November Wrap-Up
Book News/Progress:
Book Sales/Signings: I had two local sales/signings in the past month, one at Sturdy Shelter Brewing and one at Blue House Books. Both went great – selling during the holiday season is a lot easier (and I find it much easier to pitch to people too, because you can always start with, “Hey, if you have any 4th-8th graders on your holiday shopping list, I’ve got a great book to tell you about). I actually left Blue House when I got down to my last book, which I left for them to have on the shelf!
IL Reads 2026 Kickoff – TSoOG got chosen for the 2026 IL Reads list, and we had a kickoff at Anderson’s Bookshop. Looking forward to a full year of events for this!
Cincinnati Events: I participated in Bookfest at Northern Kentucky University and Books by the Banks at the Cincinnati Public Library – both events were really fun and a great success!
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NCTE in Denver: And my biggest event was the National Council of Teachers of English conference in Denver, where I was on two panels. Both of those were fantastic, but honestly I think the best part of being at the conference was meeting a ton of authors in person who I’ve only known online up to now. Being an author can feel a little solitary sometimes, but meeting with my peers (and some people I’ve looked up to for years) makes me feel more like a “real” author somehow!
(If you’re interested in even more NCTE posts, I have another carousel up on IG too, but here’s one set:)
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Random Other News:
Booksgiving at Bernie’s Book Bank – Bernie’s did their fun fall event, and this year it was Wizard of Oz themed! Check out my Insta post for a 30-second video with the highlights!
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What I Read:
I’ve been listening to a ton of audiobooks lately, and it’s been a month since I updated you, so it’s a lot!
- I listened to In the End by Demitria Lunetta, a satisfying follow-up to In the After.
- Next I listened to Half Wild and Half Lost by Sally Green. Look at me, actually finishing series! LOL!
- Next up was The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin. Loved the worldbuilding for the magic system in this book!
- After meeting Andrew Auseon at Books by the Banks in Cincinnati, I read the first two books in his Spellbinders Series: The Not-So-Chosen One and Break the Game. These books are great fun, especially if you’re into D&D type games!!
- And I wanted to read books from fellow panelists before NCTE, so I made sure to read Racing the Clouds by Sidney Dunlap, a touching story of the power of forgiveness and reconciliation.
- Another author I was sitting next to at Books by the Banks was Lori M. Lee, so I read the first book in her Rick Riordan Presents Series, Pahua and the Soul Stealer.
- Next I listened to Born Behind Bars by Padma Venkatraman, a powerful read that had been on my TBR for far too long!
- When I started the Emmy and Friends Series by Terri Libenson, I planned on only reading the first couple of books for graphic novel research purposes. But I enjoyed revisiting these characters so much that I just keep reading them! I read Remarkably Ruby, Surprisingly Sarah, Becoming Brianna, and Entirely Emmie. Pretty sure I’ve read the whole series now!
- Growing Home by Beth Ferry, illustrated by the Fan Brothers is another one that I’ve had on my shelf for way too long (I got an ARC months ago). So I decided to listen to it – I can definitely feel Ferry’s picture book background in the book, and that sensibility translates beautifully to a book for younger middle grade readers!
- Then I listened to Cinderella and the Beast (or, Beauty and the Glass Slipper) by Kim Bussing, (another one I’ve had on my shelf for months – are we sensing a pattern here?). I really enjoyed this twisted Disney tale and definitely plan to read more of them!
- Next up on my list was Unstuck by Barbara Dee. I always love Dee’s books – this one is about a girl dealing with a combination of family issues and writer’s block, both of which I relate to a little too hard! LOL
- I met Erin Soderberg Downing at NCTE and attended a nature-themed panel she was on where she talked about Just Keep Walking. I was intrigued and had to give it a listen! This book is a wonderful contemporary about a girl struggling with her parents’ divorce – with the added element of survivalist/hiking adventures!
- Jessie Ann Foley’s newest book, Severe and Unusual Weather, was chosen for the 2026 IL Reads list along with The Song of Orphan’s Garden, so of course I needed to give it a read! (I plan to read as many of the selected books as possible over the next year.) I was surprised when this story veered into magical realism (pleasantly surprised – I always love a little magic with my realism)!
- When I went to Neal Shusterman’s event, he talked about Game Changer (which I actually had with me for him to sign), and I was left wondering why I hadn’t yet read it! Obviously, I had to fix that. Side note – I listened to this one while I was driving my daughter Jade to the doctor and she got so invested that she had to listen to the rest of it herself (this literally never happens!).
- Next I listened to Mixing Magics by Clare Edge, the sequel to Accidental Demons. I absolutely love Clare’s worldbuilding, and this book was an exciting conclusion to the duology!
- Finally, I read Sixteen Minutes by K.J. Reilly. I love time travel/sliding door stories, and this one was a really interesting take on that.
- Weirdly, I only read one picture book this month – Mostly Monsterly by Tammi Sauer, illustrated by Scott Magoon. At least if I was only going to read one, I chose a cute one!
- I read Aarzu All Around by Marzieh Abbas. Highly recommend this incredible verse novel set in Pakistan!
- Then I read No More “Us” and “Them” by Lesley Roessing, an educator who will be moderating one of the NCTE panels I’m going to be on. The book is geared toward teachers, so I was surprised how much I got out of reading it. Lesley’s ideas for the classroom are innovative and inclusive.
- Next I listened to Fault Lines by Janet Sumner Jones, who will also be on my NCTE panel. I was only planning to read one book from each of the authors on my panels, but I enjoyed the first book in this series so much that I had to listen to the second!
- Next up was another verse novel I loved (I’ve been reading some amazing NIVs lately!) – Lilac and the Switchback by Cordelia Jensen. This book is so poignant, exploring themes of family and feeling like you don’t belong, and it’s incredibly lyrical!
- I also read Indigo & Ida by Heather Murphy Capps (another NCTE panelist – but this is my other panel). This book uses a journalism bent to tackle the topic of racism. Such a great read!
- Finally, I listened to In the After by Demitria Lunetta. I’ve had this one on my shelf for years, and when I did my purge awhile I back, I think I got rid of it and put it on my audiobook library list instead? Anyway, glad I read it, and I’m now about to listen to book two.
- Oh, and I realized I’ve been forgetting to include my picture book reads lately! Here’s what I’ve read since I last updated you on 9/14 (starred books are ones I loved so much I bought them!):
- The Night Market
- Sketty and Meatball
- Bob the Vampire Snail
- Zombie and Brain Are Friends*
- Broken*
- Aggie and the Ghost*
- Benita and the Night Creatures
- Run, Little Chaski!
- Luca’s Bridge
- Buffalo Fluffalo and Puffalo
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