Hi everyone! It’s been a while since my last post… my life has been quite full taking care of my baby daughter Maya, who just turned one year old. She is a speedy crawler and loves to pull herself up to standing and “cruise” around holding onto furniture. We think she will be toddling around pretty soon! She is a ray of sunshine and the gift of being her mom brings me incredible joy every single day.

I have been trying to write and work as much as possible during her naps, and thankfully I am very fortunate to have a wonderful mother-in-law who loves to babysit Miss Maya and give me some uninterrupted work time. (Soooo grateful for you, Barbara! <3)

Over the past few months, some exciting developments have unfolded that I am delighted to share with you!

1. A chapbook of my flash fiction called “How My Parents Fell in Love” was published by Maryland Press. This is an “ebook” of eight very short stories that have never been published in a collection like this before! The book is offered as “pay what you can” to ensure that anyone who would like to read it is able to afford a copy.

2. I have been interviewed on a few podcasts about writing & creativity. I will be sharing more information about these soon!

3. My YA novel THE BEST WEEK THAT NEVER HAPPENED is slated to be published by the fabulous Month9Books in April 2020! I absolutely cannot wait to share this book with all of you. I wrote the first draft back in 2017 and it is truly a story that came straight from my heart.

Over the ensuing months and years, the manuscript has gone through numerous revisions and I have learned so much through the editing process. Editors at my publishing house have given me invaluable feedback — from big picture “developmental edits” to minor detail consistency edits (like, making sure the character doesn’t have blue eyes on page 14 and green eyes on page 108) and copyedits/proofreading on the punctuation/grammar level. I feel very fortunate to have a team of talented, professional writers and editors helping me make my novel the very best it can be!

I was just recently sent a mock up of my book cover, and it took my breath away! I can’t wait to share it with all of you!!

4. I am hosting a giveaway to celebrate my book’s upcoming release. I hope you will take two seconds to enter this contest because it could not be easier, and I have lots of fun prizes to send your way!

TO ENTER: Simply mark The Best Week That Never Happened as “Want to Read” in Goodreads. That’s it! 

Bonus entry: ⇓ share this giveaway on social media and tag me ⇓

• IG: @dallaswoodburnauthor
• FB: @dallaswoodburnauthor
• Twitter: @dallaswoodburn

On December 31st, I’ll be randomly choosing 30+ winners for the following prizes:

Hand-carved wooden snowflake ornaments 

Why wooden snowflake ornaments? Here is a sneak-peek passage from The Best Week That Never Happened to explain how these beauties tie into the novel:

Crowded against the front window is a fake Christmas tree decorated top to bottom with wooden ornaments—“HAND-CRAFTED,” a sign proclaims. Trying to distract myself, I walk over and study the display. Some ornaments are smooth wooden globes, surprisingly light in my hand. Most of the globes are painted with images of Hawaii: surfers, dolphins, ocean waves.

My favorite ornaments are the wooden snowflakes, paper-thin, so delicately carved it is impossible to imagine an actual person crafting them. Maybe, despite the sign’s promise, these are machine produced. I take one in each hand and compare them. It’s clear they are different: one has six narrow points while the other is broader, like a starfish. Could it be possible each ornament is unique, like real snowflakes? That would definitely mean they are hand carved.

The bell jingles.  I glance over.

There he is. Kai.

A few of my favorite YA books 

I wrote about some of these fantastic reads in my post for the “31 days of #quietYA” blog; others are perennial faves that I find myself returning to again and again. I will be giving away new copies of all of these books!

• Emerge by Tobie Easton
• We Speak in Storms by Natalie Lund
• All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
• When The Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
• Unclaimed Baggage by Jen Doll
• Merged by Jim & Stephanie Kroepfl

It would mean so much to me if you enter and share with your friends! ⇒ Mark The Best Week That Never Happened as “Want to Read” in Goodreads. 

5. I started a podcast! It is called “Overflowing Bookshelves” and it is a podcast for people who love the written word.

Could you spend hours browsing through a bookstore? Is your happy place curled up under a blanket with a good book, or perhaps writing a story of your own? Are you constantly adding to your “to be read” list even though your bookshelves are already overflowing? If so, this podcast is for you! Tune in to hear authentic conversations with published authors about their creative process, paths to publication, and advice for living your most fruitful and inspired life.

The first two episodes are up and I’m hoping to get the next one up later this week. I hope you get a chance to listen & enjoy! 🙂

Thank you everyone for your support of my creative endeavors. It means more than you could know, especially as I try to carve out my writing time during this new phase of life: new motherhood. I appreciate you more than you could know!

With love & best wishes for happy holidays & a masterpiece New Year!

-Dallas