Announcing My New Ebook! 📚✨

I’m excited to share my new ebook for writers of middle grade and young adult fiction: a deep dive into crafting opening scenes that hook readers and make them care from Page One.

Whether you’re drafting or revising, this guide explores opening lines, character connection, scene-building, tone, starting in the right place and more. All focused on helping you launch your story STRONG.

And don’t you just LOVE the cover?! Huge thanks to the incomparable Wallace West for the design!

Make This Your Summer of Writing!

Ready to make this the summer your story finally takes shape?

If you’ve been dreaming about writing (or finishing!) a book for kids - chapter book, middle grade, or YA - this is your moment. I love helping writers turn big ideas into real, finished pages. I’m a total craft nerd with a can-do spirit, a natural motivator, and someone who’s been deep in the trenches myself. I know the excitement… and I know all the sneaky ways we writers get in our own way.

Whether you need help getting started, building momentum, pushing through the messy middle, or tackling a full manuscript revision, I’m here for all of it. We can brainstorm, problem-solve, revise, and shape your story into something you’re truly proud of - with support, clarity, and a whole lot of encouragement along the way.

Let’s do this!!!

So You Want to Write a Kids’ Book Series…

When I was a kid, I devoured books that were part of a series. Once I found a character or a story I loved, I wanted more, more, more.

Today’s kids are no different. That’s why series are some of the most beloved books in kidlit.

If you’ve ever wondered how authors create a series that keeps young readers coming back - GREAT NEWS! I’m teaching a webinar all about it!

It’s going to be super high energy and of course, super fun! Check out the description:

I love writing series for kids. There’s something incredibly rewarding about spending more time with characters you adore—and knowing young readers are eager to come back for the next adventure.

If writing a series is something you’ve been thinking about, I’d love to share what I’ve learned. I hope to see you at the webinar on March 28th! ✨📚

Make Your First Pages Irresistible: Two Craft Workshops to Strengthen Your Novel’s Opening

You’ll leave with a clear blueprint for crafting an opening that pulls readers in, makes them care, and propels them forward without hesitation.

You’ll sharpen your revision lens, gain practical tools you can immediately apply to your own manuscript, and have time for Q&A to dig into your specific questions.

Happy 10th Birthday, Fenway and Hattie 💙🐾

When you write a book, you hope - trying not to freak out - that someone will like it. One kid. One teacher. One reader who laughs at the right part. You don’t imagine that more than a million kids will read it. You don’t imagine that 10 years later it will be on its 31st printing, or that it will be chosen as the Global Read Aloud, or that every year you’ll visit elementary schools - or entire districts - where Fenway and Hattie is read together as a community, all across the country.

You definitely don’t imagine teachers pulling you aside to say, “Your book turned this kid into a reader.” (And hearing that again. And again. And again.)

You don’t imagine you’ll be invited to present at conferences, speak on panels, or teach other writers who carry their own dream of writing books for children - sometimes even at your alma mater (I’m looking at you, Barnard College💙). You don’t imagine sitting on classroom floors, shoulder to shoulder with kids, connecting over stories. You don’t imagine the look on a child’s face when you sign their book. Or the sheer number of hugs. So. Many. Hugs.

You don’t imagine you’ll go on to write and publish 10 more books (and counting). Or see your stories in bookstore windows, on the shelves of your hometown library, or on the front of a Scholastic Book Club flyer.

I could go on… but here’s the heart of it:

In the 10 years since Fenway and Hattie (my very first book) was published, my life has changed in ways I never knew were possible. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve said, “I need to start dreaming bigger dreams.”

So to everyone who helped make my dreams - and dreams I didn’t even know I had - come true:

To every teacher and librarian who put Fenway into a child’s hands.

To every reader who laughed along with that rambunctious little dog.

To every kid who discovered they were a reader after all.

Thank you, from the very bottom of my heart.

Here’s to Fenway and Hattie at ten.

Here’s to stories that surprise us.

And here’s to the next chapter, full of gratitude, wonder, and dreams that just keep getting bigger. 💫

A Love Note to a Very Good Boy

Kids always want to know: Who is the dog on the cover of Fenway and Hattie?
The answer: Deke.

Deke - the Fenway cover model - had star quality from the start and brought pure joy to every moment, on and off camera. Though he enjoyed a hot show business career, his favorite role wasn’t commercials or photo shoots. It was being Fenway, and making kids smile.

Deke passed away over the weekend, but his bright spirit lives on - right there on the book covers, and in the hearts of readers everywhere.

Stop Dreaming, Start Writing!

That children's book or YA novel you've been dreaming about isn't going to write itself, but we totally get why it feels overwhelming to start! If you're stuck in the "idea phase" and can't seem to make the leap to "typing words," meet your new best friend: Kidlit Quick Bites!

This is our brand-new, super-fun series of 10 ebooks, serving up fast, focused lessons pulled directly from Writing Kidlit 101: A Self-Guided Course. For only 99c, each mini-guide delivers a bite-sized chunk of expert advice you can literally read in minutes and put to work on your manuscript right away - no massive commitment needed! Stop agonizing over the whole book, and start building the skills you need step-by-step to turn that beautiful dream into a finished reality.

Want professional feedback on your writing?

If you’ve written a chapter book or middle grade novel for young readers (or want to), don’t miss this amazing opportunity from The Writers’ Loft to get professional feedback on your story! And if you don’t have pages ready to submit, you can listen and learn from critiques of other writers’ work.

Dec 3, 7pm ET, virtually, plus 2-week replay. $25 for non-members

Submit 5 pages of your work by November 23rd, and TWL volunteers will pick the manuscripts that get critiqued during the virtual session. Even if your pages don’t get chosen, it’ll be a night of incredible learning! 

Before I got my first publishing contract, I would’ve JUMPED at an opportunity like this. I hope you’ll consider taking the leap and joining me on December 3rd!!!