Start Here for the Smorgasbord!

What to expect from this here writing buffet?

Welcome to the smorgasbord! I hope you find it delicious and nourishing. Why smorgasbord? Well, because we have a plethora of creative inspiration here! We get expert advice from people all across the writing and publishing industry, flavored with my own particular weirdness and predeliction for getting excited about things.

What will this buffet include?

This newsletter will be delivered to your inbox twice a month. Each will alternate between:

Insider interviews with publishing professionals and other experts. This might look like:

• Let’s see what kid lit booksellers are *actually* looking for, with Melissa LaSalle

• Making Comics and Graphic Novels for Kids, with Jarrett Lerner.

• The Most Underrated Cryptid, with Rhys Darby

• Author Publicity: How the Heck Do I Access the Media? with J.E. Thomas

• Common School Visit Mistakes and How To Fix Them, with Melissa Taylor

• The next secret special interview I have lined up hehehe…

Behind the scenes stories and curated resources. This might look like:

• Inside Out and the Time Pete Docter Wrote Me Back

• Can White Space Untrap Your Middle Grade Voice?

• low energy habits that improved my writing practice

• How Has Turner Syndrome and NLD Impacted My Writing?

• Jason Alexander and Why I’m Optimistic About Publishing

• The next super special subject I’ve got lined up!

Other then that, this newsletter will also include book recommendations, movie and TV spiels, badly drawn (but goodly silly) comics and illustrations, and classroom resources and videos for teachers.

About those subscriptions?

Like I said before, this newsletter will hit subscriber inboxes twice a month. It is now and always will be free. Plus…

• Free Subscribers get:

  • my Editing Checklist that breaks down the editing process into big, medium, and small tasks.

  • A list of 105 Story, Poetry, and Journaling prompts!

So what about paid subscriptions? Right now, a paid subscription is the top bestest and infinitely appreciated way to support my work. Plus…

• Paid Subscribers get the editing list and my Top 9 Marketing and Platform Strategies for Kid Lit Authors straight to your inbox when you subscribe.

• Access to writing courses.

• The complete query letter that got me 4 agent offers.

• More goodies to come!

A lil about me:

I’m an award-winning author that loves humor and heart, and my books are called WHAT STARS ARE MADE OF, BREATHING UNDERWATER, THE NIGHTMARE HOUSE, and MONSTER TREE. I also write poetry, picture books, screenplays, comics, and adult fiction. In all my writing I’m often drawn to quirky, earnest, and disabled/neurodiverse characters, and often STEM topics too!

I live in Orlando, Florida, fifteen minutes from the Magic Kingdom. I have two cats called Morticia and Timicin (anybody know what that’s from?). I just think the world is really cool, and love sharing stories real and otherwise. In creating for kids my idols are Steve Irwin, Shel Silverstein, Weird Al, Gary Larson, CS Lewis, Gary Schmidt, and Beverly Cleary. I also write for grown-up kids and my idols are Fredrik Bachman, Richard Curtis, Eli Brown, Nora Ephron, Dave Barry, Helen Simonson, and Connie Willis.

Join me?

Scooch on over to my website if you want more info! Stoked to have you here!