Happy New Year!

As 2022 comes to a close, I am so very grateful for many things! I really appreciate your support for my writing and book and also really appreciate you following this blog. Thank you!

Happy New Year! Cheers to finding your magic in 2023!

Banned Books Week

“Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. It brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular,” as stated on the American Library’s Association (ALA)’s website.

Here is the list of the top 10 most challenged and banned books of 2021 and the reasons cited for censoring the books:

  1. Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
    Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to have sexually explicit images
  2. Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
    Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
  3. All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
    Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and profanity and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
  4. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
    Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for depictions of abuse and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
  5. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
    Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity and violence and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda
  6. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
    Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, and use of a derogatory term
  7. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
    Reasons: Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and degrading to women
  8. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
    Reasons: Banned and challenged because it depicts child sexual abuse and was considered sexually explicit
  9. This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
    Reasons: Banned, challenged, relocated, and restricted for providing sex education and LGBTQIA+ content
  10. Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin
    Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.

To celebrate this week, add these books to reading your list! As the theme of this week says, ā€œBooks Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.ā€

Wilderness Act

On this day 58 years ago, Congress established the Wilderness Act in 1964. Congress wanted to protect undeveloped and wild areas as an enduring resource for the American people. Today, this act protects nearly 112 million acres of wilderness preserving more than 800 wilderness areas in 44 states.

Denali Wilderness, Denali National Park and Preserve

Many benefits exist today from this land conservation including providing habitats for wildlife; clean air; clean drinking water; boosting local economies with tourism and recreation; and providing some really amazing places to escape and appreciate this great land here!

Fun fact: The smallest wilderness area in the National Wilderness Preservation System is the five and half acres Pelican Island Wilderness in Florida.

Enjoy this anniversary and get out in the wilderness today!

106 Years Old!

Guess who’s turning 106 years old! The National Park Service!

President Woodrow Wilson created the national park service (NPS) back on August 25, 1916.

The act stated that the NPS ā€œis to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.ā€

Pick a park toĀ visitĀ andĀ celebrateĀ this importantĀ birthday of these amazingĀ treasures!

Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska
Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska

Happy 106th!

Happy Book Birthday! šŸŽ‰

Happy 1 year to Turtle Tube: An Erutuf National Park Novel! šŸŽˆšŸ¢šŸ“š

It’s been a wonderful year from seeing the printed book in person for the first time to reading sweet reviews to meeting new fans to visiting my book in an actual bookstore and receiving an award! I’m really looking forward to year 2 and also book 2 coming out!

For those of you on Instagram, I am hosting a giveaway to celebrate the one year of publication by giving away 6 signed copies of my book. Head over to my Instagram account to check it out and enter the giveaway which ends on 8/25. Good luck! šŸ€

If you haven’t had a chance to review my book, please take a few minutes and just write a sentence or two online for it. Each review makes a huge difference in the algorithms online!

Thank you all for your support!!! šŸ¢šŸ“šā¤ļø

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Happy 106th to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park!

On August 1, 1916 the United States Congress adopted a bill to establish a National Park in the Territory of Hawaii. According to the National Park Service, the newly formed Hawaii National Park included the following land areas on Hawaii Island: 1) the Kīlauea Section (35,865 acres); 2) the Mauna Loa Section (17,920 acres); and 3) a strip of land to connect the two aforementioned sections. This Hawaii National Park also included Haleakalā on Maui which became a National Park on August 21, 1961.

In early June this summer, we spent a week on the Big Island, Hawaii, and got to visit the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

It was so cool to see Kilauea! In 2018, the summit of Kilauea collapsed making the caldera sink. Today, you look (from afar) to see the activity in the crater. Here’s a chart from NPS showing the 2018 caldera collapse.

Credit: NPS

Check out a few photos from our day at this national park. Volcanoes continue to fascinate me!

During the day, you only see smoke coming up.

Day view

At night, you can see the glow from the lava inside it. It’s so beautiful. The photo doesn’t really do it justice.

Night view

At the south side of the national park, you can see former lava flow from previous eruptions along the Chain of Craters Road.

This national park contains such unique sites, hikes, and drives to enjoy! Highly recommend visiting this national park if you’re on the Big Island in Hawaii!

Exciting Book News!

I have some book news to share….

Turtle Tube: An Erutuf National Park Novel won three Honorable Mention Awards for the Middle Grade Fiction, New Author: Fiction, and Green Books/Environmental categories in the Story Monsters 2022 Purple Dragonfly Book Awards Contest! šŸ… Yay!! šŸŽ‰

So honored and grateful! ā¤ļø

Click here for more information on my book.