It’s almost hard to believe when a book you’ve worked on for so long finally hits the shelves in bookstores, book fairs, and libraries. The process is so long—from idea, to research, to outline, to first draft, to second draft, to third draft, to multiple revision drafts, to line edits, to copy edits, to cover design, to galley, and then to final book form—that by the time the actual publication date rolls around you’re like, “Wait, that’s NEXT MONTH!?” It’s a happy surprise, but a surprise to be sure.
In the case of Flight, my new novella that drops September 1st, it’s been an even longer journey. I first started researching the dangerous journeys Central American migrants take—many of them riding on top of freight trains for the entire length of Mexico—six years ago, in 2020!
As I’ve said here before, the story of Daniela López and her little brother Carlos making that trip was supposed to be the fourth story in my climate change novel Two Degrees. But four stories proved to be one story too many to fit into the book, and Dani and Carlos had to wait.
This is their moment. I hope you’ll share it with me!
I will be hosting a free, live, virtual book launch for Flight on September 1, 2026 at 1pm ET/12 noon CT/11am MT/10am PT. I’ll talk about the recent history of Central American migration to the United States, the origins of Dani’s story in particular, and its connections to climate change. (And to Two Degrees!) After that, I’ll answer attendee questions live. I hope you’ll join me! Everyone from individuals to classrooms to whole schools are invited to tune in.
Register for the FLIGHT book launch!
Can’t join me then? Fear not! The event will be recorded, and available at the link above immediately following the presentation. You can watch it anytime later, by yourself or with a larger group.
I will be doing one in-person Flight book launch event at the Hillsboro Barnes & Noble on Saturday, September 5th at 2:00pm PT! The event is free, and no reservations are required. Come out and see me if you live in or near Portland, Oregon!
To pre-order Flight, click on your bookseller of choice below. And if you would like a signed, personalized copy of Flight delivered to you, there’s still time! Click the button for Green Bean Books, and tell them who you’d like me to sign the book to when you order.
Pre-order FLIGHT on Bookshop.org
Pre-order signed copies at Green Bean
Look, that’s me recording the Author’s Note for the Flight audiobook!
Scholastic Audio always does an AWESOME job with my audiobooks. This time around, the narrator is the amazing Frankie Corzo, who has also narrated books like Mexican Gothic and The Last Cuentista. (Both of which I’ve read, and are GREAT.) You can find links to buy the audiobook (and the ebook) on the Flight page on my web site:
Okay. One last thing. (I know, I know. I’m supposed to keep the Calls to Action in my newsletters to a minimum, but I know you can handle it.)
My free, live, virtual school events are back this fall! Once a month in September, October, November, and December, I’ll be hopping online for an hour to talk about my books, my background, and my writing process. (In fact, I’ll be doing two events in September—the Flight book launch above, and my all-books virtual school visit later in the month.)
I’ll give a presentation for the first half hour of the virtual school visit, and then spend the next thirty minutes answering live questions from attendees. Whether you’re watching from home, a classroom, or an auditorium, there’s no fee to attend, and no limit on how many people can watch.
Here’s the schedule for this fall. Click the links below to register!
Thursday, September 24 at 11am ET, 10am CT, 9am MT, 8am PT
Tuesday, October 20 at 1pm ET, 12pm CT, 11am MT, 10am PT
Thursday, November 19 at 11am ET, 10am CT, 9am MT, 8am PT
Tuesday, December 15 at 1pm ET, 12pm CT, 11am MT, 10am PT
Can’t join me live? Want to replay an event for readers who missed it? Each virtual event is recorded, and is available for at least a month afterward to anyone with the link. (I usually just take the old one down as soon as a new recording is available.) You can even sign up and view a presentation after the fact! Regardless of how or when you watch, I hope you’ll tune in.
I’m not doing in-person school visits anymore, and rarely do paid virtual visits, but if you’ve got a larger event you’d like to invite me to, check out my Speaker Profile at Authors Unbound. Thanks!
All right—that’s enough shilling! I promise to get back to digging up curious incidents from history next month. 😄
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.