Occupation: Princess
Birthdate: December 28th, in a year prior to this one
Height: 5'7," but shrinking fast.
Weight: None of your beeswax.
Astrological Sign:
Capricorn, with lots of Sagittarius thrown in for kicks.
Chinese Astrological Sign:
The PIG, God help me.
Born & Raised:
Long Island, New York. And if you think it's funny to say "Oh, you mean you're from Lawn GEYE-land," please think again. The last time that joke was funny dinosaurs were roaming the South Hampton beaches.
Currently Residing:
Evanston, Illinois, home of the Northwestern Wildcats
and, well, Carolyn Crimi.
Family:
One husband, Alfonso Segreti;and one
Pug, Emerson Crimi-Segreti, also
known as Sir Scratch and Sniff,
Mr. Wiggle Butt,The Mayor and
Circus Dog.
Siblings:
Three older brothers and one older
sister. All were, at one time or another,
employed as expert teasers and professional tormentors.
Education:
B.A. from Lake Forest College in Art History (the perfect major for people who never want to get a job); MFA from Vermont College in Writing for Children.
Hobbies and interests:
Dieting, worrying, obsessing, e-mailing, drawing, procrastinating, running, and taking pictures that turn out poorly.
Likes:
Unfrosted Blueberry Pop Tarts, old monster movies, venti-skim-lattes, rainy days, birthdays and Halloween.
Dislikes:
Tail-gaters, horn-honkers, people who don't like my books, critics (unless, of course, they like my books), celebrity children's "books," Disney Pooh, cynics, telemarketers and book-banners.
Childhood Influences:
Winnie-the-Pooh, Mary Tyler Moore, I Love Lucy, The Wizard of Oz, Bugs Bunny, Eloise, and Get Smart.
Favorite Writers:
A.A. Milne, Margi Palatini, Barbara Park, Bill Bryson, Dick King-Smith, Dave Barry, Jonathan London, Erma Bombeck, Martin Waddell, Sylvia Waugh, Susan Meddaugh, and Jon Scieska. I'm sure most of these people have websites but I'm too lazy to list them. Besides, I want you to stay HERE, for crying out loud.
I consider myself a very lucky person. All my life I wanted to be a children's book author, and now I am one. As a child I was always writing and illustrating little hand-made books for my family, mostly because I was a cheap kid and these gifts didn't cost me a dime. I told any adult who asked that I wanted to be the next L.Frank Baum. Don't ask me where I got all that optimism.
I grew up on Long Island with three older brothers and one older sister. Our house was surrounded by woods, so I often built forts outside, or I'd spread a blanket out on the grass in our backyard and read for hours. I loved the Oz books and remember feeling like I wanted to crawl inside of them. I also watched waaaay too much TV. Contrary to what my parents told me, it has not rotted my brain or caused me to go blind. Yet.
Now I live in Evanston, Illinois, with my husband, Al Segreti, and our dog, Emerson Crimi-Segreti. I still love being outdoors and reading for hours on end. And, yes, I still love TV. Ask anyone who has ever tried to reach me on Must See TV night.
I write about things that make me laugh, or about things I loved when I was young. Sometimes that leads me down strange, twisted paths, since the things that I love, like monsters and Pop Tarts, tend to be a bit odd.
In addition to writing books, I also teach adult education courses on writing for children, visit schools for Author Talks, and write stories and articles for children's textbooks and magazines. If you have lots of money and would like to hire me for any kind of writing job, please click on my Freelance or School Visit pages.
In the summer of 2000 I received my MFA in Writing for Children from Vermont College. I highly recommend this program for anyone who is seriously committed to writing children's literature. But you must be SERIOUS about writing. It's not for dabblers. I mean it. Don't even CONSIDER getting this degree if you think it would be "kinda fun to do."
Ordering Books
If you'd like to order any of my books, you can order them from amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Borders, or, better yet, your local independent bookstore. Any bookstore can order my books, even if they're not on the shelves. Outside, Inside is now out of print, unfortunately.
Registering for Classes
If you're interested in taking one of my classes, please contact the New Trier Extension Office in Northfield, 847-446-6600.
If you're interested in having me visit your school, bookstore or library to do a presentation, or if you'd like to see some of my free-lance samples, please send me an e-mail at crims@aol.com.
Thanks for visiting me!
