Today (5/7) is the day ANTHONY hits the shelves! This is the story of two unlikely friends who witness a not-so-friendly incident — all told with humor and heart. I hope you’ll love reading it as much as I loved creating it. Go get a copy from your local bookstore or from any of the store links on this page.
Hey, everyone! I’m so excited for my upcoming book tour. This year, most of it will be on the east coast. Some of my stops are adjoined with book festivals. I’ll also be visiting Vancouver, BC, Canada to meet my western Canadian readers!
Along with the listed public events, I’ll be visiting schools in the cities above as well as in Atlanta, Buffalo, Boston, and Frederick, MD. For registration and/or details about the public events, go to these links:
May 7: Enoch Pratt Free Library (Baltimore, MD)
May 11: Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books (Pittsburgh, PA)
May 17: The Silver Unicorn Bookstore (Acton, MA)
May 29: KidsBooks (Broadway) (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
May 30: KidsBooks (Highlands United Church) (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Hope to see you! In the meantime, you can order (or pre-order) ALWAYS ANTHONY here!
Hope to see you in Texas on Saturday, April 27! Look at these amazing lineups (and there are many, many more panels and activities!). For more info and to see what ALL the incredible authors are doing, click here!
Ah, unexpected pairings. Aren’t they the best? Not just true of romantic relationships, but of friendships, too. I’ve experienced both, and it’s never dull. For example, my marriage is quite the yin-yang mash-up. My husband Mike is a very math-oriented, logical/practical, sci-fi-y dude, whereas I…am not. Okay, I can be practical, but I think that’s partially a product of his influence.
(Yin and Yang, 1996)
ALWAYS ANTHONY features the unexpected friendship of two total opposites…or so it seems. There’s popular, cool-as-a-cucumber Anthony Randall…
(not an actual representation)
…and timid-but-brainy Leah Ruben.
They are paired up because Anthony (kinda like my hubs) is great at science and math but has a harder time with writing. The English teacher, Mrs. Winn, has asked Leah to tutor Anthony to help raise his Language Arts grade. Along the way, Anthony and Leah discover they do have a lot in common, and they develop a blossoming friendship.
Surprises and obstacles ensue. Among them is a bullying incident they both witness which may threaten their budding friendship. You’ll just have to read the book to see what happens.
(Anthony imagines one of the bullies as a hungry bear)
Ultimately, what I really enjoyed about writing this story (like most of my others) was shoving two “opposites” together to see how they’d interact. Although Anthony and Leah are more opposite than most of my pairings, I love all the commonalities that emerge and how they help each other navigate so much along the way…like crushes, passion projects, and – ultimately — how to express their feelings (in different ways).
I do think people in the most enduring “unlikely” relationships end up having unexpected similarities. As I mentioned, my husband and I appear to have little in common on the surface. But over the years, we’ve found that we, in fact, have LOTS in common: values, sensibilities, a habit of eating way too fast (argh), and so much more (I won’t get into our shared workaholic tendencies).
And, thanks to two grown kids, a dog, and almost 28 years of marriage, we also have tons of shared history.
I don’t know if Anthony and Leah will be friends that long, but I do know one thing: if their friendship is meant to be, they’ll find more and more commonalities along the way.
Thrilled to be part of this upcoming middle grade Hanukkah anthology, along with 15 other wonderful authors I admire. My story is a combo of writing and fun, sketchy art. I hope you’ll check it out! THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS releases September 5, 2024, and you can pre-order from the website of my friend and organizer/contributor, Henry Herz.
Exclusive gift! Preorder Always Anthony before May 7th and submit a copy of your receipt to receive a free pack of two friendship bracelets! Click here to preorder and receive your gift.