Joint interview with my agent

Kidlit Creatives is a private Facebook group that offers wonderful support for children’s book writers and illustrators. The Kidlit Creatives Team is currently made up of Manju Howard and Gabrielle Copeland Schoeffield, and I’m excited to be featured today, along with my literary agent, Keely Boeving of WordServe Literary. Thank you, Manju, for the lovely opportunity to talk about my latest project.

To read the full interview on Manju’s blog, go to this link: https://www.authormanjuhoward.com/post/joint-interview-author-cathey-nickell-and-agent-keely-boeving?fbclid=IwAR3wpE6gBb-S89JEQCxcLXy44jxCMlmAdBaTYG_CG5OGevdRYmWSNUkeuMs

In the interview, Keely and I talk about my unpublished middle grade novel. We are currently out on submission with a batch of editors, and my fingers are crossed that we get an offer of publication. I know it’s a long shot, but I’m trying to stay positive! My story focuses on a specific environmental cause with a unique premise. I interviewed numerous experts on the subject, read books, watched documentaries, and I’ve enjoyed learning how we can all work together to make small changes at home that could create big results for our planet. It’s a fun story for ages 8-12 that I hope to someday see on bookshelves.

My agent, Keely, says she fell in love with my manuscript because of the voice. She explains in her interview on Kidlit Creatives: “The main character, Bee, is so full of energy and enthusiasm that I knew I wanted to stick with her and see where this story went. It also has a really unique STEM angle that I hadn’t seen explored in a middle grade novel before, so I was intrigued. Once I started reading, I fell in love with Bee and her family—especially her sweet relationship with her grandfather—and I knew I wanted to represent this one.” Thank you, Keely, for championing my work … I could not do this without you!

Here’s a little bit about Keely. She began her career in New York working as an assistant editor at Oxford University Press before moving back to her home state of Colorado in 2014. She now lives in Denver with her husband and their boy/girl twins. Keely represents adult nonfiction books in the areas of health and wellness, business, parenting and family life, social justice, and books for the Christian market. In the children’s market, she represents middle grade, picture books, and the occasional YA novel; she loves stories that feature characters who are quirky and complex, and books that allow children to see themselves in the pages, perhaps for the first time. You can find out more about her at https://www.keelyboeving.com/ and find her on Twitter @KeelyBoeving.

And here’s a peek at Manju Howard and her blog. Manju is a children’s book author whose stories and poetry connect children with endangered animals as well as backyard creatures. When Manju was a preschooler in New Jersey, her mom supplied her with pencils, crayons, and three-foot rolls of white paper from the local newspaper. It was Manju’s job to fill that paper with storytelling pictures. Now she lives in Indiana with her husband, two teenagers and two forever puppies (Calvin and Cara). She writes stories about creatures from faraway lands and doodles in the margins. Find her here https://www.authormanjuhoward.com/ and on Twitter @ManjuBeth.

If you’re a writer or illustrator, please check out Kidlit Creatives on Facebook. It’s a closed Facebook group, so you must ask to join, and you’ll be prompted to answer three questions. It’s a terrific team, chocked full of interviews, helpful links, and fantastic feedback. Again, thank you for the interview, Manju.

XOXO BE AMAZING!