On Wednesday, Flora will have been part of our family, the sole cat in this house, and beloved companion of her three human subjects, for ten years. And as you can see, she has not lost a wisp of her grace and beauty.

I'm not on social media much at all these days (busy with writing, family, day job, and recovering from illness), but here's something happy that happened in our house: Our son made bread for the first time. His choice: sourdough baguettes, using a bit of my starter. So delicious!

#Bread

What book made *you* want to be a writer? For me: Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising. I loved the menace, the British lore, and Will Stanton, who, like me, lived a rural life with rabbits and chickens, and wasn't always noticed. This was also my first Chosen One story. (Cover by Justin Hernandez.)

I love looking up at trees in any kind of weather. Honestly, I adore November because we get beautiful, moody, atmospheric skies with gorgeous bare trees that have so much personality. Here's part of an oak with some maples around it, showing their true autumn selves.

Flora is enjoying her conquest of my lap. #Caturday

Wow. THE FIRST STATE OF BEING by Erin Entrada Kelly is one of the best #mglit books I've read this year. It's the warm story of a boy desperately afraid of Y2K who meets a teen from the future who has time-traveled to his neighborhood. Great tension, and innovative and brilliant world-building!

We play survival mode, a modded version that my son put together that helps us do things like mine very quickly and fly (levitate with slingshots). Here's a portion of our airport (two hangers; there's a third, as well as offices and much, much more). We'd been playing tag. As you can see, I lost.

Every day, I read a poem from Mosab Abu Toha's brilliant, powerful, poignant, beautiful, and tragic THINGS YOU MAY FIND HIDDEN IN MY EAR, a collection of poems about living in #Gaza. This was today's poem, "We Deserve a Better Death."

Today is the birthday of @michaelmagras.bsky.social, a brilliant writer and critic who happens to be a fantastic actor, singer, and altogether witty gent too. His creativity, humor, intellect, empathy, and progressive ideals make him an absolute joy to be married to. Happy birthday, my dear!

I adore autumn this time of year. The crisp cold and especially the colors: all brown, but all different kinds of of that glorious hue. These oak leaves turned brown (not red first) a few weeks ago, but they glow red in the sun. They're gorgeous with or without sun. I love these warm colors.

And while I'm here, I'll introduce you to the wonderful Flora! This sweet cat is a star of my social media accounts. Here she displays her graceful curve, amidst the shadows.

I took this pic yesterday. It's some flowers I got at the farmer's market before this cold first came on (and yes, our wonderful farmer's market has a fresh flower stand!). They've been brightening up the house.

I hope this little burst of brightness helps anyone who needs it.

It's October 1! Happy October, when fall really seems to be here!

And may I introduce you to my own fun, fast-paced, and rather spooky read? Watch the trailer and even read a sample chapter here: www.dianemagras.com/books/secret...

Thanks, Debbie! I'm Diane Magras, award-winning author of the Mad Wolf's Daughter books and Secret of the Shadow Beasts. I do author talks and writing workshops, and they've been very popular with kids! Here's where you can find out more about me, my books, and those talks: www.dianemagras.com

I'm a children's author who writes fast-paced middle grade adventures, some historical, some fantasy, loaded with warmth and big moral conflicts. My three books currently out are the Mad Wolf's Daughter medieval adventures, and the medieval-inspired sci-fi/fantasy Secret of the Shadow Beasts.

I love the magic of the woods. Every time of year shows a different side of it. Right now, it's a sea of misty green, the sun filtering gently everywhere. And this beech tree is bursting with that color! Those leaves will turn a beautiful copper-brown in the autumn, but this is magical as it is!

So here's my intro post: I'm the #mglit #author of the Mad Wolf's Daughter duology and Secret of the Shadow Beasts (https://www.dianemagras.com/books/), fast-paced action-adventures with heart. My work challenges gender stereotypes and explores emotional survival.

I also love #castles.