Well, my first Comic Con is in the books and it was a surreal experience from start to finish. I made new friends, met longtime fans, shook hands with childhood heroes and shared my books and stories with more people than I could count.
Emerald City Comic Con was an experience like nothing else and I'm more motivated than ever to keep writing and putting positive books into the world!
Last Friday was a really big day for me, both personally and professionally.
On the professional level, Friday marked the first day in my career that I had multiple book events at multiple schools and that alone was an incredible honor.
Personally though, the day marked the first time in my life that I wasn't nervous when I took the microphone in my hand and stood in front of hundreds of kids to read books and answer questions. That was huge.
For as far back as I can remember I have hated public speaking. My hands would shake, my voice would crack, and I would struggle to keep myself calm as I prayed for the moment to end as quickly as possible.
Last Friday was different though. I loved reading my books to the packed gymnasium. I looked forward to the questions the kids would ask and, contrary to everything I had experienced before, the little bit of nerves I felt faded almost instantly as the assembly began and I had FUN.
Writing books and sharing these positive stories brings me joy. Seeing kids and strangers resonate with the messages of these books motivates and inspires me to push through and keep going no matter what, and I encourage you to do the same. You may find that you are braver than you thought you were.
Another review has come in, this time for Home, and I am VERY pleased to say that the 5 Star streak remains! More updates are coming soon!
Readers’ Favorite just posted their review of Molly and Fritz and I am pleased to say that this book will join the other books they have reviewed with a beaming 5 stars!
To be honest, I’m just glad that people enjoy my stories and can’t express my gratitude enough for everyone who has supported me and spread the word about my books through the years. Here’s to many more!
What a way to start the year! We officially launched the third book in the My Friend Barley series at the Hops clubhouse and the turnout was incredible! If you were able to get into this amazing sold out event, thank you for coming out and supporting!
Last weekend in Redmond, Oregon was the best event in my writing career! Seriously, thank you all so very much for the wonderful reception and the kind words. Events like this make me want to write 100 more books and I cannot thank you all enough for your constant encouragement as I see these books impact more and more people wherever I go.
As we approach the finish line for 2023, I want to take a minute to point out an amazing milestone. We have officially blown by our 500 book donation goal and I can’t thank you all enough for sending suggestions of wonderful charities and organizations that could benefit from these stories. More news coming soon!
The 2023 Holiday event season kicked off this weekend with Portland Book Festival at the Portland Art Museum and it was AMAZING! Here are some highlights.
Ready to roll!
I’ve never fully appreciated having such an alphabetically neutral name until now :)
So many incredible people and stories to tell. One of the highlights was meeting Alice who told me she has been reading my books since she was small.
I guess I had never really stopped to think about how many years I’ve been doing this, but meeting a reader who now looks back at my books with nostalgia felt surreal.
The calm before the storm….
The storm!
What an honor it was to spend my birthday reading to my biggest crowd yet! The entire school came out to hear me speak over two assemblies and we had a blast! The icing on the entire day was the kids singing happy birthday to end it all. I think I may have to do this more often!
After a few unforeseen customs delays, I am very happy to report that Another Epic Day and Home have arrived!
Pre-orders will ship this week and in-person purchases will be available as early as Sunday at the Astoria market.
Thank you all for the incredible support you’ve shown these two stories. Can’t wait to get them into everyone’s hands!
- N.D.
10 years ago I had a silly thought that I couldn't shake. I wanted to write a book. Just one published book with my name on it. Why? Because I wanted to show my son, who was two at the time, that there was no shame in trying something, even if the result was very likely failure.
13 releases later, I'm not sure if I have failed or not.
Sales, reprints and accolades have come and gone, but none of those ever felt like success. To be honest, my biggest moments of joy and validation have come from when I've seen kids and adults resonating with the stories or when I get to talk with a dreamer like myself and hopefully give them the nudge they need to make their dream a reality.
So this is my message to you: If you have a passion to put a little good into the world, do it! Will you get rich? Probably not. That doesn't mean God won't use your efforts to make the world a little brighter, and what's more successful than that?
Happy birthday King Boogie!
Just a quick note to share some wonderful feedback from an author I highly respect and admire. Enjoy!
Meet Michael.
I can’t say the date with certainty, but it was sometime in the later spring months of 2022 that Michael stopped by my booth at a local farmers market to say ‘Hello’. As we started talking, Michael shared with me that he had been involved in a terrible car accident years prior which had upended his life and left him suffering from a myriad of devastating complications that not many could endure, let alone endure with joy.
But joy is what Michael had. Through his words, actions and outlook, there was no denying that this person, who I had just met, carried with him a positivity that I didn’t see in many people.
As we continued to become better friends, Michael told me that he had a dream to create a book that shared his positive philosophy and I couldn’t help but feel called to help him bring that idea to life.
And here we are!
After nearly a year of coffee meetings, editing, formatting and editing some more, I am pleased to announce Another Epic Day will release late spring/early summer 2023.
We hope this book brings you joy and encourages you to lean on those who love you in order to find the Woo Hoos, and make every day an epic day. - N.D.
It was such an honor to celebrate the Barley book with the Hillsboro Hops this weekend. I even got to throw out the first pitch which was, as you can guess, incredibly nerve-wracking but an experience I will never forget.
Thank you everyone for all the love and support! Great things are coming and I can't wait to share more information with you all soon.
