Seriously, plant a fruit tree

/in /by

Three years ago, I planted a cherry tree knowing it would need time to establish itself before producing a lot of fruit. This year it’s yielding its first bumper crop, and the inaugural pie I made from it is positively faaaabulous. ??

Since planting that cherry tree, I’ve added three raspberry bushes and one blueberry bush to my backyard. I plan to add more as I’ve found the benefits outstanding:

  • fresh, organic fruit that’s much tastier than store-bought
  • the pleasure of watching something grow, over time, in all conditions, yet succeeding
  • a nearly daily harvesting once the plant is yielding, creating “forced” time outside in the sun, doing me so much good, keeping me away from tech and incessant doomscrolling
  • the yummiest of baking

So, yes, I recommend you plant a fruit tree if it’s within your realm of possibility. Even if you don’t care to harvest, you’ll help pollinators. A win-win. But as you can see from the below pic, I won too. Homemade pie is just the absolute best.

A LOVELY Kirkus review–and what exactly that means

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Friends and neighbors,

I am thrilled to share that I’ve received a positively epic review for MAIL-ORDER MONSTERS: CRASH COURSE, my new middle grade fantasy. Kirkus Reviews, which is the industry gold standard and premier reviewer for stores and libraries, gave my book a verdict of GET IT.

They called my story “an entertaining fantasy romp that mixes uproarious japes with wise insights into friendship and forgiveness.” PLUS, they loved my writing style (!), saying, “Acevedo’s prose is colorful and evocative, with lots of rambunctious energy. Tweens will get a kick out of the spiky characters and vigorous storytelling.”

Wow, I LOVE this. Kirkus’s “Recommended Reviews” are treasured by creators, for good reason, as they assure readers that MAIL-ORDER MONSTERS is a good bet. Click here or on the preview below for the whole review. And please do consider buying the book for a young person in your life! 🙂

Our final Illustration Intensive

/in /by

It’s been a wild ride since my husband and I created Fantasy Art Workshop’s Illustration Intensive back in 2016. We had just seven attendees that first year of our in-person workshop, but we gave it our all and continued to grow until we finally reached 77 attendees in June 2025. We’ve made more friends along the way than we ever imagined. We can’t say thank you enough to our core faculty, special guests, and all the people who devoted their time and energy to attend. 

At one time we imagined our workshop would go on and on each year, growing bigger and better. We did finally fall into a groove and managed to create a smooth running workshop. However, everything comes to an end, and the time felt right for us to pursue personal goals we hadn’t had the time to tackle between planning/running the workshop, our individual industry events, and caring for an aging parent. Something had to give. Sadly, that meant shutting down the workshop we’ve all grown to love. This is simply another pivot for us, and how surprising that choices and pivots were recurring themes throughout all speakers’ presentations. Kismet.

We will carry many amazing memories from our time together.  We hope you wish us well, as we sincerely wish you all the best on your own creative journey.

Image shows two spinning tops, a flat blue spinner and a white, black, and white spinner on a table with some maple helicopter seeds.

A childhood toy as a talisman

/in , /by

Image shows two spinning tops, a flat blue spinner and a white, black, and white spinner on a table with some maple helicopter seeds.

Friend and fellow author Valerie Biel runs a fun series on her blog called Strange But True, in which she asks authors to share the ways their research has taught them something new, encouraged a new hobby, or inspired them to travel.

I wrote how my need for a character to have a quiet, introspective moment led to her pulling out of her pocket a spinning top. As the words escaped my fingertips and became type, I was surprised by the triggered memory. I loved loved loved spinning tops as a kid. The toy’s hypnotic spin was the perfect way to slow this character down, if only for a moment.

To celebrate the completion of the final manuscript, I bought a spinning top, the first I’ve ever bought, I think. It’s the red, white, and black one in the photo above. It turns pink and purple when spinning, which is just wild. That flat blue one sitting next to it is from my childhood and earliest memories. Now, as an ode to the simple joys in life, I think I’ll start a small but meaningful spinners collection. Feel free to send tops my way. 🙂

If you’d like see the bigger top in action (and the amazement of my cat Deco), watch the video HERE,

Enjoy!