I’ve said this so many times, but there are not many things better for an author than meeting readers and having an opportunity to engage with them and answer their questions. That happened to me twice last week.

My first stop was on Tuesday morning at R.J. Reynolds High School, an arts magnet school in Winston-Salem, NC. What I thought would be a quick book talk and a cup of coffee turned into me visiting seven classes and discussing craft elements and my first book, NO SAD SONGS, in every one of them. It was impressive to hear authentic student writing read aloud in these classes in addition to the insightful discussions that sprang out of the readings. These students proved the future of creative writing is in good hands.

Next up was Thursday morning at the brand-new Central Library Branch of the Forsyth County Public Library System. I met a group of about forty students from the Downtown School in the auditorium and, wow, we had an amazing conversation about the roots of bullying, prevention, advocacy, and the writing life in general. It was a joy to read to them from my latest book series, PLEASE RETURN TO: NORBERT M. FINKELSTEIN. These students filled me with enough energy to have me floating into the new year.

Special thanks to Pamela Henderson-Kirkland at RJR High School and Jacci White and Libby Skinner at the Forsyth County Library for being such gracious hosts and for giving me two great opportunities to connect with my readers!