TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: FORCES OF NATURE, the third book in the series, is finally here! So, what’s this one about? Here’s an overview:

Creating a book is a highly collaborative process, and this book has had an incredible team working on it from day one. Many, many thanks to my co-author, Ammi-Joan Paquette; our agent, Erin Murphy; our editor, Jordan Brown; and all the wonderful folks at Walden Pond Press and HarperCollins. It’s been an honor and a joy to work with you all on this book and the entire TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE series!

Buy it now, at your local independent bookstore, or anywhere books are sold! 

via GIPHY

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

A.

1. There’s an abandoned cruise ship loaded with crazed, cannibal rats drifting around somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. Beware!
2. A banyan tree in Pakistan was put under arrest by a British army officer in 1898 and is still in chains today. Pardon, anyone?
3. It’s illegal to chew gum in Singapore.

B.

1. Ben Franklin wrote a treatise on why scientists should try to find a way to make farts smell better.
2. Dog Island is an island oasis dedicated to letting dogs live out their wilder natures, undisturbed by humans. Be free, Fifi.
3. There’s an annual festival in Spain centered around throwing tomatoes at people. Food fight!

C.

1. The oldest known dental fillings date back to between 12,740 and 13,000 years ago, and they were filled with, essentially, tar. Ew.
2. It’s illegal to own a pet turtle in Iceland, and 1 in 10 children there grow up to become authors.
3. I was once trapped in an elevator, alone, overnight. Scary!

 
If you don’t know all of the answers, go do some research and see if you can figure them out! But be careful… things might not always be what they seem at first glance, and truth often is stranger than fiction.
For even more trivia fun, check out this post from MentalFloss on National Trivia Day last year. I especially love the one about Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. (I’m a huge fan of their new Urban Bourbon flavor!)
If you enjoyed these true (and not so true) trivia facts for National Trivia Day, or want to check your answers, make sure to check out the book: Two Truths and a Lie: Histories and Mysteries!
Do you have any favorite trivia tidbits? Please post them in the comments below (and be sure to warn us if they might not be 100% true)!

This is the window display that greeted us when we arrived at Brick and Mortar Books! So nice!!

They had loads of books ready for sale!

The signing line starts to form.

Fun signing books!

Signing line in progress.

Brick and Mortar even had a full end cap display!

What a great day! A huge thank you to Brick and Mortar Books for being such an amazing host and to everyone who was able to make it. Brick and Mortar Books still has signed copies of all of the books, so feel free to stop in if you need any for your collection! =D

Reviews:
“With the phrase ‘fake news’ being tossed around a great deal these days, this collection of stories in which one out of every three is a lie is both timely and entertaining…. Readers with a taste for trivia and the strange-but-true aspects of geography and history will find much to enjoy.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Even dyed-in-the-wool skeptics will be hard put to spot the ringers: footprints embedded in sandstone on the roof of Kentucky’s Mammoth Caves, dental fillings more than 12,000 years old, or a trove of lead tiles embedded with ancient Roman curses? Along with suggestions for side projects and discussions, the authors offer fact lists containing one false factoid as extra challenges to readers’ credulity. Happily, the back matter includes explanations that identify the baloney, as well as a savvy guide to evaluating information sources.” —Booklist

Signed copies are available from Brick and Mortar Books! 

 

Please join me for the West Coast Launch Party for

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE:
HISTORIES AND MYSTERIES

Saturday, June 30th, 2 PM **

And, if you can’t make the party but would like to order a signed copy, please call Brick and Mortar Books at 425–869-0606.

And I want to be a paperback writer
Paperback writer!
(cue music by the Beatles)

First, the Texas Library Association include it on their 2018 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List. According to TLA, the Topaz List “highlights recently published nonfiction gems for readers of all ages. Adult services and youth services librarians serve on separate committees that consider hundreds of nonfiction titles for adults and youth respectively. The librarians debate the merits, appeal, and importance of the works to curate a list of engaging nonfiction titles intended to reveal new or little-known information, open doors to other worlds, or introduce fresh voices. With titles for adults and children PreK-grade 12, there is something for everyone on the Topaz list!”
Texas librarians ROCK, and being on this list is an incredible honor!

Next, the Nerdy Book Club announced their 2017 Nerdies for Long Form Nonfiction. I love reading this blog, and their passion for children’s books really comes through. Plus, some of my favorite books and authors are on this list, so I literally gasped out loud when I scrolled down far enough to see the cover of Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive! Thank you, Nerdy Book Club! So exciting!!

Then, the Cybils announced their 2017 Elementary/Middle Grade Non-Fiction Finalists, and Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive! was on their list, too! Again, there are some amazing books here (including Zoo Scientists to the Rescue and Fred Korematsu Speaks Up, which I reviewed in past posts here), and I have been a Cybils judge in the past (so I know how seriously they take their work!). Being a Cybils finalist is an unbelievable thrill!

Finally, Booklist shared some love, in both their Special Feature: Lasting Connections 2017 and Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth, 2017.
Lasting Connections highlights their top 30 choices for the K–8 classroom, all published in the previous year and all selected for their natural connections across the curriculum and to the Common Core State and Next Generation Science Standards.

And the Editor’s Choice list is selected by the Books for Youth editorial staff, who are “committed to providing a broad selection of outstanding books that mixes popular appeal with literary excellence,” as best-of-the-year nonfiction and fiction books and picture books. Wow!

Having a book that you’ve worked hard on appear on lists like these is truly a dream come true, and I couldn’t be happier with this news. Cheers to 2018!

First up is the Educator’s Guide to Support Information Literacy, written by amazing 5th grade teacher Melissa Guerrette, M.Ed., NBCT. This guide is chock full of tips teachers can use to teach students how to evaluate sources and fact-check any materials they may encounter, whether they are reading the stories from TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE or just about anything else.
It includes a printable Fact or Fiction note-taking worksheet teachers can use to help readers analyze a text to determine if it is true or false and record evidence of their thinking processes along the way.
It also has a list of the Common Core State Standards supported by the activities in the guide, AND an impressive collection of additional resources for teachers of information literacy concepts.
Download the PDF of the guide HERE.

To go along with all of this excitement, for a limited time Curious City DPW is hosting a GIVEAWAY! Read all about it and ENTER HERE, but hurry! Winners will be announced December 5, 2017!

I’m super excited about how these might spur classroom discussions around STEM topics and information literacy. If you use either of them with students, please let me know! I’d love to hear about how teachers are putting into practice and any suggestions for how it could be improved. And, of course, pictures would be fantastic!