I'm trying to organize all the contact info I got of all the cool publishing folks/fellow authors I met over this summer's tour. And I will be so happy to have this when I can't remember the names of people two years from now (and thus can't search for them) but uggggghhh it's so boring

Eee! Publishers Weekly included The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association in their Holiday Gift Guide 2025! www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

Warm welcome from the Millville Public Library last night - they got me flowers that matched my book cover!

I always forget how much time both packing and unpacking take when I agree to do an overnight book event.

It's just leftovers, but feels ridiculously luxurious. (This is the smoked french onion soup I made a couple days ago from the smoked beef bones I turned into stock.)

Tonight!

Fall = farmers market apples = piiiiieeee

Another on-point marketing/web team.

The Merriam-Webster social team deserves a raise.

Join me this weekend at the Jersey City WORD Bookstore for a conversation with Seamus Sullivan about his debut, Daedalus is Dead! Saturday, October 4 at 7PM WORD Bookstore, 29 McWilliams Pl, Jersey City, NJ @wordbookstores.bsky.social

I'll be at the Millville Public Library in South Jersey on Thursday at 6:30PM as part of their NJ Author Talk series. Looking forward to seeing folks there!

I just re-read GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL LIFE by Emily Henry after having finished immediately before that, because I needed to see how she handled the pacing, it was so good. Also, I recently finished an ARC of DAEDALUS IS DEAD by Seamus Sullivan (because I got asked to do an event with him) - haunting.

I'm making an experimental smoked French onion soup. Step 1 was slicing up some of the most potent onions known to man, WTH. I had so many tears running down my face, I felt like I ought to make a confessional Tiktok video. Failing to find something to confess, I moved on to step 2.

Just started @caitlinrozakis.bsky.social’s The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association this morning, and if “imagine if your local PTO drama was compounded because your daughter was at the school because she’d been turned into a werewolf” sounds up your alley, I highly recommend!

The book? The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by @caitlinrozakis.bsky.social. I got way more invested in this five-year-old’s integration into a new school than I thought I would. One of my favourites of the year. @titanbooks.bsky.social

On this post I’m recommending Grimoire Grammar School by @caitlinrozakis.bsky.social and The Enchanted Greenhouse by @sarahbethdurst.bsky.social

Kickstarter alert! I'm potentially going to be part of a humor anthology with a great track record and a fantastic initial lineup. Plus, once the funding goal is met, it will open in December for general submissions.

They had the tiniest, cutest eggplant at the farmers' market!

The humidity has clearly made whatever I'm allergic to go into overdrive. Is my current loopiness because of congestion or antihistamines? Who can tell?

Great time talking with the Syosset Public Library on their podcast!

Want signed copies of my books for the holidays? Order from my local indie WORD (bit.ly/48vMZYS) by Dec 9. Make sure to put any personalization details in the notes to the bookseller, and we'll get these to you before Dec 25!

I have four small (different color) pumpkins on my stoop, but we all agree that's not enough? Right? The heart wants what the heart wants. And what the heart wants is motherf'ng decorative gourds.

Don't you dare put that baby in pelican mouth.

I'll be formally thanking him in my Acknowledgements and all for Startup Hell, but I just want to state for the record that Kevin Eddy is a prince among copyeditors. I love him. There are a couple key word-choice suggestions he's made that made the associated jokes SO much stronger.

I'm traumatizing my editor and copyeditor as we finish copyedits on Startup Hell and I have to keep explaining how horribly the tech world abuses the English language.

We were jealous of the last episode of GBBO.

Shoutout to my copyeditor, Kevin Eddy, who I don't think is on here. But I am having a genuinely delightful time reviewing his comments on my manuscript. He and my editor @georgesandison.bsky.social and I have a whole conversation going here, and it's just really fun.

A very happy launch week to Audition for the Fox by @mcflycahill90.bsky.social! We had a great time at WORD last night - thanks to everyone who came out!

Tonight!

I rented a series of cars from Avis while on book tour. Three of them had noticeable cosmetic damage, which I pointed out when I rented them, and each time was just told to take pictures by the attendants. Well, now Avis is, one at a time, trying to charge me for these.

After entirely unhelpful advice from the recipe, I abandoned it to just go full baking-by-vibe. But the smoked pear gingerbread upside down cake did turn out - we'll see how it tastes tomorrow!

A direct quote, from a pear upside-down cake recipe, regarding how dark to cook the caramel "The color of leaves in Fall." That...is not helpful. At all. Have you ever even seen leaves, or are you just going by leaf clipart? I need a little less poetry and a little more temperature in my sugarwork.

Hey Jersey City folks - on Thursday, I'll be @mcflycahill90.bsky.social's conversation at WORD as part of the Audition for the Fox tour! Come on by, it's a fantastic book! withfriends.co/event/237656...

💙📚

Last night I dreamt I was doing an event in Cincinnati, and folks asked me if I'd ever been to Ohio. I replied that I had, remembering in vivid detail a bus tour of Columbus I'd taken while looking at colleges and a large convention I'd spent several days at in Cincinnati. Except...

I know we all enjoyed his video about male friendships, but I think this one about reading might be even better.

A belated thanks for the warm welcome from the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society! They seemed to enjoy my talk on cozy fantasy, or at least were kind enough to pretend to!

If you're in the mood for a readalong of Dreadful, these fine folks are doing one chapter at a time!

Tonight!

While I'm currently focused on my writing career, I've left some of my job alerts up just in case something amazing opens up. But what about "marketing director/VP" as a desired job resulted in me getting sent this post for "investigator - criminal division"? 😂

Bourbon peach with an experimental brown butter crust.

New to/intimidated by networking in the writing world? Elizabeth Bear has kindly written up an excellent guide.

My favorite time of year in the garden #bloomscrolling

Hey Philly! I'll be speaking about the current state of cozy fantasy at the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society meeting on Fri! psfs.org

Thanks, everyone who came to my signing today at the new Barnes & Noble in Clark, NJ! I left behind a big stack of signed books!

You should get points or a little medal or something for all the treats you succedsfully resisted eating. (My dr doesn't like my cholesterol levels, I sat across the street from a Crumbl for almost 3 hours without succumbing, and all I have to show is not-a-cookie.)

A kid just came up to my table to have me sign a copy of DREADFUL that their family dog had eaten the corners off of. Totally mangled. It's one of my favorite signings yet.

Mood: buying more dresses than I really need because my favorite dress company is UK based, you can no longer get things delivered to the US, and I'm going to be at my publisher's offices in two months and they're willing to accept delivery.

Hey North Jersey - I'll be at the Clark Barnes & Noble today from 1-3 signing books! Hope to see some folks!

This bookstore opened three days ago in Kyiv. One more sign of resilience (and beauty) I want you to witness.