your dogs (well, probably not dogs—I’m not sure they are allowed at the library). Please don’t bring your cats; I am allergic. You can register for the event here. I would love to see you!

On Saturday, November 23rd, I’ll be speaking at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention. This is a professional meeting for teachers and librarians, so not free and open to all, but if you are planning to attend the conference in your professional capacity, you can catch me on the panel Dreaming for Change: Middle Grade Fantasy as a Springboard for Inspiring Real-World Action from 1:15-2:30 pm. I’ll be chatting with fellow authors Kekla Magoon, Katherine Marsh, Heather Bouwman, and Will Alexander about creative strategies for incorporating fantasy literature in the classroom.

Will there be an audiobook edition of Wicked Marigold?

Yes! I know that many of you—especially those who discovered my books through the Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates audiobooks—are hoping to listen to an audio version of Marigold, and I’m excited to share that it’ll be available on November 19th from Tantor Audio, narrated by Katherine Anderson. You can preorder it now from B&N or Libro.fm, but I expect it’ll be up on more platforms closer to release.

I divide my time between Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Russia—will Wicked Marigold be available in all of my countries?

You must be exhausted! But yes, Wicked Marigold is available now in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, so you should be able to order it online pretty easily or ask your local store to order a copy if they don’t have it in stock. It will be published by Walker Books in the UK, probably in 2025, and a translated Russian edition is planned from the Russian publisher Clever Media.

When’s your next book coming out?

In the publishing world, dates are hardly ever set in stone, but you should be able to look for my next middle grade novel in Fall 2025—that’s only a year from now, ack! I’ve just turned in my second round of edits for this book, and in the next few months, I should have a blurb and cover art to share with you. Let me know if you would like to see the many, many notes and maps and timelines and other ridiculous appendices I had to make in order to keep this story straight in my head. It’s by far the most complicated manuscript I’ve worked on, and now that it’s getting closer to being a real book, I’ll be able to start sharing some behind-the-scenes details with you.

Could you share a photo of the cinnamon buns you made?

Of course. These are the cinnamon buns I bake for my family every Christmas morning, but I also love to find excuses to make them at other times of year, especially once the weather gets cooler. They are great with coffee—but then again, they are great with everything. If you’d like to make them yourself, you can find the recipe in The Swedish Table by Helene Henderson.

Read anything good lately?

Oh, yes. You can see my favorite new children’s releases over on Lit Hub, including my October column, which just went up today!

Happy reading,

Caroline

Thank you so much for helping me to celebrate the release of Wicked Marigold this past week! I was thrilled to see many of you at the virtual launch party, and I absolutely loved answering your questions, especially the super-smart ones from the young readers in the audience. I hope you had a good time, too! And I hope that if you’re able to get your hands on a copy of Wicked Marigold, either from your favorite bookstore or at the library, it’ll bring you lots of joy and laughter.

Special thanks to author Nick Courage for being in conversation with me and asking the most delightful and surprising questions, and to the Penguin Bookshop for hosting this event. I hope that you’ll check out Nick’s wonderful books for kids, and that you’ll visit the Penguin or order your next great read from their online store!

A quick roundup of Marigold media

• I wrote an essay for Literary Hub about the healing benefits of reading—and writing—books that feel like a escape from our everyday lives.

• I also wrote an essay for School Library Journal’s Teen Librarian Toolbox about why I love fairy tales, why I love complicating them, and how I try to play with the familiar structures of old-fashioned stories to bring modern ideas to readers.

• Young Adult Books Central had me over for an interview this week! Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page, where my wonderful publisher, Candlewick Press, is hosting a giveaway of five copies of Wicked Marigold (US only).

• I had a lot of fun chatting with writer Shannon Balloon on her Middle Grade Matters podcast. Find the episode on Shannon’s site or wherever you get your podcasts.

Where I’ll be in July and August

I’ll be staying close to home in western Pennsylvania for the rest of the summer, but if you’re in the area, too, I’ll hope to see you at one of these events! (If you’re in the rest of the country, world, or universe, I do hope to visit you, too, and plans are in the works for travels farther afield.)

• Saturday, July 20 (tomorrow!): Signing Wicked Marigold at the Penguin Bookshop, Sewickley, PA from 12:00-1:00 pm. More information here.

• Saturday, July 27: Author talk at Grove City Community Library, Grove City, PA at 1:00 pm. More information here.

• Friday, August 23: Pizza party and in-person book launch for Wicked Marigold at Riverstone Books Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, PA from 5:30-7:00 pm. In conversation with middle grade author Jonathan Auxier. RSVP here—tickets are free!

Signed books?

If you want a signed copy of Wicked Marigold or any of my other books but can’t come to one of my events, you can order a copy from Riverstone Books and make a note in the comment area about how you’d like it signed. I’ll also be visiting other bookstores in the Pittsburgh area to sign stock and drop off bookmarks, so local readers, keep your eyes peeled!

Once you’ve read Wicked Marigold, I’d love to hear what you and your young readers think! Feel free to get in touch any time. Until then, happy reading!

Caroline

The lovely folks at the bookstore are working to fix this problem behind the scenes, but if you want to register for the event and you get a message that you’re not an “authorized user,” you can create a free Zoom account and then use the email address associated with that account to sign up for the book party.

To create a free Zoom account, visit this page.

To register for the virtual launch party, click here.

Sorry for the inconvenience, and hope to see you on Tuesday!

I also wanted to let you know about two preorder sales you might be interested in:

If you are a Barnes & Noble member, you can get 25% off Wicked Marigold and all other preorders when you order with code PREORDER25 from now through July 17th. (But Wicked Marigold stops being a preorder on July 16th, so be sure to order it before then.)

The book discovery site Tertulia is also offering a discount on Wicked Marigold preorders. You can get 20% off your preorder of Wicked Marigold with code WICKED. (This offer also expires on publication day.)

I’ll be back with a longer newsletter soon, probably next week, but for now I hope you’re staying cool with a good book!

Happy reading,

Caroline

I’m sharing all of this with you because I want you to know that in publishing, unlike in fairy tales, no happy result feels inevitable, and every piece of good news is worthy of serious celebration. I celebrated when my new agent fell in love with Wicked Marigold, when the book found a wonderful home at Candlewick Press, and when I saw the beautiful cover illustrated by Jennifer M. Potter. I celebrated when Wicked Marigold earned blurbs from some of my favorite authors, all of whom I’ll be featuring in an upcoming newsletter so you can learn more about their excellent books! Since the last time I wrote to you, I’ve celebrated when Wicked Marigold received great reviews from Kirkus (“a witty and engaging anti-fairy-tale adventure”), Publishers Weekly (“an insightful tale of nature versus nurture and good versus evil”), and the Horn Book (which I’ll be able to share in a few more weeks). I’m still a little amazed that next month, this book will be on shelves in bookstores and libraries, and I’m thrilled that early readers have welcomed it to the world so kindly.

When I found out that People Magazine had chosen Wicked Marigold as one of their best books of the summer, I was almost too surprised to celebrate. During all those early-morning writing bursts, when I still thought I might be the only person who’d ever read this book, I never would have imagined that it would turn up in the pages of People. But there it is! It’s in the June 3rd print issue and online, so I’m about 94% sure it’s not an elaborate prank. I hope you’ll check out the other selections, too, if you’re looking for summer reading; the other middle grade choices sound particularly great.

A month or so out from publication, this is how I’m feeling: a little in awe of this book that’s full of surprises, hugely grateful for all the work many people have done to bring Wicked Marigold into the world, and really excited for readers to dive in.

Upcoming Events

I have a few events already planned to celebrate the launch of Wicked Marigold this summer, with more to come through the fall. Most events are in my local area (western PA), but one is virtual and open to readers everywhere, so I hope you’ll be able to join in!

• On Tuesday, July 16, which is Wicked Marigold’s publication day, we’ll be having a virtual celebration via Zoom at 7 p.m. Eastern. I’ll be in conversation with fellow middle grade author Nick Courage, and we’ll be hosted by the wonderful Penguin Bookshop. You can visit the Penguin’s event page to pre-register. Attendance is free, but if you attend, please consider ordering your copy of Wicked Marigold through the Penguin to support their work.

• On Saturday, July 20, I’ll be signing Wicked Marigold at the Penguin Bookshop in Sewickley, Pennsylvania from 12:00-1:00 pm.

• On Saturday, July 27, I’ll be speaking at the Grove City Community Library in Grove City, Pennsylvania, at 1:00 pm. Buy one of my books from your favorite retailer and bring it along with you to be signed.

• On Friday, August 23, at 5:30 pm, we’ll be celebrating Wicked Marigold with an in-person book launch and pizza party at Riverstone Books in Squirrel Hill, Pennsylvania. I’ll be in conversation with middle grade author Jonathan Auxier. Friends of all ages are welcome! We’ll sign books, chat, and eat pizza and cake.

As always, I’ll be keeping the events page of my website updated with information about these events and more in the works.

Preorders

If you want to preorder a copy of Wicked Marigold so it arrives in your hands shortly after publication, now is a great time to do that. You can order it from anywhere you like to buy books, but I always especially encourage folks to support their local independent bookstores. If you’d like a signed copy of Wicked Marigold, you can order from one of my wonderful local indies: the Penguin Bookshop, Riverstone Books, Spark Books, or White Whale. Be sure to make a note in the comments field that you’d like your book signed to you or someone else.

If you’d prefer to pick your book up at your own favorite store but would still like my signature in the book, send me a note with your info and mailing address, and I’ll send you a signed bookplate (and possibly one of my very snazzy Wicked Marigold bookmarks).

Finally, if you’d like to support Wicked Marigold in a different way, you can request that your local library system order a copy of the book. Authors really love seeing our books in libraries, where they’re accessible to all readers!

More Book Recommendations

I’m still writing monthly columns for Literary Hub about new children’s books I’m looking forward to reading in 2024, and I hope you’ll find your next favorite story on one of these lists. The June column just published yesterday. Let me know which upcoming books look most exciting to you!

Thank you all—not only for making it to the end of this epic newsletter, but also for your support of my books over the years. I couldn’t keep telling stories without you.

Happy reading!

Caroline

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I’ll keep it quick this morning, but I wanted to remind you that Independent Bookstore Day is almost here! It’s an event held on the last Saturday in April (that’ll be Saturday, April 27th this year), when indie bookstores across the US throw parties, have special promotions, and do lots of other fun things for their beloved readers. You can use this Indie Bookstore Finder to locate an independent bookstore near you. Then stop by in person on the 27th, or check out the store’s website to find out if they’re planning any kind of celebration!

If you’re in Pittsburgh, you’re welcome to swing by City of Asylum Bookstore in the North Side, where I’ll be signing my books and helping customers find their new favorite reads from about 12:00-1:00 or so. I’d be delighted to see you! (You can also grab brunch at 40 North, which is attached to the bookstore. It’s a fantastic space and well worth a visit, even for those who aren’t local.)

If you aren’t lucky enough to have an independent bookstore in your neighborhood, you can still order books to be shipped to you from Bookshop.org, which supports independent booksellers with each sale. And if you’re stumped about what to buy, check out the Lit Hub archives for a few of my children’s book suggestions. I’m excited to pick up Ellen Weinstein’s Five Stories and Yi Shun Lai’s A Suffragist’s Guide to the Antarctic.

Happy Independent Bookstore Day, and thank you for supporting your local stores, booksellers, and authors!

Caroline

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I’ve missed you. I hope you’ve been doing all sorts of interesting things these past few months. Have you been getting enough sleep? Hydrating? Stretching those hamstrings? I know; I haven’t either, but I’m working on it.

Right now, though, I’m going to answer a few of your imaginary questions:

Is your new book out yet? I honestly cannot remember anything about it.

If you’re new to the Scuttlebutt, you’ll want to know that my next middle grade novel, Wicked Marigold, is coming out on July 16th. It’s a fairy-tale adventure with a twist, starring a possibly wicked princess, a definitely wicked wizard, an imp who enjoys embroidery, an eternally optimistic kitchen boy, a Thing, and an iguana with many costume changes. If you love funny fantasy stories, books that ask questions about good and evil, or any of my previous books, I hope you’ll like this one, too. You can read more about it here.

Okay! That sounds fun. Can I order a copy yet?

Yes! Wicked Marigold is available to preorder from your favorite book-buying source, so if you are the sort of person who likes to preorder things, you can do that now. My recommendation is always to support your local independent bookshop if you’re lucky enough to have one in your area. You can also ask your local library to order Wicked Marigold for their collection.

You said something about a giveaway? That’s why I opened this email.

I’m so glad you asked. I have one single advance copy of Wicked Marigold sitting on my bookshelf, and it could be yours! Here are the rules of the giveaway:

1. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post. (You can click the “Leave a comment” button right below this list of rules.) Your comment must include the magic word.

2. The magic word is IGUANA.

3. For an extra chance to win, tell one friend about Wicked Marigold, and let me know who you told in your comment! (Example: “I told my aunt to preorder your book because she loves iguanas.”)

4. At some point when I get around to it, no earlier than March 6, I will randomly choose a winner and get in touch to arrange delivery of your book.

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Only Scuttlebutt subscribers are eligible to win the advance copy, so if you’re visiting this newsletter from another source, please subscribe before entering the giveaway!

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What else have you been doing instead of writing this newsletter?

I have been making endless rounds of sandwiches for my children.

I have been revising a very exciting new novel that will either destroy me or be published by Candlewick in the near future; let’s hope it’s the latter.

I have learned how to do a push-up.

Most excitingly, I’ve taken on a new role as the children’s book columnist for Lit Hub. Every month, I’ll be sharing ten new children’s books I’m most excited to read, from board books and picture books all the way up through young adult novels and nonfiction. Check out my previous columns to see the wonderful books I’ve recommended so far, and stay tuned for the March column, which should be up in a couple weeks.

Happy reading, and good luck in the giveaway!

Caroline

I’m writing to you from my backyard on a truly autumnal day. The leaves are pleasantly crunchy, it’s cool enough for a sweater but not quite time for a jacket, and my kids are getting very excited about Halloween. They love trick-or-treating, ghosts, vampires, witches—anything, really, that’s got a little bit of wickedness or mischief mixed in with all the fun.

I like autumn and Halloween, too, but an especially nice thing about this particular autumn is that I can share more news about my next book, Wicked Marigold, with you!

Are you finally going to show us the cover?

Yes. You’ve been so patient. Thanks for that.

Here is the glorious front cover of Wicked Marigold, illustrated by Jennifer M. Potter and designed by Candlewick Senior Art Director Maria T. Middleton:

I really love the whole jacket. I think it gives readers an excellent idea of the kind of story they’ll find between the covers, and it raises lots of interesting questions: Why is the princess holding a biplane? How does the imp’s suit accommodate his wings? Why does the blob of glob look so skeptical? What flavor is that delicious-looking pie in the kitchen boy’s hands? What is that creature that’s mostly tentacles, except for the part that’s teeth? (It is a Thing, dear readers. That’s what it is.)

Most importantly… will the blob of glop end up flying in the biplane?

Remind me what this book is about again?

Here’s a nice little summary from my publisher, Candlewick Press:

In a funny and charming fantastical romp, overlooked Princess Marigold is nothing like her perfect, just-returned sister—so she runs away to an evil wizard’s tower to prove her wickedness.

Princess Marigold—who hadn’t yet been born when the remarkable Princess Rosalind was kidnapped—is eleven when the unthinkable happens: her older sister escapes her captivity and comes home. Marigold has always known she’s not as good, sweet, or kind as the sister everyone adores, but amid the celebration of Rosalind’s return, Marigold realizes something new: if Princess Rosalind is good, then Princess Marigold must be wicked. And there’s no place for wickedness in the kingdom. When Marigold tries to find a new place for herself in an evil wizard’s fortress, though, the results are disastrous. Before she’s even learned to cackle or scowl properly, she gets tangled up in a magical plot to ruin all the Cacophonous Kingdoms. Is Marigold too wicked to make things right? Or can she—with the help of a kitchen boy, a well-dressed imp, and a grumpy blob of glop—find her own way to restore peace? This endearing fantasy will have princess and anti-princess fans alike chuckling and cheering.

When do I get to read it?

Wicked Marigold will be published on July 16, 2024, which I know is still a long time to wait. The better news is that next summer and fall, I will be sure to have some thrilling parties and events to celebrate. You can also invite me to your school, library, bookstore, or book club—I would love to see you, either virtually or in person.

The best news is that Wicked Marigold is already available for preorder! You can preorder your copy through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, a local indie, or your favorite literary purveyor. (It’s not up on Bookshop.org yet, but I’m sure it will be there soon.)

If I liked your pirate books, will I like this one, too?

I think you will. There are no pirates in this one, but there are wizards—so many wizards! A couple of princesses! And one iguana!

Are you going to be reminding me about this book for the next 9 months?

You better believe it.

I have a question you didn’t include in this newsletter.

Drop me a line through the “Leave a comment” button below, or email me through my website, and I’ll do my best to answer!

Caroline

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I’m happy to be back in your inboxes with another installment of this very occasional newsletter. If you’re one of the many folks who’ve subscribed since the first issue went out in November, welcome, and thanks for signing up! You haven’t missed much—but you can always check out the archives here.

News about Books

Today, I’d like to share a little bit about what happens in the life cycle of a book after it’s been written and revised but before it’s been published. This is the stage of life my upcoming middle grade novel, Wicked Marigold, is in right now, and I think it’s pretty interesting—mostly because my work on the story is largely done and the talented folks at Candlewick Press are busy transforming my words into a real, honest-to-goodness book. As an author, I don’t have a clear view of absolutely everything that goes into producing a book on the publisher’s end, but I do catch a few exciting glimpses every now and then. Here are some things I’ve gotten to see lately:

Cover art! Readers are usually surprised to learn that traditionally published authors don’t have a lot of control over their book jacket’s design. I don’t choose the illustrators who work on my books, and although my publishers have always asked for my thoughts about cover art, my opinion isn’t the one that matters most. (It shouldn’t be! I am emphatically not a designer or an artist, and it wouldn’t be reasonable for me to tell the artistic team how to do their jobs, just like it wouldn’t be reasonable for them to give me extensive notes on my writing.) The editor and art director work together to determine how the jacket should look, and then they hire an artist while I cheer wildly from the sidelines. This time around, my editor asked me if I liked the work of two different artists they were considering—fortunately, I loved both!

Usually, the artist sends black and white sketches first, then color sketches, and finally a finished work of cover art. For Wicked Marigold, I’ve seen black and white sketches and color sketches so far, and I cannot wait to share the phenomenal art in a few more months once it’s final. I think you’re going to love it.  

Page design! The interior of the book gets designed at the same time as the jacket, and even for novels like Wicked Marigold that don’t have interior art, there are plenty of decisions to be made: How big will the book be? (This is called the trim size.) What fonts will be used for the titles and for the body of the text? Will there be extremely cool sparkly wingdings decorating each chapter title? (Oh, yes!) A few weeks ago, my editor sent me a PDF of the first two chapters of Wicked Marigold laid out as they’ll look in the finished book.

First pass pages! Once the entire book has been laid out, the designers, editors, proofreaders, and author all take a look at the designed pages to make sure no errors have been introduced and to catch anything else that isn’t exactly as it should be. Authors are also allowed to make very small changes at this point—tweaking a word, or maybe a sentence—but when you’re working with designed pages, making large changes to the text is complex and expensive, so everyone tends to be much happier if the text is more or less final before it arrives in the production team’s hands. (After first pass, there will be a second pass, a third pass, and possibly more, when additional changes are implemented and reviewed at the publisher, but my experience as an author has been that I usually only see the first pass.) First pass pages are often used to print advance reader copies (ARCs), so any changes made after this point will not appear in those advance copies—just in the final version.

The publisher’s sales and marketing teams get their own first looks at a book around this time, too, and they start to plan when and how they’ll introduce it to the world. I’ll be sure to let you all know as soon as we have a firm release date for Wicked Marigold, but right now I can tell you that it will be available in the spring or summer of 2024.

While all this work is going on behind the scenes with Marigold, I’m staying busy by writing something new—so new that it’s not quite ready to be talked about yet. It involves astronomy, rock climbing, lizards, some very finicky magic, and the world’s best mug of hot chocolate.

News about Events and Other Good Things

I’ve had fun getting back into the swing of school and library visits this spring! I hope to have more events that are open to the public soon, most likely in 2024 and beyond. In the meantime, if you’d like me to speak at your school, library, book club, bookstore, conference panel, or festival, you can always check out more information about my in-person and virtual presentations here.

What I’ve Been Reading

I couldn’t put down the YA graphic novel The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang—I read it in one sitting! It’s about a prince who sometimes loves to wear ball gowns, the dressmaker who’s hired to create those special fashions, and the complicated bond that grows between them. I loved The Genius Under the Table, Eugene Yelchin’s illustrated middle grade memoir of growing up in Soviet Russia, just as much. Both books touch on the theme of finding yourself through art—and being true to that self once you’ve found it.

Read something wonderful lately? Let me know in the comments!

Questions from You*

*Okay, this is not a question from you. It is a question from me. If you have a different question you’d like me to write about, please share it in the comments so I can answer it next time! It doesn’t even have to be about publishing.

What’s the worst typo you’ve ever seen?

This one, in Shakespeare’s Fourth Folio, which I saw on display at The Frick Pittsburgh last week. Somewhere out there, the ghost of a 17^th-century copy editor is kicking itself.

I’ll be back soon to share Wicked Marigold’s cover with you all… and possibly to give away an ARC to a lucky newsletter reader. Until then, I’m wishing you many happy and typo-free days of reading.

Caroline

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