Many years ago, when I was feeling lost as a writer, my mother reminded me that I had something special in my back pocket: a doctorate in History.
I laughed out loud. I started publishing children’s books before I finished my dissertation, and I earned the doctorate on sheer willpower (stubbornness, really). The degree was a mishap, a writer afraid to name her passion, not some kind of superpower.
Except: I went to graduate school for a reason. I cared deeply about the history I studied, and I had learned some amazing stories and concepts in those years. My problem? No one outside the ivory tower ever got to hear any of it. My work in graduate school felt separate from my family and my community. There was no magic in it. So I ran away to children’s books–but I carried history with me. The story of my people, and of our place in this country. The stories I think every kid should know.
Cousins in the Time of Magic is my way of telling those stories to children. It’s everything I learned in graduate school and everything graduate school wasn’t–there’s history, yes, but there’s also action, adventure, and magic.
The series launches on February 25th, 2025. I know that might seem like a long way off, but in the publishing world, it’s just around the corner, and pre-orders make a huge difference. If you plan to buy the book, it would mean so much to the future of this series if you would place an order with your go-to bookseller now.
Other News…
You’ll notice I’ve switched to Substack. After a lot of deliverability issues with my past newsletter platform, it was time to try something new! I want to make sure people are still receiving the newsletter since I made the switch–could you reply to let me know if you’ve gotten this email, and if it ended up in your Spam/Promo folder or not?
I was interviewed on The Children’s Book podcast with my friend Matthew Winner
I gave birth to my daughter Paloma in April. She is delicious. Thank you to everyone who has reached out and sent your good wishes–I have been very slow on email for obvious reasons, but your love means so much to me.
Upcoming Events:
I’m presenting a workshop titled Make It a System: How to Handle Business, Manage Your Time, and Organize Everything at the virtual conference of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators this August. Register at www.scbwi.org!