On one very regular night in 2002, Carrie Rosten went to sleep and had a highly irregular dream. When she woke up the following day she wrote Soma So Strange in its entirety. Her former publisher rejected the book for being too unconventional, her former agent claimed kids “don’t like rhymes,” and Carrie shelved the project until resolving to finally publish it herself.

Carrie began her career as a wardrobe stylist in LA and then worked at several publications including W, BlackBook, OUT, and most recently at BULLETT, where she was the Publisher and Chief Brand Officer. Independent children’s publishing, however, is her true calling and writing runs in her colorful family. Her grandfather, Leo Rosten, penned successful screenplays and best-selling books including The Joys of Yiddish and her great-uncle, William Steig, wrote a not-so-little children’s book called Shrek!. Like the titular character Soma, Carrie loves to challenge rules that don’t make sense, asks lots of questions and believes in the transformative power of words and imagination. Carrie is also the author of the young adult novel, Chloe Leiberman (Sometimes Wong) (Random House, 2005) and continues to be a fan of magical islands – including Manhattan – which she calls home. She really, really loves Mexico too.

Feel free to email her at carrie@somasostrange.com or tweet her @carrierosten with a question, comment or just to say hello.