A couple weeks ago I was able to announce the publication date for my upcoming book 7th Grade Revolution (10.24.2017 in case you forgot 😉 ). Well, my book has already been on the road without me. Every year, the American Library Association (ALA) puts on a huge conference, and this year it was in Chicago.

I didn’t think it would be possible for my book to be at ALA this year because while the edits were done, it wasn’t quite to the ARC (Advance Reading Copy) stage and the deadlines for showcasing books had passed. My publisher surprised me by pulling a few strings and because they already had some books on display at the ibpa booth (Independent Book Publishers Association) they managed to get another spot on the shelf. Even then it was a white-knuckler to get it printed and shipped in time to make it. In fact, 7th Grade Revolution didn’t travel with the rest of the books. Instead of going to Chicago, it hopped in a suitcase and went on the plane with IBPA. Many thanks to Terry Nathan of ibpa for making it happen. It would have been surreal to stand in front of a shelf with a book I had written on it while thousands of people strolled past, stopping to browse. But though I was not fortunate enough to attend, it makes me smile to see the pictures. The journey has started.