The new year is finally here, and my main resolution is to go into 2021 with a brighter, happier outlook (has to be easy after 2020, right?). First up is my new website design (what you’re looking at right now). Out with the old and in with the new, new, new! The goal is to better convey the immense joy I feel when I write, get lost in a story, talk with kids, and hold a finished book in my hands that began as a scribbled idea in one of my notebooks. I couldn’t be happier with the explosion of color and energy on the site. What do you think? Great, right?
2021 is going to be a huge publication year for me–I have SEVEN books releasing this year. Yep, seven! They all seem one way or another to have landed in this calendar year. During a pandemic . . . of course. Since I can’t travel around to bookstores, festivals, and schools like I so wish I could, I’m going to post here about the books (what’s out and what’s coming . . .many of them I can’t reveal just yet), inside stories and random facts, and supplementary materials (both educational and fun) for kids, teachers, and homeschoolers.
Last week my newest biography for kids (and book #1 for me in 2021) hit the shelves– VIP: Dr. Mae Jemison, Brave Rocketeer.
VIP is a brand-new, middle grade nonfiction series from HarperCollins that spotlights heroes and trailblazers who may have flown a bit under the radar (until now). I’m honored to tell the inspiring story of Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African American woman to travel to space. She was also a medical doctor who once joined the Peace Corps–and a trained dancer too! Fierce, determined, ambitious. What’s not to admire about her?
Much like my other nonfiction books, this title is also packed with tons of cool facts, top ten lists, and quizzes, such as: Do YOU have what it takes to be an astronaut? (Me, it turns out, not so much.) And the book’s fabulous illustrations were done by Jennifer Bricking, whose art I absolutely adore (so much so that I’ve hired her illustrate books in the Ghostwriter publishing program that I edit and package.)
There’s lots more news to come . . . stay tuned!
Books I’m Currently Reading
KIDS: Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
ADULT: Deacon King Kong by James McBride
Books I Just Finished
KIDS: Stargazing by Jen Wang
ADULT: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab