Thanks, Sonja!! <3

Merry House by Alder Van Otterloo, Imprint: Holiday House Author of THE BEAUTIFUL SOMETHING ELSE Alder Van Otterloo's MERRY HOUSE, in which siblings' attempts to escape their estranged father's transphobia and ableism land them in a sleepaway camp for troubled youths, a deceptively idyllic seaside mansion harboring a terrible secret: the house is alive and hungry, to Kade Dishmon at Holiday House, for publication in 2027, by Sheyla Knigge at High Line Literary Collective (world).

I almost never make it onto this platform, so this is a wee bit belated: BEHOLD, A NEW MG HORROR BOOK! 🔥

Cody absolutely knocked this one out of the park for me; seeing Sparrow, Sully, and Wynn brought to life in art make my heart screech in the very best way <3

Something something horror, something something monsters, something something with a lot of autism and bones in it

I have some very interesting [redacted] about my current [redacted] that I've been working very hard on, and I cannot WAIT to tell you all about it so we can screech over certain [redacted] 👀🔥

Author Visits — Alder Van Otterloo

aldervanotterloo.com/authorvisits-1

Trans and queer authors are expected to do what amounts to volunteer social work, right out of the gate. But did you know trans people, especially autistic trans people, statistically have a tough time getting paid?

If you really love trans folks, fund their emotional labor. Pay often & plenty. 😘

A VERY NICE THING concerned cis/het community members can do to support schools, queer/trans students, and queer authors is:

1) find a local librarian/teacher willing to host an author visit
2) act as liaison and connect them with a queer author, either local or virtually
3) PAY THAT AUTHOR.

Books — Alder Van Otterloo

More about my books: I write queer middle grade ranging from soft contemporary magical realism to paranormal (with a horror in the works!) My latest book, The Beautiful Something Else, was awarded the Notable Social Studies Award, and was a finalist for the WA State Book Award & a Lamba Book Award.

Hey babes!

If your local classroom, writing/reading club, or homeschool group would love a children's author visit, let's connect!!
I do virtual and local (Kitsap County) writing Q&As, readings, and personalized skill-focused mini-workshops on a generous sliding scale. 🖤🏳️‍🌈

Google maps screenshot of the Drake passage between South America and Antarctica

If we’re renaming bodies of water based on petty grievances, I propose that this be renamed the Kendrick Lamar passage.

It's good that there's a 25% tarriff on imported coffee now. This will incentivize people to purchase American coffee, grown in the New Jersey coffee forests

If any of my proofreading and copyediting pals have a surplus of clients, hit me up! I'm looking to take on extra freelance work this month. <3

7 months! 💛

I wanted to make a graphic of a generous blurb from an awesome author, but my head is killing me from a weekend of non-stop editing on another project, so later this week. But still, 7 months to go until the madness!

Update from 2024, and Goals for 2025! — Alder Van Otterloo Hello, hooligans! It’s been a while since I updated! The main reason for this was that, after burning the candle at both ends for several years in a row, 2024 ended up being a much needed year of fo...

Author blog update!!

aldervanotterloo.com/blog/update-...

On the one hand, I fully comprehend that humans are complex and most of us are doing our best.

On the other hand, I'd like to make a Burn Book for parents who body shame their children, preferably with pages made out of their own useless skin.

Feel free to DM me for their email or resume! I've never met anyone who hits the sweet spot between being their level of capable, creative, and detail-oriented, and someone seriously needs to snap them up.

Hey friends, I have a queer friend who's an incredibly savvy and gifted social media and branding manager who's in urgent need of work with benefits and ready to hit the ground running.

Do you know of anyone currently looking for That Guy, so we can connect them? It'd be an instant win-win. 🔥

Alder Van Otterloo

👀Here's my website where you can snoop on me and my work! aldervanotterloo.com

Cover of the book The Beautiful Something Else, with a silver Washington State Book Awards Finalist sticker in the bottom righthand corner

A brightly colored book covered depicting two young witches, one with a wand and grimoire in hand, and another with multi-colored hair, glowing hands, and a pet raccoon

A photo of two worried-looking young queer people holding hands and flashlights in a forest full of ghosts, with the yellow title A TOUCH OF RUCKUS

For the uninitiated, here are my published queer middle grade books! (This is mostly a friendly connection and updates account; keep an eye out for announcements!)

Hey, hi, present, accounted for 👌