As I say every year, I’ve adapted this from The Perpetual Page Turner’s End of Year Survey!
I didn’t quite hit my 100 book goal this year (first time since 2013, when I started tracking), but that’s okay. I had a lot going on!
(Plus, I read over 65 picture books and 1 manuscript, neither of which are included in Goodreads, but I track them in my spreadsheet–though I think I missed some picture books this year.)
Substack Newsletter: I decided it was time to jump in and create an author newsletter. A lot of authors seem to be on Substack, so I decided to check it out. I attended an excellent SCBWI Zoom where Debbie Ridpath Ohi talked about Substack and how it’s more than just a newsletter platform (you should definitely check Debbie’s Substack out – Inkygirl). So, I decided to jump in. I plan to document my publishing journey there (in more detail than I mention in these Sunday Posts).
Check out my first post, and I’d love it if you subscribe! (Click on the image to be brought to the post.)
Now that we’re nearing the end of the year it’s fun to think back to the bookish “firsts” of 2023. I found this tag over at Metaphors and Moonlight but it originated at girlxoxo. (The categories have been switched up a bit over time, so I decided to pick and choose which ones I wanted to include and added some of my own.)
Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone by Tae Keller: I really loved this book. It’s a fantastic contemporary with just a hint of paranormal flair, and I recommend it often at Barnes & Noble!
Book event with Megan E. Freeman. I did an author event with Megan at the Barnes & Noble where I work. She was in town for some school visits because her book was nominated for the Rebecca Caudill Award (which is Illinois’ award for 4th-8th grade students), so I figured it was the perfect opportunity to arrange a bookstore event! It was really fun to do a discussion event with her, and the event was a great success!!
American Writers’ Museum. On Friday, Megan, my mom, and I went into downtown Chicago. We visited the American Writer’s Museum, which had some cool interactive exhibits, had a great lunch, went up to the top of the John Hancock building to see the view of the city, and took a water taxi ride along the Chicago River. We also tried to visit the Bean and a bookstore, but the Bean was under construction and completely blocked off, and the bookstore had closed last week. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I’m excited to announce that I’m going to be a judge for the Cybils Awards again this year! This time, I’ll be a Round 2 judge for the Poetry category, which includes poetry collections and verse novels for all ages, from little kid to YA.
Since my verse novel comes out in 2025, I’m not sure if I’ll be judging in this category again. We shall see! You can see a list of all the judges for this year on the Cybils Blog.
Kids like a little bit of mystery in their lives, so I picked out ten middle grade mysteries I loved. (And four more I’d like to read!) Take a look at these fun options…
I’ve already completed my second round of edits! We’re mostly done at this point, but we’ll be doing one more round after a sensitivity read. The editing process has gone by much faster than I expected, so it’s all felt like a bit of a whirlwind!
A new title. That’s right. My book has a new title: THE SONG OF ORPHAN’S GARDEN
I went to Spain and Italy! My mom, my husband, and I headed to Europe to join my younger daughter Danielle, who had just finished her study abroad. She’s now very fluent in Spanish, which came in very handy since we definitely encountered a decent number of people in Spain that didn’t speak English (luckily the same wasn’t true in Italy).
I completed my first round of edits for my book! It feels so good to have things truly underway with the editing process. I’m really excited to be working with Emily Settle at Feiwel & Friends—I feel so lucky!
I’ve listened to a lot more books recently because I’ve basically made it my goal to waste less time playing random crossword puzzles or word games on my phone and spend that time listening to books instead. And listening a little more led me to want to listen a lot more, so …
I am incredibly excited to be able to feature my Author Mentor Match mentee’s debut novel, NOT THE WORST FRIEND IN THE WORLD about a girl who tries to help her new friend figure out if she’s been kidnapped! Some of you may remember me talking about co-mentoring for AMM with my good friend Megan E. Freeman and then I was doubly excited when we chose our mentee, Anne Rellihan.
Well, Anne’s book is releasing February of next year (with a new title), but it is now officially available for pre-order! I just had to help her spread the word and show you all the cover art, which she just revealed via her social media last week. This fabulous cover was illustrated by the incredibly talented Ramona Kaulitzki.
Today I’m featuring FOOD FIGHT by Linda B. Davis, a middle grade contemporary about a boy with a little-known eating disorder called ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder).
Read on for my review of the book, and then make sure you also check out the author’s list of top ten addictions to find out more about her!
Food Fight by Linda B. Davis
Published by Fitzroy Books on 6/27/23
Genres: Contemporary, Middle Grade
Pages: 248
Source: The Publisher
Cover Artist: CB Royal
Smart and athletic, Ben Snyder is ready for middle school. But his super picky eating, which has never been a big deal before, is about to take him down. Suddenly everybody’s on his case about what he’s eating and what he’s not—his old friends, his new friends, his weird lab partner, the girl he’s crushing on, and a bully—and Ben finds himself in social free fall, sliding toward the bottom of the middle school food chain. Even worse, there’s an upcoming three-day class trip to a colonial campsite. Knowing he can’t handle the gag-worthy menu, Ben prepares for the outing like it’s a survival mission. Armed with new and unexpected information about his eating habits that could change everything, he sets out with three tactical goals: impress the girl, outsmart the bully, and avoid every single meal. But when his plans go sideways and epic hunger threatens to push him over the edge, Ben must decide how far he will go to fit in and if he has the courage to stand out.
