October Surprises (Treats, Not Tricks)!

Ready for some good news? Who couldn’t use a palate-cleanser of positivity these days? I’m pleased as pumpkin-spiced punch to share mine with you.

But first: Wow, has it been a month.

From left to right: Rick Riordan, Anabelle Oh, yours truly punting questions, and a busy tour staffer: photo by Michael Flynn

It started with a bang on October 2. I was honored to be the conversation partner for Rick Riordan (author of the monster hit series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, plus literally dozens of other best sellers) and his co-author Anabelle Oh when they appeared in Boise on the third stop of their nine-city tour to promote Camp Half-Blood: the Wild Zone — the first in a new series set in the same world as Percy Jackson’s adventures, and an instant New York Times indie best seller.

The event was a blast. Around a thousand wildly enthusiastic readers filled every seat in the venerable Boise High School auditorium, and you’d have thought the Beatles had resurrected. Rick and Anabelle were warm, gracious, and great fun to hang out with while we waited for our cue to take the stage.

If you’re aged 8 to 80-plus and love a rollicking fantasy adventure, get your hands on a copy of The Wild Zone — like me, you’ll be salivating for the next three books in the series, which are releasing every six months. Amazing.

On October 7, my husband and I filled out our absentee ballots, took them downtown to the official ballot drop box at Boise City Hall, and sent them off with our hopes and blessings.

Got the sticker to prove it! Make sure you get yours! Photo by author

I pause here to urge you to VOTE if you haven’t yet. Yes, your vote counts. Yes, you can get information and help to cast your ballot, including a ride to the polls if you need one (a good place to start: Vote.org).

October 15 was a big day.

My husband and I spent the day at the Governor’s Task Force on Children at Risk’s annual Keeping Children Safe Conference in Boise. We both volunteer with the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) program to help children in foster care navigate their court cases.

There’s always more to learn in this realm, and we were impressed by the determination and dedication of the professionals, volunteers, and foster parents committed to helping kids who’ve been impacted by abuse or neglect.

But the conference was a sobering reminder of just how dire the term “at risk” can mean. We saw some images that are still burned into my brain, which I wouldn’t share with you even if I could.

Afterwards, I dropped in on the re-opening party for the newly refurbished Cabin, Idaho’s hub for readers and writers. It’s housed in a literal hand-hewn cabin, built in 1940 by the Civilian Conservation Corps to honor Idaho’s 50th anniversary as a state. The refurbishments and updates are top-notch, with additions of outdoor storytelling and event spaces — a great resource for Idaho’s literary community.

Inspiring outdoor art at The Cabin, a reading fox. Photo by author

October Surprise #1: Waiting for me in my inbox that evening was a message from my editor (with three exclamation marks in the subject line) informing me that the Griffin Speaker paperback, originally scheduled to release in late April 2027, has been moved up to January 26 (!!!)!

It’s pretty unusual for a publisher to rearrange its production schedule to fast-track a release, so it only happens for very good reason. I’m not at liberty to share that reason yet, but I sure will the moment I’m given the go-ahead. The paperback edition includes a fabulous map of Griffin Land by Virginia Allyn as well as Matt Rockefeller’s stunner art — plus a teaser for the second book in the series.

Preorders are available right now — and the wait just got a lot shorter!

Image courtesy Disney-Hyperion Books

October Surprise #2: If you’ve been following me for a bit, you’re aware that I’m part of the team that hosts and produces the Crow’s Feet: Life As We Age podcast. We are a very indie, all-volunteer bunch — kind of the podcast version of a garage band — who’ve been learning as we go.

It looks like our DIY project has come pretty far, because on October 20, we got the announcement that the Crow’s Feet podcast earned not one, but two Gold Signal Awards — one each for the “Culture, Belonging and Inclusion” and “Indie Podcast” categories!

TWO of these babies! Image courtesy Signal Awards

You can catch the episode that won us both Gold awards wherever you get your podcasts (for an episode-specific link on Apple Podcasts, click here), in which author, journalist, and Crow’s Feet team member Melinda Blau talks with actress, writer, and producer Kathryn Grody about her one-woman autobiographical show The Unexpected Third (currently playing until Nov. 1 at the George Street Playhouse in New Jersey), the joys and losses that have shaped her life, and her very rich, very real marriage to Mandy Patinkin. I highly recommend a listen.

As we head around the corner into November, there’s a definite snap to the air in the mornings and evenings. When I can deploy sweaters, the fireplace, and mugs of licorice tea, I’m in my happy place.

Meanwhile, it’s still October, and I’m savoring every minute of it.