Karen DeGroot Carter

A native of Syracuse, New York, and a graduate of Syracuse University,  I live in the 'burbs of metro Denver with my husband and three kiddos. (Though it may be unfair to call my oldest a kiddo any longer since he is now 28. How THAT is possible, I can't even begin to imagine.)

Since graduating from SU 33 years ago, I've worked as a writer and editor in various capacities. Before children (and e-mail and cell phones), I worked in corporate communications for Industrial Risk Insurers of Hartford, CT (as exciting as that sounds), and at Ingram Book Company near Nashville. The best perk of the Ingram job: walking into a warehouse full of books. Sure you had to watch out for forklifts zooming around, but just the sight of all those books...I loved it.

And while at Ingram I got to meet and escort around a few authors, including John Grisham. One of my favorite visitors was Candlewick Press illustrator Helen Oxbury, whose signed copy of Farmer Duck I've read a few hundred times to my children through the years. It's one of those books I could probably recite by heart.

Which is one reason I do what I do. I've always loved books. I love reading them (in any format), discussing them, sharing them, writing them, editing them, creating them.

Nifty thing is, book people are just as wonderful. Authors, editors, publishers, publicists, book reps, booksellers, readers, reviewers...they all love books and the magic that goes into creating them. And they're excited to talk about the process online and off, at writing classes and conferences, at signings and book club meetings. For a book nerd like me, book people help make the world a pretty great place. 

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