Hey, Vampirina is on Disney, but you do what you've got to do.

When VAMPIRINA premiered in 2017, we had a party. Tonight, for the premiere of VAMPIRINA TEENAGE VAMPIRE, I'm sitting alone in my family room eating strawberries and chocolate hummus. It's all good.

One crappy thing about widowhood is that while I can pay my bills, I don't have much disposable income. We were never rich, but I could buy books if I wanted them. No more. So my library is even more important. So happy to have found SCATTERGOOD by @hmbouwman.bsky.social there today!

In the last 16 days, I've realized that all of these emails are AI slop. They are so complimentary. I wish they were someone's legit opinion. But they are not.

The Vampirina Teenage Vampire series is set to premiere this fall, and yesterday, Disney Channel released a teaser. It's been a Vampirina week.

Happy that the first trade paperback of VAMPIRINA BALLERINA is out today, at all the online retailers and possibly some brick-and-mortar stores, too! Still in print after 13 years. I don't take that for granted.

Email through my website? Is it a kid reader? Is it a librarian? Is it a school wanting to book me? NEVER. It's always someone wanting to part me from my money to maximize my SEO or whatever it's called. Someone send me a nice email, geez.

Oh, @nytimes.com , can't you do better?

A comic for #CatSky writers out there.

I need to get a tattoo on my forearm that reminds me that online shopping will not bring my husband back.

“. . . a moving exploration of family dynamics and personal growth.”—Midwest Book Review julieaswanson.wordpress.com/2025/06/26/m...

Are muumuus back in style or do the algorithms know how old I am and figure I must now aspire to be Mrs. Roper?

Every time I walk by Quaker Instant Oatmeal (Apples & Cinnamon) I'm tempted to buy it for old time's sake but knew I didn't want a whole box. I came across a one-serving cup so went ahead and got it. Dang, it is gross.

I just had a cup of tea and a little bowlful of chocolate Hello Panda and it's been the best part of my day.

Best estimates are 3-8 million peaceful protesters yesterdays. Reliable people are still adding it all up— there were thousands of rallies big and small. It’s a little short of the 10-12 million I was hoping for, but anyone claiming less than a million is a Trump stooge.

I think a good rule of thumb is if your preferred source of news referred to yesterday's protest as "tens of thousands" and not "millions", you need to find a different news source.

ACLU says 5,000,000 people nationwide.

Annoyed that so many media posts are downplaying the number of protestors. "Tens of thousands across the country," for example. There are 20,000 just in LA.

A US Senator being manhandled for asking a question.

Fascism. www.tiktok.com/@labyrinthlo...

It is 100% carrying water for the opposition to participate in this collective delusion that Dems for some reason need to answer for every teen who throws a rock rather than hold the Trump admin accountable for intentionally creating chaos and breaking the law to stoke violence. They are in charge.

These people don’t want to make housing or health care more affordable, they don’t want to raise wages, they want to never again see kendrick lamar at the superbowl, ibram kendi on the bestseller list, ryan coogler at the oscars or ketanji brown jackson on the supreme court bsky.app/profile/kati...

⚠️ Warning: The Trump administration is circulating footage from 2020 to make the situation in L.A. appear more chaotic than it is. This is an intentional effort to manufacture a larger crisis. Stay alert. Pay attention. The propaganda machine is in overdrive.

🎯 #NeverForgetJanuary6th

Have I done it? My BlueSky feed is mostly books? Whoa, that's relaxing. (I get my news from news.)

It's been a good writing week: novel out on submission, contracted picture book revision almost done, progress on contracted work-for-hire chapter books. My late husband would be proud of me. I mean, I'm proud of myself, too. It's just that his support meant the world, and I hold it close.

I'll brag--Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen and I are a good team--join us to learn more about rhyming picture books. www.highlightsfoundation.org/workshop/rhy...

The easiest thing NOT to be on this planet is a billionaire. 8.2B people manage not to do it every single day. Today the world's poor supports 3000 people who could simply choose not to be billionaires and in the process do more good in the world than has ever been done before. #saynotobillionaires

disastrous for picture books, which are already at such a high price point

Because of the Business of Widowhood, I was having a hard time digging into the two books I need to write this spring. SO I decided to hire a researcher to get me moving. Best decision!! www.dreamonbooks.com

So nice when a book published years ago gets a little love. BUSY EYED DAY is a story walk in Texas.

Tea this morning w/ college friend whom I hadn't seen in 37 years; then a friend came over to help me with the Business of Widowhood. Didn't finish forms but I know what to ask when I call on Monday. I'm shrinking in a bit right now--really want to paint something but don't want to get stuff out.

Embarrassed and ashamed.

I couldn't attend but my R rep's town hall last night polled the audience with such questions as "press 1 if you are against waste/fraud and press 2 if you are for it." WTF. Do they think people are that stupid?

I am torn between being annoyed by paywalls and my understanding that we have to pay for the work journalists do. Right now, annoyed. Five minutes from now, will move on.

Researching immigration, I just read something from Roger Daniels: that America is a mosaic. I'm old enough that I was taught the "melting pot" metaphor, but I like the mosaic so much better.

Dang, this space has gotten political. Where are my Kidlit folks?

Harold knows All. The. Stuff. Recommended!

Amen.

@iclwriters.bsky.social Thanks for reposting. I was just thinking about our dear Mel Boring, long of ICL, the other day.

Trump may have renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America… but sorry, Donnie, it was assigned Gulf of Mexico at birth. No amount of executive orders can change that. Right??

Tired: "Let's place restrictive limits on kids reading the books they want to read." Wired: "Let's help kids examine the books they want to read much more deeply." (Spoiler alert: EVERY book contains literary and/or communications techniques that can be delved into.)

I feel like Mrs. Barbara Howard spoke to the Eagles locker room before the game. #abbottelementary

While others watched the Super Bowl, we've been watching COME FROM AWAY, a story about welcoming strangers.

On @donnarehorn.bsky.social 's recommendation I read ALONE by @meganefreeman.bsky.social in one sitting! Great book! Looking forward to AWAY, the companion book. Freeman's free verse is gorgeous.

I had luck with my phone calls this morning. Very nice conversation with my Republican rep's staffer. I didn't expect that. I mean, will it change anything? Probably not. Also talked to Kaine and Warner's staffers and told them I appreciate what they're doing but they need to tell US what to do.

People keep telling me I don't have to write Widowhood thank-you notes, but it goes against every fiber of my being, having read and reread Emily Post as a 9-year-old child.

Apparently Trump wants a task force on "anti Christian bias." As an active progressive Episcopalian Christian, I'd like to remind him that Christians feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, tend the sick, and WELCOME THE STRANGER.