I support this cause. Here is more information from the website: “Join us! Click this link to contribute today. You can also add your name to our statement using this link and see everyone who has already signed here.”
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I support this cause. Here is more information from the website: “Join us! Click this link to contribute today. You can also add your name to our statement using this link and see everyone who has already signed here.”
Thank you to everyone who supported the book drive for my sister’s school. The drive was a resounding success! The kids are now enjoying hundreds of new books, and their library shelves are a little less empty. Publishing has its challenges, but being a part of this community is priceless!
This has been quite a year. Speaking personally, I can say that 2017 has challenged me in ways I wasn’t sure that I could overcome, and yet I’m here, and this year is almost over! YAY! We did it! *high five* I’d like to celebrate in my very favorite way: by giving books to kids. If you’re anything like me, one of the best ways to feel good is to give to others, and in that spirit I’m starting a book drive for my sister’s school in North Carolina. My sister is one of those people who believes in kids. She spent ten years teaching and is now training to be an administrator, and I couldn’t be more proud of the work she’s doing to improve her school for her kids. Now I’m asking for your help to fulfill their wishes, because the truth is, they need books. Badly. Their library doesn’t have a fraction of the books they need, and we can change that! Here’s the scoop:
Without further ado, here is the wish list link followed by some FAQs about how to BEST help North Johnson Middle School expand and diversify their library collection: North Johnson Elementary School Book Wishlist Thank you for your help!!! See below for FAQs.  Here’s my sister in front of a new banner that she painted over the summer for NJMS. She’s holding a meat basket, because that is a thing we gift in the South. 🙂 FAQs:Can I donate other books? Yes, but please only send new or like-new books that will hold up to library use that are appropriate for middle school collections. (ARCs are okay if in great condition!) Can I send swag? Yes! The students are going to be surprised and thrilled by this book drive and they would love middle school appropriate swag, to be distributed by the librarian. What is the mailing address? North Johnston Middle School  Here’s my sister, on the left, after getting pie-faced for a fundraiser earlier this year. 🙂
Things I learned at nErDcamp 2016:
For those who are curious, the voice exercise I taught to the 6th graders is based on this post on writing craft that I wrote for Adventures in YA Publishing. The students were each assigned a character (name, age, one-word description) and asked to write a letter from that character to someone else in the character’s life. I asked them to think about who their character might miss, or who they were mad at, or who they needed to share a secret with. The kids all caught on very quickly, and the surprise was that at least three students shared each character prompt, so they also got to see how their writing voices varied as we read their letters aloud.  character prompts
Wow! The last couple of months have been a doozy. I’m not sure what I expected to happen after Counting Thyme left the nest, but I think this is one of those situations that you can’t really be prepared for no matter what you do in advance. There are moments in life that stand out in that regard: living on your own for the first time (you mean I have to FEED myself???), getting your first pet (you mean other people go OUT after work???), and having your first child (still trying to figure out that parenting bit!!!). The publication of a book shares the same free-falling, exhilarating and also frightening feeling of these other milestones in life, but with one key difference: READERS. Yes, people coo over your dog/cat/baby photos (as required), but there’s something unique about putting a story into the world, I think because you get to share it part and parcel with other people. The story becomes an experience for readers, and in that way it belongs to them. When we read stories, we discover each other. We find common ground. And hopefully, we grow, so that we can figure out some of this other stuff going on in our lives. Thank you to everyone who has been in touch by email, snail mail, social media and in real life. I’m astounded by the wonderful images and notes you’ve shared with me, so today I’m sharing them, with my deepest thanks. 🙂
Wow, y’all! This past week (or two) has been an amazing experience. After meeting so many enthusiastic young readers and hearing from so many incredible educators, I am filled with a great love for the bookish people of the world. I had so many incredible first time experiences, from attending the LA Times Festival of Books to author visits with over 400 students, and I learned so much. I learned that book festivals are AMAZING events full of passionate readers!
I learned that Rebecca Stead and Leila Howland are both WONDERFUL humans.
I learned that everything is better with friends and family (and wine)!
I learned that cakes can look like books and taste AMAZING, too!
I learned that there are Good Cookies everywhere!
I learned that students are the most wonderful audience you will ever have.
I learned that I can answer book questions ALL DAY.
I learned that my local bookstore really IS the best place in the world.
I learned that launch parties are as much of a whirlwind as a wedding reception.
I learned that books come in cookie form, too!
I learned that I *can* sign names without miss-spelling them, even while people talk!
Thank you ALL for taking this ride with me! I can’t wait to see where we go next. Yay! I’m so excited that the book trailer for Counting Thyme is live! Please visit Mr. Schu’s wonderful blog for the big reveal and enjoy!!!  A picture from the set. One of the most amazing parts of this author journey is connection. This week, I’ve been lucky to connect with fabulous students across the country via Skype for Word Read Aloud Day 2016, and I am also honored to share an early preview of Counting Thyme with Momcology! Momcology is a nonprofit organization that focuses on connecting parents for pediatric cancer caregiver support and information sharing. What a wonderful thing, made possible by the amazing folks at Penguin. My heart is full. I’m thrilled to share that I’m participating in Lynda Mullaly Hunt’s #MGAuthorsLoveTeachers Giveaway! If you’re not familiar with it, in short Lynda is awesome and has taken the lead on a massive book giveaway to show our appreciation to teachers and librarians and the essential work they do with young readers. Make sure you pop over to Lynda’s blog for your chance to win an INCREDIBLE list of signed middle grade books–including so many of my favorite authors!
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Today, I’m sitting at my computer wondering what day it is, mainly due to spending the last few days at 
And even though this first stretch of parties and book events is over, I’ve learned that the journey for Counting Thyme is just beginning. I love all of the pictures, letters, and messages I’m receiving. Keep them coming! Soon, I’ll share an opportunity for young readers to celebrate the theme from Counting Thyme of valuing what every individual brings to the world.
