I'm utterly overjoyed that a picture book of my heart, I'LL GO AND COME BACK, will be illustrated by Sara Palacios and published by Candlewick Press! The Publisher's Weekly announcement is below; you can also find the announcement here. … [Read more...]

There's some Pitch Wars excitement in the air this week! For those who aren't familiar with it, Pitch Wars is a mentoring program where more experienced authors, editors, or industry interns mentor unagented writers. Mentors, either solo or in pairs, read queries, request full manuscripts, choose … [Read more...]

I was interviewed by Jessica, who blogs about books. Click here to read more about me, MIDSUMMER'S MAYHEM, my writing advice, my favorite movie, and the middle grade books I'm dying to read in 2019! … [Read more...]

As if 2019 weren't exciting enough, I'm also planning ahead for 2020! I've joined a marvelous picture book debut group, the Soaring 20s! We are a diverse group of authors and illustrators with debuts coming in 2020! Stay tuned for exciting news about my book, SEVEN GOLDEN RINGS (Lee & Low … [Read more...]

I was utterly thrilled to find that MIDSUMMER'S MAYHEM was selected as a 2019 anticipated debut on the Books Between Podcast! I'm honored to be featured along with so many incredible creators. Check it out, but be warned, your TBR pile will grow!   … [Read more...]

As we near the end of the year, many of us take time reflect on this year and set goals for the next. 2018 has been a banner year for my writing career. I started working with my amazing agent, Brent Taylor, sold my debut middle grade novel, MIDSUMMER'S MAYHEM, sold a picture book, SEVEN GOLDEN … [Read more...]

What happens when a group of middle grade authors get together in a snowbound wonderland for the weekend? Fun. That's what. Also discovery, bonding, and laughing. So, so much laughing. In mid-November, I traveled to a magical place to meet seven fellow authors with middle grade debuts in 2019. … [Read more...]

I'm thrilled that SEVEN GOLDEN RINGS, my folktale-inspired STEM picture book explaining binary numbers, will be published by Lee & Low Books! This was one of the first picture books I ever wrote; I wrote the first draft in 2013, and revised it dozens of times before I signed with my agent and we … [Read more...]

We live in a diverse country and a diverse world, and our literature, especially our literature for children, needs to reflect this. I am so impressed with the work We Need Diverse Books has done in this capacity, from offering mentorships to diverse creators, offering internships in the publishing … [Read more...]

I was absolutely thrilled to travel to Freeport, Maine this year to attend my first nErDcamp ever, #nErDcampNNE! Nerdy Author Night took place on Friday, September 28. About forty authors were invited to meet with fans and future fans and autograph their books, which were available for purchase. … [Read more...]

Something surprising happened last week when I traveled to my old hometown for a high school reunion. Nothing mean or sad. Nothing embarrassing or weird. Nothing involving Imposter Syndrome (although that is very real!). I caught up with my lovely classmates. We enjoyed delicious food (see … [Read more...]

From September 6-10, I was incredibly fortunate to travel to the absolutely gorgeous Elbow Lake Lodge in Cook, MN to attend the LoonSong Writer's Retreat. I made some fantastic friends, learned from the brilliant faculty, and got to breathe in the beauty of nature, wisdom, and words. If you are at … [Read more...]

What is Pitch Wars all about? There are so many ways to answer that question. But I’m going to answer it with another question. What do writers do? We write, of course. And we dream, revise, revise again, hope, fret, stew, gnash… via GIPHY But what we really do is connect. We connect … [Read more...]