Writing Life - Laurie Ann Thompson

February 2026 news (and 2025 year-end review)

Laurie Thompson — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 22:34:16 +0000

It’s been a long time since I’ve sent out a newsletter, so this is way overdue. Sorry!

I’ve been working on a few different projects: several picture books and a middle-grade nonfiction proposal. I expect I’ll be dusting off my novel manuscript this year, too. I’m looking forward to a bunch of upcoming speaking opportunities and a new book coming in May 2027: Newton’s Paws of Motion!

I’ve also been keeping busy with climate advocacy volunteering—including coordinating a recent trip to Olympia for 15 students and 13 adult chaperones, where the students lobbied 10 of our state legislators for four different climate-friendly policies. It was a successful trip, and it felt good to make a difference—for the climate and for the kids.

In personal news, my oldest kiddo just finished their Master’s degree in bioinformatics and bought a house in Denmark, so I’m looking forward to visiting them there again this year, along with some other fun trips to places I’ve never been before!

I hope you and yours are safe and well. 💜

The whole series, now in board book!

You Are a Robin! and You Are a Garter Snake! both recently released in board book format, so now your littlest readers can own the whole set. All the books in the Meet Your World series use movement and pretend play to introduce young readers to animals that most likely live in their neighborhoods… AND to the joy of reading!

Buy now

2025 in review:

I always like to sit down and reflect on the past year as we move into a new one. Here are some of the highlights:

I got back on my feet after breaking and badly spraining my ankle at the end of 2024.
I got to visit my family in Wisconsin and later in Michigan.
I led the event planning for and moderated a panel at the Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s Greater Pacific Northwest regional conference.
I sold a manuscript (Newton’s Paws of Motion, coming in May 2027 from Sourcebooks Xpress)!
I participated monthly in a citizen science program to monitor amphibian populations in a nearby park.
I bought a new car (an all-electric Honda Prologue).
I got to spend time with my oldest kiddo when they came back to the U.S. to attend a friend’s wedding on Orcas Island.
I lobbied for climate policies in person in Washington, D.C., and virtually.
I researched and made progress on a middle-grade nonfiction proposal, but have since shelved it (at least for the time being).
I finished one nonfiction picture book poetry manuscript and started another one (alas, poetry picture books are a tough sell these days!).
I researched and started drafting another nonfiction picture book (NOT poetry).
I revised an old nonfiction picture book (but it still needs more work).
I wrote an article for the SCBWI’s Essential Guide to Publishing for Children.
I got a letter to the editor published in the Seattle Times.
I presented at five school visits, one library event, five Meet Your World story walks, the Washington Library Association conference, Kindling Words West, an adult writing for children course, and the Poulsbo Book Festival.
I planted dozens of trees and removed invasive plants in our local parks.
I saw a ton of spectacular plays and musicals.
I got to spend lots of quality time with family, friends, and pets.

Favorite reads of 2025:

I enjoyed a lot of great books last year, so I wanted to share a few of my favorites with you. In no particular order, here they are:

Picture book fiction:

Grace Builds an Almost Perfect Dog by Curtis Manley and Tracy Subisak
This Wolf Was Different by Katie Slivensky and Hannah Salyer
Blue by Suzanne Kaufman
There’s Something Odd About the Babysitter by Elayne Crain and John Ledda
The Riding Lesson by Jennifer K. Mann

Picture book nonfiction:

From BAM! to BURP!: A Carbon Atom’s Never-Ending Journey Through Space and Time and YOU by Melissa Stewart and Marta Alvarez Miguens
On an Ocean Journey: Animals in Motion Through the Seas by Elizabeth Shreeve and Ray Troll
Flurry, Float, and Fly!: The Story of a Snowstorm by Laura Purdie Salas and Chiara Fedele
Bounce! A Scientific History of Rubber by Sarah Albee
Pedal Pusher: How One Woman’s Bicycle Adventure Helped Change the World by Mary Boone and Lisa Anchin
Almost Underwear by Jonathan Roth

Middle grade fiction:

The Unexpected Lives of Ordinary Girls by J. Anderson Coats
Premeditated Myrtle by Elizabeth Bunce
Annie California by Margaret Kellerman

Middle grade nonfiction:

Eating to Save the Planet: How Veganism Helps Fight Climate Change by Anne Broyles

Adult fiction:

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
Weyward by Emilia Hart
The Sirens by Emilia Hart
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
The Story Collector by Evie Woods
The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Brigands and Breadknives by Travis Baldree

Adult nonfiction:

Blueprint for a Revolution by Srdja Popovic
Wildly Inspired by Joni Sensel
Bigger by Ren Cedar Fuller

Upcoming events:

Feb 4: Author visit at St. Louise Elementary
Feb 10: Literacy night at Apollo Elementary
Mar 1: Attendee at nErDcamp Bellingham
Mar 2: Author visit at Ben Franklin Elementary
Mar 17: Keynote speaker at Tacoma Public Schools Highly Capable seminar
Mar 31-Apr 8: Vacation!
May 2: Breakout speaker at SCBWI-WWA conference
May 11–18: Attendee at Kindling Words West on Whidbey Island
Jul 14–15: Library presentations at Sequim, Forks, and Port Angeles

I’d love to hear from you! Please drop me a line anytime. And thanks for reading!

Year-end reflection for 2023: Successes

Laurie Thompson — Fri, 29 Dec 2023 00:50:15 +0000

I love participating in children’s author Julie Hedlund’s 12 Days of Christmas for Writers as part of my year-end reflection and new year goal-setting process. Day 3 of the series is an opportunity to reflect on our successes during the past year.

Here is my professional success list for 2023:

I signed a contract for a new picture book and delivered the final manuscript text.
I drafted an informational fiction picture book I’ve had in my head for quite a while (but am still working on).
I re-envisioned and re-drafted an older informational fiction picture book manuscript I’ve been working on for a long time (and am still working on).
I finished revising a nonfiction picture book manuscript.
I took Elana K. Arnold’s Revision Season course and did several revision passes on my first-ever novel (and still have more revising to do).
I did a ton of promotion for my new books, You Are a Honey Bee! and You Are a Raccoon!
I delivered many school visits and appearances.
I updated my school visit presentations.
I updated my website with the new book information and speaking details.

Personally, I also:

spent a lot of quality time with my adult children,
volunteered as a naturalist with my city’s parks department,
volunteered in a variety of roles with Citizens Climate Lobby, including lobbying Congress (twice!) to take action to protect our climate,
got CPR certified, and
took not one but two dream vacations!

I often feel like I’m not getting enough done, like I’m not working hard enough, like nothing is happening. It’s good to look back and see, wow, actually, it was a pretty good year!

June 2023 news

Laurie Thompson — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 05:18:16 +0000

Get your free activity kit!

There is now an activity kit/curriculum guide for the first two books in the Meet Your World series, YOU ARE A HONEY BEE! and YOU ARE A RACCOON!, and it is adorable! The guide features creative art projects, games, and writing and science-related activities to extend both the fun and educational value of the books. You can download it HERE. Huge thanks to Debbie Gonzales at Guides by Deb for creating these wonderful resources for parents and educators.

Recent appearances

I’ve been doing so many exciting school visits, storytimes, and virtual and online events. Here are just a few!

Watch the #GreenPB2023 Celebrate Earth Picture Book Party excerpt for You Are a Honey Bee! here
Watch the #GreenPB2023 Celebrate Earth Picture Book Party excerpt for You Are a Raccoon! here
Click here to watch the SCBWI-WWA spring 2023 Inside Story excerpt for both books in the Meet Your World series
I presented an interactive in-person storytime/signing event at the lovely Invitation Bookshop in Gig Harbor, WA
I was featured in this fun interview on YA and Kids’ Books Central
I was on the faculty for SCBWI-WWA’s Great Critique event
I presented a virtual You Are a Honey Bee! read-aloud on Streamable Learning
I was delighted to participate in a panel called Full STEAM Ahead for SCBWI-Oregon
I was pleasantly surprised that Two Truths and a Lie was featured in a list of “The best books to improve kids’ critical thinking” on Shepherd.com
I presented several virtual and in-person author visits at schools, plus an in-person storytime event for preschoolers at a local library. I wish I could show you their adorable faces and matching shirts, but to protect their privacy you’ll have to settle for this:

I was also fortunate to be able to attend Kindling Words West at the Whidbey Institute and spend a week working on my middle-grade fantasy novel in community with other industry pros. Here’s what my room looked like. Isn’t it cute?

What I’ve been reading… that you should, too!

Here are some of my favorite recent reads:

The Girl from Earth’s End by Tara Dairman: Wow! This book blew my mind in the best kind of way. There is so much packed into this middle-grade novel, but somehow it doesn’t feel overwhelming. Instead, it feels just right, like a warm hug from a dear friend.
Shermy and Shake, the Not-So-Nice Neighbor by Kirby Larson: A subtly sweet chapter book about an unexpected friendship, served up with equal parts humor and heart.
ALL of the #GreenPB2023 releases! Seriously, if you have any interest in science, nature, animals, or the environment (or know a young reader who does), check out these wonderful new picture books.

Writing (or life in general, really) advice

I was reading this interview with Abi Cushman, author/illustrator of Wombats Are Pretty Weird, and came across this perfect little tidbit of writing advice:

“…the important thing to realize is that feeling uncomfortable in the process just means you’re challenging yourself, and that’s a good thing.”

I’ve always tried to live my life by that mantra, and I think it’s such a good thing to remember. Discomfort doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t do the thing, or that you’re doing it wrong. It just means you’re pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone, which is necessary for growth.

Thoughts on Writing Poetry

Laurie Thompson — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 01:24:29 +0000

I’m struggling to write a poetic picture book. To fill me with the metaphor, imagery, rhythm and meter that I’m striving for, I’ve been reading other books of poetry. Two interesting things happened during today’s readings…

First, I was reading Gleams When Wet by Debra Spencer. I had picked it up at Half Price Books on a whim, since I’m mostly searching for ideas that have to do with water. Interestingly, it’s mostly set in the Monterey/Santa Cruz, California, area, which is where my oldest child is currently studying marine biology, so that was a fun connection. There are some beautiful and intriguing poems in here, as well as insightful commentary on life. It made for quite an enjoyable afternoon. (Yes, sitting and reading poetry all afternoon is sometimes actually my job. How lucky am I!?) What particularly struck me, however, is the inscription from the author (“To XXX, another adventurous father, with love from Debra”) and the handwritten card still tucked inside: “Happy birthday, XXX — I think you’ll enjoy this. Her poems are wonderful! See page 54! I also love Old Sailor’s Manifesto (p. 34) — and many others. Enjoy! Love, Mom” (*Note: Name changed to XXX to protect the innocent. 😉)
When I first read these words, I was instantly saddened. His mom had poured so much love into this thoughtful gift (not to mention it was personalized by the author)! How could he have given it away to end up on the shelf at my local HPB? But then I thought, selfishly, how lucky I was that he did, else I would never have happened upon it in my random HPB treasure hunt! Then I thought, maybe he read them and they just didn’t connect. It’s kind of sad that Mom missed the mark, but hey, it happens. Hopefully, he appreciated the thought, at least. Or maybe he read them and loved them, taking pictures of or typing up his favorites to file them away digitally rather than cluttering up his physical space. In the end, I’ve decided, it doesn’t matter why he didn’t treasure it. The real gift was in the giving. No matter what XXX felt about the gift or his reasons for passing it on, it warms my heart to think that his mom loved him, that she also loved words, and that she wanted to share them with him. As I struggle with my poetry project, I have often thought that perhaps it’s not worth it, perhaps it’s too far outside of my wheelhouse and I should stick to what I’m good at, perhaps no one will ever read or care about my words. Perhaps Debra thought that, too, before Mom came to get Gleams When Wet signed for her son. Perhaps, if I keep struggling, some other Mom will lovingly buy my poetic picture book for her child, and I’ll to get sign it, “To XXX, with love.”

Another book that struck me was River of Words, edited by Pamela Michael. It’s a collection of poems written by young people–many as young as 6 or 7–about the natural world. And. it. is. so. good! Not only did it do exactly what I was hoping for–filling my artist’s well with even more water images and metaphors to potentially use in my own project–but it was incredibly inspiring as well. Yes, these young writers are clearly very talented, but they are certainly not professional poets. Yet, their poems sing with meaning. The depths of what they are able to say with so few words reminds me why I’m trying to complete this project in the first place, to convey something that is deep and meaningful to me to young readers. And the success the poems achieve in conveying each individual author’s essence gives me hope that perhaps my poetry can one day make that kind of connection with readers, too.
So, thank you to the poets out there struggling to make your words and meaning flow. Thank you to publishers who still believe in creating beautiful poetry books for children and adults. And thank you to everyone who buys books to share with those you love. 💛

Emmanuel’s Dream wins CA Young Reader Medal!

Laurie Thompson — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 16:52:44 +0000

A few weeks ago I was honored to travel to Pasadena, CA, to the California Library Association conference to receive the California Young Reader Medal for Emmanuel’s Dream. This is a very special award because the winning book in each category is chosen by the kids themselves.
First, the award tea itself. There were teas and sandwiches and all kinds of yummies, and look at the lovely decorations:

The edge of the stage, with the book covers and other images inspired by the stories.

Bicycles for Emmanuel’s Dream, horses for The War that Saved My Life.

It was fun hearing the other speakers and getting to chat with the librarians during the book signing. And it all came with an honest-to-goodness medal!

The front of the medal.

The back of the medal.

After the ceremony, I had some time to walk around and explore the city. The weather was perfect, and Pasadena is lovely.

I loved the quotes painted onto the electrical boxes!

I stumbled upon a street fair in honor of Day of the Dead. There were many talented artists selling their wares, vendors, music, dancing, a puppet show, and chalk art! There were a lot of people out and about enjoying the festive atmosphere.

A chalk artist at work during the street fair.

A bearded dragon named Robert, enjoying the street fair with his pet boy.

I, of course, had to visit the local independent bookstore, Vroman’s!

A nice display at Vroman’s

The nice young women working there recommended Trejo’s Cantina for dinner, and it was so delicious!

Delicious dinner at Trejo’s Cantina!

The Vroman’s gals also told me not to miss the new ice cream shop in town, Wanderlust, which features flavors based on exotic travel destinations. They had me at ice cream! It was well worth the walk. I chose honey lavender, and it was divine.

So many interesting flavors!

As you can see, it was an amazing trip. Thank you so much, California young readers! 🙂

What I’ve Been Up To This Month

Laurie Thompson — Wed, 29 May 2019 15:56:21 +0000

The month isn’t even over yet, but so much has been packed into the last few weeks it feels more like two months already! That’s not exactly an excuse for neglecting the blog, but, you know, life happens. Anyway…

Beachside Nonfiction Workshop

I started out the month at the Beachside Nonfiction Workshop with Candace Fleming & Jennifer Swanson. It was amazing! The faculty were all stellar, the location was gorgeous, and the attendees were lovely. It was fun hanging out with other nonfiction geeks for an entire weekend. We all struggled to answer the “So, what do you write?” question, however, since we can usually just get away with “Nonfiction,” and have that be the end of it! I didn’t take nearly enough photos, but here’s the view from my hotel balcony…

Yes, it was hard work. There were a lot of sessions, and they were mostly master level, plus networking and critiques. I came away with so much useful information and new ideas to apply to my works in progress. There were obviously some other perks, too!

Seattle Reading Council Appearance

In the middle of the month, some of the members of my critique group (and all agency-mates at Erin Murphy Literary, as it turns out!), did an appearance at the Seattle Reading Council. It was a billed as a “Books and Chocolate” event… what could be better?! We each talked about our books and process and then took questions. The crowd was mostly teachers and librarians, so it made for a wonderful evening of sharing book love (and chocolate!) among likeminded new friends.

School visits

I had an elementary school visit where I got to talk to several third-grade classes about my writing journey, grit, and writing with emotion, as well as several fifth-grade classes about evaluating sources and spotting fake news. It was an awesome visit with super-engaged audiences, but alas, no photos. You’ll have to take my word for it!

I have another visit coming up early in June (the last one of the school year!), so I’ve been making sure everything is ready for that one, too.

SCBWI-WWA Spring Conference

Finally, I attended and helped with the SCBWI Western Washington’s spring conference, Imagine That! It was a great weekend: hearing from inspiring speakers, getting feedback on one of my works in progress from a powerhouse editor, and catching up with author and illustrator friends in the industry. I’m still soaking it all up and processing what was said! Good stuff.

Book Releases!

Along with all of that I’ve been getting ready for the Two Truths and a Lie: Histories and Mysteries paperback release on May 21 AND preparing for the upcoming new release of Two Truths and a Lie: Forces of Nature on June 25th! I’ve designed and ordered postcards and swag, scheduled social media announcements, and made other plans to get the word out.

Works in Progress…

And, of course, there are those works in progress, too! Earlier this month I submitted both a nonfiction picture book revision and a graphic novel proposal to my agent. I’m currently revising a nonfiction picture book, a fiction picture book, and a middle-grade nonfiction manuscript. I’m also working on a brand-new nonfiction picture book draft and a young-adult nonfiction proposal. Busy, busy!

Yes, I do love my job. More so every day, in fact! =D

2018 CYBILS Round 1 judge

Laurie Thompson — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 19:39:53 +0000

2018 CYBILS, here I come! I’m excited to share that I’ll be a CYBILS judge again this year. The CYBILS Awards recognize authors and illustrators whose books for children and young adults combine both literary merit and popular appeal. In the past, I’ve always helped with judging the younger nonfiction category (Nonfiction Picture Books in 2011 and 2012, and Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction in 2014). This time around, however, I’ll be a Round 1 Judge in the Junior/Senior High Nonfiction category, along with the following talented bloggers:

Anne Bennett, My Head is Full of Books, @Headfullofbooks
Rebecca Aguilar, Mostly About Nonfiction, @RebeccaGAguilar
Heidi Grange, Geo Librarian, @GeoLibrarian
Jennie Rothschild, Biblio File, @kidsilkhaze

Nominations will open on October 1st, and our shortlists will be due in December. There are usually around 70 entries, so I’ll be doing a LOT of reading in the coming months. (And hopefully a lot of blogging, too–get ready for those reviews!) Finalists will be announced in January, and winners are announced in February.

On fear, and how writing is like a guitar

Laurie Thompson — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 02:15:47 +0000

Fear is funny. Not funny, really. Maddening, frustrating, debilitating.
After a busy month or so, I hadn’t had time to practice my bass guitar at all. I wanted to. I missed it. So I took it out of the case and sat it next to my chair so it would be easy to grab whenever I had a few free minutes. And from there it mocked me. I was afraid to pick it up. Afraid I’d forgotten everything. Afraid I would suck.
Writing is like that, too. I think the writers who advise others to “write every day” do so for this reason most of all. The longer we go without doing something the more room there is for doubt and excuses, so we go even longer without doing it. It’s a vicious cycle that can be difficult to break out of.
Sometimes, the missing doing the thing becomes greater than the fear and overcomes it. Other times, we force ourselves past the fear. We have been here before and can see it for what it is.
I finally picked up the guitar today. I can still play. In fact, I think I played better today than I have in months. It felt joyous, both the ability to make music and the letting go of the fear.
Soon, my schedule will allow me to get back to writing again, too. And I am not afraid. In fact, I’m looking forward to it.
What goals are you avoiding because of fear? Perhaps it’s time to begin.

2017 in review, and a sneak peek at 2018 goals

Laurie Thompson — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 01:12:09 +0000

If you’ve followed my blog for a long time (or know me at all), you probably know I can be a little obsessive about setting goals and doing annual performance reviews. So, as 2017 comes to a close, I thought I should reflect on what I’ve accomplished the past year and think about what 2018 might bring.

One of my main goals for 2017 was to get more comfortable speaking in public. It’s a good thing I was able to do that, since (and probably because) I got a lot of practice! Here’s a quick summary:

24 keynotes, assemblies, presentations, or workshops for young people,
17 Skype visits,
7 presentations for adults,
6 bookstore appearances,
2 roundtable critique sessions,
1 radio interview, and
an 8‑week improv class.

The success I feel here isn’t so much from the quantity, but from the quality. First, it’s gotten MUCH easier for me. I can do these talks in stride now and don’t stress out for a whole day prior and then need a whole day after to decompress. That’s a big win! Also, the improv class was oddly terrifying to think about, but so much fun and such a great experience in practice. So, I’m really glad that I pushed myself out of my comfort zone.
I also had some success with major writing goals and projects:

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: IT’S ALIVE! was released in June, and I put a lot of time put into promotion, including developing promotional materials like curriculum guides and swag, and creating new presentations around it.
We’re just now putting the final touches on the second book in the series, TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: HISTORIES AND MYSTERIES, which we researched, drafted, revised, copyedited, and sourced photos for all in the past year. This one is so good, I can’t wait to see it out in the world next June!
We have the outline for the third TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE book just about wrapped up, too, so 2018 will see a lot of work (and fun!) on that front.
I wrote a brand-new picture book from scratch, revised it, and it went out on submission! I’m hopeful this one will find a home in 2018.
I revised my MG nonfiction project and sent it back out on submission. Alas, it looks like this one will need yet another fresh approach, which is also on the schedule for 2018. I’m mulling over a couple of ideas about how to proceed.
I worked on revising two other picture books, one fiction and one nonfiction, but neither one is quite ready yet. More work to come on both of those in the year ahead, and hopefully they’ll be ready to send out soon.
I started researching a new picture book biography. I’m really excited about this one, and the research so far has only fueled my interest further. I hope I can complete a first draft in the coming year.
I had a new idea for another nonfiction picture book and have started researching that one as well. This one is still in the idea phase and will take some noodling to get just the right approach, so for now I’ll keep researching and thinking and see what happens.

As you can see from the above, I’ll have my work cut out for me in 2018 with one new book to promote, one under contract to write, (at least) two picture books to finish revising, the MG nonfiction to re-envision, and the two new picture books to research and draft. Phew — that’s a lot of big goals. Wish me luck! =D

Photos from the Two Truths and a Lie launch party

Laurie Thompson — Wed, 09 Aug 2017 03:52:39 +0000

Okay, so it’s been more than a month since the launch party for Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive!, and this post is _way_ overdue. In my defense, we’ve been hard at work on the second book in the series, and a writer has to have her priorities, right? Alright, so perhaps there’s no reasonable excuse for how neglected my poor blog has been lately, but I’m vowing to try to do better going forward. And I definitely want to share some of the highlights from the launch party, so in the better-late-than-never category, here we go! =D
First, the cake! In the flurry of activity getting ready for a launch party, I always forget to take a picture of the cake at the actual event, so this time I took a picture of it in the shopping cart when I picked it up. It’s a good thing, too, because this is, sadly, the only picture I have of it.

There were also gluten-free cupcakes with decorations that said, “The cake is a lie.” (That’s a geeky gamer reference, in case you haven’t heard it before.)
Before we even started the actual launch party event, I got to sign a book for a brand-new fan who just happened to be in the store when we started setting things up. Fun!

After thanking everyone who helped make this book possible (in broad strokes, because I could go on all day!), I did a little reading from the book. (You can’t have a launch party without a reading, right?) Since we were in a bookstore surrounded by books, I selected the story about book scorpions and book lice. What are those, you ask? You’ll have to read the book! And then you’ll have to decide if they’re real or not. 😉

Then we played a game show-style quiz game, using our smart phones. To my immense relief, it worked! People could answer using their devices and the system would let me see who answered the most questions the fastest.

Kevan won the first prize–a Bigfoot Air Freshener for his car. (Is Bigfoot a truth or a lie?)

She looks worried! I wonder what was in her bag? Ah, yes… I think it was the Groucho Marx Disguise Glasses (so she can fake her identity).

Dan was so excited to see what he won that he ripped open the bag and sent his prize flying halfway across the store! Fortunately, it didn’t hit anyone. If I recall correctly, he got the Enchanted Unicorn Bandages. (Are unicorns real?)

This young guest was clearly thrilled to win the Glow-in-the-Dark Jellyfish Ornament! (It’s as close as I could get to a Pacific Northwest tree octopus (see chapter 5) or the Praya dubia (chapter 6).

What did Laura Moe win? Was it the Dr. McPhee’s Snake Oil Soap? I think so!

And, finally, the grand prize winner… Alan won his very own Mike the Headless Chicken (see chapter 5)! Fortunately, this one is just plastic and doesn’t require food and water through an eye dropper.

It was a great launch party and such a memorable day. Thank you again to everyone who helped make this book happen, to Secret Garden Book Shop for hosting my launch party yet again, to Curtis Manley for catching all of these fantastic photos for me (except the cake in the shopping cart, of course), and to everyone who came to the event. I love being part of such a supportive community of writers, booksellers, and readers! 💙