Yes, I do have a book coming out in 6 days, but I am currently on an hourly eye drop regimen, so forget the author thing; I am now a full-time Eye Drop Application Professional. Please stay tuned for interesting eye drop facts.

The Unexpected Lives of Ordinary Girls is out today! This pro-immigrant, pro-freedom to read #middlegrade #historical is inspired by the life of my grandmother, and I'm so happy to share it with you all. www.jandersoncoats.com/the-unexpect...

Dermatologists often recommend nicotinamide — a form of Vitamin B3 — following skin cancer. A study of nearly 34,000 veterans finds this supplement reduces the risk of skin cancer recurrence.

I had a question about trends in marmalade exports (don’t ask). My husband offered to ask ChatGPT. I told him that was like if a guy broke into our house and stole all of my stuff, and then my husband tracked the thief down a few days later and asked him what he knew about marmalade.

You may have been watching too much @taskmaster.tv with your family when you find some dried ketchup in your American 9-year-old’s hair and she says, “At least it wasn’t a bloody satsuma!”

I loved the book I just reviewed for Timeslip Tuesday! @carolinecarlson.bsky.social charlotteslibrary.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-...

This evening my sweet children, ages 9 and 6, told me where in their classrooms they are supposed to hide if someone comes to their school to hurt them, and I could not stand to hear it. It’s not okay to live like this. It’s not okay to force children to live like this. It’s not okay.

I spy a Goodreads giveaway of THE TINKERERS! @candlewickpress.bsky.social is giving away 10 gorgeous finished copies. (You can share it with your middle grade cozy fantasy fan or keep it for yourself!) www.goodreads.com/book/show/22... #giveaway #booksky #kidlitsky #readingcommunity

Ahhhh the North American ARCs for Enchanting the Fae Queen are here, & they are GORGEOUS. I love @wingbuffet.bsky.social's perfect cover art, @lesleyaworrell.bsky.social 's cover design, &all the perfect details of page layout inside (with huge thanks to my wonderful editor @erikatsang.bsky.social)!

Best advice I can give to parents: once a week go to the library, pick out a stack of books (make sure your kid gets to pick out several on their own) and then throughout the week, read them together. Reread their favorites. Talk about them together. Snuggle and read. Ask open ended questions.

Celebrate TOWED BY TOAD’s first birthday by taking a peek behind-the-scenes! jashar.substack.com/p/towed-by-t...

I just pulled a total Ramona, by which I mean that I was supposed to use smoked paprika in this chicken recipe and I used cayenne pepper instead 😬 Don’t tell my kids! #kidlit

This frontispiece in my book just made me laugh a lot. Is this Buddhist reincarnation, or some other form of afterlife?

I think that if you are trying to understand the Anthropic book settlement, and you are not doing it in light of the (extremely) failed Google book settlement from 2011, you will never be able to understand what is happening.

Read our blog to get an overview of the Anthropic settlement. There’s an FAQ for authors, too. We hope you find it helpful. authorsguild.org/news/what-au...

On the one hand, good, and I sure hope that I get my money owed, and that we all do. On the other hand, if anyone had actually, you know, ASKED ME whether they could use any of my books in this way, I would not have said "yes you can do it for $3,000." You know, for the record.

NEW YORK (AP) — Anthropic agrees to pay authors $3,000 per book in landmark settlement over pirated chatbot training material.

I don’t think there are enough books, cozy socks, interesting teas, fancy moisturizers, linen sheets, or handmade mugs that I can buy to make the news feel less grim today.

I was in a medical appointment when this news came out, and was instantly devastated that I couldn't be the first one to make the joke.

Oof, it’s very hard all over children’s lit right now.

Pittsburgh has a mayoral election coming up, too, and i would really like to do a scavenger hunt. How about it, @coreyoconnorpa.bsky.social ?

Just saw an ARC of THE TINKERERS being sold illegally on eBay. (They didn't even read it first!) Don't buy an ARC for $13 to support a jerk--buy the gorgeous hardcover for only a little more money and support me (a fairly nice person) and all the very nice people who worked hard on this book.

Not to add to the discourse, but… It’s ‘toe the line,’ not ‘tow the line.’ It’s ‘free rein,’ and not ‘free reign.’ It’s ‘eke out,’ not ‘eek out.’ It’s ‘sleight of hand,’ not ‘slight of hand.’ It's ‘Anchors aweigh,’ and not ‘Anchor's away!’

The first trade review for THE TINKERERS is a lovely one from Kirkus! I’m so grateful for their thoughtful read of the book.

Hello from the week between the end of camp and the beginning of school, when we are resettling after vacation, houseguests are coming, I have the regular errands and chores and 40+ hours of work to take care of this week, my husband broke his arm, the kids need haircuts, we all need to eat food...

Texas families, especially those with kids in schools—please raise your voices in support of books in your children’s classrooms. Your kids deserve to read. Your kids deserve to learn to love reading. They deserve the same excellent education that kids in other states receive.

Have gotten close to the end of my current read and am trying to stretch out the time I've got left in its world. In fact, have now hidden the book from myself to make it last longer. (It's THE INCANDESCENT by @emilytesh.net--a book for grown-ups, as we kidlit people say. It's great.)

I guess we all respond differently to not being interviewed by Terry Gross. Some of us change our entire worldviews. Others of us, while cooking dinner, hold up a carrot like a mic and give answers to imaginary interview questions with only our fridge as an audience.

I was invited to this beautiful library last summer for an event. It is a gem in rural western PA, with a children’s section so cozy and well-curated I could have stayed there for weeks. Libraries like this are a precious resource, and it breaks my heart that this one may not survive.

Some days I feel like everything I love is being dismantled. 💔

At the grocery store checkout, I was chided by the cashier for using the word “perfect.” And while I agree there is really no such thing as perfection, how can you not believe in “perfect” but also believe in chiding people for their word choice when they’re buying tomatoes?!

I know I’m no fun, but! I cannot believe the Wicked movie came out in this era of increasing authoritarianism, and the major lesson that everyone took away from it was that we should eat pink and green mac and cheese.

My email inbox is full of unread newsletters, despite my best intentions, but I always open the @wesa.fm politics newsletter that @cpotterpgh.bsky.social writes, and you should, too. Today’s gave me a good chuckle (of despair, yes, but still a chuckle!). Subscribe here: www.wesa.fm/wesa-newslet...

oh, hey. dropped a new essay today. 😘 misshelved.substack.com/p/are-we-fin...

I’ve gotten vaccinated against HPV and Hep B in the past month because I’d been missing those vaccines and I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to get them.

On the bright side, these cuts have paid for about one-third of one day's worth of interest payments on the federal debt. We've done our part!

you know who is a very deeply believing christian that never does anything bigoted with it and also never does the no true scotsman thing he just lives out his values in public and speaks from the heart about his beliefs to set a fantastic example? stephen fuckin colbert that's who

New July(ish) 2025 picture books! imaginationsoup.net/new-picture-... #kidlit

Rümeysa Öztürk describes the library in the prison where she was held for 45 days for co-authoring an op-ed

What I see in my own young son, so far, is that he *wants* this. He loves pretending to take care of dolls and animals like he's their dad. He loves making real or pretend food for the family and comforting his sister when she's sad. I don't want this world to tell him that this role is not for him.

Walking by my neighbor’s yard just now, I saw a rabbit hop over a groundhog. I laughed out loud—it was ridiculous—and both the rabbit and the groundhog just stared at me like I was the crazy one.

Ouch

If you are a @barnesandnoble.com member, you can get 25% off all preorders—including my cozy fantasy for kids, THE TINKERERS, coming in October from @candlewickpress.bsky.social ! Here’s the link for more info: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-tinker... #kidlit #bnpreorder

Happy paperback release day to WICKED MARIGOLD! I have been so happy to watch readers discover this fun fantasy adventure over the past year, and I hope that it will be able to reach even more kids in its new format. #kidlit #mglit #summerreading www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/746873...

Do something for you tonight -- there will be plenty of time to doomscroll and rage. I'm curling up with a Jenny Crusie & Bob Mayer book (Rocky Start), which is an escapist delight thus far.

This is correct and tragic. School administrators and teachers are strapped for time and resources. No one is going to ask families to opt out of books & then provide replacement activities; they will simply not include the books in their curriculum at all. A de facto ban masquerading as choice.

In her dissent from today's decision—Mahmoud v. Taylor—Justice Sotomayor says that the court's holding "threatens the very essence of public education," and that its "reverberations" will be felt "for generations." This is a very heartfelt and mournful dissent. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

Let's be clear, this is going to further empower the movement FOR book bans nationally. That's damaging to young readers. Authors. Publishers. Follow @authorsabb.bsky.social if you don't already.

Sometimes you are at the fun book conference, and sometimes you are at home listening to plumbers jackhammer your sewer drain, and each is an integral part of glamorous #authorlife

Beloit, WI revitalized its waterfront and chose this way to celebrate it: by bringing to life Georges Seurat's "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte."