I just got back from an amazing week in Oklahoma! I signed hundreds of books, met hundreds of librarians and thousands of readers, and had as much fun as an author can have, thanks to Permabound Books, Best of Books bookstore in Edmond, and my lovely publisher Penguin/RH!

My debut novel is on the Sequoyah list, which is thrilling for me. If you’re curious about that book, here’s a snippet of me reading from it to the kids of Oklahoma!

The trip was wonderful. I took almost NO pictures, as I was far too busy to even THINK about such things, but here are a few the lovely Alicia from Permabound sent me!

At the conference hotel with Alicia Trader, Kristin Levine, and Joan Bauer

South Lake Elementary made me feel VERY welcome! AND I got a new shirt!

Meeting Kristin and Joan was a highlight of the YEAR.

… and talking to thousands of Oklahoma school kids about my books? I may have left the state with almost no voice, but I had a full heart!

I miss Oklahoma already. But I think I’m going back in January, so I won’t have to miss those wonderful folks for long!

And now I’m ready for some more local, fun book festivals! This Saturday, October 18, you can find me at the Llano County Book Fest, doing a workshop for all ages on re-writing a fairy tale…

…and then, on Saturday, October 25, I’ll be on a panel at the Texas Book Festival with the utterly lovely Natalie Lloyd and Annie Barrows, called Do You Believe in Magic?, at 1:15. I hope to see some of you there!

Whew! I’ll stop there, even though I have a BUNCH of other things to post. Time to go make the word sausage, as we say – I’ve got a new book to work on!