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Exclusive Editions of ENTIRELY EMMIE!
Pre-order these exclusive editions of ENTIRELY EMMIE (coming May 6)! The Target edition comes with a fun sticker sheet while the Barnes & Noble edition has a fold-out Mad Libs-style page. I had a blast working on these, so I hope you’ll pick up a copy or two (or more)!
Sydney Writers’ Festival!
I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be a guest author at the upcoming Sydney Writers’ Festival May19-27 in Sydney, Australia.
I’ll be speaking to students during the week and signing copies of my upcoming book, Entirely Emmie. There will also be a ticketed public event on Sunday, May 25. Details here.
If you live in or around Sydney, come say hello! So excited to meet young readers and families as well as explore this beautiful city.
(And yes, I plan on picking up a cool accent.)
Meet Rosie!
Guess what? My poodle, Rosie, will make an appearance in my next book, ENTIRELY EMMIE (out May 6)! Here’s a fun video for a little sneak peek into the character behind the character. (And yes, I’m aware that I can’t stop rubbing her hairy little chest. I’m doing it even now.)
To find out more about ENTIRELY EMMIE and to pre-order the book, click here.
Some upcoming book events!
It’s almost spring, which means some pretty big, fun book festivals — and who does big and fun better than Texas librarians? I’ll be at the North Texas Teen Book Festival Saturday, March 1 and the Texas Library Association conference April 1-2. I’ll be on a bunch of really great panels and doing some signings. Hope to see all you Dallas-area readers and librarians (who are inherently readers) in Texas!
The Making of ENTIRELY EMMIE
It all comes back to the OG.
It’s so funny; writing this story started as one thing and kinda morphed into something else toward the end. It was going to be a lighthearted offshoot campground story filled with fireside antics. After all, it co-stars mischievous Joe Lungo. What could be more fun and drama-filled?
But it also re-stars Emmie who – for all her evolution – remains a shy, sensitive soul. So, of course, this story is layered.
Like most of my books (see previous blog posts), I had a great time writing EE. Without spoiling the story: after a promising school year filled with new friends and some newfound confidence, Emmie becomes suddenly alienated during an end-of-year weekend class trip. Consequently, she is thrusted back to her insecure, awkward self. At the same time, perpetual prankster Joe finds himself a third wheel on the same trip. Not pleased.
Guess who gets partnered up?
That’s the fun premise of the story. But ultimately it dips into some more serious topics, like (re)finding self-confidence, friendship communication, and body autonomy and personal boundaries (don’t worry, grown-ups, very innocently!). The latter is something I think is soooo important for young people to learn about early on, and I hope these characters inspire that.
I think this one is truly a fun mix of wonderful themes as well as a great summer read. I really hope young readers love this tale of unlikely friendship. Joe was a total kick to write for and Emmie – who is my spirit animal – remains the voice of my inner thirteen-year-old.
Oh, yes, and there are old (and new) crushes. Can’t forget those.
Click here to pre-order ENTIRELY EMMIE!
Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books – Podcast!
Always love chatting with Zibby Owens on her prolific podcast, and this time I had the pleasure of joining funny and talented Alan Silberberg (double the fun). We discussed THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS, the awesome recent middle grade Hanukkah anthology we were honored to be a part of.
You can find the episode on Apple Podcasts (as well as on Spotify and Acast!) here.
You can order THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS here.