Category Archives: News

SORRY (not sorry!)

Hello! When I started writing my next book, SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS, it had a different title: TREE OF LIFE. I had carefully chosen that title because it works on many levels in the book (once you read it, you’ll understand) but as often happens, book titles change. I love the new title, but the funny thing about it is that when I post about it or send emails about it, I realize it’s not a good idea to use the title as a subject line. Anyway, I say that because as I’m writing this post, I realize using the title for a blog post header might cause some alarm.

What I’m NOT sorry about is some bragging I’m going to do about the book. I’m thrilled that the book has already gotten some amazing advanced praise.

Amazing, right? Speaking of research, I have added a page that outlines some of the research I did for this book, including some behind-the-scenes photos from a real funeral home. I’ve also added links for further reading and research, should you be like me and want to know even more about the fascinating subject of funerals and what happens to us when we die.

If you’re wondering what (and who!) inspired me to write this book, check out the cover reveal I did over at POP! Goes the Reader. I’ll wait here.

Now that you’re back, look at this:

“OF COURSE, humor”. Thank you to Lisa and Adam for your kind words about this book. Thank you for indulging me in a little bragging. I worked hard on this book and absolutely can’t wait until it gets out into the world. But before you go, I’d appreciate it if you’d add the book to your Goodreads TBR list. And if you’re inspired to do so, you can even pre-order the book from Bookshop.org, from Orca directly, your local Canadian indie bookstore, Indigo, or, you know, that other place.

Sorry For Your Loss – cover reveal!

Hooray! It’s time to share the cover reveal for SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS, my book set in a Jewish funeral home. Sounds dark, I know, but there’s a few laughs, crafts, and lots of hope in this book for tweens that will come out in the fall of 2021.

If you want to see the brand new cover and learn about the inspiration behind why I wrote the book (and who I credit for it) check out the exclusive cover reveal over at Pop! goes the Reader.

Check out the cover reveal at Pop! goes the Reader.

Before you go, I’d love it if you’d add the book to your Goodreads TBR list. And if you’re inspired to do so, you can even pre-order the book from Bookshop.org or from Orca directly. More retailers coming soon.

Small Medium at Large – PAPERBACK now available!

SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE first came out in 2012 and while it’s had a great run as a hardcover, it’s time for a refresh AND a paperback version. Behold the brand new cover:

Don’t you just love it? A huge thanks to Megs McIsaac for the incredible original art. There’s also a little bonus and some exciting news: there will finally be a sequel. It’s called SMALL MEDIUM TAKES CHARGE and it will be out soon-ish. There is a teaser in the back of this updated version of SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE.

I’m still working on getting the paperback available everywhere but, so far, you will be able to get the paperback directly through me via my Etsy shop, Bookshop.org or you can ask for it to be ordered in at your local indie bookstore – they should be able to get it in for you. It’s also available at Amazon.

Ebooks are available instantly and directly from me using this direct link (all formats) or at the following retailers: Kobo, Google Play, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

More news coming soon! *Throws confetti!*

Why I wrote FISH OUT OF WATER

Please check out my post over at the Nerdy Book Club where I talk about the origins of FISH OUT OF WATER. This was a tough post for me to write but it was important and necessary. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think.

https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2020/12/08/we-can-do-better-gender-stereotypes-toxic-masculinity-and-letting-kids-be-their-authentic-selves-by-joanne-levy/

The Sun Will Come Out

It’s not just a hope for the future, but soon it will be a book! My next book, (formerly called Queen Bea Makes a Buzz) will release on April 13, 2021 and is called, as you may have guessed: The Sun Will Come Out. It’s sort of a play on the song from Annie but is also so perfect on many levels for this cute summer camp book about a very shy girl who finds herself going to camp by herself.

And my goodness, look at the awesomeness that is this cover:

A huge thanks to Orca Book Publishers and artist Brayden Sato for capturing Bea so, so, so perfectly.

What’s the book about? Mean girls, crushes, stress hives, betrayal, new friendships, Annie – it’s all in there!

It’s already up for pre-order at most retailers:

Order yours: The Village Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Indigo, Indiebound, Orca Book Publishers, amazon.ca, amazon.com

And please add it to your TBR list at Goodreads so my publisher thinks I’m great and have a lot of friends.

More news coming soon but until then, stay safe out there, friends.

More books!

There’s been a lot going on lately, between the OLA Superconference and the online events: Get to Know Hi-Lo and #IReadCanadian BUT I am super, SUPER excited to announce that I have more books coming, all with Orca Book Publishers.

First up is Fish Out of Water coming this August. Go here to read about it, but all you really need to know about it at this point is that it’s about a boy who wants to learn to knit as part of his bar mitzvah project but faces a lot of pushback, even from the people who love him the most. Do you love the cover? Yeah, you do. Ordering links coming soon, but until then, add the book to your Goodreads TBR.

Later, in Fall of 2021, the book of my heart, Tree of Life will release. This book has been a long time coming and is so, so, so important to me. Here’s my pitch for it:

Twelve-year-old Evelyn—Evie—Walman is not obsessed with death. She does think about it a lot, though, but only because her family runs a Jewish funeral home. At twelve, Evie already knows she’s going to be a funeral director when she grows up. Even if it means kids at school call her ‘corpse girl’ and say she smells like death. They’re just mean and don’t get how important funeral directors are.

Evie loves her part-time job at the funeral home. She cleans—dusting caskets, polishing pews, and vacuuming the chapel—and on funeral days, she dresses up and hands out tissues and offers her condolences to mourners. She doesn’t normally help her parents with the grieving families, until one day when they ask her to help with Oren, a boy her age who was in a tragic car accident that killed both his parents. Evie is to keep him company while they make the funeral arrangements with his uncle.

Evie knows all about funerals and is ready—even eager—to help the boy. Until it all goes terribly wrong. She quickly realizes that while she may know a lot about funerals, she doesn’t know very much about grief at all. She’s perplexed that her attempts to console and comfort the boy don’t work. He won’t speak, doesn’t care about her attempts at condolences, and even slams a door in her face.

Determined to make it right, and with a little help from her parents, Evie learns better how to deal with the grieving boy and they even develop a friendship. She’s committed to helping him heal as much as she can. Even if what he wants is for her to take him behind the scenes at the funeral home, showing him a side of the operation that few people ever see. And something she’s never seen—a real dead body.

TREE OF LIFE is a heartwarming, honest, respectful, and sometimes wry look at the inner workings of a Jewish funeral home through the lens of a tween who simply sees it as the family business.

What do you think? I’m so, so, so excited to share this book. Still early days so no cover or order links yet, but some kind soul has put it up on Goodreads so you can add it there.

More news coming soon, if you believe it, but until then, thanks for celebrating with me.

More Books From Me. Sort of.

Happy New Year!

I’ve been a very neglectful blogger, I know, but I find myself so busy with many things at once and end up only posting when I have big news. Well, guess what?

BIG NEWS (you saw that coming, right?)

I have two middle grade books coming out this year from Simon and Schuster, and they are multi-storyline, choose your own path type stories. But they are slightly different from the Choose Your Own Adventure books that you might be used to. These are kind of romancy, and the typical CYOA format doesn’t really allow for a lot of character development and story building (reading more like a walk-through video game), so in these books, there are fewer, but more meaningful choices.

The super-cool covers were illustrated by Cassandra Calin:

There are many ways this story can go. YOU decide what happens next. And if you don’t like how it ends? Just start again! The Yes No Maybe So series is an interactive reading experience about friendships, family, and all the feelings.

Every day before and after school, Tara Singh helps her parents at their Indian sweet shop, but the only business Tara is interested in is show business. When a local theater announces a casting call for The Wizard of Oz, Tara is determined to wear the ruby slippers.

As she prepares for the audition, Tara is distracted by some unexpected drama: There is Rohan, the delivery boy her parents hired. Hiro, her forever crush, who wants to rehearse with her. And Desmond, a shy theater nerd who has started lighting up her heart. Can Tara win the part and get the guy?

You have the power to choose what happens…and the chance to choose differently next time! 

There are many ways this story can go. YOU decide what happens next. And if you don’t like how it ends? Just start again! The Yes No Maybe So series is an interactive reading experience about friendships, family, and all the feelings.


Yael Lewis is dreading her bat mitzvah. Her loving but clueless mother insists on throwing an epic birthday extravaganza, even though Yael hates the spotlight.

Despite herself, Yael is excited when her crush Cam accepts the invitation. But then she meets Gabriel, the emcee’s son, whose chill attitude makes her rethink the party plans. Thank goodness her old friend Eli will be there to keep her steady, even though he’s returned from camping a little bit different. Will Yael’s party be the best…or a bust?

You have the power to choose what happens…and the chance to choose differently next time!

 

Both books are available for pre-order at your retailer of choice and you can also add them to your To Be Read list at Goodreads.

Thanks for your support and stay tuned – I may just have some more news coming soon (I did say I was busy…).

 

A Proud Canadian Ginger

It’s no secret that I’m a redhead. As a kid, I wasn’t so fond of the hair that made me different. As an adult, I now appreciate my gingerness but feel like maybe I needed to grow into it, to be comfortable in my own skin before I could embrace having hair that made me stand out. It took a long time to realize it was an essential part of me, what made me me.

Canadian Ginger So when I heard about the opportunity to participate in an anthology by and about redheads, especially Canadian redheads, a club of which I am a very proud member, I was stoked to join in.

The result is my story SEEING RED which is included in this awesome anthology, CANADIAN GINGER from Oolichan Books, edited by Kim Clarkand Dawn Marie Kresan. SEEING RED is a sassy and tongue-in-cheek look at some of the stereotypes all redheads have endured at one time or another.

I hope you’ll check it out and enjoy not just my short story, but the essays, poems, and fiction that embrace the redhead experience.

Get your copy at Bryan Prince Booksellers, your local indie bookshop, or Indigo.

Telling Tales!

I know, I know, it’s been forever since I posted. I’ve been busy with some writing things (news to come!) and some personal things, like an upcoming move, and an otherwise busy summer, but I wanted to personally invite you to come see me and many other amazing authors at this year’s Telling Tales Festival on September 17, 2017!

This is one of my very favourite book events where tons of authors and book lovers come together for a day of stories and fun at one of Southern Ontario’s best-kept secrets – Westfield Heritage Village.

Check out the lineup.

I hope to see you!

I’m CRUSHING IT Today!

See what I did there? I made a corny pun with my book title! Well, you know what? It’s my blog, so it’s my prerogative to make corny puns!

Back to the business at hand – it’s they day we’ve all been waiting for – CRUSHING IT release day!

***Throws confetti***

To celebrate, I’m chatting with my excellent friend, Debbie Ohi, over on her site today and I’m also talking about writing funny at the Nerdy Book Club.

If you haven’t pre-ordered your copy, you can get yours from Bryan Prince Bookseller, or at one of these fine retailers:

Chapters/Indigo

IndieBound

Barnes & Noble

Amazon.com

Amazon.ca

If you’re local, I’d love to see you at the LAUNCH PARTY on January 28 at the Westdale Libary (2pm).

Don’t forget to please review CRUSHING IT (unless you hated it) at review sites like Goodreads and at retailers. That is the kindest, and cheapest way you can help authors get the word out about their books.