Dear Elon,

This is what I did last week.

1. Not buy your dumb car.
2. Not think about MARS, but the health of my own planet.
3. Not destroy democracy and thousands of lives that amount to a rounding error for your tax break.

Instead, I was kind and decent to people. All people.

Good grief are we treating each other horribly these days.

Yesterday I abandoned the book I’ve been writing because I hit on a story I have to tell. In 24hrs, I’ve written 15k words. I’ve snort-laughed many times and teared up twice. It’s a book about labels and how the ones thrust upon us shape who we believe we are—or aren’t—and, how we rise above them. ❤️

What a cover!

That's it! If celebrities keep debuting children's books, I will have to debut my breakout Hollywood acting role or my new Spotify-topping single! Yeah, that's right, celebrities! Two can play that game! Well, er, kind of, hmm ... maybe not. 😖

Whatever! The point is still the same!

Move Over, Middle Grade: It’s Time for Young Teen Lit, a guest post by Christina Chatel and Marcia Kochel This story begins with two middle school librarians, miles and miles apart, who both feel passionately that what publishers call middle grade literature is not what their students need or want.

I was super excited to see this article on @sljournal about young teen lit. This is exactly the space where my upcoming book, SPROUT, lives. I am a huge proponent of books that fill the gap between 8-10 readers and YA. We need more of these stories.

teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2025/02/06/m...

Looking for a new fantasy adventure series for your young reader? Take a look at the THE CLARA POOLE SERIES. It's got a big, funny cast, immense world-building, and a journey you won't soon forget. #middlegradebooks

New book outline complete! Why do I love this part of writing so much?

I started a new book, which is going to be somewhat different for me. For one, it may be for adults—at least YA. It is a story of long-held secrets and things that heal but never fully. Comp: Green Mile + Tuck Everlasting + Ava Lavender. Here is the prologue.

www.instagram.com/reel/DFipf56...

Thanks, Alysa. Somehow!

I get to write today. I’m excited.

Thanks! They are technically still around, but it’s a bit of a ghost ship. Publishing is a tough biz. They were/are some lovely people there.

Thanks, Laura. It will find its way to an ending one way or another.

Well… let’s row together! I’m grateful having the first two in the world. The third will find its way to readers somehow.

So, I learned a good publishing lesson today. That lesson? Never do a cliffhanger in a series b/c your publisher might implode, and you won't get another book to finish the full arc. I'm hoping to get my rights back to bring the story to a close. Fingers crossed. Anyhow... cliffhangers... drat.

After what feels like a never-ending home renovation, we finally got to unpack our children's books. This column is board books, picture books, and early readers. (The middle grade section, equally as plentiful, lives to the left). These books might be my most prized possession. 😊

Time to fur some puppets!

I lived in LA for decades. Heartbreaking to see what has (is) happening. Friends have lost homes, places I loved now ashes. So much devastation. So so sad.

I just learned from the Random House folks who is illustrating the cover for SPROUT. 👀👀👀

He’s just reaching his silver fox phase. Handsome as ever.

Often when working on a fantasy/mystery novel I feel like I’m writing an episode of Scooby Doo just without the dog—as in always. 🐕

Way rad.

So my agent decided to leave agenting. It’s such a downer. She’s absolutely wonderful and brought so many great books into the world (3 for me). It’s a dark (yet unsurprising) sign for the future of publishing that it can’t support these great professionals. I extend this to editors, too.

Boo.

Very true!

Returning to a 1/2-drafted book and realizing it might be better served if written for adults. (Comp would be The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender meets Big Fish) Conflicted about moving it from MG where I've found publishing success. Curious if anyone else has grappled with this? #mg

Went to the pottery store to buy clay and they had $5 dog sweaters. Tuck hates it, but I think it’s bad ass.

Light box I made for our annual homemade yankee swap.

I can’t wait for you all to meet Sprout and her friend EB, a boy with his own unseen challenges. Theirs is a tale of hope, friendship, and being okay with who you are. Set in a small town fighting gentrification and cultures of sameness, Sprout and EB dare to show us the beauty of being different.

Made this light box for my father, Jim. It’s a recreation of a painting that a neighbor made when he was a child—young Jim building a driftwood shack on the beach. It’s been such an iconic image growing up, and it’s so wonderful to honor it in another form. There were a few tears. It was awesome. ☺️

I’ve decided I don’t want to write a best-seller. I want to write a children’s classic.