MIND YOUR MONSTERS Cover!!

Here it is – my official, final, fabulous cover for MIND YOUR MONSTERS! I am so, so excited to finally share this wonderful artwork. Thank You Oriol!

I am celebrating with a giveaway. To participate, please visit my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/catherinebaileybooks. Then share this cover on Facebook, Twitter, or any social media, let me know in the comments on Facebook, and I'll make sure you're entered to win. 

The winner will also receive a monstrously cute goody bag to help pass the time until MIND YOUR MONSTERS stomps forth in August.

The deadline to enter is 3/13/15 and the winner will be announced the next day. 

Psst... It's Coming.

This Monday I am posting my official cover for Mind Your Monsters AND offering a giveaway. The winner will receive a signed copy of the picture book, and a monstrously cute goody bag. Check back on Monday for details. Until then, have a great weekend! (please)

Release the Crustaceans!

Hey. 

Hey there. Guess what? 

I sold another book! And this one has a giant lobster in it! As Announced in Publisher's Marketplace:

Catherine Bailey's LUCY LOVES SHERMAN, about a girl whose dream of owning a pet lobster turns into a serious mission when she realizes she must save him from the bib and butter, complete with crustacean back matter, to Nicole Frail at Sky Pony Press, by Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency (World).

I am thrilled to work with Nicole again and am so grateful to my uber agent Kathleen. To celebrate I shall post pictures of cats dressed as lobsters ... because of the cuteness. 

    

    

Cover Reveal!

Fellow MLLA author Marci Lyn Curtis has a cover reveal for her book THE ONE THING today and I am so, so excited for her! Are you ready? Brace your eyeballs. Brace'em good.

While I usually focus on PBs, I added this YA book to my purchase list because JUST READ THIS BLURB! 

"Maggie Sanders might be blind, but she won't invite anyone to her pity party. Ever since losing her sight six months ago, Maggie's rebellious streak has taken on a life of its own, culminating with an elaborate school prank. Maggie called it genius. The judge called it illegal.

Now Maggie has a probation officer. But she isn't interested in rehabilitation, not when she's still mourning the loss of her professional soccer dreams, and furious at her so-called friends, who lost interest in her as soon as she could no longer lead the team to victory.

When Maggie first meets Ben, she thinks she can add crazy to her list of problems. But the precocious ten-year-old isn't a hallucination. Maggie can actually see him. She immediately befriends the kid, desperate for any chance to see again.

It turns out Ben's older brother is Mason Milton, the the ridiculously hot lead singer of Maggie's new favorite band. Music is the first thing that has made Maggie feel alive since losing her sight. But when she learns the real reason she can see Ben, Maggie must find the courage to face a once-unimaginable future...before she loses everything she has grown to love."

For more about Marci and where to purchase her books, please visit: http://marcilyncurtis.com

Bedtime Reading

Night time is the right time for reading because I have small, crazy children that keep me occupied during the day. I am well into "How to Promote Your Children's Book" by Katie Davis and it is simply fabulous. The author presents specific tips and concepts, like buying domain names for your book titles**. And she seems so NICE! Everything she writes is clear and encouraging and positive. I want to be this woman's friend. I will be her friend. Okay we are best friends now.

http://katiedavis.com/books/how-to-promote-your-childrens-book


**Guess who just bought a bazillion domain names on Go Daddy?

Unleash the Underpants!

People ask where my ideas come from but there is no easy answer. Sometimes I work very hard and MAKE myself think of an idea (I use tips like these: http://www.wifyr.com/blog/tag/picture-book-ideas). Other times ideas just whisper their way into my brain, fogging out important to-do lists and all the state capitols. Then I email myself the idea so I won't forget it - which is why my inbox is filled with gems like "Astro-Cats" and "Unleash the Underpants!"

I'm Back!

I know I've been gone for awhile so here's Reading Cat to make up for it. 

It's been a busy few months because we built a house (well, most of it anyway), but I HAVE been writing. (Don't you judge me Reading Cat!). I attended a Highlights Workshop in August, and am now working on a few new manuscripts. My uber fabulous critique group keeps me on my toes and I'm participating in PiBoIdMo. 

It's hectic here in writer-land, but that's a good thing.