Whew! I guess the title says it all. Dear blog readers, it seems that I have quite a few things to catch you up on! Let’s jump right in.

1) I have a new post up at Emu’s Debuts called “How Being a Debut Author Turned Me Into a Book-Buyer” (which is also rather self-explanatory as blog post titles go). In the comments section, I ask people to share their own book-buying habits and advice on how to choose which books to buy and which ones to borrow. And all commenters are entered into…

2) A giveaway of Fair Coin by E.C. Myers! The winner will be announced next Monday, November 18, so please leave your comment this week if you’d like to enter. You will have your choice of a hardcover, e-book, or the brand-spanking-new audiobook of this fabulous, Andre Norton Award-winning novel if you win!

3) If you clicked on that Fair Coin link above, you found yourself at IndieBound.org, a great site that helps you find books you want for sale at your local independent bookstore. And guess what other book you can now find on that site, and from several other booksellers? (Hint: I wrote it.)

That’s right–All Four Stars is now available for preorder! The sites where you can order it are all linked on this website’s Books page. I’ll make additional links active as it becomes available from more booksellers. The book releases officially on July 10, 2014. Exciting!

4) Even more exciting than seeing my book for sale online has been holding the advance reading copies (also known as ARCs, or bound galleys) in my hands! They arrived on my doorstep in October, and they are gorgeous. All but one are already out there circulating among early readers, but I hope to get a few back and be able to do a giveaway or two at some point. Stay tuned!

5) And last, but not least, I will be kicking off a brand-new blog series right here two days! It’s called “Foodie Kidlit Friday,” and will focus on awesome books for kids and young adults (and, let’s face it, us adults who love kidlit!) that feature food and cooking themes. I’ll be getting things started with an interview of Kelly Fiore, whose debut YA novel Taste Test (set at a reality cooking show for teens) released recently and knocked my socks off. And one lucky commenter will win a signed copy from Kelly!

I’ll be aiming to do this series every other Friday (on weeks alternating with the Colorado is for Writers series, which posts every other Tuesday). And in addition to interviews, I’m also planning to start sharing recipes for dishes featured in All Four Stars! So, this should be a very fun series indeed.

That’s all I’ve got for now, but pop back by on Friday for the Taste Test extravaganza. Thanks!