Krista Harrington – Picture Book Writer

Krista Harrington has written many stories for children. She just hasn’t sold any, yet. That’s okay; she’s learning a lot on the journey and meeting some terrific writer friends along the way. When did the journey begin? Oh, many moons ago in a faraway place the townspeople there commonly refer to as . . . Cincinnati.

         As a young child in this fair city, Krista had a keen interest in art. A very visual kid, her favorite hobby was drawing. With two parents working 40+ hours a week, she was often at her grandparents’ house and found joy paging through picture books stashed away in the basement. Never an exceptional reader (even to this day), she found that picture books possessed many things. Not only were the texts easier for Krista to read and understand, but they also provided humor! What kid doesn’t like to laugh? On top of that, the pictures on each page added life, magic, and unforgettable characters.

         One fateful day, Krista took a writing assignment to her grandfather that she had received an “A” on. She was told to write a book of any genre. Naturally, she chose a picture book. She was so proud of her book and the grade. After complimenting her on both, her grandfather made a comment that was forever etched into her brain: “You could do this as a profession.” One simple remark, intended to encourage a then crazy pimple-faced teenage girl, planted its roots, pushing her towards a dream.

         It wasn’t until Krista had married, given birth to two rambunctious boys, and moved to Louisville that the dream began to sprout. Having taken a course on writing from the Institute of Children’s Literature was a foundation for Krista’s learning. Joining SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) was the launching point. Through it, she began attending writing groups, conferences, and was later connected to a fabulous critique group.

         With two boys, ideas for stories pop up out of everyday situations. Sometimes these ideas appear very subtly, so Krista must keep her ears open and a journal close.

       Ideas also come from two simple words. “What if . . . ” One day, seeing a baby drooling heavily on a toy and hearing the mom say, “She’s teething,” made Krista think, “What if aliens went through teething as well? What if they chewed on crazy things like cars, and what if they were dropped off here on earth during that time?” That became a story.

         There are many others as well. Krista has written about a city carriage horse who dreams of seeing the big Derby race, a young vulture who detests carrion, a detective on the search for sneaky letters, and the latest, a boy and his best friend, a full-grown pirate, who are on a mission to destroy the alphabet in hopes that then teachers will stop forcing them to read. Many unique characters are up her sleeves, all wishing to be in a book.

         Until that day, Krista stays in the query trenches. She keeps honing her craft, trying to improve it a little more, knowing that there’s always room. She will participate in Storystorm to gain ideas, Julie Hedlund’s 12×12 Picture Book Challenge to motivate her to new manuscripts, Twitter pitch events to help her reinvent the perfect pitch, and most importantly, she will stay connected to the wonderful writing community she is constantly learning from. She’s excited to be a part of Kentuckiana Authors and would love to connect with you on Twitter, @BoyMomWrites, on Facebook, or on her website, kristaharrington.com.