November 2020 updates

I realized it's been a while since I posted any updates here on my website, so this seemed a good time for a recap post to share what I've been up to in recent months and what's in store for the future.

Cat Winters as Madame Leota.

First of all, thank you to everyone who attended Haunted House Paint & Prose: A Virtual Halloween Workshop! 

I love Halloween and really wanted to organize some sort of event that could be done safely and virtually during this incredibly stressful pandemic era. I was thrilled my sister, Carrie, wanted to join me in hosting an art and writing workshop held over Zoom on October 31. I materialized in costume as Madame Leota from Disneyland's Haunted Mansion to teach an atmospheric writing lesson, and my sister instructed participants how to paint haunted houses as Edvard Munch's The Scream. 

Click here if you'd like to see a video clip of my Madame Leota-style intro to the workshop.

More workshops are coming soon! Carrie and I enjoyed hosting this event so much that we've decided to teach combined workshops on a fairly regular basis. We're preparing for a wintry art and writing workshop right now and planning to have registration details available in the coming week.

In other news, I'm auctioning off one signed copy of The Uninvited in the Romancing the Runoff fundraiser to support the Georgia Senate Runoffs. All funds raised during the auction will go to the organizations Fair Fight, the New Georgia Project, and Black Voters Matter. 

Bidding is open until November 24, 9:00 pm EST. If you can afford to bid and donate, please go to https://www.32auctions.com.

I've been booking virtual school visits lately and really enjoying this chance to share my presentations with schools and libraries I normally might not get to visit in person due to financial restrictions or time constraints. 

If you work at a school and would like to book one of my virtual talks for Winter or Spring 2021, please contact Lisa Nadel at Lonni Lane Marketing. 

As far as upcoming books are concerned, I do have a project in the works, but I'm not able to announce anything publicly about it yet. I may be able to share that news sometime in 2021. 

Behind the scenes, I've also been working for publishers and a literary nonprofit as a fact-checker, proofreader, cold reader, and editor. It's been a nice, rewarding break from the intense pace of writing a historical novel a year, plus these opportunities have allowed me to contribute to the world of books—especially children's picture books—in ways beyond writing. After dealing with breast cancer amid a pandemic this year, escaping into the realm of books for younger children has been a balm to my soul.

Speaking of the cancer, I'm done with all my hospital treatments! I need to be on a daily medication for the next five to ten years, but, fingers crossed, the worst is over. Thank you for all the well wishes and encouragement during that ordeal.

Please stay safe and healthy, dear readers. 

Haunted House Paint and Prose: A Virtual Halloween Workshop Featuring Cat Winters and Carrie Raleigh

I'm so excited to announce that my sister, Carrie Raleigh, and I have teamed up to create a spooky virtual workshop that's doubling as a Halloween costume party! 

Here are all the details: 

Date: October 31, 2020 

Time: 2:00-3:30 pm Pacific / 5:00-6:30 pm Eastern 

Cost: $20 (Enroll through Eventbrite) 

Celebrate Halloween at a unique virtual workshop hosted by a pair of spooky sisters: Cat Winters, the award-winning author of In the Shadow of Blackbirds and other ghostly novels, and Carrie Raleigh, a professional art teacher with a Master’s in Education in Curriculum and Instruction. 

Through a guided lesson, Carrie will teach participants how to create a watercolor painting of a haunted house. Cat will then lead everyone in an atmospheric writing lesson that brings the interior of the house to life. 

All levels of artists and writers welcome! Halloween costumes are highly encouraged. 

The workshop will be held over Zoom. Participants will receive a link to the meeting room the day of the event. You must be 18 years or older to participate. (Cat Winters is offering a Halloween class for ages 13-18 through Outschool.)

Make sure to collect all of your supplies before you log on to the event. Participants are responsible for providing their own supplies.

WORKSHOP SUPPLY LIST: 

Bring your own . . . 

1. Watercolor paints 

2. Watercolor paper or heavy drawing paper 

3. Pencil with eraser 

4. Brushes 

5. Cup of water 

6. Paper towel 

7. Black pen (for writing and for use on artwork) 

8. Writing paper

Enroll at Eventbrite. Please see the Eventbrite page for full details.

More about your ghostly hosts:

Cat Winters is a critically acclaimed, award-winning author of seven historical/paranormal novels for teens and adults, including In the Shadow of Blackbirds, a Bram Stoker Award Nominee for Superior Achievement in Young Adult Fiction and one of Booklist's 2013 Top 10 Horror Fiction for Youth. She's been teaching spooky writing workshops since 2012. 

Carrie Raleigh currently works as an elementary art teacher in Southern California. She holds BAs in Visual Art and Psychology and a Master’s in Education in Curriculum and Instruction. Her art instruction background includes teaching high school art classes and online art classes for both children and adults. 

If you have any questions, please email Cat.

Online Writing Classes Starting This Month!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm now offering writing and publishing classes for ages 11-18 through Outschool.com. At this point, I've created and scheduled all my late-summer and fall classes and posted their details on my Outschool profile.

Here's an updated version of my previous post with the complete list of classes:

How to Become a Published Author (ages 12-17)

Spooky Writing Camp (ages 11-14)

Writing Chat with Author Cat Winters (ages 12-17)

Writing Prompt Thursdays! (ages 11-14)

Creative Writing: Let's Talk About Dialogue! (ages 12-16) 

Writing Spine-Chilling Scenes (ages 14-18)

Writing Memorable Monsters (ages 11-15) 

Two-Sentence Ghost Stories (ages 11-13)

Two-Sentence Ghost Stories (for Older Teens) (ages 14-18)

All classes will be held over Zoom. For more information, please follow the links.

I miss traveling around to schools, libraries, and festivals right now, so I'm really looking forward to this opportunity to virtually work with young writers!