Trick or Treat with the Creators of No Love Potion + Treats Inside!

Hi to all my witchy friends out there! Today, we have a super charming treat for you! Christina Shawn, Merry Miller-Gass, and Michele McAvoy of The Little Press, creators of No Love Potion, are here to talk about their lovely book!

Bettina wants nothing to do with Valentine’s Day or love, so she brews a powerful No-Love Potion. But when a surprising ingredient finds its way into her heart, Bettina discovers that love might be the most magical ingredient of all.

Want to hear from all three creators about the book they brewed up, PLUS see what treats they’re passing out? Read on... if you dare!🧙‍♀️🧪

Q: Hi Christina, Merry, and Michele! Thanks for trick-or-treating with us at SeasonsOfKidLit.com! We’re absolutely de-frighted to feature you and hear everything about you and your book! What inspired your story, and can you share a little about your path to publication?

Christina: This story began as a 200 word submission for Susanna Leonard Hill’s Valentiny Contest. The contest asked for a Valentine’s story that involved “skepticism.” I thought about who would be skeptical of Valentines and thought, “Of course, a witch! She would not like all that ooey-gooey love-stuff.” That’s how Bettina came to be, and the rest unfolded from there. I posted the pitch in a Twitter / X pitch contest and Michele McAvoy from The Little Press requested it. She asked for a revise and resubmit (bulking it up and rounding out the arc with about 200 more words). I had so much fun writing more about Bettina and Ingredient #9 - finding more gross ingredients and amping up the chaos. I re-submitted the revised story and heard back on Mother’s Day with an offer for publication. 

Merry: I came to No Love Potion as the illustrator, so my path into the story started with reading Christina’s wonderfully spooky-sweet manuscript and immediately falling in love with Bettina, Ingredient #9, and the overall theme of a Halloween / Valentine’s mashup. 

My path to publication started when I joined SCBWI and began building my portfolio. I was first published through children’s magazines, and now I have multiple picture books publishing in 2026 and 2027, including several titles with The Little Press. I’m currently serving as Co-Regional Advisor for SCBWI California North/Central, and I spend my days working in an art gallery as Executive Director of the Arts Consortium, our county’s designated arts council.

Q: Michele, what made you fall in love with this story and acquire this book?

A: This book is so special for so many reasons.  But I absolutely love the relationship between Bettina and Ingredient No. 9.  It’s sweet and funny and I tend to lean into humor.  Also, Christina did a fantastic job of pacing which drew me in immediately. 

We love it - excellent job, everyone!

Let's chat more with Christina!

Q: Christina, what was the inspiration behind your book and what made you decide to blend two holidays together? Was it more challenging than you thought? 

A: I mentioned how the story began with a Valentiny Contest prompt for a Valentine story with skepticism. Once I began thinking about all the connections to the 1980’s RomCom “Love Potion Number 9” I felt inspired by the RomComs I love to read and watch. Honoring the common trope - a professional is too serious for love, and then unexpectedly and reluctantly finds love in a goofy companion - and reshaping it for kidlit was so much fun. Blending Halloween and Valentine’s Day became easy under this framework. However, I keep trying to mash up holidays like this again and it’s very challenging. 

Q: What was it like partnering with Michele/The Little Press? What was your favorite part and what was the most unexpected part? 

A: Partnering with Michele and The Little Press has been great. I love Michele’s transparency about the publishing business. She explains how everything works, holds monthly team meetings with the authors and illustrators, and is genuinely excited about these books. 

When I first connected with Michele I was in between agents and honestly a bit burnt out on rejections. I was skeptical of her interest and didn’t want to get my hopes up, but when I read her email saying she loved the story and wanted to publish it, I burst into an ugly (happy) cry. I love how she offers opportunities to new-ish authors and illustrators and helps make our dreams come true.

Aww - we love this. Thanks for sharing!!

Q:  What do you do outside of writing?

A: I love to be outside, walking, hiking, biking, gardening, yoga-ing, and most weekends I can be found on the sidelines of a field watching my kids play sports. I am fascinated by everything considered “woo-woo”, and how energy works. This summer I learned how to finger knit and make sourdough bread. I’m currently a little obsessed. 

Let's chat more with Merry!

Q: Merry, what made you say yes to this book?

A: When Michele told me it was a Halloween and Valentine’s Day mashup, I knew immediately it was right up my alley. I love spooky things, but I also love sweet and whimsical stories, so that combination was hard to resist. Then I read the manuscript and met Bettina, and I was sold! She has such a strong personality, and there were so many fun visual possibilities packed into the story. I am honored to be working with Christina, Michele, and team.

Q: What was it like developing the characters for this story?

A: I loved finding little ways to combine Bettina’s spooky and sweet nature, from her witchy stripes and spiderweb-cut sleeves, to her pink tutu and cotton candy hair. I also drew from my own childhood memories of “potion-making” with my grandma’s perfumes, which made these scenes especially fun to illustrate. I’ve always had a soft spot for frogs and toads, so of course Ingredient #9 was a favorite! I also tucked a cute little pair of spiders throughout the book as a fun easter egg for readers to spot.

You did SUCH a fantastic job bringing Bettina and this story to life!

Q: What was your favorite spread (please share) to work on? How about the most challenging spread? 

A: The action sequence at the end was probably the most challenging – and ended up being one of my favorites! When I read a manuscript, the story plays out in my head almost like an animation, so figuring out which moments to “freeze” into a still image can be tricky, especially with lots of action. I wanted this sequence to have that animated feeling, so I focused on the movement of the two characters and had a lot of fun playing around with the poses and composition to really capture that sense of motion.

Let's chat more with Michele, acquiring editor at The Little Press!

Q: Michele, what goes into deciding on the perfect illustrator to pair with each project? Also, I ADORE end pages and TLP has such cute end pages. What makes this important to you when publishing books? 

A: When I read a story I’m interested I immediately think and feel the illustrations style that compliments the story.  Here I knew I wanted something commercial and animated (of sorts). A style that is whimsical and jumps off the page. Merry knocked it out of the park.  I couldn’t be happier with how amazing this book turned out.  I love end pages. I think it’s the cherry on top for picture books. And since we offset print (not POD), it’s something special that we can bring to our projects. Every book’s style calls for a different type of end page. Because the story itself was saturated with character and color, the end pages here are a bit softer to balance. I truly think about every aspect of a book’s production. 

Q: What is on your wish list? And can you tell us about your new graphic novel imprint - inquiring minds (ahem, me included!) want to know more about it!

A: We love holiday titles. Kids and caregivers love them and we tend to sell well. So, I am on the lookout for fun holiday titles. We have a few in acquisitions right now - which we are very excited about. But we would like to capture the marketable holidays every year.

We are very excited about our new GN imprint Pixel & Paper Productions.  I love graphic novels.  As a kid I read comics (Garfield, Richie Rich) and my kids are reluctant readers and only read GNs. We had a good handful of GNs in the pipeline and I really wanted to give them their own niche/market within our catalog. I wanted them to stand out on their own with their own imprint and to have these offering better presented at the Comic Cons, etc… from a business perspective. So we launched the imprint to house these projects and are excited for the future!  We have Annalise: The Special Dish - a GN early reader this year and we have TWO more coming out next year with our first full length middle-grade fantasy GN- My Girlfriend the Witch by Ashley Ferguson in June.  We can’t wait to share Girlfriend with the world. It’s truly magical.

We'll keep our eyes peeled for more books from your new imprint. Thanks for sharing!

All right - it's time for some SUPER SERIOUS questions on #SeasonsOfKidLit!

Q: Merry, if Bettina dressed up for Halloween as something other than what she is in your book, what would she choose, and why?

Merry: I think she’d have a mischievously fun time dressing up as a unicorn. I could see her picking something sort of ironic like that. On the surface, it's sweet and sparkly, but also pretty tough with a big pointy horn. I think she would enjoy the humor in that juxtaposition. 

Q: Christina, would Bettina rather hand out tricks or treats to Halloween visitors and why?

Christina: Bettina would definitely hand out tricks - like slimy eyeballs or furry fanged spiders. But Ingredient #9 would be all about the treats!

Q: Everyone - what is your favorite Halloween candy that you’d love to see in your goodie bag, and what candy would you immediately swap (or toss)?

Christina: I like snickers, and the occasional candy corn (I may have struck a candy-chord here). I would immediately swap a Butterfinger. 

Michele: Fave is Snickers.  Toss- Mike & Ikes. 

Merry: I love finding obscure candies with unique flavor combinations, like combining spicy & sweet. I also like eating KitKats one layer at a time. HUGE NO to anything with peanut butter.

Q: Would you like to leave a Trick or a Treat?

Christina: A Treat: A 30 min AMA or Brainstorming Session.

Michele: Treat– a free book from The Little Press catalog. 

SPECIAL TREAT ALERT: If you'd like to be entered into an additional drawing to win a copy of this sweet book, head to my Instagram page and like, comment on, and share this reel!

Thanks for such a spellbindingly sweet treat! And thanks again for stopping by. We loved having all of you!

Giveaway Details: Readers, to enter this giveaway, 1) leave a comment below to thank everyone for stopping by, and 2) share this post on social media. Let us know which treat you're most interested in, too!

Books will be shipped in the U.S. only.

*Special Reminder: Those who like, leave a comment on, and share all posts will be entered into a drawing and be eligible to win:

• One (1) of five (5) Rate Your Story Speed Passes, perfect for quick MS feedback, provided by Editor Lynne Marie and Author Heather Macht and/or

• Books from Heather's Treat Bag (see below)!

Winners will be drawn and announced on 10/18. Head back to the blog then for the official announcement!

About Christina Shawn:

Christina Shawn is a reading specialist, literacy coach, and author who writes about magical moments in our everyday lives. 

She is the author of picture books AND THEN CAME YOU (Maydani, Chronicle Books) and the upcoming NO LOVE POTION (Miller-Gass, The Little Press, 2026) and LUCAS PLAYS (Yu, 2017).

Her current projects focus on early literacy foundations while helping children feel seen, heard, and understood.

Christina lives in Virginia with her husband, three kiddos, and two fluffy bunnies, who provide a constant supply of support, humor, and inspiration. 

She loves yoga, beach bike rides, mountain hikes, and adventuring to new places. Mostly, she loves the spark of learning something new and passing it along.

For more about Christina, check out the below links:

 Website and Instagram

About Merry Miller-Gass:

Merry Miller-Gass is a picture book author, illustrator, and teaching artist with a passion for nurturing creativity in artists of all ages. Her whimsical illustrations have been featured in magazines such as Spider and Ladybug, published by Cricket Media. Currently, Merry is eagerly working on illustrating her debut picture books, 'DUCK DUCK GROOVE' (written by Jeanette Fazarri Jones) and 'NO LOVE POTION' (written by Christina Shawn), set to be released by The Little Press in 2025.

Merry is an active volunteer with the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), where she dedicates her time to supporting and connecting with fellow creators in the industry. As a teaching artist, Merry brings her love for art to life through engaging workshops tailored for children and adults alike. With her warm and inclusive approach, she inspires and empowers artists of all ages to explore their creativity and express themselves through art. Whether she's crafting enchanting illustrations, volunteering with SCBWI, or leading art workshops, Merry's dedication to fostering creativity shines through in all she does.

For more about Merry, check out the below links:

Instagram : @Merry.millergass 

Website: artbymerry.com

About Michele McAvoy:

Michele is an award-winning children's book author from New Jersey. Her published titles include COOKIE & MILK (2019 Cardinal Rule Press- 1st Place Dragonfly Award Winner), THE GORILLA PICKED ME! (2018 The Little Press), MY SUPERHERO GRANDPA (2016 The Little Press- Moonbeam Award Winner) and BUCKINGHAM GETS A NEW SHELL (2021 Pigman Books).

A personal piece Michele authored entitled WRITING FOR CHILDREN FROM TRAGEDY was published by The Children's Writer's Guild (CWG) in September 2017 (http://www.childrenswritersguild.com/writing-for-children-from-tragedy/).

Michele is an active member of SCBWI (NJ & NY) and the Author's Guild.

Michele is also the owner and publisher at The Little Press and middle-grade imprint Blue Bronco Books. www.littlepresspublishing.com

She is the creator and host of the popular kidlit podcast MY MESSY MUSE, available on all podcast apps.

Michele grew up in a small town in northern New Jersey until she moved to New York City where she attended college and law school. Michele enjoyed the crazy, busy, single life of New York for over 15 years until she married and had her first child. With a small one-bedroom apartment and a baby that did not sleep, Michele moved back to her small hometown. She settled back to her roots and traded in the noisy city streets of NY and extra dirty martinis at trendy bars for manicured lawns and backyard BBQs.

Michele avoids being a grown-up by writing stories for children.

For more about Michele McAvoy, check out the below links:

Instagram: @michelemcavoy/ @littlepresspublishing

X- @michele_mcavoy / @little_press

Website www.michelemcavoy.com

website www.littlepresspublishing.com

For more about The Little Press, check out the below links:

Instagram: @littlepresspublishing

Twitter/X: @little_press

Website: home (littlepresspublishing.com)

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