Greetings! Welcome to my newsletter!

I have several new subscribers, so I'd like to quickly introduce myself and show you around.

My name is Carie Juettner. (You probably knew that much already.) I'm a former 7th grade teacher, a poet, and an author of books for the middle grade audience as well as some horror stories for adults. I've written five books for Arcadia's Spooky America series, and I'm currently seeking a literary agent for my novel about a raccoon trying to leave a life of crime. I have a website where I blog a bit and have information about school visits and other writerly things. I'm a member of SCBWI and the Writers' League of Texas, whose conference I recently attended in Austin. To read about my experience at the conference and how it was similar to my experience at the Congress Avenue Bat Bridge, click here. Don't have time to read it? The short version is I highly recommend both.

I'm also a pet owner, a nature nut, and a wildlife volunteer. That last title is fairly new. I've been working with the North Texas Wildlife Center for less than a year, but the raccoons, skunks, opossums, and other critters have completely stolen my heart. (Skip down to the bottom of this letter for details about my most recent-- and loudest-- wildlife excursion.)

This monthly-ish newsletter will keep you informed about my recent publications, what I'm reading, where I'll be attending events, and my latest animal adventures, but for more frequent updates and a lot more cute wildlife pics, follow me on Facebook and Instagram as well. I love chatting with other writers and animal lovers and nature enthusiasts, so feel free to respond to this email and introduce yourself.

Thank you for being here. The actual writing part of being a writer is somewhat lonely. The fun part is when you get to share your successes (and failures and near-misses and embarrassing moments*) with the people who are cheering you on. Thank you so much for cheering me on. I can feel it, and it means a lot.

With gratitude,

Carie

* P.S. Speaking of embarrassing moments... At the WLT conference, I had the opportunity to pitch my novel to an agent during a ten-minute consultation. We chatted for a minute or so and then I launched into my much-practiced pitch, which went very smoothly until I got to my main character's name and said the agent's name instead. 😳 (In my very poor defense, the names start with the same letter and I'd just been staring at their badge.) I stopped, said, "Oops, nope. That's your name." Then we had a quick laugh and I finished my pitch. It actually went really well. The agent laughed at all the right places and asked me to send them pages, so no harm was done. 😅 Still, I recommend getting the name of your character right when you pitch your book. 🤦🏼‍♀️ Now to go polish up those pages...

I'm happy to share that I've had FIVE poems published recently!

"Death Can't Sleep" is in the June issue of Third Street Review. Click here to read it for free and check out some of the other poems in its company.

My humorous sonnet called "Hysterics" appears in the new issue of Encore.

I also have three poems in this year's Poetry Society of Texas A Book of the Year. I'll be sharing those on my blog soon. To make sure you don't miss them, visit cariejuettner.com and click "Subscribe" in the bottom right corner.

I have an author event coming up! Just in time for the start of the spooky season, I'll be reading and signing my Ghostly Tales books at the flagship Half Price Books in Dallas on the afternoon of Sunday, October 6th. Come do some shopping, listen to a ghost story, and pick up a signed book or two for yourself or a young reader in your life. I'll have copies of all five of my Spooky America books (The Ghostly Tales of Dallas, The Ghostly Tales of Austin, The Ghostly Tales of New England, The Ghostly Tales of Delaware, and The Ghostly Tales of Burlington) while supplies last. There will also be other local authors selling and signing their books that day, so stay tuned for more specifics about the time and attendees. In the meantime, check out the store's calendar for more upcoming events.

Bad Girls Never Say Die

I taught S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders to my 7th graders for nineteen years and have read it more than fifty times, so when I realized Jennifer Mathieu had written a "gender-flipped reimagining" of the classic, I was in. This emotional, feminist tale set in Houston in 1964 has nothing to do with Ponyboy and his gang, but it has all the drama and angst of their adventures. If you've ever found yourself wondering about those "tough, loud girls who wore too much eye makeup and swore too much" that Ponyboy mentions, pick up a copy of Bad Girls Never Say Die and read a story from the point of view of one of those "bad girls."

What Does a Car Full of Teenage Raccoons Sound Like?

Remember the video of the crazy teenage raccoons I shared in my last newsletter? Well, a couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of transporting those rambunctious critters and a few of their friends from the North Texas Wildlife Center to a Buc-ee's in east Texas where they are now selling fudge to tourists. Just kidding! Buc-ee's was merely the rendezvous location where I met the rehabber who was taking the little criminals the rest of the way to her property where they will have a much larger enclosure to run around in until they're ready to be released back into the wild. Our center was closed for raccoon intakes because we had so many. By taking these to another rehabber, we were able to reopen for raccoons again. When I got back from my trip, there was already a new baby bandit being bottle fed at the center. ❤️ To find out what a car full of raccoons sounds like, watch this short video with the sound on. It was very loud in my car and one of them tried to eat my seat belt, but everyone arrived safely. Oh, and there were actually twelve raccoons in my car. Not ten. I was in charge of driving, not counting.

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