The past several weeks since the official release of “The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary” have been nothing short of amazing. I’ve had the opportunity to speak to hundreds of middle grade readers at various local schools, celebrated a successful launch event with author J. Anderson Coats at Brick & Mortar Books in Redmond, and even got to meet with aspiring authors at a local middle school. A couple weeks ago I had a mom come up to me to let me know her 3rd grader had previously only been reading graphic novels, but my book has helped her make the leap to chapter books. The response I’ve gotten from the kids and their parents and teachers has been so wonderful, beyond my wildest dreams. Teachers or librarians looking to have me do a school visit, email me HERE For kids with questions about Bigfoot or other cryptids (or even questions about writing) they are welcome to email Jake and the rest of the Sasquatch Hunters crew at SasquatchHuntersofWA@gmail.com Other happenings…In March I’ll be attending Left Coast Crime Conference in Tucson, Arizona where I’ll be both a panelist on the topic of plotting and character development as well as panel moderator discussing preferred methods of murder with other crime writers in “How We Kill.” I’m also thrilled to be involved with helping make Left Coast Crime 2024 in Bellevue, Washington the best one yet! UPCOMING: Join me Saturday March 25, 2023 at 12pm for a signing at the Alderwood Barnes and Noble in Lynnwood, Washington. I’ll have prize drawings and giveaways for those who attend. Subscribe to my newsletter Scenes from recent events:

The Students of Ms. Van Horne’s class today asked me to include the recipe for Dutch Babies as mentioned in “The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary.” I’m sure there’s a more official version, but here’s what we do in our home:

DUTCH BABIES

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1 cup flour

4 eggs

I tsp vanilla

1/2 stick butter

Syrup and powdered sugar

Directions:

In a baking dish (I typically use 9×13) place 1/2 stick of butter. Turn oven to 400 degrees and place baking dish into the cold oven. The butter will melt as the pan heats. Meanwhile, in a blender, combine milk, flour, vanilla, and eggs. Blend until all ingredients are incorporated, and then let it run for another two minutes to get the batter frothy. This is what makes the Dutch babies rise. Once the oven is preheated and the butter is melted, pour batter into the hot dish. Be careful! Like I said, it’s hot. Allow this to bake for 25-35 minutes. It should puff and brown but not burn. Serve with powdered sugar and syrup, or if you want to get fancy, add fruit.

What better place to search for Sasquatch than the annual Sasquatch Days festival?

In June 2014 I took my youngest two kids across the border into Canada for Sasquatch Days at Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia, a beautiful town on the banks of Harrison Lake.

Everywhere we looked, there were signs of Sasquatch.

It makes sense since the term Sasquatch comes from this very place and they have celebrated Sasquatch Days for nearly a century.

Early in the morning, after the Sasquatch procession and opening ceremony, members of the Sts’ailes Nation line up their canoes on the shoreline and the races begin.

There is a street fair where you can purchase merchandise from artisans and vendors and then feast on salmon bbq for lunch.

The next day we signed up for an ATV tour with a local guide at – where else – Sasquatch Provincial Park.

I don’t recall his name but he told us that he’d been interviewed by the “Finding Bigfoot” show when they were in the area filming. Unfortunately his segment never made it into the episode. He took us deep into the trails that ran along the ridge overlooking the lake.

He paused at the scenic lookout to show us the casts of footprints he’d made over the years.

We didn’t spot a Sasquatch on that trip, but I’ll be headed back for Sasquatch Days this summer. Hope to see you there!

Happy Squatching!

Book Launch Event:
January 21, 2023 2 pm

Join J.Anderson Coats and me at Brick & Mortar Books in the Redmond Town Center as we celebrate the release of our middle grade adventure novels!

https://www.brickandmortarbooks.com/events/2023/1/21/jackson-coats

As we wind down 2022 I find myself in a deep state of gratitude for everyone who has supported the release of “The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary.” Thank you to everyone who preordered and I’ve loved getting all the pics and videos.

I’m excited to finally reveal the cover of my debut middle grade adventure novel, The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary!

Nine years ago today I posted on this website for the very first time. Reading that blog is kind of like seeing old Facebook posts come up in my memories, both nostalgic and embarrassing. I’ve learned a lot since then, so I try to be kind to myself when I read my old stuff like the thousand words I devoted to rotting bananas and such.

Did I mention it’s my birthday today? I suppose it’s a bit narcissistic to leverage my birthday for promotion of my writing, but I’m fifty now and I’ve heard that means I must be unapologetically myself.

For those who haven’t been paying attention, I wrote some books. I acquired a phenomenal agent in Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency in August 2020. I got two contracts: A three book deal with Reycraft Books for my Middle Grade adventure series in 2021 and another three-book deal with Level Best Books this year for my adult cozy mystery series. It’s been a dream come true.

(Cue trumpet fanfare)

Today, the first book of the Sasquatch Hunters of Washington series, The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary, is live for preorder on both Barnes and Noble and Amazon, due for release November 15, 2022.

Twelve-year-old JAKE NELSON and his mom, a former Disney Princess, have recently moved from Orlando, Florida, to his grandfather’s home in Washington State. Shorter than the average sixth grader, Jake finds it difficult to fit in at his new school, Hawthorne Elementary, especially after making an enemy of one of the most popular boys on the very first day. Not to mention, Jake’s hobby is a little unusual: He’s a Sasquatch hunter.

Barnes and Noble

Amazon

I’m pretty excited about it. I’ve put a lot of myself into the creation of these books. I’ve put myself out there and taken more risks than ever before…and that was just to get started. Now comes the daunting privilege of sharing my babies with the world.

I’ve had so much support over the past several years I can’t even comprehend it. I’ve spent a lot of time anticipating the opportunity to thank everyone who has helped, encouraged, taught, challenged, listened, endured, and been invested in me. It always brings me to tears I feel so grateful. I absolutely consider the success of these projects to be a group effort. I have a feeling my acknowledgements section will be the length of a whole chapter.

If you’re so inclined and want to help celebrate my birthday by clinking one of those links above, I’d really appreciate it.

There’s a lot more info to come, including the cover reveal, launch party, and other fun events. Follow my social media accounts for all the updates. Instagram Facebook even TikTok

Thank you for your continued support!

The other day I had an opportunity to give a little something back to someone who had no idea of the impact she’d had on my life. I told her sometime I’d tell her the story and she said she’d love to hear it.

Last night as I was explaining the chain of events to my friend, and how this person is going through a tough and discouraging time, she asked me what I was waiting for. She said, “It sounds like what you have to tell her may be exactly what she needs right now.”

She was right.

A few years ago I waded into “Writer” Twitter. I was still getting my sea legs, had yet to complete my manuscript, and had only begun to scratch the surface of discovering all that I had to learn about writing and publishing a book.

When I finally completed my behemoth of a manuscript, it was bloated and had a major genre identity crisis. I was still learning about the querying process and stumbled into an online pitch contest that resulted in both my first “maybe” and my first rejection (In record time, I might add, but since then that guy’s been cancelled for being a creep so it doesn’t feel quite so bad anymore).

When the next pitch contest was coming up, I reached out for help in crafting my pitch from an anon account called “Tory Hunter,” as in story hunter. Tory provides great editing services that run the gamut. ( http://Toryhunterbooks.com ) A couple times I poked around to see if I could discover Tory’s identity, but, honestly, I kind of enjoy keeping the mystery a mystery.

As a result of connecting with Tory, I began to follow the account of a writer named WB Welch who brought a lot of fun and enthusiasm to Writer Twitter. Soon after, they published a zombie novella together. I admired WB’s writing and her boldness. She was doing stuff, making things happen. I barely had the guts to dip my toe in the water.

In the summer of 2019, WB posted that she’d applied to the New York Pitch conference and had been accepted. I’d never heard of the conference. She said she’d decided she was going to attend, even though it was a little scary going alone. She was going to fly by herself halfway across the country to put her writing in front of agents and editors.

I remember reading those posts and thinking, “That’s really brave.” I felt a slight thrill at the thought of it. Could I do that, too? I didn’t think so.

I decided to submit a chapter just to see if I’d get accepted. After all, there wasn’t any way I was going to fly to New York, I just wanted to know if my stuff was good enough to have the opportunity. I didn’t even tell my husband I was submitting.

When I got the acceptance, fear shot through me. What had been a daydream “I just wanna know” suddenly had become reality. I felt nervous to tell my husband what I’d done. I prefaced it with, “Of course, I’m not really going to do this. It’s just nice to know I could.”

But the longer I sat with it, the more I wanted to go. I wanted to know what I was capable of. I wanted to be brave like WB and fly across the country and see if my stuff is good enough. He had concerns about me traveling alone, but I told him I already knew someone who was going. Also, my sister lived in Brooklyn at the time.

I reached out to WB to let her know I was going too! We talked about the adventure we were about to take, and I was excited to finally meet in person. Then, shortly before we were supposed to go, she had to change her plans. Some things had come up and she had to defer her registration a year to the 2020 conference. I was bummed and a little more nervous, because that meant I’d know absolutely no one when I go there. However, she’d planned to go alone before I signed on, and if she could do it, so could I.

One of the assignments given prior to the conference was subscribing to Publisher’s Marketplace, an online newsletter for announcements in the publishing industry. They said it would be useful for completing another of the assignments, researching comps for our books.

The night before the conference started, I scanned PM for information on book deals and came across one for a mystery author whose series sounded like something I’d want to read. I took a screenshot of it and told myself when I got home I should submit to the agent responsible for the two-book deal.

I won’t bore you with the details, but the conference was great and most of all, I connected with a group of phenomenal women writers. It’s been more than a year and a half and we’re still navigating the ups and downs of life and writing together. In fact, we’re having a catch-up Zoom next week. Their support has been invaluable to me and I never would have met them if it weren’t for WB.

I also wouldn’t have spent several days of that trip reconnecting and bonding with my sister. I wouldn’t have learned to take the subway. I wouldn’t have gained the courage that only comes from taking risks and putting yourself out there to be critiqued. I wouldn’t have learned how to pitch face-to-face. I got my first opportunity to sit in front of an editor from a major NY publisher and have them tell me they want to hear more from me. I was challenged and inspired and encouraged.

After I got home from the conference, I worked on my book and researched agents I felt would be a good fit. I submitted to some of them, but to no avail. I then set my mystery novel aside and began focusing on completing the middle grade adventure book I’d started several years ago.

But then, in the summer of 2020, I decided I’d make one last attempt to get an agent for my adult mystery book before moving on to something else. I’d taken a couple screenwriting seminars and had begun writing a script for the first time.

I looked through all my notes and found the agents I wanted to submit to. Then I remembered I’d screenshot the book deal in NY and hunted down the photo. I located the agent’s info and looked her up. (I’ve been in heavy editing mode for months so all these dangling prepositions are killing me, but I’m leaving ’em.) What I found was a more comprehensive submission process than any other. I was so intimidated I almost didn’t complete it. But I did.

A few weeks later the agent sent a revise and resubmit request. That’s a big deal for those of you unfamiliar with querying. It means they like your writing but something needs to be fixed in your manuscript and they want to see if you’re capable of or willing to make the adjustments. I reached out to Tory and she walked through the changes with me, leading to an offer from the agent. Soon after that, I signed a contract of representation with Dawn Dowdle, who is exactly the right agent for me. I’m so grateful that everything aligned so that I can be under her umbrella and guidance.

Obviously, Covid interfered with WB being able to go to the NY Pitch conference last year and this year she’s been battling chronic health issues. (If you’d like to give her a boost: buymeacoffee.com/wbwelch ) She’s a great writer and a beautiful human.

I just want her to know how her bravery has been so inspirational to me and set things into motion in my life which have enabled me to reach for my dreams. Achieving them is so close I can practically taste it. Also, because of her forging the path, I met my support group who’ve encouraged me every step of the way.

Sometimes we don’t realize how our acts of courage and bravery spill onto those around us. I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to let her (and Tory, whoever you are) know how much they’ve inspired me.

WB, you’ve changed my life for the better just by being your brave self. On the days when life feels like it’s kicking your ass, I hope this reminder of who you are and what you’re capable of helps.