Illinois Authors

Owl House Books 2019

How did we get here?That's the question that drives each friend, each foe, and every strand of the stories woven together in Born in Syn.From an eerily intelligent infant, to individuals wrongly accused or imprisoned, to insiders who know things they wish they didn't and outsiders determined to bulldoze their way into the action, dozens of small decisions and huge risks pile on top of one another, contributing to the creation of a future that will change everything.War. Ambition. Family. Betrayal. As every character hurtles us ever-faster forward, one truth becomes inescapable: Even the end of the world was once the beginning of someone's story.

Sleeping Bear Press 2023

With a little Yiddish and a lot of humor mixed in, this bubbly read-aloud picture book about holiday foods and traditions emphasizes the joy of the Jewish experience. Rhyming text takes readers through Jewish holidays, including Tu B'Shevat, Purim, and Chanukah, and their related special dishes. Colorful artwork brings the mouthwatering foods to the page and the table. But no matter how delicious the foods look, do not eat this book! Back matter includes a glossary describing each holiday, along with easy, kid-friendly recipes for the featured dishes, kitchen-tested by the author and her family.

Pelican Publishing Gretna, La. : 2020

This colorful, laughter-filled, rhyming counting tale tells of eight knights who have just captured the infamous "Knight-Eating Beast." As they lead him away, however, the line of knights becomes shorter and shorter, until the remaining knight figures out that traveling with a knight-eating beast might not be the smartest idea.

Mira/Harper Collins 2024

Nothing’s going well for Eve: she’s single and about to turn forty, the ad agency where she works is flailing, several creepy incidents have her on edge, her dad died last year and her family still won’t talk about their grief…and, of course, the whole world’s a dumpster fire. Not to mention the upcoming wedding of her little sister, where the family's eyes will all be on poor, terminally solo maid of honor Eve. In spite of her best friend's strangely intense warnings that it’s a terrible idea, Eve RSVP'd to the wedding with a “plus one,” vowing to find the perfect date. Wallowing in misery and running out of time, Eve recalls a strange story her Ukrainian grandmother once told her. She ventures down into the dank recesses of her building's basement, where bags of foundation clay are piled up in a corner…and builds herself a golem. The next morning, convinced it was all a dream, Eve rolls over…AND THERE HE IS: HER GOLEM. At first, everything seems great. The golem is hot, attentive and very protective. But when they head out to a rural summer camp for the family wedding, old wounds lurk and new threats abound—and Eve’s lighthearted rom-com fantasy swiftly mudslides toward something much, much darker. I Made It Out of Clay is spicy, frightening and funny—with surprising punches to the gut as Eve wrestles with crushing grief, slaying her demons and maybe even finding love along the way.

Homebound Publications 2018

Fifty years after the Singularity, the world is divided into two populations locked in a cold war: Synthetic Citizens, or Syns, human-computer hybrids with extraordinary enhancements and potentially infinite lifespans; and Originals, the individuals who did not merge their bodies with the machines. But the decades-long battle between Original and Syn is almost at an end, because the Originals are on the verge of extinction. One of the only young Originals left in the world, Ere, knows he might someday be the very last of his kind. But when he meets a beautiful, powerful Syn girl called Ever, he questions everything he’s ever been told about his lifelong enemies. Original Syn is a rich, dangerous world of family secrets, free will, forbidden love, and all of the unexpected peril that arises when aggressive technology meets stubborn humanity.

Owl House Books 2020

The Original rebels are quietly gearing up for their first uprising in decades, with Ere and Asavari playing critical roles in the fight for freedom; meanwhile, the Syns are distracted by other problems—including a mysterious electromagnetic pulse that begins periodically shuddering through their world, causing damage and devastation. Cal has fallen hard for Ever, who still cannot remember her past entanglement with Ere. And as Dr. Felix Hess fights to maintain control in an increasingly chaotic landscape, a new would-be ruler edges into view. Power struggles, prophecies, and people who just want their freedom all collide in the race to a conclusion that none of them saw coming.