A Visit to Kindergarten!
I had so much fun visiting my niece’s kindergarten class. We read stories, talked about books, and wrote one about pirates and some missing treasure. And then my niece and I got to sit in a book igloo!
The Cover of Sparkle Spa: Glam Opening
I started working on the first Sparkle Spa book in July of 2012, and almost four-and-a-half years later, I’ve written ten of them! Simon & Schuster just sent me the jacket for the last and final book in the series, GLAM OPENING. It’s been so cool to see how the artist, Cathi Mingus, has drawn the Sparkle Spa characters for all these years. (The book will be in stores on June 20, 2017.)
A Box of Fashion Disaster
Right after Sparkle Spa 9: Fashion Disaster was published, I went to Oregon. When I came home, there was a big box of books at my house. It’s always funny when some are packed upside down.
October 11 was Sparkle Spa #9 Day!
October 11 was the publication day for Sparkle Spa 9: Fashion Disaster. In that book Suzy gives Brooke a haircut…and inspires a whole lot of girls to donate their hair to be turned into wigs for kids who are sick. After I handed in my copy-edited pages last spring, I did it too. Here’s a photo to show you what I looked like before and afterward. 
Sparkle Spa in the Wild!
This was a big week for Sparkle Spa books getting spotted in the wild. A friend of mine found one of my books in a Little Free Library, and my mom found two of them at the New York Public Library. It’s so nice to see my books getting shared.
Some Photos from the Premier of Sparkle Spa The Musical!
I just got back from the most incredible weekend in Meredith, New Hampshire where I got to see the first ever production of Sparkle Spa The Musical at the Interlakes Children’s Theatre. The kids and grown-ups who acted, sang, and danced in the show were wonderful! It was so cool to see my imaginary world come alive!
Here are some photos, including one with me, Brad Ross (the show’s composer), and Christiana Cole (the show’s lyricist) just before we went inside to watch the show for the fist time. (We were pretty excited.)
Sparkle Spa The Musical in The Citizen newspaper
New Hampshire’s newspaper The Citizen has an article about the Sparkle Spa musical! Looking forward to getting to watch the show this weekend (and perhaps getting my nails done too…).
You can check out the article here.
Book Four in French!
Look what came in the mail from Paris: Sparkle Spa #4 in French! In English it’s called True Colors, but in French, it’s called (I think) Enemy Sisters, which makes perfect sense as a title for this one.
A Sparkle Spa Bind-Up at Costco
I got a very exciting email from my grandmother the other day. She was shopping at Costco and found the bind-up of the first four Sparkle Spa books there! Here’s the picture she sent me (Aly and Brooke look like they’re in good company):
Another Peek at SPARKLE SPA The Musical!
Today I got to listen to a bunch of talented actors sing through the score of SPARKLE SPA The Musical! There’s going to be a workshop reading on Tuesday, so they were practicing. And they let me record them while they sang “You Are Gonna Lose.” Here it is, if you want to give it a listen. Music by Brad Ross and lyrics by Christiana Cole. Robert Phillip Smith is directing the workshop (and the show in New Hampshire this summer!).
The French Sparkle Spa Books Are Here!
Et voila! Three French Sparkle Spa books! In French the series is called “Sequins and Friends at the Beauty Salon,” and Aly and Brooke are named Lise and Elodie. How cool is that? The fact that kids in France can read these books now makes me so happy.
Sparkle Spa: The Musical
I’m so incredibly excited to report that Bling It On!, the seventh Sparkle Spa book, will be a musical! Brad Ross is writing the music, Christiana Cole is writing the lyrics, and I’m going to be writing the dialogue that goes in between the songs. And this summer it’ll be performed at Interlakes Theatre in New Hampshire!
Carly Gendell, an awesome young actress who’s in School of Rock, sang one of the songs for us and let us video tape it. I loved it so much that I wanted to share it here!
Enjoy!