fiction, my books

Cover reveal!

I am so very excited to share the cover of my debut novel, The Moth Girl, out March 8, 2022 from Putnam/Penguin Teen! I could not be more thrilled with how this cover turned out, thanks to artist Hsiao-Ron Cheng and cover designer Kristin Boyle.

Take a look, read an excerpt of the book, and preorder it here!

About the book:

Anna is a regular teenaged girl. She runs track with her best friend, gets good grades, and sometimes drinks beer at parties.
 
But one day at track practice, Anna falls unconscious . . . but instead of falling down, she falls up, defying gravity in the disturbing first symptom of a mysterious disease.
 
This begins a series of trips to the hospital that soon become Anna’s norm. She’s diagnosed with lepidopsy: a rare illness that causes symptoms reminiscent of moths: floating, attraction to light, a craving for sugar, and for an unlucky few, more dangerous physical manifestations.
 
Anna’s world is turned upside down, and as she learns to cope with her illness, she finds herself drifting further and further away from her former life. Her friends don’t seem to understand, running track is out of the question, and the other kids at the disease clinic she attends once a week are a cruel reminder that things will never be the same.
 
From debut author Heather Kamins comes a beautiful and evocative story about one girl’s journey of choosing who she wants to be–in a life she never planned for.

Uncategorized

Book deal!

So here’s some good news: my debut novel has found its home! Putnam Books for Young Readers will be publishing The Moth Girl as a young adult title. Here’s the full deal announcement from Publishers Marketplace:

TMG deal

I’m so grateful to my wonderful agent, Alexa Stark, for making this happen, and I’m delighted to be working with editor Arianne Lewin at Putnam!

Stay tuned for news, preordering information, and more!

Uncategorized

Zoltar!

So, here’s a nifty thing: One of my poems was selected to be handed out at Red Hen Press‘s Poetry Prom by poet Nicelle Davis, who coordinated a human Zoltar fortune-telling machine at the event. You know, Zoltar — like from the movie Big. (Apologies to anyone who was prematurely aged or turned into Tom Hanks due to receiving my poem.)

Anyway, here’s a shot of the poem laid out all pretty (bottom left):

Zoltar poems!
Mine’s on the bottom left.

Click here and zoom for a bigger version.

Thanks to Nicelle and Red Hen Press for including me!

Uncategorized

Radio Silence

Well, it’s been quiet around here lately, but here’s what I’m up to…

I’ve been writing less poetry lately and focusing on my current novel-in-progress. It’s a longer, slower, more invisible-to-the-outside-world process, but it’s churning along.

I’m very excited to announce that I’m heading to the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference in a couple weeks! I’ll be workshopping some of my fiction, meeting some really excellent writers, and soaking in some summer Vermont scenery (I know it’s famous for its autumns, but I’ve always been partial to Vermont’s supersaturated green summers).

Wordward!