It’s always a treat to be able to showcase the work of a debut picture book author, and with this month’s Author Interview, that’s what we’re doing. Minnesota author Kristen Schroeder’s first book, Alien Tomato, comes out…TOMORROW!

Like any serious writer, she’s already hard at work on creating others, with Freddy the Not-​Teddy coming out in April 2022 with EK Books, and a third picture book entitled So Much Snow hitting shelves in late 2022 from Random House Studios.

Let’s fire up the interview and hear how yet another worthy author broke into the business!

• Website: kristenschroederbooks.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/KLSchroed
• Twitter: twitter.com/KLSchroed
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/klschroeder/

RVC: First things first. Should one pronounce your last name like Charlie Brown’s piano-​playing, Beethoven-​loving pal (which I think rhymes with “grow fur”)? Or are you working more with a gray/​day/​hay sound there (which all sound very Minnesotan)?

KS: I love the Peanuts reference! It’s Schroeder pronounced like it looks, with a long “o”.

RVC: Thanks for that. Now, the next thing we need to get “Out There” is a disclaimer. We know each other. Want to share how?

KS: We met in November 2019 (Wow, doesn’t that feel like a lifetime ago?!) at Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple’s Picture Book Boot Camp held at the Highlights Foundation. I was able to check off two bucket list items in one long weekend as I had always hoped to participate in PBBC and soak up some of JY and Heidi’s wisdom. Staying at the famed Highlights campus was also a dream come true. I highly recommend!

RVC: Just to prove I was there, I’ll include a photo of all the participants holding champagne to toast the opening of the Jane Yolen “Phoenix Farm Annex” cabin. Considering that there’s 25 womenfolk and 1 dude (me!) in this image, it’s a pretty weak Where’s Waldo? challenge. (spoiler #1—I’m in the back, four from the left, squinting like bonkers thanks to that oh-​so-​bright Pennsylvania sun!) (spoiler #2—that’s Kristen in the white coat in the front!)

KS: JY even has a nickname for Ryan: Big Guy.

RVC: That’s true, though to be fair, Jane’s on the diminutive size, so it’s not like I’m Big Bird or something. Just saying. 🙂

What was the most important lesson you learned while there?

KS: I can’t distill the experience into one lesson, however, being surrounded by such a talented group was inspiring. In addition to the writing tips and reviews I received from Jane and Heidi and the group, listening to everyone’s stories of working with their agents and editors was invaluable. It felt like I had entered a new stage of my career as an author.

RVC: That Highlights event was also where I first encountered your debut picture book, Alien Tomato. Many of the participants brought copies of recent or forthcoming books and displayed them atop a grand piano (if memory serves). Your book was there in a F&G (folded and gathered) state. How real did the debut book situation feel at that point?

KS: I received my F&Gs the day before I left for Highlights. I watched nervously as several authors read Alien Tomato, including Jane Yolen herself! What does that facial expression mean? Are they smiling, laughing? Oh my gosh, what if no one “gets it”?

RVC: For what it’s worth, I got it, too. Those are some fun veggies!

KS: I’m happy to report I received kind feedback from several fellow boot campers which calmed my nerves.

RVC: Doesn’t surprise me in the least, both that you felt supported and that your book was well-​received. But let’s talk more about your book.

Let’s say you bump into a stranger in an elevator. You get to talking, and they find out you’re a writer. “Tell me about your next book?” they ask. What’s the elevator pitch you’d give them for Alien Tomato?

KS: A round red object lands in a veggie garden, and the veggies think it’s an alien tomato, but a cantankerous gopher thinks it’s just a red ball.

Hilarity ensures.

RVC: What’s the story of how Alien Tomato came to be? Was it anything like the old Reese’s Peanut Butter cups commercial, where someone’s like, “Hey, I’ve got peanut butter. Yum! And I’ve got chocolate. Yum! Hmm. Maybe I should put them together….”? 

Because aliens are great. And so are tomatoes, right? 

KS: I do love peanut butter cups, but I won’t let that distract me from telling you the backstory.

My daughter blurted out “alien tomato” after school one day. It was completely out of the blue and we still don’t know why she said it, but I started thinking about the story and it developed pretty quickly from there.

RVC: True or false. The character of Gopher is based on a real person.

KS: False. But Minnesota is known as the gopher state, so I had that inspiration to draw upon.

RVC: Share a bit of the process of writing/​revising Alien Tomato. Did you have a zillion drafts? Did a critique group help? Did you get stuck and finally come across a EUREKA moment?

KS: The biggest challenge I faced when writing Alien Tomato was figuring out how to format the manuscript. I was juggling text, dialogue between the veggies and gopher, and illustration notes. I finally dropped it all into a three-​column table which made it much easier to scan and see what was happening on each page. That was a breakthrough moment for me. And, as usual, my critique partners were invaluable in helping me hone various drafts for sure.

RVC: Thanks for sharing that page from an early draft. That three-​column idea is both awesome and clear. So helpful to see it in all its glory!

KS: I created it for myself initially, and my agent liked it and even submitted to editors this way. I’ve used the format since for other manuscripts, too.

RVC: What was the biggest surprise of the post-​contract but pre-​book-​being-​out part of the Alien Tomato journey?

KS: It was the moment I had been waiting for, selling my first book, and then there was still a lot of waiting.

RVC: There’s a popular saying in the publishing industry—you only get one debut. What specific things have you done to make sure it has all the pop, sizzle, and PR fizz you can create?

KS: Unfortunately, Covid-​19 happened so I had to scrap my plans for a launch party. I’m doing a few virtual story times and promoting Alien Tomato through Instagram tours and blogs (like yours, thank you!). I ordered some swag so I could run a pre-​order giveaway contest and I’m getting some Alien Tomato themed cookies made by a local baker, yum! I’m tentatively thinking of doing a delayed event next year, since I don’t have a book coming out in 2021. Fingers crossed that will be possible.

RVC: You’re part of Perfect 2020 Picture Books. Tell us about that group.

KS: One of my favorite things about having a debut picture book has been traveling the same road with the authors who comprise Perfect 2020 PBs. It’s been great to have their support, to bounce ideas off each other, and promote our books. I look forward to continuing these friendships into 2021 and beyond!

RVC: You sold Alien Tomato via a literary agent, Christa Heschke (who OPB just interviewed a month back). How did you land her as an agent?

KS: I had an offer from another agent on a manuscript and that same manuscript was out to a handful of other agents, including Christa. I followed up with all of them and Christa asked to see more work. Then we had “the call” and it wasn’t a hard decision to sign with her. I got a sense for Christa’s knowledge of the industry and her even-​keeled personality, which have been a big plus.

RVC: What’s Christa’s agenting superpower?

KS: Her responsiveness. She’s available to answer any/​all questions and usually responds to emails the same day. I love that about her.

RVC: Yep. I totally believe that. She was easy-​peasy-​squeasy to work with on the OPB interview, too.

KS: That sounds like Christa!

RVC: If I asked Christa what your writing superpower is, what do you think she’d say?

KS: Gosh, I hope she’d say humor and also that I’ve been willing to try new things and keep improving as a writer.

RVC: Let’s back up a bit. When did you first realize you were a writer? 

KS: I didn’t realize I liked to write or even wanted to write until I was almost 30. I’d always been a huge reader but I didn’t think writing was something I could pursue. It wasn’t until I attended my first SCBWI conference that I felt like a writer.

RVC: What kind of formal writing training did you have?

KS: My degrees are in marketing, so any writing courses I took in college were geared towards business communications. I didn’t start writing creatively until 2000 and I took a few classes when I lived in Melbourne. Then I took a long break to run my own business and start a family. I picked up writing again in 2014 by joining the 12x12 community and taking more courses, joining SCBWI, attending conferences, etc. That was the year I started pursuing writing for children seriously.

RVC: If you had to summarize the most important thing you’ve learned about picture books in your just-​getting-​started-​but-​now-​going-​strong career, what would it be?

KS: Picture books have power, and that power is grossly underestimated. Writing picture books is an art form that takes years to learn but it’s SO worth it.

RVC: Here’s one final request for the “serious” part of the interview. Please describe the exact feeling you’re having, knowing your book will finally, finally, FINALLY be Out In The World in just a few hours.

KS: It still feels a little surreal. I don’t think it will sink in until I spot Alien Tomato in the wild (a.k.a. a bookstore). I also can’t wait to see kids reading my book. That will make it real.

RVC: Okay. It’s time for the patent-​pending, crowd-​pleasing, always-​wowtastic SPEED ROUND. Kristen, are you ready?

KS: I hope so…

RVC: Honeycrisp apples. Great apples, or the greatest apples?

KS: I love them! They were created by the University of Minnesota. I’ve chaperoned my kids’ seventh grade field trips to the Arboretum where we got to taste apple varieties and learn how they breed apple tree to have different qualities. We also got to taste test apples and the Honeycrisp was always my favorite.

RVC: You’re a dual American-​Australian citizen, so what’s the awesomest Australian expression Americans don’t fully appreciate?

KS: Crikey! There are so many. It truly was like learning a foreign language when I first moved to Australia. There are some expressions I’ve hung onto because there isn’t a suitable American substitute. I like “spit the dummy” which means a sudden display of anger or frustration. I’ll use it in a sentence: “Ryan spit the dummy when I turned in my interview questions late.” Dummy is Australian for pacifier, so if you imagine a baby spitting out his dummy, that’s where the expression comes from.

(Just kidding — Ryan didn’t really spit the dummy.)

RVC: What’s your literary motto?

KS: I have this quote by Samuel Johnson on my website: “A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it.” Keeping the audience in mind is especially important when writing for kids.

RVC: Most influential picture book you encountered as a child?

KS: I was obsessed with the Little Nutshell Library by Maurice Sendak. Some of the stories like Pierre, where a boy gets eaten by a lion, had a subversive edge to them and they stuck with me.

RVC: Best picture book of 2019?

KS: My critique partner, Jamie LB Deenihan’s When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree. I love this book, and its sequel, and am so proud of Jamie!

RVC: Three words that encapsulate the spirit of Alien Tomato.

KS: Kindness, curiosity, unexpected.

RVC: Thanks so much, Kristen! It was terrific, you betcha! (I’m from Wisconsin, so I have the ability to sort of speak Minnesotan, dontcha know.)