Wow! I can’t believe the summer is almost over. I’ve been traveling, reading, writing, and teaching. Oh, yeah! Kids: there’s one last chance to take a (free!) writing workshop from me this summer, on August 9, 2017 from 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM at Laura’s Library in Southwest Austin. We’ll be re-writing fairy tales – please join us!  

Next on New Things for Nikki: I’ve been invited to participate in a podcast! I’ll post links when it’s done (unless it’s horribly embarrassing, which is 100% possible). My job has been to find the BEST Middle Grade new-ish novels I can find, and gush about them for 7-10 minutes.

Oh, friends. I have found some of the most amazing books. FUN books.

Here are a few covers from some of my faves (I’m still reading for one more!)… I’ll share more about them all next month, when I post the gushing. (But you should probably buy these now for your collections. I will vouch for them all.)

And THIS ONE arrived today from the publisher!!! It’s not out yet, but will be soon. I love Tara’s other books, so I have a feeling I’ll adore this one, too.

And, last but not least, a small confession. A few years ago, when asked what the hardest part of writing was for me, I would immediately reply “revising.” Last week, when a kid at a writing workshop asked me that, I said (without even thinking about it) “believing in myself.”

If you’ve been wondering where my next book is… well, that’s the problem. I lost faith in myself, in whether or not what I was doing mattered, was important enough, or would be good enough again to find a wider audience. I’m working to find that confidence that I had in spades only a few years ago again… and in the meantime, I’m writing some wild, strange, amazing things.

For me.

It’s pretty wonderful, to be honest. Writing what I want, exploring different points of view, and forms, and genres. When you do see me again on those bookshelves?

It may be with something completely different. 🙂