Last year—I can’t believe it’s actually “last” year already—was a whirlwind, and now that it’s over, I realize I didn’t get around to posting a lot of the photos I took with full intentions to post throughout the year. So, here’s a marathon look back at my 2023: JANUARY I did a fantastic signing of…
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I feel like I leveled up as an author recently. I got interviewed by a puppet! None other than Van of Austin Public Library’s The Van Show. I chatted with Van at the Texas Library Association convention in April about books, THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST, and zombie ants. So fun! The video…
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The Texas Library Association convention was in my home town of Austin this year, and I was absolutely thrilled to attend as a speaker — and published author for the first time — speaking on topics that are dear to my heart: local authors and tough issues. Last year, I was on a panel for…
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It’s wonderful to share a debut year with friends, and when their middle-grade novel is as fun and heart-warming as Kim Tomsic‘s THE 11:11 WISH, it’s delightful. So, we thought it would be fun to interview each other about our books. (My interview will be on her blog later this year, so look out for…
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Last week was one of wonder, sadness and inspiration. Four things happened that gave me a lot of perspective on life: How short it is, how incredible it is, how precious it is. First was the total solar eclipse. I’m a bit of a space geek, so when I heard the path of the total…
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We have a really amazing kidlit community in Austin, and there’s no better example of that than today. This is the birthday of a picture book, middle grade and young adult book from Austin authors. And while the books are all great, the authors themselves are even more so. So I couldn’t be more excited…
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As everyone who saw the horrible news, I was devastated to see the fire of Grenfell Tower in London. So when I saw that a bunch of publishing professionals were getting together to raise funds for those affected, I jumped at the chance to participate. The Authors for Grenfell Tower Auction includes incredible prizes, from…
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“Writing is such a diverse field with so many options and possibilities, it’s easy to choose the route with the immediate payoff, or the one that best strokes your ego, but if they don’t get you closer to what you want most, then it’s not worth your time.” — author Jennifer Nielsen I love this quote…
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The changing publishing industry is offering new opportunities to writers, but is self-publishing for you? My friend and great writer Dotti Enderle (aka Dax Varley) has been published traditionally and self-published. Her most recent release, SEVERED (A TALE OF SLEEPY HOLLOW), is a young adult novel that’s gives its own version of the Icabod/Katrina story.…
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