Last week, Page & Panel held a virtual launch for Whitney Gardner and I. We teamed up to talk about our new graphic novels, Long Distance and Paranorthern. The amazing Tyra Sweet hosted our panel and we had a fabulous discussion! If you missed it, you can check it out below. And you can pick up copies of both of our books from Page & Panel (in-person or online here). They have signed copies of ParaNorthern and you can get a FREE Chaos Bunny enamel pin with your purchase.

Exterior of Book City on the DanforthOver the weekend, I set up at Book City on the Danforth in Toronto for an outdoor book signing. As you may know, ParaNorthern was released last week so we wanted to celebrate and spread the word! Book City welcomed me with open arms and helped make the event absolutely wonderful.

Of course it had to rain though and we were all worried that the turnout would be less than stellar. However, that was not the case! A few people showed up who already had the book or came specifically to pick it up and have it signed, but we managed to meet and connected with many new readers. It made my heart SO FULL to talk to people about ParaNorthern and see the genuine joy on their faces as I told them about Abby, Gita, Hannah, and Silas.

Book City still has signed copies left and you can get Chaos Bunny enamel pins, FREE with purchase. You can visit their store in person or check out their store here.

THANK YOU BOOK CITY!!!!! Y’all truly don’t know what it meant to me to get to celebrate the release of ParaNorthern in person even amidst the ongoing pandemic situation. Much love <3

Once again, we didn’t have an acknowledgments section for ParaNorthern (like Oh My Gods!) so I wanted to put a little something together to thank a TON of people.

First of all, Mari Costa knocked the art for this book out of the park. It is true magic getting to see what’s in your head come to life on the page. Silas’ expressions are just…*chefs kiss* Thank you to Rebecca McConnell for your wonderful colour assists; everything just pops colour-wise in the story and it’s beautiful!

Lily Kessinger. What can I say to you that I haven’t heartfelt DMed or emailed to you 5000 times already? You changed my life when you took on ParaNorthern and you made it a much better story. I would trust you with any and all of my book babies for the rest of my career! Thank you forever <3

Mary Claire Cruz!!! a WIZARD, basically. Mary Claire did all the design and art direction for the book and gave it the perfect jackets that entirely encapsulate the vibe of the book.

For everyone else at HMH / Etch / Clarion – y’all are the absolute best and gave me so much love and support on this journey. I can’t thank you enough!

To Maria Vicente who heard my idea for ParaNorthern and breathed motivation in me again to pick this up and bring it into the world. You championed this story (and Silas, obviously) and you made my dreams of being a graphic novelist come true. You changed my life and give me the guidance my anxiety-addled ADHD-driven self desperately needs.

I don’t want to drag this on again for a long time but to each person who talked me through an Anxiety Town moment. To each friend who knew I’d probably bail on hangouts cause I had too much to do…but still invited me anyways to make me feel loved and included. To everyone who supported me and cheered me on. To everyone who made me believe I could do this. To everyone who stuck by me through the ups and downs of my life. I can’t thank you enough for your love.

Without the people around me—my friends, family, peers, readers, followers, fans, etc.—none of this would’ve happened. You are my everything and I love you all so much.

<3 <3 <3

It’s been a really busy June and July (so far!) and with ParaNorthern coming out this week, I’ve been talking to a lot of amazing people. Instead of spamming you with posts whenever something new goes up, I’ll be updating this page with events and press pieces you can check out.

VIRTUAL PANELS:

REVIEWS:

Oh hey! We’ve made it through another month in 2021 and I have a new What I’m Watching list for you. I know, this is really riveting stuff…but hey! Gotta provide the content the people crave. So here we go:

And then there are a couple shows that I tried out and didn’t really enjoy…I’ve included them but I don’t really have much to say.

I super enjoyed going through Sailor Moon as an adult and getting to relive it. I still have a couple of seasons to go but Seasons 2 & 3 were amazing and getting to see the proper dub has been great.

Lots of reality TV continues to be on my list; Taskmaster is my go-to funny show, Geordie Shore is my go-to trash show, and then RuPaul is somewhere inbetween? I really enjoyed Down Under though, despite the fact that it seems so short and I wanted more of it!

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts was incredible and continues to prove that we’re in a golden age for TV. I love a show that clearly knows where it’s going and delivers something that entirely comes together. It was an absolute joy to watch with such a powerful message of empathy and compassion. Loved it.

Amphibia came back even stronger with its second season. It’s rare that a second season outshines the first but I think it took a bit for it to find its footing and it is hoppingly great! It packed even more emotion into the story and no spoilers, but THAT GRAVITY FALLS CROSSOVER!!!!!

I have nothing to say about Riverdale that I didn’t text my friend Hagai about 500 times. So I will say nothing more…that show is what it is.

But that leaves me with Mythic Quest which was incredible this season. It was good last season, especially with a couple of one-off episodes that detoured from the main story and took us on an emotional journey away from everything else going on. The second season does it again but it doesn’t feel like a bit? It caught me off-guard with the emotions and the personal arcs that each character has. If you haven’t watched it yet, I highly recommend it.

And that’s it! What have you been watching?

 

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