CATHERINE KINSEY

BIO

Catherine is a writer and mom of two living with her family in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Community Leadership with a Writing minor from Aquinas College and has done a variety of jobs since having kids from ghostwriting website content to teaching violin lessons. 

Catherine is pursuing traditional publishing in Middle Grade and Young Adult categories, and her stories always contain a hint of magic. She is passionate about the human experience of storytelling and writes about what makes her process uniquely human in her newsletter. When not writing, she loves working on crafts and projects with her family, sewing, thrifting, reading, and hiking.

MSWL

Age groups: MG and YA

Genres:

  • Fantasy: high/second world fantasy, contemporary/grounded fantasy, portal fantasy, magical realism, or a mix of the above! Give me any and all the magic.

  • Sci-fi: specifically sci-fi leaning more towards fantasy (such as Star Wars or The Lunar Chronicles) or dystopian.

  • Contemporary: I’m less interested in traditional “pure” contemporary, but I would love to see a twist like mystery or light thriller. Or, as mentioned above, contemporary with a fantastical element!

More on what I love:

  • Worldbuilding is one of my weaknesses. I love a lush and detailed fantasy world with complicated magic systems. (I really enjoy nerding out over magic systems and perfecting its rules in digestible ways) But even in contemporary settings, I love when the setting draws me in and comes alive for me in the story.

  • Themes of family, friendships, romance (in YA) or self-discovery. I want to feel something!

  • High emotional stakes and/or intense and complicated character dynamics 

  • Plots with twists I don’t see coming, or elements of mystery and big reveals (I especially love brainstorming opportunities for foreshadowing and tension building)

  • Stories with subtle subtext on social and societal issues, injustices, etc.

  • Unique voices or unreliable narrators.

  • I love discussing with authors the true heart and inspiration for their story, and brainstorming how to let that shine. I love working hard on manuscripts with a strong foundation, and with authors that aren’t afraid to do what it takes to build on it. 

Some favorite books:

MG:

  • The Princess Swap by Kim Bussing

  • Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

  • The Curse of Eelgrass Bog by Mary Averling

  • The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly

  • Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend 

  • The Liars Society by Alyson Gerber

  • Greenwild by Pari Thomson 

  • When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller

YA: 

  • Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

  • Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross 

  • An Ocean Apart by Jill Tew

  • One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus 

  • Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli

  • Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon

  • Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Not the best fit for:

  • Traditional horror

  • Historical fiction

Triggers/please do not send me:

  • On-page description of harm to young children or animals

  • AI as a sentient character

  • Writing that has been assisted by generative AI in any capacity