Today we’d like to introduce you to Christyne Morrell.
Hi Christyne, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Ever since I can remember, I’ve been a bookworm – even before I knew how to read! In old photos, I’m always clutching a book. In-home movies, I’m sitting in front of the camera, dutifully reading Charlotte’s Web to an imaginary audience. I even wrote fanfic about The Muppets. And I spent my childhood dreaming of publishing my own stories one day. I also happen to be highly risk-averse. As I got older, I realized that, while I wanted to be an artist, I wasn’t too keen on the “starving” part. So I went to law school after college and became a corporate lawyer. I still practice law today, and I love my day job. But I could never quite shake the desire to tell stories.
When my daughter was born, my husband and I would read to her as we rocked her to sleep. We started with Charlotte’s Web and then moved on to other books I’d loved as a kid. Hearing those stories again transported me to my childhood and inspired me to give writing another shot. At first, I made up stories just for my daughter, writing early drafts on my phone in the quiet nursery. They were all about my daughter’s adventures with her faithful beagle, and they were uniformly terrible! But over time, the stories improved, and I found myself becoming more and more invested in my writing. I joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), the primary organization for kidlit creators. I found trusted writer friends to critique my work. Eventually, I began submitting to literary agents.
It took five years for me to land an agent. During that time, I wrote four novels (some of them rewritten multiple times) and countless picture books, short stories, and poems. My first novel sold to Delacorte Press after being on submission for eight months. But publishing is notoriously slow. From the date of my book deal to the day the final product appears in bookstores will be 21 months. That first book is a middle-grade novel for kids 8-12 called KINGDOM OF SECRETS, and it releases on August 3, 2021!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t think any author experiences a perfectly smooth road to success! Rejection is a constant and inevitable part of the process. First, you get rejected by agents (my agent rejections are numbered in the triple digits). Next, you get rejected by publishers. Later, when your book is finally published, you face the dreaded reviews – from both professional reviewers and ordinary readers. (Pro tip: don’t check Goodreads!)
All of this rejection and criticism leads to self-doubt and imposter syndrome, which at times can be crippling. If you want to be a published author, two of the most important traits you can develop are perseverance and a thick skin. When I’m feeling deflated, my strategy is to focus on the only thing within my control: the writing. The best way to ease the sting of rejection is always to write the next thing.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I write stories and poems for kids. My work has appeared in magazines like Highlights, Spider, and The School Magazine. I’ve published a picture book, Abra, Cadabra & Bob (Clear Fork Publishing 2019). My first middle-grade novel, KINGDOM OF SECRETS, comes out in August, and my second novel, TREX, comes out in summer 2022.
KINGDOM OF SECRETS is a classic fantasy-adventure story about a girl named Prismena (Prissy), whose father is the hot-air balloonist in the peaceful kingdom of Oren. She assists him by mending torn balloons, but she yearns to build and fly the complicated machines herself. One day, a waif named Abi blackmails Prissy into smuggling a mysterious box onto one of her father’s flights. That single act of rebellion results in her father’s arrest and kicks off a spiraling series of events that will yank Prissy out of her predictable life. Along the way to free her father from jail, she’ll get caught up in a bar fight, nabbed by a sadistic schoolmistress, tossed into a home for unwanted children, and thrust into the center of a brewing rebellion. On her journey through Oren – with its glitzy neighborhoods and its seedy underbelly – Prissy will uncover secrets that change the way she views her family, her kingdom, herself, and even her beloved hot-air balloons. She’ll have to break a few rules – and even forge metal – to save the people she loves, but she may also get a chance to soar.
I’m so proud to be creating stories for children. If you ask people to name their all-time favorite book, the answer will often be a children’s book – and more specifically, a middle-grade book. Why? Because these are the books that reach us during our formative years when we’re just starting to make sense of the world. And stories help us do exactly that. Kids’ books have the power to comfort, teach, encourage, and sometimes, provide a much-needed escape. I strive to write books that will inspire young readers while also being good, plain fun!
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
It’s not easy to narrow down to just one, but I’d probably go with this: don’t wait for the perfect time to follow your dream. If you do, it may never happen. I wasted too many years not writing, waiting for the perfect idea or perfect conditions. These days, I squeeze in writing wherever and whenever I can, even if I’m typing story notes into my phone in the middle of the night. And I don’t wait for ideas to come to me. I go out there and actively search for them. On school visits, I tell kids, “You can’t control when lightning will strike. But you can absolutely make yourself a lightning rod.”
Contact Info:
- Website: christynewrites.com
- Instagram: @christynewrites
- Twitter: @christynewrites
Image Credits:
Headshot: Heidi Harris Kingdom of Secrets: Carol Ly and Emma Cormarie Abra, Cadabra, & Bob: Jay Guida
