I’ve been blessed to work with fantastic illustrators and art directors on my novels from my very first one. THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST is my debut novel, but it was also the middle-grade debut of illustrator Justin Hernandez. The book also had a fantastic art director at Simon & Schuster, Laurent Linn,…
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I’m so excited that my publisher, Simon & Schuster, has asked me to do a Facebook Live Snack & Read on the Simon Kids page. I’ll be reading from THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST, sharing a snack and doing a craft. We’re going to have fun! For the craft, I thought it would…
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This Thanksgiving week, I’m incredibly thankful, becauseĀ THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST has gone into a second printing! When I was writing this book, I thought it would never get published. It received a LOT of rejections along its journey. But it’s a story from my heart and I was so thrilled to finally…
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I’ve always loved spooky stories. Give me a monster, a pair of old bones, or a cracked grave stone, and I’m hooked… as long as I can close the book if I get too scared. š When I wrote THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST, I didn’t set out to write a spooky book.…
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It’s election time, and I’m thrilled to join other authors to support voting. Voting numbers are often far lower than the population, but democracy can’t run properly unless people are making their voices heard. This is why throughout history people have fought for the right to vote. It’s OUR world, OUR country, and everyone should…
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This month, I’ve been lucky enough to visit schools and talk to students about THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST, and each visit has been wonderful! But as much as I enjoyed talking to the hundreds of kids in each group about my book, the most precious moments have been the ones where kids…
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This month, I’m participating in a wonderful giveaway geared around the idea of home. The #HomeToMe Middle Grade Mega Classroom Giveaway features 16 books that all explore home in different ways, including my book, THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST. Home is one of the central themes of my book. In fact, getting…
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It’s official! I’m a featured author at the 2018 Texas Book Festival, and I can’t be more honored and excited. I’ve been going to the Texas Book Festival for years, getting inspired as I listen to authors talking about their craft and books. It’s hard to believe that this year, I’ll be one of them,…
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Right after my book launch celebration for THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST, I headed to Los Angeles for the annual Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators Summer Conference and a bunch of other bookish activities. I’ve been attending the SCBWI LA conference for the past five years as the Regional Advisor of…
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July 28 was a humbling day.Ā Austin’s wonderful indie bookstore BookPeople graciously hosted my launch celebration for THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST and it was AMAZING! I was so excited that my parents, aunt, childhood friend and goddaughter flew in to join my husband and I, making the party a week of fun. We…
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