Happy Book Birthday, Jax!

Happy New Year and Happy Book Birthday to The War of the Witches! It has been a long journey but we have finally reached the end of Jaxon’s magical adventure! I’m having a low-key kind of launch. No parties or cake, but I did make a short video which you can watch here. With so many conflict zones around the world, I’m a little uneasy promoting a book that has the word “war” in the title. But I wrote resistance to war into the novel and I hope the book can serve as an opportunity for kids and adults to talk about what it means to be a peacemaker. My fellow Canadian kid lit author Uma Krishnaswami kindly interviewed me for her blog, Writing with a Broken Tusk. Part I on the dragon series went up today.

I hoped to have the prequel done before the start of 2024 but things didn’t quite go as planned. I’m easing my way into the New Year and giving myself a bit more time to get it done. In the meantime, I want to take a moment to thank all the folks who have supported this series. We’re creeping closer and closer to the half-million mark! I’m pretty sure I’ll never have another title that will sell as well as Dragons in a Bag, so I’m going to enjoy what’s left of the ride and plan (loosely) for what’s next. I keep drawing tarot cards that urge me to reflect on past achievements so I guess that’s what I’ll do.

I got an incredible report from the Irish Family Research Center last week, and yesterday I received an invitation to lead a writing workshop for an LGBTQ arts advocacy group in Glasgow. Edi and I have booked our January trip to Detroit (first time for me!) so after that I’ll start looking farther abroad. I reached out to a primary school in Terryglass, Tipperary, which is where my ancestors settled after leaving England. I’m interested in how Irish history is taught to children. My memoir is basically a consideration of the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, our families, and our countries…

In other news, Ship of Souls is on sale in the Kindle Store; get your copy this month for just 99 cents!

Wishing you all the best for 2024…perhaps this is the year we can finally achieve peace on earth.