Book Birthday Blog with Kristen Remenar

 

Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!

Where we celebrate new books from Michigan's authors, illustrators and translators.

 

Congratulations to Kristen Remenar on the release of Owl's Fall Feast Fiasco

 

 

This is the third book in a series. I read in Charlie's interview with you last year the inspiration for the first two books. What inspired the third book?

For the third book, I wanted to take the wisest character, Owl, and put him in a situation where he found he didn’t know it all. I’ve wanted to write a story with a platypus in it for years because how cool are platypuses! I wanted to make it clear, too, that Platypus not fitting into any one category and the friends not fitting their stereotypes is a good thing. Being different is awesome!

What inspires you to write?

Everything! I talk with other writers, especially the one I live with, the incredible Matt Faulkner, and their creativity sparks my own. Reading, going for walks, listening to music, daydreaming, ideas will pop up and I’ll have to grab a pen. Stories are how I make sense of the world. 

What is something you hope your readers will take away from your book?

I hope readers giggle over the weird food combinations Owl has been serving his generously patient guests, and I hope readers celebrate the ways in which they don’t fit into categories others may try to put them in. To see someone for the individual they are instead of who we think they should be is to truly accept them, and I wish that for everyone.

What are your marketing plans for the book and where can we find it?

OWL’S FALL FEAST FIASCO hits shelves everywhere on September 2nd! I’ll be visiting Michigan bookstores and schools this fall so check out https://www.kristenremenar.com/ for local events, especially if you’d like to try “vegemush”!

What's next for you?

Matt Faulkner and I are working on an early reader graphic novel series and I’m writing picture books, including some that have people as main characters, a real departure for me!

More about the book . . .

Owl is so excited to meet Platypus—his favorite didgeridoo musician, who just confirmed he'd be part of Owl's Fall Feast! Owl is over the moon! But there is just one problem: What does Platypus eat?
 
Checking in with his friends offers no good insight. In fact, he learns that Groundhog is lactose intolerant, Hare has an allergy to carrots, Sparrow is a vegetarian, and Tortoise prefers to eat the flower centerpiece!
 
Will Owl be able to see past his preconceptions of his friends and other species, and be accepting of everyone's differences? 
 
Full of humor and tenderness, this book teaches readers valuable social-emotional lessons of accepting others for who they are.
 
 Published by: Charlesbridge

More about the author . . . 

Kristen Remenar has been a classroom teacher, a children's librarian, and a national speaker on early literacy. These days she spends her time writing in a yellow house she shares with her husband, author/illustrator Matt Faulkner, and their family. She is the author of GROUNDHOG'S DILEMMA, SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK, and OWL’S FALL FEAST FIASCO, all published by Charlesbridge. She may or may not but definitely does have an alter ego, Helen Wrath, who created DRAW WITH A VENGEANCE: GET EVEN IN INK AND LET KARMA HANDLE THE REST (Running Press, 2015). 

Instagram: Kristen_Remenar

Facebook: Kristen Remenar 

Website:  https://www.kristenremenar.com/ (Visit for free picture book recommendations and activities for early learners.)

 

Credit: Scott Orser

Book Birthday Blog with Nathan Christopher

 

Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!

Where we celebrate new books from Michigan's authors, illustrators and translators.

 

Congratulations to Nathan Christopher on the release of When Santa Wrote Back!

 

You're an engineer by day and a children's book writer by night. What inspired you to write for children? 

Engineering is a very creative profession (which surprises some people!) and I’ve always been a creative person. I love solving interesting problems in my work, and I look for additional creative outlets in my personal time. Like many children’s authors, I was inspired to write picture books after having my own kids and becoming immersed in kids’ books for the first time in years. I was struck (and inspired) by some amazing picture books—my favorites being those with humor that appeals to both kids and adult readers.  

Is this your debut book? What was the inspiration and tell us a bit about your path to getting published.  

Yes! When Santa Wrote Back! is my debut picture book. I wrote it to celebrate everything I love about Christmas: the magic, the lore of Santa, and the off-the-charts excitement for kids. The idea came to me after a kidlit author posted her kid’s letter to Santa on social media. I found something so deeply funny about a kid trying to make the bare minimum amount of “small talk” required to avoid being rude (“How's the North Pole? Has the weather been nice?”) before diving into the real purpose of the letter: the outrageously long wish list. 
 
I had been querying agents and submitting manuscripts for years before the stars aligned. I learned from friends on the ‘PB Workshop’ Discord community that an editor at Sourcebooks was open to un-agented submissions, and I sent in this manuscript. Luckily, it was a great match for what he was looking for: a character-driven, rhyming, holiday book with series potential. 

What is something you hope your readers will take away from your book? 

I hope kids find the book fun, their grown-ups find it funny, and that it leaves them all with a warm, Christmassy feeling. 

What are your marketing plans for the book and where can we find it? 

Luckily, I’m working with an amazing team at my publisher (Sourcebooks Wonderland). They’re leading all the critical marketing activities, and I’m happily chronicling my journey on social media (find me on Instagram or Bluesky!). Readers can find the book wherever good books are sold, or head to hellonathan.ca for direct purchase links.  

What's next for you? 

When Santa Wrote Back! is the first book in a three-book holiday series starring Jake, the mischievous but lovable main character. The next two installments (coming in 2026) will focus on Halloween and Easter. After that, I’m looking forward to future unannounced projects and continuing to write and create fun things for kids. 

More about the book . . . 

Deck the halls and get ready for hilarious holiday hijinks with this funny and heartwarming Christmas picture book for kids!
 
It's the holiday season, and Jake is determined to have the best, most present-filled Christmas ever! When he writes letters to Santa that include his never-ending gift requests, some speedy shipping suggestions, and a reminder for St. Nick to kindly reply, will Jake get all that he hopes for? Or will Santa teach him a valuable lesson in this delightfully charming story about the Christmas...when Santa wrote back! 

Published by: Sourcebooks Wonderland 

More about the author . . . 

Nathan Christopher is a former child and aspiring adult who enjoys spreadsheets and—far more useful for his writing—making people laugh. He works as an engineer in Michigan and lives just across the river in Windsor, Ontario, with his wife and children (who ensure endless material and a conveniently sleepless schedule for writing). 

Website: https://hellonathan.ca/ 

Instagram: @HelloNathanC

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/hellonathanc.bsky.social 

'PB Workshop' community on Discord: https://discord.com/invite/KSYfkNg

 

 

Book Birthday Blog with Anita Fitch Pazner

 

Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!

Where we celebrate new books from Michigan's authors, illustrators and translators.

 

Congratulations to Anita Fitch Pazner on the release of Words Matter

 

  

How did you get the idea for your book?

My introduction to Hans and Sophie occurred while on a bike tour with my teenaged daughters on a trip to Munich, Germany. Their story never left me. I spent the next four years researching and writing about them. I read their diaries, letters—basically anything I could get my hands on. Then I returned to Germany with one of my sons and scoured Munich and Ulm, where Hans and Sophie lived, for any clues to who they were. As an American with German heritage, I needed to know there was goodness in the hearts of the German people. I also wanted to know how a progressive, democratic country could fall victim to the racism and horrors of that time in history.   

Your novel is written in verse. How did you approach this and were there any challenges? 

Funny story about that. I originally set out to write the story as a picture book, and I submitted it to several SCBWI-MI Critique Carousel agents and editors. I received fantastic critiques, and requests to submit. When I followed up and submitted the story, I received champagne rejections across the board. They just didn’t quite know where to place the story. 

You see, Hans and Sophie were beheaded for using their words against the government. Not the best visual for a picture book, or so I’m told. 

Ready to throw the manuscript in the proverbial drawer, I reached out to an editor at Groundwood Books who suggested it might be a middle-grade novel in verse. My first question was, “How much do I need to change to make it fit the format?” The reply was, “It’s pretty much written that way.” I know it sounds hokey, but it feels as though Hans and Sophie’s spirit helped guide the way I wrote the story. Just to be clear, the book is written in free verse rather than any formal poetic style.

What is something you hope your readers will take away from your book? 

After reading the book, I hope young people walk away empowered to know their words really do matter. Words can be beautiful, dangerous, uplifting and powerful. Most of all, words have energy all their own and live on long after a person is gone. In this fast-paced world of social media, it’s time to consider the words we use. I also hope this book encourages young people to think for themselves, much like Hans and Sophie. 

What are your marketing plans for the book? 

A book launch is scheduled for September 14, 2025, in Farmington, Michigan at THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED BOOKSTORE. After having received the SCBWI Regional Advisor Marketing Grant, I got busy planning my dream launch. There will be free food, bevies, giveaways and servers in lederhosen (AKA my son and his friend). I’m honoring any educator or librarian with a special gift package of swag. All attendees will be given a special something in memory of those who lost their lives speaking out against fascism. I’m asking anyone who plans to attend to reach out through my website and let me know they are coming. I want to make sure everyone leaves with something special.  

 

 

What's next for you? 

Great question. I have several novels in the works. One with a science-based game. Another about brothers that think they are going to die. And a fun graphic novel I’m trying to find a home for about a group of kids who discover a murder at an alternative high school for at risk kids. I can’t seem to get away from dead characters. Sigh. 

Oh, and I’m still looking for just the right agent to be my partner in crime.  

More about the book . . . 

The White Rose Resistance was the German student movement that used the power of the written word to speak out against Nazis during World War II. They worked in secret to distribute leaflets condemning the government’s actions at a time when doing so meant putting your life at risk.

The story follows siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl, who were instrumental members of the resistance. Words Matter transports readers through the world the siblings inhabited, from their idyllic childhood to becoming leaders in the Hitler Youth groups; the Nuremberg Rally; witnessing the arrests and murders of innocent people; and finally emerging as leaders of the White Rose Resistance ― while still believing in the goodness that lived in the hearts of the German people. The Scholl siblings were arrested and executed in 1943 but their legacy, and the words of the Resistance, live on. 

Published by: Groundwood Books 

More about the author . . . 

Anita earned an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) and is the co-regional advisor for Michigan’s SCBWI region. She’s an author whose been working on the craft of writing most of her life. Research and revision are her superpowers. When not doing laundry or dishes, she spends her time gardening, walking in the woods and being bossed around by her demanding canine friend, Finn.  

https://anitapazner.com/ 

Facebook: Anita Fitch Pazner

Instagram: @anitapazner