Dear Readers,
Snow usually blankets the landscape here in Minnesota by now, but this year, so much is still visible.
I realized today that I typically ignore the saggy brown plants that remain in my yard over winter. The frosty coating caught my eye the other morning. The wilted ostrich fern fronds looked as if they’d been dipped in sugar. I hadn’t appreciated the many shades of brown before.
The frosty ferns reminded me how important it is to stop, and look again. To appreciate the overlooked all around us, and find beauty and hope. I’m trying to do this with my writing, and my reading. To really stop, and notice the understated yet important stories that I may have brushed past as I move from one thing to another.
I really appreciate you, for reading my work, and sharing it with others. Thanks for supporting my two releases this year! My story “Michelle Yvette in Kaiserslautern,” which touches on the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, was published in the YA anthology Boundless: Twenty Multicultural and Multiracial Voices on Identity, edited by Ismée Williams and Rebecca Balcarcél.
Jayden and Mr. Curtis continue their adventures in my picture book Jayden’s Secret Ingredient, which was published in August. Thank you so much for your food donations during my story time food drives at Red Balloon and Wild Rumpus! Your contributions helped kids through Every Meal.
2023 Highlights
Taught at Highlights Summer Camp in Nonfiction at the Highlights Retreat Center in Pennsylvania.
Presented keynote at Natural Start Alliance Conference
Readings at fabulous bookstores: Strive Bookstore, Red Balloon Bookshop, Wild Rumpus, Magers & Quinn
Was a MN State Fair Blue Ribbon Author
Attended Amplify Black Storytellers Retreat
Presented story at Picture Book Parade and Story Stroll
Helped plan with the newly-formed MN BIPOC Kidlit Collective
Presented at the Twin Cities Book Festival
Met amazing students through awesome school visits!
What I’m reading
What’s Next
Please join us on January 31st! I will be in conversation with the amazing children’s author Sarah Warren.
Some exciting partnerships are in the works. Stay tuned. I’ll have a couple of exciting announcements soon!
I may be coming to your school or library! Please fill out this form, or contact Christie Hinrichs to arrange a speaking engagement: christie@authorsunbound.com. I’d love to share my books and writing process with you!
I hope 2024 brings you good health, happiness, and great reading!
Stop and appreciate the understated brown or gray in your day.
Happy New Year!
PEACE to all of you