A Cafe Chat with K.M. Walton, by Lindsay Bandy

Hello, Eastern PA! I’m here at the Cafe with our good friend, K.M. Walton. If you attended Fall Philly in 2017, you probably heard Kate’s amazing keynote. Because we all wanted to hear more, we invited her back for the Pocono Retreat, where she’ll be speaking AND doing critiques! There are only six days left to reserve a critique with Kate (or any of our other amazing faculty), because the deadline for critiques is April 12. So hurry, hurry, register!

In case you missed my chat with Kate last October, just click here to learn more about her and her books. Then read below to find out what she has planned for Pocono!

 

LB: Hi there, Kate, and welcome back to the Eastern Penn Points Cafe! We’re really excited to have you back for coffee AND for our 2018 Pocono Retreat! How have you been since Fall Philly?

KMW: Thanks for having me back. All has been well in my world. Lots of events and travel!

 

LB: Many of us got to hear your awesome keynote in Fall Philly about the Power of Human Kindness. What will you be sharing/teaching at the Highlights Foundation in May?

KMW: Thank you for the kind words. Giving that keynote was such a positive experience for me – a total full circle kind of moment. I even took the time to write a blog post about it! For my upcoming keynote at the Highlights Foundation I’ve been having the best time infusing everything Star Wars into it. I will absolutely use the Force to inspire, I promise! For my workshop I plan to focus on character development and making sure character’s voices shine, not the writer’s.

LB: And you’re offering critiques, too! What’s your favorite part of working with other authors to help them improve their work? And are you critiquing picture book manuscripts, middle grade, YA, or all of the above?

KMW: I love helping other writers and believe strongly in the “pay it forward” mentality. I also believe in honest critiques but without snark or cruelty. As far as which manuscripts I’ll be critiquing, I’m not sure. I assume YA since that’s what I’ve been published in so far, but I also write MG so I’d love to critique that as well. We shall see : )

 LB: Thanks so much for stopping by, Kate! We are so excited to see you again in May!

KMW: Thanks again for hosting me here. I can’t wait for this new and exciting experience!