It’s been almost three years since I helped start the Local Love Brigade, and it makes me so happy that it is thriving and growing (both Kansas and Florida have formed new chapters in the past week!) I just happened upon this video of our very first get-together to make love postcards. It was… Read more »
Speaking UP
Back-to-School Giveaways & New Ways for Students to SPEAK UP
Octopus in Paperback! Plus: A HUGE GIVEAWAY! Later today the custom paperback edition of THE BENEFITS OF BEING AN OCTOPUS releases from the non-profit First Book for just $3.85! If your school or program qualifies as Title I, you’re eligible to shop on the First Book marketplace and get fabulous discounts like this one. Here’s… Read more »
#TeamOctopus Twitter Chat
School Visits!
I’ve officially become a presenter with the Children’s Literacy Foundation! Their mission is to “inspire a love of reading and writing among low-income, at-risk, and rural children up to age 12 throughout New Hampshire and Vermont,” and I LOVE it! I’ve already gotten to visit two summer programs, Green Mountain Camp for Girls and the Title 1… Read more »
On the Radio
Here are some recent radio interviews I’ve had the privilege of doing. I’ve gotten to talk about the revision process for The Benefits of Being an Octopus, the shifting landscapes around the issue of guns, and my love for democracy. 1) A Conversation with Olga Peters of Green Mountain Mornings on WKVT Ann Braden talks… Read more »
Letters for Parkland & Beyond
I’ve gone through such a range of emotions since hearing about Parkland twelve days ago. After the massacre at Sandy Hook, I was furious that the public support for gun reform wasn’t being translated to the halls of the Statehouse, and I started GunSenseVT, an organization to champion the common ground on the issue of… Read more »
Finding Your Voice — Even When It’s Hard

One of the major themes in my novel, The Benefits of Being an Octopus, centers on the power of finding your own voice. Sometimes the obstacles in front of us feel way too overwhelming to tackle. On top of that there is the failure — in public! around people you know! — that can keep us… Read more »