I knew this day would come. I just didn’t realize it would seem to come so fast.

I’ve devoted the past 2+ years of my life to Jaundice and Kale Bland. For the majority of the time I worked on The Jolly Regina and The Uncanny Express and Flight of the Bluebird, I was suffering from a chronic (and chronically-misdiagnosed) bronchial infection, so you might say I’ve given this series my heart and soul AND lungs.

This final adventure, Flight of the Bluebird, was especially fun for me, as it allowed me to pay homage to the Indiana Jones movies, which are among my favorites (well, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, specifically — I’m not a big fan of Temple of Doom, and don’t even get me started on the travesty that is Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). The chase scene involving the Daughters of Sekhmet (a fierce biker gang) is an almost shot-for-shot recreation of one of the chase scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the moment where Beatrix Airedale goes over the embankment (and is feared lost by the Bland Sisters) is inspired by a similar scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade!

So it’s hard to say goodbye for many reasons. But Flight of the Bluebird sees the Bland Sisters embarking on a new set of adventures (no spoilers — I won’t offer any further details), and I’m off to chart some new horizons, too. Aside from the Infamous Ratsos series (of which there are still three remaining stories I’m working on!) I also have a new chapter book series in the works, and a picture book with Caldecott Award-winning genius Matthew Cordell. And I have a new project about go go on submission (fingers crossed).

I like to think that just as there’s so much of me in Jaundice and Kale, they’ll always be with me, in my mind and heart (and yes, maybe even my lungs). I hope you’ve enjoyed this series, and even though it’s over, you can be sure you haven’t heard the last of me. This ride’s just getting started, folks.

P.S. The winner of my pre-order giveaway is Carolyn Davis! Congratulations! I’ll be in touch!

P.P.S. I hope you’ll join me on my Flight of the Bluebird Blog Tour this week — if you still want to enter to win a signed copy of the book, my friends are offering lots of giveaways! Here is the schedule (though the Storymamas blog is down today, they’ll be running their giveaway through their Facebook, Twitter, and IG accounts):

P.P.P.S. If you don’t end up entering or winning any giveaways and you’d like a signed copy of Flight of the Bluebird (or any of my books!) you can order from my local indie! (Just be sure to put your personalization in the Order Comments section so I know how to sign it.)

P.P.P.P.S. If and when you do read and happen to enjoy Flight of the Bluebird, and/or any of the other Bland Sisters adventures, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. It REALLY helps.