Thursday, May 28, 2020

Middle-Grade Summer Reading Challenge


It’s summer! Well, almost anyway. Here in Colorado, the weather is nice enough to make me think I can plant a tree, so that counts as summer.

I had better things in mind for this time of year (for those of you who know me, you’ll know I had heart surgery in January), fun stuff that involved travel and even some early promotion of my upcoming middle-grade novel Midnight at the Barclay Hotel (August 25th! Mark your calendar! Pre-order!)

Alas, this is the year we all have to do without something, and I am certainly not going to complain. Compared to the (high) school grads, littles who miss their teachers, and all the other tragedy that COVID-19 is bringing us this year, I have it pretty good. I’m still writing, and have a beautiful Colorado to escape in when I feel too cooped up.

Still. I feel like if I don’t turn this thing on its head and set out to make summer special, I might get a little grumpy. So I decided to give myself a reading challenge, first of all, so I'd have some books for June and July. I went on the Twitterz and asked for middle-grade book recommendation, and boy did I get them! Thank you for those, internet friends. I added a few titles that were already on my radar, and…

Presto! I have a MG summer reading list. I ordered these books from my various indie bookstores in Colorado, so I’m also supporting my favorite hangouts. It’s a win all around.

You can join me, create your own list, or just follow along. I’ll be giving away these books by the end of summer, in August sometime.


Here’s my book list:

The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate
Ben Braver and the Vortex of Doom by Marcus Emerson
The Witches of Willow Cove by Josh Roberts
Pax by Sara Pennypacker, Illustr. by Jon Klassen
Ernestine, Catastrophe Queen by Merrill Wyatt
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
A Home for Goddesses and Dogs by Leslie Connor
Keep it Together, Keiko Carter by Debbi Michiko Florence
American As Paneer Pie by Supriya Kelkar
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelli Barnhill
Stick Dog by Tom Watson, Illustr. Ethan Long
The Cryptid Catcher by Lija Fisher

Read on, y’all!

Monday, May 11, 2020

New Author Visit Information

In case you landed here looking for author visit information: I have updated my website due to COVID-19 restrictions. 

With the release of Midnight at the Barclay Hotel in August, I'm getting requests for the new school year already (very fun and exciting...) I miss doing author visits in person, but I've adapted my presentations to go virtual in the meantime.


You can find more information at this link; I look forward to lots of Skype and Zoom visits for the 2020-2021 school year!


April 2022 News (or: on reading slumps and lots of editing...)

  April snuck up on me like a thief in the night! I’ve been so busy writing, editing, and coming up with ideas for  Daybreak on Raven Island...