Meet our RYS Guests Ghouls (Gurus) for October!

This month, we have a special Halloween treat that's “Twice as Nice” – TWO Guest Gurus to rate and give feedback TWOGETHER on four (4) submissions! Even better, they are the forces behind #SeasonsofKidlit.com. Be sure to fly over to the website and sign-up for important updates, as well as their Trick-or-Treat Event – full of treats, tricks, trips and prizes! And keep an eye out for their Winter Event (coming soon). And while you’re there, be sure to comment and share! 

Heather Macht is a multi-published picture book and chapter book author.

AND, she’s the creator of Seasons Of Kidlit! Macht has a degree in Fine Arts (her other passion), is a volunteer judge for Rate Your Story, and is also an active member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. In 2021, Macht interned at a small publishing press as a Junior Editor to learn more about the inner workings of publishing.

Lynne Marie is an award-winning, multi published picture book author, the Director of RateYourStory.org (a Rating/Feedback Service & ThePictureBookMechanic.com, as well as a Columnist at Children’s Book Insider, a former editor and literary agent intern, and the Co-Celebration Connoisseur at SeasonsofKidlit.com. To date, she has published seven holiday/event related titles.  

What do you LOVE about holiday and/or spooky children’s books?

HEATHER: Thanks so much for having me! I love it all. I love any reason to celebrate anything to be honest. And Halloween just so happens to be my favorite holiday since we get to dress up, hang out with spiders and skeletons, and eat candy corn throughout the month.  I especially love spooky books/manuscripts that go along with the season - they’re my absolute fav!

LYNNE MARIE:  Everything! I love celebrations, big and small, so I love the reminder that books provide that we should be celebrating, and also that inspire us with new ways to celebrate or remind us of old ways! As for spooky books, I really like the suspense that they offer!

What brought you to write monster-related children’s books? 

HEATHER: I grew up loving monster movies! My dad, brothers, and I would watch any new creepy movie that came out, usually with pizza in hand, and had so much fun doing so. I wanted to capture the fun and the thrill for kids (in a very light way, of course). 

LYNNE MARIE: I have always loved monsters and grew up watching both The Addams Family The Munsters, and even Dark Shadows, often. My Grandmother loved Vincent Price in films, so we were always watching old movies he starred in as well. So I just think it was inevitable! 

Share your first Halloween book and the inspiration behind it.

HEATHER: As I was looking at books years ago, I noticed chupacabras were hardly captured in kids books at all. I think I only found one at the time. So, I set out to write a book for kids featuring a chupacabra.

That was the first book completed for the Woodlot Monster Mysteries.

Thankfully, my agent loved it! She sent it off to ABDO and they offered to publish it (and a six-book series in total!). Still pinching myself!

LYNNE MARIE: I've always liked monsters, but I didn't originally have them in mind when I got the idea for Moldilocks and the Three Scares.

I was just trying to find a new and different way to approach the Goldilocks story, and during my research, the title popped into my head. I knew then that the main character had to be a Zombie, and the family a blend of monsters! A Frankenstein Monster, a Mummy and a Vampire – how fun!

 Share your latest Halloween book and the inspiration behind it. 

HEATHER: Going back to the whole watching scary movies and eating pizza thing, my newest six-book series, The Mutant Critter Sitter captures just that! Chloe, the MC, is actually a younger version of  me. ;) She loves skateboarding, weird critters, and watching scary movies with her dad, and, of course, eating pizza. 

The movies she loves most of all happen to be creature features (also my fav)! After a mishap at the skatepark, her skateboard breaks in two, and Chloe sets out to get her first job to buy a new one. Somehow, her first job happens to be with a not-so-mad scientist who gene-splices tons of critters (i.e. a Mean-us Flytrap, an Electric Seal, a Cattlesnake etc). Before long, she finds she's in a real-life creature feature! 

PS: My favorite scene from any of the books is in book 4 where Chloe and her dad are watching a creature feature in the movie theater when suddenly, the theater is overrun by some gene-spliced drawfish (i.e. crawfish who are putting their claws to artistic use). 

LYNNE MARIE: Strangely enough, BroomMates: A Brewing Boundary Battle also came to me as a title, and then I wrote a story befitting the main characters, which of course had to be sister witches! I further drew on the inspiration of sharing a room with my sisters and from there it got really fun! 

Name something spooky you loved / enjoyed as a child.

HEATHER: Halloween candy of all kinds! One of my favorites was the wax vampire fangs. They made me feel extra cool/spooky. And, even though this doesn’t count as 100% spooky…my favorite Halloween-themed treat to this day is the pumpkin-shaped candy corn. 

LYNNE MARIE: One thing is my stuffed lovey, a green and black rat which I named Ratfink. Another thing was The Wizard of Oz – to this day, I could watch that move over and over. But when I was 8, I also had a purple room, which I decorated with spooky objects. Unfortunately, though I was able to pick out the wall color, my sister Jean was allowed to pick out the carpet, so it was pink and orange. I would have preferred a nice black or dark purple. You can see this contention reflected in my BroomMates story. 

Lynne Marie, you worked as an editor at a small press. At the time, what would you look for in a project to make it a favorite spooky tale?

LYNNE MARIE: First and foremost, something that was new and different. That doesn’t mean it couldn’t have old favorite characters. For example, two books that I absolutely LOVE and would have bought if they crossed my desk were Ame Dyckman’s Wolfie the Bunny AND The New Kid has Fleas. So it has to be a great idea, but it also has to be well-executed. 

Name subjects you would like to read about / not read about in Halloween or spooky stories.

HEATHER: I love all things Halloween, so that’s a tough call! Books about ghosts, pumpkins, zombies? Bring them ON. On the pass side? Books about devils/demons are totally not for me. They creep me out way too much. lol

LYNNE MARIE: Hmmm…While I love Halloween, monsters and suspense, I am not a fan of horror. That being said, coming from a legal background of over twenty years, I have a huge interest in true crime, but not in the lower ranges. In YA, one book I really enjoyed is A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (https://amzn.to/4dkCpCE), which is now a Netflix Series, which I must watch! But circling back to picture books, I wouldn’t want to ready anything that’s not fresh and new, or has a different slant, or isn’t well written. 

Share a Halloween or spooky story or two that you love and why. 

HEATHER: I’m actually a huge fan (unbiasedly, because seriously they’re great) of Lynne Marie’s books! I adore Moldilocks and the Three Scares. Her and Brenda’s, and Nico’s book, Broommates, is to die for. 

I also really love Mr. Pumpkin’s Tea Party by Erin Barker - it’s one of my fav books of all. If you haven’t heard of this one, definitely check it out. Her artwork is amazing and the tale is captivating (for Halloween or any season). You can read more about it here:  Trick or Treat with Erin Barker! (seasonsofkidlit.com)

LYNNE MARIE: Another story that I love is Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman. This story deals with getting a new sibling. I am really able to connect with this as I was a spoiled 2.5 year old when I got a baby sister and since it upset my world, I remember not being happy about it. And I love the main character’s journey to looking at the sibling differently and coming to love it. So, there’s a connection with the main character and problem, it’s entertaining, has an important message, and lots of humor! These things are very important, and often overlooked in the stories we see. 

As for chapter books, I am currently working on a chapter book series, so I am reading / re-reading Heather Macht's Woodlot Monster Mysteries and Mutant Critter Series as examples of how to wonderfully and effectively plot a compelling story with great chapter turns.

What is a common issue with the submissions you receive at Rate Your Story? 

HEATHER: Some stories are so, so close but not quite there. I’d definitely suggest reading as many similar books to yours as you can. Sometimes taking a break, reading another take on your topic, and coming back to it helps you gain a new perspective.

LYNNE MARIE: On the other end of the spectrum are stories that are just so new and not at all developed. For those, I recommend that they be put aside and focus on learning your craft. Keep writing new stories with what you learn and when you feel you have a handle on not only great writing techniques, but great storytelling techniques, circle back to them. One of my earlier stories, the Palace Rat, was written in 1998 and not published until many years later. I can assure you that it wasn't publishable in the beginning and evolved over time to what it is today.

Please share a Revision Tip for our Members. 

HEATHER: Listen to and accept constructive feedback (you cannot have an ego in publishing)! 

I have a story I’ve been toying with for yearssss. I finally finished it. I was so proud of it, thought it was perfectly polished, and even had some great critiques. Then, I turned it into my agent with a huge smile on my face… and it was a hard pass for her. Lol 

She explained in detail what didn’t work and why and that some things I thought were funny weren’t landing. She encouraged me to go back to the drawing board. After a couple of months of reading like books/retrying, I submitted a totally dissected/reconstructed version of it to her and she loved it. And…I actually love it so much more, too! I’m glad she challenged me to do better. It’s currently out on submission as of last week so fingers crossed editors love it, too!

LYNNE MARIE: One of my tried and true revision tips is to put every word, every phrase, every sentence on trial. Have you used the best words? Does it create a vivid image to inspire outstanding art? Does it move the story forward? Does it facilitate a page turn?

Please share a Submission Tip with our Members. 

HEATHER: Queries are a lot like resumes. I’d suggest personalizing each query specifically to the agent’s/publisher’s wish list/interests! Let them know why, based on their current wish list, you/your books would be a good fit for them. 

LYNNE MARIE: I suggest learning your craft before submitting. As someone who has edited for a small press and interned for two literary agencies, I saw more good ideas that were not developed effectively than you could ever imagine. Of course, those were passes. The story needs to be oh, so close to merit attention.

Tell us About Your Next Story

HEATHER: I have some stories in acquisitions and some on submission - hope to share more soon so stay tuned!

LYNNE MARIE:  My next book is Henny Penny's Weather Worries, which is the 2nd book in the Fairy Tale Elementary series. It has such fun characters and also weather myths, so I'm very excited about it! Stay tuned for release date.

I'm also working on TombMates with Brenda Reeves Sturgis, and hope it gets picked up as a companion to BroomMates!

Share something you wish we had asked you about, but didn’t! 

HEATHER: What’s your favorite Halloween movie of all time?  The original Halloween!

LYNNE MARIE: What are you excited about? This year, Rate Your Story has debuted our add-on Professional Series Workshops with Agents and Editors. These have proved extremely helpful to attendees and we have seen serious interest in their projects, as well as representation! We've also brought back our popular First Pages -- so watch out for our Membership Registration for 2025, which begins in October for current Members and November for Non-Members.

Share a spooky fun fact about YOU! 

HEATHER: My husband and I love dressing up with our kids and going trick-or-treating each year. We don’t get candy, of course, but just dressing up with them, seeing all the spooky decorations together, and taking them around the neighborhood/watching them have fun is a blast! It’s definitely something we all look forward to each year. 

LYNNE MARIE: When I was 18 and in London, I made a pilgrimage to the grave Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (the creator of Frankenstein) because it was one of my favorite books from classic literature, as well as Phantom of the Opera. I've also visited the opera house that inspired Gaston Leroux to write The Phantom of the Opera. I have a strange fascination with spooky stories, graveyards and haunted houses, and even stayed at Lizzie Borden's Bed and Breakfast in Fall River, Massachusetts.

Note to Members - What are the benefits to submitting to a Guest Guru?

One big plus is that you can actually request a Guest Guru if you think your story or genre or writing style aligns with theirs. Of course, we can’t guarantee a spot if your story isn’t actually a fit, or if their spots are filled, so get your request in early. But another reason is that you can more easily filter feedback through the lens of the guru knowing their strengths and experience – and perhaps more readily try it on for size. It’s also a great way to learn more about Authors and their books, as you should surely explore their interviews, bios and books before requesting them. Read their bios for more information.

BIOS:

Heather Macht's always had a niche for storytelling.  Ever since she was a young girl, she'd spend her free time writing imaginative stories for friends and family. 

​As an adult, her passion for writing and her imagination has grown and taken off.  Macht is the author of 15 books including The Mutant Critter Sitter, a six-book chapter book series featuring #girlpower, responsibility, spliced mutant creations, and science-filled fun! (ABDO, 2024), The Woodlot Monster Mysteries, a six-book chapter book series featuring less-common monsters and promoting #girlpower, problem solving, and teamwork (ABDO, 2023), Rex the...We-Don't-Know (Pelican, 2020), The Ant Farm Escape! (Pelican, 2019), and You May Just Be a Dinosaur (Pelican, 2015)!

​Macht has a degree in Fine Arts, her other passion, is the creator and owner of SeasonsOfKidLit.com, and is also an active member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. 

​She's happily married and currently resides in Florida.   When she's not writing, Macht enjoys time outdoors, watching scary movies, and spending time with her husband and children.  

 Heather Macht is proudly repped by Lynnette Novak at The Seymour Agency! For more, visit The Seymour Agency.

Lynne Marie is the author of Hedgehog Goes to Kindergarten (Scholastic 2011), Hedgehog's 100th Day of School (Scholastic 2017), The Star of the Christmas Play (Beaming Books 2018 and 2023), Moldilocks and the 3 Scares, (Sterling/Scholastic 2019), Let’s Eat! Mealtime Around the World (Beaming Books 2019), The Three Little Pigs and the Rocket Project (Mac and Cheese Press 2022), The Three Little Pigs and the Rocket Project Coloring Book (Mac and Cheese Press 2022),  The Palace Rat (Yeehoo Press 2023), Broommates, A Bitter Boundary Battle (The Little Press 2024), and more forthcoming. 

She’s the Owner/Administrator of RateYourStory.org, ThePictureBookMechanic.com, and a Travel Agent. In addition, she’s the Creator/Host of March On With Mentor Texts and Mentor Text Talk book chat on Sundays, and the Co-Host of #SeasonsOfKidLit (www.seasonsofkidlit.com). 

She lives in her hometown on Long Island with her husband and daughter, a Schipperke named Anakin and a Mini Pinscher named Marlowe. Visit her at www.LiterallyLynneMarie.com. Lynne Marie is represented by Marisa Cleveland of www.theseymouragency.com. Follow her on Facebook here and on Twitter here.