Kassie Lamro
@kassielamro.bsky.social
MG, PB Writer & Poet (amquerying niv)| Mom, Teacher, Drummer | MG Narwhals | Arizona
Pinned
Kassie Lamro
@kassielamro.bsky.social
· Jan 17
August 9, 2025 at 2:09 PM
#kiditchat It’s what I read! Simple, sweet. I know. But it's true!
TOPIC: Why #kidlit? You could focus on anything in your art, writing, editing, designing, agenting, teaching, librarying, etc… so what keeps you focused on the kid world? (Besides the big bucks, of course. Shh. That’s our secret!) #kidlitchat
July 2, 2025 at 2:48 AM
#kiditchat It’s what I read! Simple, sweet. I know. But it's true!
Stories are supposed to have subtexts? Just kidding! Yeah, usually as I'm editing or critique partners point them out to me. #kidlitchat
TOPIC: At what point do you figure out the subtext--the story within the story--and are you ever surprised at the themes that have embedded themselves in your work? #kidlitchat
June 11, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Stories are supposed to have subtexts? Just kidding! Yeah, usually as I'm editing or critique partners point them out to me. #kidlitchat
I'm late to the #kidlitchat party, but I did a lot of pitch prepping and submitted 3 stories to the MG Hub pitch event last week. 🎉 I'm looking forward to hopefully getting some interest in my work 🤞while I try to write more consistently!
TOPIC: We have a tradition here at #kidlitchat of checking in every quarter to share what we've been up to, career-wise. What have your past three months been like, and what's next? (Plans, daydreams and false starts are totally valid responses!)
June 4, 2025 at 2:53 AM
I'm late to the #kidlitchat party, but I did a lot of pitch prepping and submitted 3 stories to the MG Hub pitch event last week. 🎉 I'm looking forward to hopefully getting some interest in my work 🤞while I try to write more consistently!
#kidlitchat I have a QM doc. I modeled it after the one my friend and Query Queen, @dterkwrites.bsky.social shared with me. It's a Google doc that my answers FAQs in QM and links to my current query and synopsis and first pages docs. Then I research 1-5 agents each week and query them Saturdays.
TOPIC: Let's talk... queries! What are your best tips for writing it great query? What do you avoid or, if you receive queries, reallllly dislike seeing? And... who and what are you querying these days? #kidlitchat
May 7, 2025 at 2:14 AM
#kidlitchat I have a QM doc. I modeled it after the one my friend and Query Queen, @dterkwrites.bsky.social shared with me. It's a Google doc that my answers FAQs in QM and links to my current query and synopsis and first pages docs. Then I research 1-5 agents each week and query them Saturdays.
I like thinking about my setting(s) as a character. I don't always do it like I should, but I usually have a character sheet for each setting. #kidlitchat
TOPIC: Happy Earth Day! Let's talk ultimate world-building by sharing tips on how to ground *every* story or illustration in its own unique world. #kidlitchat
April 23, 2025 at 2:27 AM
I like thinking about my setting(s) as a character. I don't always do it like I should, but I usually have a character sheet for each setting. #kidlitchat
#kidlitchat This is probably scandalous, but rereading my own words while drafting is part of my process. I know you're not "supposed to" do that, but I am a holistic writer, and I need to see and feel what I've written the day before in order to write more.
TOPIC: What's the one part of your creative process you cannot do without? Your mood board? A rhyming dictionary? Your lucky writing hat? Your size 0.5 mechanical pencil with 2B lead? Hmmm? #kidlitchat
April 16, 2025 at 3:22 AM
#kidlitchat This is probably scandalous, but rereading my own words while drafting is part of my process. I know you're not "supposed to" do that, but I am a holistic writer, and I need to see and feel what I've written the day before in order to write more.
Late again, sorry. Will prob continue to jump in late bc I have to help my little one to bed at this time.
#kidlitchat I'm gonna say MUSIC! I most write to movie soundtracks, but I also really love anything instrumental. Lindsey Stirling, for eg.
#kidlitchat I'm gonna say MUSIC! I most write to movie soundtracks, but I also really love anything instrumental. Lindsey Stirling, for eg.
TOPIC: What's the one part of your creative process you cannot do without? Your mood board? A rhyming dictionary? Your lucky writing hat? Your size 0.5 mechanical pencil with 2B lead? Hmmm? #kidlitchat
April 16, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Late again, sorry. Will prob continue to jump in late bc I have to help my little one to bed at this time.
#kidlitchat I'm gonna say MUSIC! I most write to movie soundtracks, but I also really love anything instrumental. Lindsey Stirling, for eg.
#kidlitchat I'm gonna say MUSIC! I most write to movie soundtracks, but I also really love anything instrumental. Lindsey Stirling, for eg.
#kidlitchat Yes, all the time. I am an aspiring novel in verse author. And as a mother of a toddler, I vote yes to Rhyming PBs! ✔️
TOPIC: It’s National Poetry Month! Do you use poetry in your work? Poetic techniques? Do rhyming PBs still have a place… and are they just long poems? In short: share what you knowitry, and let’s talk poetry! #kidlitchat
April 9, 2025 at 3:27 AM
#kidlitchat Yes, all the time. I am an aspiring novel in verse author. And as a mother of a toddler, I vote yes to Rhyming PBs! ✔️
#kidlitchat I'm super late to the party! So sorry, but I am a drummer. I actually haven't played since I sold my set 2 years ago, but music influences my writing. Poetry has become my drumming. 🥁
TOPIC: April showers . . . etc. etc. What non-career-related hobbies/pursuits/obsessions make your creativity flower? How does what you admire or find fascinating leave its mark on your writing or art? #kidlitchat
April 9, 2025 at 3:25 AM
#kidlitchat I'm super late to the party! So sorry, but I am a drummer. I actually haven't played since I sold my set 2 years ago, but music influences my writing. Poetry has become my drumming. 🥁
Reposted by Kassie Lamro
Excited to announce our 3rd annual MGHub Off-Social-Media pitching event for all ages of kidlit: PB / CB / MG / YA Click to learn more… #mglit #kidlit #pitch
MG Hub Pitch Party 2025
MG Hub Pitch Party 2025 The Middle Grade Hub (MG Hub - (https://bsky.app/profile/middlegradehub.bsky.social) is hosting its third annual pitch party! The Pitch Party Unlike other pitch parties, this...
docs.google.com
March 3, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Anybody read Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie? by Jordan Sonnenbleck? It’s an oldie, but goodie that will make you laugh out loud and break your heart. #kidlitchat 😆💔
TOPIC: We all need a good laugh . . . right? Which kid's books would you nominate for Best in Funny, either recent or classic? (Extra points for your own books if comedy is your thing!) And how do you use humor in your work, if at all? #kidlitchat
March 26, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Anybody read Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie? by Jordan Sonnenbleck? It’s an oldie, but goodie that will make you laugh out loud and break your heart. #kidlitchat 😆💔
*Sharing early bc I'm headed to the Tuscan Festival tomorrow!*
Run-splash together,
dance across the parking lot.
We love desert rain!
#Saturdayhaiku #haiku
Run-splash together,
dance across the parking lot.
We love desert rain!
#Saturdayhaiku #haiku
March 14, 2025 at 11:47 PM
*Sharing early bc I'm headed to the Tuscan Festival tomorrow!*
Run-splash together,
dance across the parking lot.
We love desert rain!
#Saturdayhaiku #haiku
Run-splash together,
dance across the parking lot.
We love desert rain!
#Saturdayhaiku #haiku
I've been challenging my poetry lately by experimenting with different forms. (My poetry group is doing a bunch!) Anyway, I just discovered the Rhyme Thesaurus! www.rhymezone.com
My mind is blown! What a game-changer! #amwriting #poetrycommunity
My mind is blown! What a game-changer! #amwriting #poetrycommunity
RhymeZone rhyming dictionary and thesaurus
www.rhymezone.com
March 10, 2025 at 4:07 AM
I've been challenging my poetry lately by experimenting with different forms. (My poetry group is doing a bunch!) Anyway, I just discovered the Rhyme Thesaurus! www.rhymezone.com
My mind is blown! What a game-changer! #amwriting #poetrycommunity
My mind is blown! What a game-changer! #amwriting #poetrycommunity
March 7, 2025 at 11:39 PM
March 1, 2025 at 3:14 PM
I'm sure she's been mentioned a lot already, but I would say Kate DiCamillo! Katherine Applegate also fuels my imagination. I can't wait for her Pocket Bear book to come out. ##kidlitchat
TOPIC: We lost a giant of children's literature this month: Uri Shulevitz inspired generations of children and #kidlit creators. Which authors and/or illustrators do you look to for inspiration? #kidlitchat
February 26, 2025 at 2:12 AM
I'm sure she's been mentioned a lot already, but I would say Kate DiCamillo! Katherine Applegate also fuels my imagination. I can't wait for her Pocket Bear book to come out. ##kidlitchat
My husband took the toddler babe to the family Superbowl party. I stayed home and decided to watch Into the Woods, original Broadway, 1987. I can't watch it anymore without thinking of the MG niv Louder than Hunger by Jon Schu! If you haven't read it, yet, it is so powerful! #amreading #MG #niv
February 10, 2025 at 12:15 AM
My husband took the toddler babe to the family Superbowl party. I stayed home and decided to watch Into the Woods, original Broadway, 1987. I can't watch it anymore without thinking of the MG niv Louder than Hunger by Jon Schu! If you haven't read it, yet, it is so powerful! #amreading #MG #niv
February 8, 2025 at 6:57 PM
#kidlitchat I don't know if this answers the question, but I think it's important to make sure your dialogue pushes the story forward, so cutting out small talk and asking about the weather. Dialogue is a tool to build character voice, too!
TOPIC: "How do I write dialogue that sounds current but without references that date it instantly?" #kidlitchat asked. "Or if I'm writing historical fiction how do I know how kids and adults sounded back then? Share your ideas, questions, and tips, please."
February 5, 2025 at 2:29 AM
#kidlitchat I don't know if this answers the question, but I think it's important to make sure your dialogue pushes the story forward, so cutting out small talk and asking about the weather. Dialogue is a tool to build character voice, too!
👀
Anyone who’s interested in learning more about #versenovels should purchase this awesome book full of interviews with verse novelists! This is such a great resource especially for those currently playing with the form!
The #versenovel "is one of the most exciting and experimental forms out there" – @cordeliajensen.bsky.social contrib. DiVERSE Conversations with #YA & Chn's Verse Novelists. @bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social @qplnyc.bsky.social @bklynlibrary.bsky.social @rurooie.bsky.social @doucette515.bsky.social
February 5, 2025 at 2:18 AM
👀
We're sleeping in today! 😝
Cars rumble outside.
Sheets rustle inside. Happy
Saturday morning.
#Saturdayhaiku
Cars rumble outside.
Sheets rustle inside. Happy
Saturday morning.
#Saturdayhaiku
February 1, 2025 at 1:23 PM
We're sleeping in today! 😝
Cars rumble outside.
Sheets rustle inside. Happy
Saturday morning.
#Saturdayhaiku
Cars rumble outside.
Sheets rustle inside. Happy
Saturday morning.
#Saturdayhaiku
Reposted by Kassie Lamro
Oh before I forget, I just updated my Middle Grade Verse Novel Master List recently #KidLitChat friends. There are some other awesome verse novel titles there you should check out too!
Middle Grade Verse Novel Stats 2024
Sam Subity’s recent video chat with editor Mallory Kass of Scholastic referenced that I share novel-in-verse statistics for Middle Grade here. I usually try to have the stats out closer to Ap…
christianadoucette.wordpress.com
January 29, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Oh before I forget, I just updated my Middle Grade Verse Novel Master List recently #KidLitChat friends. There are some other awesome verse novel titles there you should check out too!
January 25, 2025 at 1:51 PM