Well reading for one, much to my 5-year-old self’s horror I’m sure. I also bake, but I’m not super into measuring so results are varied and interesting. I love to crochet everything from blankets to toys for family and friends. Searching for shells and sea glass is my favorite way to spend a summer day…. Read more »

Complaining, swimming but not by choice (see my first hobby), watching TV while talking on the phone with friends, not going outside, cross stitch, eating chips, and drinking discount soda.

My perm. My hair looked like some poor poodle got its bangs—and only its bangs—caught in an electrical storm.

Lunch! Rectangle cafeteria pizza and underdone cookies for life.

I’m lucky to read a lot of current middle grade books. Some recent favorites are Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt, Sincerely Sicily by Tamika Burgess, Tethered to Other Stars by Elisa Stone Leahy, The Very Unfortunate Wish of Melony Yoshimura by Waka T. Brown, and Lei and the Fire Goddess by Malia Maunakea. I… Read more »

My first favorite middle grade book was The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. It is a mystery that made me forget everything else going on in the world while I was reading. I was so intent on figuring out the puzzle that I didn’t even realize how invested I’d become in the characters until I… Read more »

I hope the number one takeaway is fun! After that, one of the themes in my stories is that we can work with people who are different from us to create change and that our unique contributions together can make something better than we could have ever achieved alone.

No, I didn’t even want to be a reader! I declined to learn and ended up in what was then called “remedial reading” in elementary school. In middle school, I would take my glasses off during grammar lessons so whatever “rules” the teacher was writing on the board didn’t distract me from day-dreaming. Not recommended!… Read more »