This is the time of year when gray foxes reunite with their partners & start preparing for mating season. My trail cam caught a cute moment when Finley, the fox who has lived on our property since she was a kit, sees her mate Frisky approaching. They're so adorable. They had 7 kits last year. 😍

This decoration from the wedding I went to last night sums up what I want out of my November: a small, safe, quiet bubble of nature where I can rest and read and write and compose myself and my words after a happy, busy, loud October.

Happy Halloween! 🎃 (And birthday to me 😊)

There's a water bowl on the ground, but apparently he wants to know what's in the bird bath. 😂🦝

On my way to sell books at the Halloween Bash in Rockwall! 1-5pm 5242 Medical Drive, Rockwall, TX Scan the QR code on the flyer for more info.

It's a lovely morning for reading on the porch with a friend. #OctoberVibes 📖☕💀

In case you missed it, here's my latest author newsletter, including a discount on school visits!

If you heard a small scream around 8AM, it's because we got a cold front last night, and the wind played with my Halloween decorations. 🌬🕷😅

I'm hanging out at Rosalind Coffee in Garland today, enjoying a cardamom maple latte and getting some work done. I love this sign. 👻☕❤ #amwriting

#witchywednesday #amreading #horror

The only thing you can control in the publishing world is whether or not you keep #writing. Learning that the hard way.

Butter the squirrel is busy planting pecans in my fake cemetery. "Oh, is dis where we bury things? Ok!" 😂🐿️❤️ She's so cute, I can't stand it. #wildlife #ButterTheSquirrel #Halloween

This post is from 2021, but the advice holds up. I've got pumpkins ready to be carved, I still stray off the path on walks in the woods, & I'm listening to Simone St. James' latest novel "Murder Road" this week. Now, if only the weather would cooperate for a campfire... #October #Halloween #Spooky

photos from my morning walk #nature #poeticinspiration #gooutside

Big thanks to Parkwood Hill Intermediate School for inviting me to present at their Reflections Arts Contest event! I love talking to young poets about where writing inspiration comes from. For info about school visits & writing workshops, see the link in comments. #SchoolVisit #PoetryWorkshop

Great article about North Texas Wildlife Center & president Rebecca Hamlin. NTXWC holds a special place in my heart. I've been volunteering w/ them for 2 yrs & have so much admiration for the work they do. ❤️ #Wildlife #Rescue #NTXWC #BeKindToWildlife lakehighlands.advocatemag.com/2025/10/01/n...

Zoom in to see Butter the squirrel hanging out of her nest. 🥰 She lined it with stuffing from my pillow because, like the rest of us, she thought it would be cool by October. I imagine she just needs a breath of fresh air. Her babies should be pretty big by now, so I'm sure it's smelly in there! 🐿😁

Do you like reading short horror stories? Are you opinionated and judgey? Do you have a god complex? Tales to Terrify is looking for new volunteer first readers! If you think you got what it takes, fill out our application: tinyurl.com/TtTSlushReader (Remember: this is a strictly volunteer role.)

#amwriting #amquerying

This looks fun. 😂🙃

Hey everyone! I'll be selling and signing my Spooky America books at the Halloween Bash in Rockwall, TX on Saturday, October 25th. Bring the family for some spooky fun! 🎃👻📘

Well, it's definitely October... Something left a bone on my front porch. The question is, WHO? My money is on the crows. 😲☠️🐦‍⬛

Look at this cutie hanging out in the cat bed on my parents' porch. 🥰 #BeKindToWildlife #AwesomeOpossum

My OCD brain loves tracking my queries to see when/how often/to what end agents respond. But that moment when an agent skips your query (possibly b/c they're savoring it longer before making a decision) is so full of exciting, curious hope that I dissolve into a puddle of goo every time. #amquerying

Spooky Season is upon us! If you have a ghost-loving kid in your life, consider making their Halloween special by ordering a signed copy of one of my Spooky America books. Perfect for campfires and sleepovers. Link in comments. 🎃📘👻 #ghoststories #Halloween #SpookyAmerica #amreading #GhostlyTales

Hubby: "Why do you need more than one desk?" Me:

Happy October! 🎃👻🦝🐾😁 This new t-shirt pretty much sums me up.

Me trying to finish all the things I said I would accomplish in September... #goals #multitasking

Staycation will be missed by many here in Richardson, TX. Here's a found poem to commemorate its closing. ☕🏠💔

"Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." -from "Sometimes" by Mary Oliver

Look what I saw in the checkout line at the HEB in Frisco! I love running into my books in the wild. 😍

A middle grade retelling of REBECCA but with cats?!?! 🤯🤩😻 I'm in. I want to read this right meow.

Someone bring this guy a cup of coffee and a book. 🥰

I stole the baby Jesus from the chocolate nativity scene in the faculty lounge during winter break of my first year teaching. I believe in the separation of church and state. And in chocolate. It tasted stale and a little sacrilegious. I have no regrets. -from Teacher Haiku #Memoir #UnhingedPit

✅ kid sticks a paperclip in his eye ✅ kid puts on clown makeup during my lesson ✅ the mascot has ringworm ✅ crazy parents, covid, weird lost & found All this and more in... Twenty Years in the 7th Grade: A Memoir Told in Haiku (Mostly) #haiku #memoir #teachers #humor #nonfiction #UnhingedPit #Q

twenty-year teaching career condensed down into five hundred haiku a bite-sized memoir about the world’s weirdest (and most important) job #haiku #memoir #teachers #humor #nonfiction #giftbook #Q #UnhingedPit

And now for something completely different... Because I contain (and write) multitudes. #UnhingedPit

“Keys.” Hands tossed them to her. “Cane.” I passed her the stick for reaching the pedals. “Chaos.” Ringo lifted his paws & yelled, “Woo hoo!” Roxy turned the key in the ignition, & the golf cart hummed to life. “Buckle up, bandits.” -Sisters in Crime #Q #MG #Humor #Heist #Raccoons #UnhingedPit

Mitzie is a leucistic raccoon who wants to give up crime but her sister says thieving is in their blood. -Moral dilemmas -Humor+heart -Heist gone wrong -Clever dialogue -Opossums, coyotes, & crows…oh my! (Call them "trash pandas" & the scat will hit the fan!) #SistersInCrime #Funny #MG #UnhingedPit

SISTERS IN CRIME is a #MG novel about a raccoon with no mask trying to stop being a thief without losing her sister. It's hilarious & NONE OF THE ANIMALS DIE because your children should not have to live through the same Old Yeller hell and Where the Red Fern Grows trauma that we did. #UnhingedPit

*me reading the #unhingedpit posts while eating breakfast and waiting for 8am central time*

Help me settle this debate. 🎃☕🤷😊 cariejuettner.com/2025/09/15/g...

I'm all over the place with my reading right now. These are the four books I'm currently in the middle of. They couldn't be more different, but I'm loving them all. #amreading #mg #poetry #scifi #thriller

Endless possibilities this Saturday morning...

"I had never heard her so passionate. Her anger made me feel good. I can't explain it. It's like she took the fire inside me, put it in a torch, and then set it between us. It was no longer just mine." ❤️ - from THE EYES AND THE IMPOSSIBLE by Dave Eggers