A Monstrous Launch

June 5, 2026 Leave your thoughts

Welcome to Blue, Cassie, and TJ! MONSTER DOWN DEEP is finally out in the world and I had the best time launching the book with the help of an amazing group of family, friends, kids, and book lovers. I wish I could do one in every city across the country, but even if I can’t be everywhere in person, I’m excited that my book can be. I hope you’ll look for a copy–buy one, check one out, borrow one–whatever works best for you. And please let me know what you think. As Blue would say, “I hope you will very much like it.

Pre-Order and Win a Whale!

May 29, 2026 Leave your thoughts

A MONSTER Launch Party

April 22, 2026 Leave your thoughts

Storytime and Cookie Decorating Party!

November 23, 2025 Leave your thoughts

MONSTER DOWN DEEP COVER…UNCOVERED!

November 5, 2025 Leave your thoughts

Welcome to November’s Newsletter Update. This month: COVER REVEAL! No, this isn’t the cover. This is where the cover started. When I first had the idea to write a story about a girl discovering an ancient fish, one of the first things I did was visit the nearest aquarium, OdySea. That’s where I snapped this picture of a Blue Wrasse. He stared at me like he had a lot to say. I didn’t realize it that day, but he became the inspiration for my monster down deep. He’s why the fish in my book is named Blue. But for my story, I needed a fish with features that didn’t exist in the known world. I got help from Drew, a marine specialist at OdySea. Blue ended up with two unique features: Pupils that refract…

Wheels Are in Motion

October 15, 2025 Leave your thoughts

Welcome to October’s Newsletter Update. This month: From Manuscript to Book. When I get asked what happens to my manuscript after I send off the final copy edits, I generally nod wisely and murmur, “the wheels are in motion.” I have no idea what those wheels are. For me, it’s one of the joys of having someone else publish my book. I don’t have to know. It’s like a hot dog. Do we really want to know how it’s made? (I’m still scarred from watching a film about hot dog production in elementary school.) So, in the winter of 2024, the wheels are in motion with MONSTER DOWN DEEP. Here’s what I do know about those wheels: Legal Wheels: Pushkin’s team is arranging registration, copyrights and an ISBN number (on the…

Don’t Make Me Read My Book Again.

September 17, 2025 Leave your thoughts

You know how it is at the start of a relationship when you’re getting to know someone? You hear all their stories for the first time and you get to tell yours. Like the time in college marching band when I crashed my cymbals too close to my chest and smashed one of my you-know-whats. When I told that story, it got a great reaction. The first time. But after 35+ years of marriage, my hubby has heard it so many times, it’s safe to say he’d just as soon have a root canal. That’s what it feels like to reread MONSTER DOWN DEEP. Again. This is hard to admit, but at this point in the process, I’m sick of my own book. I’ve read the manuscript around 40 times…

The Deal with Making a Deal

August 13, 2025 Leave your thoughts

When I went to buy my first new car in my early twenties, I was armed with a detailed analysis and breakdown of what I felt would be a fair price. I even included a dealer profit in my price. I was so naive. I still shudder at the memory of that salesman smirking over my added profit. Who knows how much I overpaid for that car but I”m sure it was a lot. Maybe because of that, I’ve worried over every subsequent deal in every aspect of my life. I never wanted to feel that foolish again. As an author, I never had to worry about negotiating anything. I had an agent who handled the contracts for my books. I just signed on the dotted line.…

No Offense, but…

July 16, 2025 Leave your thoughts

Have you heard this before? Said this before? In my family we joke that it’s a warning something offensive is coming. Even when criticism is meant in the best way possible and prefaced by the words “no offense, but”, it has a way of sparking to life our defense mechanisms–all the ways we cope with anxiety, threats to our self-esteem, and news that we have bad breath. Typical defense mechanisms are denial, avoidance, rationalization or projection: It’s not me, it’s you! Personally, I’m a fan of denial and projection. When I get the revision letter from Sarah Odedina in February, 2024, I’m expecting her to want rewrites. Then I get to the part where she sees the story going in a different direction, “from chapter 25 on.” The…

Connections

June 18, 2025 Leave your thoughts

CONNECTIONS “Where are you from?” It’s one of the first things my husband asks when we meet someone. Anyone. Everyone. Seriously. No one escapes without the question. I used to roll my eyes, but turns out it’s kind of genius. (I shudder to use the word genius when I know he’s going to read this.) Because when he asks the question, he often discovers a connection. It’s random and it’s often small, but it leads to a smile and making the connection leads to well, a connection. The idea of making a connection is on my mind in February, 2024. I’ve had response from an editor at Pushkin Press in the UK. She wants to zoom with me about my manuscript. My story has gotten…