Happy Thursday Critters! Today we have an interview with Carrie Finison, whose debut picture book is one I’ve been excited about all year, DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS, illustrated by Brianne Farley! It’s got math, it’s got animals, it’s got rhyme, AND it’s got DOUGHNUTS— one of my absolute favorite treats (seriously, they were the favors at my wedding, that’s how much I love them)! What more could you ask for?! I’m thrilled to have her stop by Critter Lit today to talk about her road to publication, process, and upcoming books. So without further ado, please welcome Carrie Finison!
Where do you live?
I live in Arlington, Massachusetts. The town’s former name is Menotomy, which the teenagers snarkily call Monotony. But it’s actually a fun and interesting town filled with fun and interesting people. Especially the teenagers.
When did you know you wanted to write picture books?
I think I always thought writing picture books would be a really cool thing to do, but kind of in the same way that you think of climbing Mount Everest or going to the moon as a really cool thing to do. It was probably around 2010 that I started to think I could actually try to write picture books and maybe even get one published. I was already writing for children on a work-for-hire basis for educational publishers at that point, and I was reading TONS of picture books with my own two kids. I think the combination of those two factors made it feel slightly possible — or at least slightly *more* possible than climbing Everest or going to the moon.
Tell us about your road to publication, what did that involve for you?
It’s been a long and bumpy road. I took my first picture book writing class in 2010. I had been doing work-for-hire writing as I mentioned above, and also had some success getting acceptances with children’s magazines so it felt like a natural next step. I joined a few writing groups including SCBWI, and took more classes like Susanna Hill’s Making Picture Book Magic. I started going to conferences. I joined several critique groups. I kept writing, sending a few manuscripts to editors, but set my sights on landing an agent. I was honored to win the Barbara Karlin Work-in-Progress grant from SCBWI in 2014. I thought for sure that manuscript would sell and, while it came very close at several houses, it didn’t. It wasn’t until 2017 that my agent was able to sell the first manuscript — one that I never thought would be my debut — and DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS was on its way to publication.
Can you share a bit about your process?
I tend to write in spurts, so once I have an idea I’m off to the races with a rough draft. Then I share with my critique groups for feedback, revise, share again, and so on. At some point I usually get stuck and then it goes in a drawer for anywhere from 2-6 months so I can look at it with fresh eyes later.
Also, even though I’m a writer-only, I always make a dummy book by folding together half-sheets of paper and taping my cut-up manuscript to them. Sometimes I draw little stick-figure pictures on each page, or just pencil in a written description of what I think could appear there. I carry this little mini-book around with me for several weeks so that whenever I’m sitting around at a kid’s soccer game or dentist appointment, I can take it out and page through it, making edits to the text as they occur to me.
Since I often write in rhyme, a big part of my process involved staring off into space trying to come up with different ways to say the same thing, and combing through Rhymezone.com and other rhyming dictionaries to come up with interesting rhymes. I also ask other people to read the manuscript aloud to me so I can hear it in someone else’s voice. My family is very patient!
What do you do to shake the rust off or get new ideas?
There’s an exercise that Ann Whitford Paul mentions in her book Writing Picture Books, that I do quite often. Her recommendation is to type out the text of an already-published picture book in order to study the page turns, how much text is on each page, and so on. I find it valuable for that kind of study, but also to ease myself into the writing mood — just the act of typing sentences written by someone else gets my ear, voice, and fingers ready to do my own writing.
Anything you can’t live without while you write?
Rhymezone.com for sure, if I’m writing in rhyme!
I also like to make myself a cup of decaf coffee or tea, take a few sips, and then let it go stone cold while I get absorbed in what I’m doing. Then I reheat it in the microwave, but forget that I have done so and rediscover it around dinner time. It’s all part of the process.
Any authors and/or illustrators who inspire you?
There are so many!
Picture book authors: I love Ame Dyckman’s work. It’s always clever and unexpected. Pat Zietlow Miller gets heart on every page. Laura Gehl is an incredible writer with great language, and her humor really appeals to me.
Illustrators: Oge Mora is my favorite author/illustrator at the moment. I loved Saturday and Thank You, Omu, and her illustrations for Rita Lorraine Hubbard’s The Oldest Student were brilliant. Ekua Holmes’s work in The Stuff of Stars by Marion Dane Bauer blew me away, and I was equally starry-eyed over Diana Sudyka’s illustrations in Hayley Barrett’s gorgeous book, What Miss Mitchell Saw.
All genres: I always look for anything new by Grace Lin, in any genre. I also love Kelly Starling Lyons’s work. Linda Sue Park blew me away equally with her picture book Xander’s Panda Party (rhyme I can aspire to) and the middle-grade A Long Walk to Water. Cece Bell cracks me up, always.
SOMEBODY STOP ME!!! Really, I could go on all day.
Dream project to work on?
I don’t know that I’ve dreamed it up yet! I tend to get very enthusiastic about whatever I’m working on currently, which actually makes the inevitable rejections that roll in a little easier to take. My advice to picture book writers is, always be so in love with your current project that rejections on your older projects don’t sting so badly. That’s been true for me so far.
Interior spread from DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS written by Carrie Finison, illustrated by Brianne Farley
Tell us about your debut book.
My debut is called DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS. It’s about a bear named LouAnn whose getting ready for hibernation by making herself a giant batch of doughnuts (as one does). However, her neighbors begin to drop by and she ends up dividing all her doughnuts between them and forgetting to save any for herself. Then she runs out of ingredients. LouAnn expresses her feelings about this rather loudly, scaring her friends. But (surprise!) they come back with an apology, and pitch in to make a giant doughnut party with plenty for everyone. So it’s about sharing, friendship, math (as each batch of 12 doughnuts is divided by the factors of 12 – 2, 3, 4, and then 6) and of course DOUGHNUTS! And, the illustration by Brianne Farley are absolutely delectable. Fair warning – if you read it, you will want a doughnut!
What’s up next for you?
My second book, DON’T HUG DOUG, comes out in January, 2021, from Putnam. It’s about a boy who says “no, thanks!” to hugs, and is meant to (humorously) spark conversations about consent and bodily autonomy with children. Daniel Wiseman is the illustrator and his child characters are colorful and full of fun.
After that, HURRY, LITTLE TORTOISE will hit the shelves in 2022 from Random House. It’s about a little tortoise who has grand illusions of herself as speedy. She tries her hardest to get to school on time, but keeps getting passed by her classmates. There’s a funny twist at the end that I hope will bring a smile to readers faces. Erin Balzer is illustrating the story. She recently posted some hint on Instagram that she’s beginning the illustration work and I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE IT. Also, I love it when illustrators do that.
And last, but not least, favorite 80s movie?
Pretty tough to pick just one! But if I had to, I think I’d say Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Ohhhh YEAH!
Huge thank you to Carrie for stopping by Critter Lit today! Congrats on your debut and all your upcoming books! We can’t wait to read them all!
CARRIE FINISON began her literary career at the age of seven with an idea, a box of markers, and her father’s typewriter. She has been writing off and on ever since, though she has (somewhat regretfully) traded in the typewriter for a laptop. Her debut picture book is DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS (July, 2020), and a second picture book, DON’T HUG DOUG, will follow in January, 2021. She also writes for children's magazines including Babybug, Ladybug, High Five, and Highlights. When she’s not writing, Carrie enjoys reading mystery novels, trying new recipes, and curling up on the couch for family movie nights. She lives outside Boston with her husband, son, daughter, and two cats who permit her to write in their cozy attic office. Find her online at www.carriefinison.com or follow her on social media:
Website: https://www.carriefinison.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carrie.finison
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarrieFinison
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carriefinison/
BUY THIS BOOK To order a copy of Carrie’s debut picture book, DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS, click here.
WIN A COPY! Want to win a copy of DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS?! Leave a COMMENT below or RETWEET this post on Twitter. One lucky winner will be announced on Thursday, August 20th! US addresses only please.