I’ve tried to be kind to myself this summer, mostly because I know this upcoming autumn will be very different from last year’s. Busier. More chaotic.
It’s funny. Last September, nobody knew my name. This September I’m going on tour. And it’s exciting to have so many upcoming trips, but it’s also a little scary. I’m a very introverted person. And I’m also someone who, since late last year, has had some unexplainable chronic pain. I have no idea how my body (or my brain) will react to so much traveling, but I guess we’ll find out together 😅.
September 11-15 : Middle School Book Tour | DC, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta
September 22 : Latinx Kid Lit Book Festival | Virtual @ 10am EST | Craft Panel - Voice in Verse
September 28 : Brooklyn Book Festival | Virtual @ 7pm EST | Panel - And the Literary Award Winners are…. Latinxs !
September 30 : Richmond Comix | Richmond, VA | Time TBD
October 6-8 : James River Writers Conference | Richmond, VA | Panels TBD
October 12 : School Library Journal Day of Dialog | Virtual @ TBD | Panel - Families: Together, Apart, and Found
November 10-12 : Texas Book Festival | Austin, TX | Panels & Schools TBD
November 16-19 : NCTE Convention | Columbus, OH | Panels TBD
December 1 (TBD?) : One Book One San Diego | San Diego, CA | Visits TBD
Iveliz Explains It All : My firstborn comes out in paperback on September 12th and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I’m going on a multi-city book tour to celebrate, and will be visiting a ridiculous amount of middle schools to chat (in English & Spanish!) about books in verse and mental health. I also just signed a contract for Chinese rights (‼️), which is super exciting, but will definitely be an exercise in letting go, since I won’t be able to have the control over the final product that I had for my Spanish translation.
Something Like Home : My sophomore book also debuts September 12th and my feelings are EVERYWHERE, so for now, let me just remind you that you can get personalized and signed copies from Bluebird Bookstop, and you can sign up to get your pre-order goodies (no matter where you bought the book) by filling out this form. I have *also* signed the contract for both UK rights and US Spanish, so stay tuned for those links soon.
Untitled Fencing Book : People always warn you about the sophomore slump, but for me it’s been the junior slump. I sold Iveliz & SLH in a two book deal, so by the time Iveliz won the Newbery Honor, SLH was already done. This fencing book, though? It’s been a struggle — an ‘ask for two deadline extensions’ kind of struggle. And don’t get me wrong, I’m really really excited about this story. It’s just also been hard to get in the flow because the only thing flowing is pressure 🥲.
Special Shifter YA Duology : Honestly, what I’m most looking forward to in terms of being done with the above fencing draft (hopefully very soon!) is getting to work on my shifter book again. This has been my side project for a year and a half now, basically what I dive into in between middle grade deadlines, and I’m hoping to be able to pitch it to my editor next year. #TeamBearGirl




Not An Easy Win | Legends of Lotus Island #2 | We Were Once a Family | Saints Of the Household
Every so often I post about Nintendo Switch games I’ve been playing over on my instagram, but I sometimes also play computer games on my Mac. Lately, I’ve been very into the Sims 4 Horse Ranch Expansion, as well as a really fun (and hard) Minesweeper-esque card game called Let’s! Revolution!
Do you like The Great British Bake Off and Nailed It? Because if, like me, you do, then you really need to watch The Big Nailed It Baking Challenge. It’s just as wholesome and funny as it sounds, and involves bakers (at a Nailed It level lol) taking lessons each week and competing to show off how much they’ve learned.
Finally, it’s been pretty hot over here, and I’ve been craving fresh cool sandwiches for lunch. This Smashed White Bean, Basil, and Avocado sammie is one of my favorites to make.
Thanks for reading! Until next time,
Te deseo mucho éxito in this upcoming hectic month! Alsooo: I’m obsessed with minesweeper and have been wanting to play the sims again since forever! How do u do play in a mac 👀???