Welcome to Tuesday Debut, everyone!

I feel like I have been waiting a long time to share today’s debut-ess – perhaps because I’m so excited! It’s always harder to wait when you’re excited about something 😊

For starters, it’s A SEASON FOR FISHIN’: A FISH FRY TRADITION’s actual book birthday, and you know what that means. . .

And what is a party without presents?

We have giveaway winners to announce and 2 new giveaways to share!

The 2 randomly winners of signed copies of ALBHABEDTIME (board book) from last week are. . .

Marty Bellis and Sarah Meade!

Congratulations, Marty and Sarah! Please email me with your snail mail address and who you’d like your book signed to and I will get them in the mail to you ASAP!

And if anyone else would like a signed copy I would be delighted to pop up to Merritt Bookstore and personalize and sign for you – just order from Merritt and they’ll let me know and I’ll get right on it!

We also have 2 new giveaways for today! Our debut-ess is kindly offering a signed copy of A SEASON FOR FISHIN’, AND a Picture Book Manuscript Critique!! To get yourself in the running to be one of the randomly selected winners, please leave a comment on today’s post by Monday May 26th at 3 PM Eastern!

And now, at last!, the wait is over! I’m delighted to introduce the wonderful and talented Pamela Courtney and her Louisiana tale, A SEASON FOR FISHIN’: A Fish Fry Tradition!

Title: A Season For Fishin’: A Fish Fry Tradition
Author: Pamela Courtney
Illustrator: Toni D Chambers
Publishing House: Macmillan (FSG)
Date of Publication: May 20, 2025
Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction
age range of your book: 4-7 years

Chér wakes before sunrise ‘cause she’s finally big enough to go still water fishin’ with Papére down on Ol’ Cane River and she can’t wait to catch a mess of bream for Mamére. With wrigglers on the line of her cane-pole, Chér and her cousins giggling as a sign; they approve of catching batch after batch of bream, but when things don’t go as planned, Chér learns the true tradition of Fish Fry Friday and It’s not the big catch.

SUSANNA: Welcome, Pam! I am SO excited to have you here with us today! As one of the beta testers for Making Picture Book Magic way back in the fall of 2012, and a member of the very first class in February of 2013, I have had the privilege and pleasure of watching your grow and blossom as a writer and I seriously could not be more thrilled than to be sharing your beautiful debut picture book today! Where did the idea for this book come from?

PAMELA: My story was originally called, Fish Fry Friday, A Cane River Tale/Tail. And it started as poem in Renee La Tullipe’s Lyrical Language Lab class. This particular poem was to be the first installment of poems for a novel in verse. After it was suggested that I think about the poems becoming a picture book in prose, I knew it worked better as a picture book. It’s a bit of a nod to my childhood. A wink to the truth that if you travel down any red-dirt road in Louisiana on a Friday, everybody who’s anybody worth their weight in mud-bugs is catching, scaling, cleaning, and frying fish on Friday. Since bream is my mom’s favorite panfried fish to eat, well it had to make it’s way into the story. I actually wrote this story in one sitting. Of course a few drafts followed, let’s be clear. LOL

Carol Joy Munro wrote a blog piece about writing pictures and she suggests: Draft It In Verse First. I agree. So many brand new writers deliver their first works in rhyme. Not the best rhyme. HOWEVER, there’s a magical freedom in that first rhyming draft. Unfortunately because we don’t know about the technical side of writing in rhyme, we get talked out of that freedom. That magic we felt.

When you have that idea that won’t let go, and you see scenes play out in your mind’s eye. . . let the visuals you see before you capture language from a lyrical perspective belonging only to you and LET IT FREELY FLOW. Allow yourself to open that expressive heart-language and pour it out onto you page. Open yourself up to take risks, play, have fun with language, story structure. Draft It In Verse First! I love Carol’s idea. She’s got some great tips on the KidLit Works blog. (vicious plug)

SUSANNA: How long did it take you to write this book?

PAMELA: As I mentioned, my initial draft was done in one sitting (both the original poem and the picture book version). I gotta tell ya, I was kinda proud of this one. Because I was true to embracing the magic of this rhythmic way of engaging words, I even enjoyed revising. And let me tell ya, thassa big ol’ deal. I do NOT like revising. How much do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways. But this was easy for me. It was a subject matter that was intimate and personal. Even the research was so much fun. It added such depth, layers to the way I told this story. This has become a lesson of sorts for me. When I get stuck, I research. I usually find a deeper way of acknowledging a character’s motive, and how they navigate the world I’m creating for them.

text copyright Pamela Courtney 2025, illustration copyright Tony D. Chambers 2025, Macmillan

SUSANNA: Did you go through many revisions?

PAMELA: Actually, there weren’t very many revisions. My agent only had a few suggestions. I could count the suggestions from my editor on one hand. Oh but what she asked for was depth to my character. Research brought me to my definitive WHY. Why I wanted to tell this story. Why this character had to speak as she does. Why Louisiana with all its multicultural way of existing had to be shared. I stared with these whys and others piled gracefully onto the other sweet layers. When I tell you I loved revising this story … well, in the words of my Tante’ Lula, “I ain’t lyin’, no.”

SUSANNA: When did you know your manuscript was ready for submission?

PAMELA: I was enrolled in Jim Averbeck’s class in Storyteller Academy. I’ll never forget how I felt when he shared how much he enjoyed my story and told me . . . “Pam, it’s ready. It’s ready. Stop waiting and submit!” Forever grateful to this man for that. I also had taken Baptiste Paul’s class and he was in love with this story. I knew I had the courage to give it to my agent, who quickly emailed me back and said, “Why am I just now seeing this joyful story?!” Then in a phone call, James McGowan, my agent also said, “Pam, are you kidding me, I’ve been waiting on another story from you and you tell me you’ve had this draft since 2014?” His excitement did it. I said, well let’s send it out. No, wait, he was already making a list of who to sub to and I then answered, “Well let’s send it out.”  

SUSANNA: When and how did you submit?

PAMELA: So I signed with my agent James McGowan in April of 2021. We immediately went out on submissions with another story Freedom’s Eve: A Story of Watch Night but no bites. While waiting on yet another rejection for Freedom’s Eve, I decided I’d take a chance on a draft I had since 2014. I’d work on it. Set it down for a couple of years. Take it out, work a bit more. After 2017 I didn’t touch it anymore until 2020, when I enrolled in Jim Averbeck’s class. I felt confident in Season For Fishin’. So in June of 2021, I let James see the draft. He sent it out on sub a few months later. You see, we were waiting on word about Freedom’s Eve. That word did not come until my birthday, November of 2023. Freedom’s Eve comes out in fall 2026.

Anyway, I can’t remember the date James began subbing A Season For Fishin’. It was around August 2021, I think. Anyway, in November of 2021, I had my deal memo from BookEnds. Janine O’Malley of Macmillan bought my story.

text copyright Pamela Courtney 2025, illustration copyright Tony D. Chambers 2025, Macmillan

SUSANNA: How fantastic that FREEDOM’S EVE will also be out soon! How long after you found out about your book going to acquisitions (if you did) or after you submitted were you told it was a “yes”?

PAMELA: Oops, answered it above. I talk too much.

SUSANNA: Hahaha! You’re so funny! When did you get “the call”, which these days is more likely to be “the email”?  (Best moment ever! 😊) and how did you celebrate (if you care to share 😊)

PAMELA: A Season For Fishin’ went really fast. Janine O’Malley snapped it up! It’s interesting. You never know what that specific thing is that connects someone to your story. Janine remembered dining out with her father over fried fish dinners. Memoires! Wonderful, right?

She didn’t have many notes for me. HOWEVER, her notes required me to dig deeper into my character. Give my character more depth of feeling, a reason to exist on the page. I loved that assignment from Janine. I thrive on intimate moments in a scene. Oh and it should be mentioned that I didn’t have to revise prior to signing. That came later. Still as I mentioned the notes were few but definitely required thinking.

SUSANNA: How long was it between getting your offer and getting your contract to sign?

PAMELA: 2021 was a beautiful, crazy year. I got my agent, then a book deal all in that year. James was soooo excited about what was then Fish Fry Friday, A Cane River Tale/Tail.

SUSANNA: What, in your experience, can help the folks reading this post to achieve what you have? 

PAMELA: I feel that finding and contributing to a great critique group is incredibly important. Taking classes, attending webinars, reading extensively are all musts. Now when I say read, I mean to read as a writer studying their craft. Look to see what’s compelling about the story’s inciting incident. How does the character navigate throughout the story? Why? How does the story’s tone, language affect how you engage with the story? Study the beginnings, the endings, all the plot points in between. Really get to know what makes certain books truly good reads. Connect with people, build community, network. I’ve received many blessings being in community with other writers and industry pros. Always be of service to others. Promote their work. Offer to participate in picture book events. Now, here’s the caution. Know when to say NO. Don’t try to do it all. Take your time and enjoy. There are many literary avenues available. They’re not going anywhere. Do Not Get Caught in that whole Missing Out syndrome. Again, the events will be there again and sooner than you think. Nevertheless, connect and stay abreast of industry news.

SUSANNA: What can you tell our readers that will help them improve their craft, streamline their submission process, maintain their sanity…? 😊

PAMELA: Be as organized as possible. Keeping track of your manuscripts and revisions in files (I’ve heard Scrivner rules), where you’ve subbed and to whom (yeah, I added that m, so …?), just please have a filing system ESPECIALLY for your nonfiction works and their references. When crafting picture books do master study sessions with your critique group. Have book chats and celebrate what works. Study how effective pacing affects page turns, or how it holds the reader in a moment, then in a swift move sends them on to the next story beat. Study. Study Study. Not alone. In community. You’ll need that support.

SUSANNA: What are some things writers can expect on their road to publication and beyond that they might not know about? 

PAMELA: You can expect some of the kindest, most generous people in KidLit. However, everyone is on their grind and it is a very competitive industry. Get familiar with standing in your WHY when it comes to the stories you want to tell. There will be times when educating others is necessary. However, when you know the worth of your premise and know what it is that you’re promising, sharing becomes such a beautiful communion. It can also be frustrating. There will always be those who choose to remain ill-informed. Know this, it is not your burden to bear. Don’t take on too much of that responsibility.

Expect disappointments. Hard disappointments. Disappointments that might last a while. Losing an agent or even an editor mid-contract, getting pass after pass on a manuscript  can be painful. Here’s what you can expect when that comes. Your community will be there for you. Directing you to new, eager agents or seasoned agents who are looking for your specific fresh, out-of-the-box story structure or storytelling. Expect stories that have the same topic, even the same wording and phrasing as your story. Don’t fret. Your critique group is there to guide, advise, on how to make your story so unique that it stands out.

SUSANNA: What lessons have you learned that writers might benefit from, take courage or heart from, be comforted by?

PAMELA: I canNOT say this enough, build community. Being connected through the happy times and harsh times is important. It is through community that your skills grow, or you recognize the growth of others. People pay attention. I have so many stories of how people have reached out to me inviting me to present on panels with them, to deliver my own presentation. I didn’t see myself with those skills. Others however DID. And felt more confident than I did. Nevertheless, these opportunities came because of community.

SUSANNA: Did you get to see advance reviews from Kirkus, SLJ, etc? What was that like?

PAMELA: Actually, no. Not one review.

SUSANNA: How long did it take from offer to having the first copy in your hand?

PAMELA: Okay, now well that took about 4 years actually. From 2021 to 2025. Woohoo!

On Edelweiss it says first print 30K. But I’ve been told those numbers are conflated.

SUSANNA: Wow! That’s quite a lot! What kind of marketing and promotion has your publisher done for this book?

PAMELA: Can I mention that I’m being entered in the SCBWI Golden Kite Award?
And here’s a list of events and programming I was told is happening:
Outreach to Key Reviewers, Media, and School and Library Contacts

E-galley Sent to Select Bloggers and Digital Influencers

Included in MacKids Social Media Promotions

Featured at Select School, Library, and Bookseller Conferences and Conventions

E-galley Available on Edelweiss

text copyright Pamela Courtney 2025, illustration copyright Tony D. Chambers 2025, Macmillan

SUSANNA: Describe any marketing/promotion you did for this book.

PAMELA: There’s a week-long celebration that includes your blog. It’s so completely appropriate that my debut book, will be celebrated on your blog on the day it comes out. You are completely responsible for all of this you know. You started this whole writing journey of mine. We kicked off this celebration with Vivian Kirkfield on Friday, 16^th with her Perfect Picture Book Friday. Excited.  Additionally, I’ll be interviewed by Alison Green of Highlights reading from my and discussing A Season of Fishin’.

I’m going to video my homeschooling kinfolk unboxing my books (I dedicated the book to them). They’ll be sharing this reel with their school librarians. I’m excited the staff wanted to do that, since this week is the end of school. I’m also appearing on Storytime With Mr. Limata. When I was homeschooling, the kinfolk watched him everyday.

Syliva Chen, a member of my picture debut group, used my book’s interiors and made bookmarks/business cards. I got this wonderful gift in the mail and was thrilled and touched that she took the time to do such a wonderful thing.

I’m planning a Story Walk, Reading Under The Stars literacy event, and a fish fry in my back yard. Though that’s for family and friends, though I’ll be wearing my bar code in case anyone wants to purchase a book. One last thing is a Fish Fry Treasure Hunt. That one I’m looking forward to doing.

SUSANNA: How long was it between the time you started writing seriously and the time you sold your first picture book?

PAMELA: This is funny and a bit embarrassing. I used to hang around 12 x 12 in 2012 and 2013. I never REALLY wrote anything. I wrote down ideas. I had a beginning idea, middle idea, and ending idea. However each of those were for different stories. Never a beginning, middle, and ending for one specific story. Not until I joined your class. I have no idea what year that was. I do remember writing about a child that tried to stay awake but wanted to meet this Sandman he’d heard so much about. I’m thinking that was between 2013 & 2014. Seven years later I sold my first book . . . whichcomesoutandhitsstoresmay20th!!!

SUSANNA: What is the most important/helpful thing you learned on your way to publication? (Or what is your most helpful piece of advice for up and coming writers?)

PAMELA: I learned that community is everything. I believe with all my heart that the Kidlit community is the absolute best community. They’re my soft place to land when I fall. They prop me up when life gets a bit heavy. After 2020, I hated writing alone. When I tell you this community created all kinds of group writing events to get me going, I ain’ lyin’.

I remember when I was involved in a car accident. When I tell you this community brought me out and lifted me up, I’m not exaggerating. I got cards that brought me to tears and closer to God, People even travelled to see me. Y’all, I even got a package from Omaha Steaks, REALLY! How did they know it was a favorite, but rarely visited online story. I couldn’t believe the outpour. Then again, yes, I could believe it. It’s who we are, REALLY!

It’s who this community is from the generosity of experts, professionals, mentors, amazing critique partners they all had a hand, You dear friend, had the biggest hand in this story and me … BECOMING.

SUSANNA: Anything else you’d like to share about your book’s journey from inspiration to publication?

PAMELA: I MUST share how you, Susanna have played such a valuable, pivotal role in my writing life. Those who know me know all about you. Because I talk about you with everyone. I remember going on line and asking if there’s an inexpensive writing class I can take. You invited me to your class. What you gave me in that class still sustains me. You told me to write about my culture. To tell about the history. I didn’t want to do that. I honestly thought no one to read any of that. You read Freedom’s Eve and you told me how good, how special it was. You were the first person to reach out. You were my first teacher, my first mentor, my first writer friend. Then you introduced me to your community. And I am forever changed. You have such discernment when it comes to writers and their work. It’s incredible to witness. There is a generosity in your spirit that is so genuine. I’m not sure I could ever thank you enough. You gave me entry into this amazing place and with leadership you were gentle in the way you guided me in my first writing efforts. I’m so grateful. So very grateful.

SUSANNA: Oh my goodness, Pam! You are so sweet. You made me all teary! I am honored to have been part of your journey, but the talent and determination and commitment to refining your skills as a writer and to excellence was all you! I am just delighted to be congratulating you on your beautiful book! Thank you so much for taking the time to participate in this series and paying it forward to other writers! We so appreciate the opportunity to learn from you, and you shared so much great information! From all of us, wishing you the best of luck with this and future titles!

Readers, if you have questions for Pamela, please post them in the comments below and if she has time I’m sure she’ll respond! And remember, your comment by Monday May 26th at 3 PM Eastern will put you in the running to be one of the two randomly selected winners for Pamela’s generous prizes!

Author Pamela Courtney (who swears by Southwest Tortilla Strips as a writing snack!)

IG: https://www.instagram.com/pam_is_mylmnop/
Website: https://www.pamelacourtney.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pam_is_mylmnop?lang=en
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/pamismylmnop.bsky.social
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@pam_is_mylmnop

You may purchase Pamela’s book at:
(all links below are book-specific)

Indiebound/Bookshop.org
Amazon
Barnes&Noble

We can help our debut authors successfully launch their careers by:

– purchasing their books

– recommending their books to friends and family

– recommending their books to our children’s teachers and librarians

– recommending their books to our local libraries and bookstores

– suggesting them as visiting authors at our children’s schools and our local libraries

– sharing their books on social media

– reviewing their books on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and other sites where people go to learn about books.

Thank you all for stopping by to read today!  Have a lovely, inspiration-filled Tuesday!  Maybe today is the day you’ll write your debut picture book 😊

Missed any previous Tuesday Debuts?  Check them out HERE!