This is a big week for me.

For ten years, I’ve been juggling my writing work with a full-time office job, which has meant squeezing my researching and writing time into early-morning hours, lunch hours, commutes, etc. And that, in turn, has meant limiting the number and types of writing projects I can take on. During the past year or so, since the publication of The Day-Glo Brothers, it’s also meant some serious limitations in the number and types of author visits, appearances, and presentations that I can add to my schedule.

Well, effective tomorrow, I’m scaling back my office job to a part-time schedule. That’s going to free up two additional days each week that I can spend creating books for young readers and connecting with the audiences of those books. It’s a little daunting to be taking this step, to turn down some of the steady income that my family and I have been accustomed to in exchange for the opportunity to do more of what I love.

But this step — “leap” seems more like it — feels right. It feels exciting and invigorating. And a big part of what makes it feel that way is the inspiration and encouragement that I’ve received from so many people in so many ways over the years. If you’re one of them — and if you’re reading this, you probably are — thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.