I’m still freaking out a little bit about not being ready for Halloween, and here we are, with Christmas just around the corner. But I’m pretty sure I’ve nailed the holiday decorating:

I’m back from a whirlwind trip to Boston, where Tech Support and I took in the sights, and where I – with author-friend Rochelle Strauss and teacher-friend Chris Carlton – presented at the National Council of Teachers of English conference. We had an incredible time, but a few moments stand out:

I’ve always been fascinated by the social, cultural, and historical factors that result in outbreaks of witchcraft accusations, so a side-trip to Salem was mandatory. Modern-day Salem is a very weird vibe of commercialism and pop culture and photo ops layered over a genuine historical tragedy, and I’m still grappling with my feelings on that. But if you’re interested in history, I highly recommend a visit to the Rebecca Nurse Homestead in Danvers – it’s the only remaining site associated with a victim of the witch trials, and the guides are extremely knowledgeable. 

We also took a Murder and Mysteries tour with Witch City Walking Tours, which was much less historical, but still a good time. The tour wrapped up at the Old Burying Point, which (though not visible in this photo) is haunted by the biggest skunk I’ve ever seen. The wildlife biologist in me had a lot of fun watching said skunk doing its thing!

A few days later, we popped over to Cambridge to visit the Harvard Museum of Natural History. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, master glassblowers created more than 1000 scientific models of flowers for the botany department, and the exhibit is just extraordinary!

Glass flowers! I mean, wow!

I also really loved their small-but-thoughtful exhibit on sea monsters in folklore, science, and pop culture. Bonus points for this historical newspaper page, which debunks a sea serpent legend and also features a man telling a woman what not to wear. #LeSigh

Rochelle joined us for a Politically Incorrect Food Tour of Boston’s North End, which was three hours of great stories and unbelievably good food – in greater quantities than I normally eat in two days. Seriously. The tour ended at 3:30, and none of us ate again until the following day. Which meant we were well-fortified when the madness of the conference began!

Just one of the stops on the food tour – the one with the giant sandwich that none of us managed to finish!

It was my first NCTE, and it was a such a thrill to be surrounded by teachers, and teacher librarians, teachers who train teachers, and teachers who do research into the best ways to teach. To meet teachers championing their students’ freedom to read was truly inspiring. To have teachers recognize my book and tell me how much their kids love it? So incredibly affirming of the work I’ve chosen to do. I’m so grateful I had the opportunity.

And I can’t get over this:

Yup. That’s me, and Rochelle, and Kate McKinnon of Weird Barbie and Ghostbusters fame. During her keynote speech, she talked about her love of science and wanting to give kids permission to go outside and look at bugs. So at her book signing, we introduced ourselves as the science writers who write the books that make the bugs cool. I showed her a copy of POLAR, and she… kept it.

Kate McKinnon has a copy of my book, y’all. Um, what?! And what a way to end 2024!

There are some equally exciting things ahead in 2025. I’ll be rolling out some new blog features and a new email newsletter. And I’ll be starting an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults with Vermont College of Fine Arts. My goal – other than to fill the degree gap between my BSc and my PhD! – is to learn how to write young adult fantasy novels. 

I’m not giving up nonfiction – my endlessly-curious scientist brain would never permit it! But I am taking the first steps along a new, parallel publishing path, and I can’t wait to find out where it will lead.

In the meantime, wishing you a restorative holiday season and an inspiration-filled new year!