National Twin Day

Because Some Gifts Come in Pairs

Today, December 18, is National Twin Day, which means it’s time to celebrate things that come in matching sets. Twins. If you have one, congratulations! But the world is full of other twins too: socks (when they behave). Gloves. Coffee refills. And, as it turns out, books.

Because books are one of the few gifts that are naturally bilingual, bi-format, and surprisingly cooperative when it comes to international gifting. Here’s the twin-friendly idea I’m embracing this season:

Read it now as an ebook. Gift it later as a paperback.

Yes — one book, two lives.

The ebook twin is the overachiever. It shows up instantly. No shipping delays. No customs forms. No mysterious “in transit” purgatory. You can start reading in your pajamas while your coffee is still thinking about becoming coffee.

The paperback twin is the traditionalist. It takes its time. It likes being wrapped. It enjoys making an entrance. It’s the one that ends up under the tree, on a table, or quietly handed over with a “this made me think of you.”

Together, they make a very well-behaved pair.

This approach also solves one of December’s greatest modern dilemmas: What if I want to give a book, but I also really want to read it?

Twins don’t judge. The ebook lets you preview, enjoy, underline, dog-ear digitally, and decide — with confidence — that yes, this is exactly the right book for that person. The paperback then does its job as the physical gift, blissfully unaware that you’ve already met its contents.

It’s not cheating. It’s research.

A Twin Day Thank-You to My International Readers

National Twin Day also feels like a good moment to tip my hat to readers outside the U.S., because international book shopping comes with its own special sport: finding the right Amazon site without opening twelve tabs and questioning all your life choices.

To make that easier, I’ve included direct links by country — so whether you’re in the UK,  Canada, Australia, Europe, or Japan, you can land on the correct Amazon site without detouring through the wrong continent.

The twin approach works especially well here:

• The ebook twin doesn’t care where you live — it arrives instantly.

• The paperback twin behaves better when ordered from your local Amazon marketplace.

Less hunting. Less confusion. More reading.

And because stories don’t need passports, this felt like the simplest way to say: you’re not an afterthought — you’re part of the process.

So, this week, I’ve gathered my titles into one place — poetry, fiction, and gentle non fiction— and made them easy to find no matter where you’re reading from.

Here's your international book portal link: A Heep of Books.

Some people want reflection.

Some want imagination.

Some want something that quietly untangles thoughts while the world does December at full volume.

Twins allow for all of it.

One for you.
One for them.
Same words. Different journeys.

Happy Twin Day — and thank you for reading from wherever you are.

From Pixels to Peace

Why I Made "Among the Alpacas"

This wasn’t just a book I decided to make. It’s one that quietly made its way through over seven years of moments, memories, and gentle rewiring.

About seven years ago, I started visiting alpacas. It began as a casual curiosity—just another farm stop. But they got to me. The hums, the soft eyes, the way they somehow manage to look both wise and mildly disapproving at the same time.

Since then, I’ve had three phones—technically smartphones, but I’d call them moderately intelligent at best. The kind of budget models that develop stage fright if you open the camera app too often. I keep running out of memory, so I try to store the alpaca photos elsewhere. And yes, I understand about SIM cards—but not when your budget is smaller than an alpaca’s attention span.

Yes, I technically have the cloud now, but let’s just say the relationship is still complicated.

Then, at the end of last month, I went back to visit the alpacas again (because, of course, I can’t not). I took even more photos—lots of them—and when I got home and looked through them, I realized something: they weren’t that great. Blurry here, shadowy there… but the expressions, the little quirks, the softness—it was all there.

So, I started wondering if I could edit them (the pictures, not the alpacas). One experiment led to another, and then—presto—line drawings.

And suddenly, everything clicked.

Alpacas. Coloring. Neuroplasticity.

Neuro who? Earlier this year I’d learned about neuroplasticity—how the brain can rewire and heal through repetition, creativity, and calm focus. That idea had been quietly simmering, waiting for the right project to bloom. And apparently, it was waiting for alpacas.

Among the Alpacas: A Gentle Coloring Book became a blend of everything I love—part art therapy, part humor, part accidental neuroscience, and part love letter to the fluffiest philosophers I’ve ever met.

That’s why this isn’t just a coloring book; it’s a soft corner of the world you can step into whenever things feel too sharp.

Because sometimes, the best way to rewire your brain is one gentle alpaca at a time.
Because calm has officially gone fluffy.

From New Zealand With Mischief: The Gnome Who Changed Everything

 

Six years ago, my son returned from a trip to New Zealand with a suspiciously quiet carry-on item. Nestled in his bag was a white ceramic gnome with a glint in his eye — or maybe that was just my imagination (gnomes are good at that).

He arrived starkly bare (well, in gnome terms — unpainted), wearing nothing but a fantastic golden hat, bold possibilities, and a rather smug beard. The only thing he demanded was a display place, so he moved into my entertainment center, where he sat silently for six years under my cat’s watchful, judgy eyes.

Little did I know this pint-sized ambassador from a gloriously foreign realm would become the muse for my latest book, The Gnome with the Golden Hat. Oh, not at first — it happened in stages, the way great things often do. It all started when I finally decided to paint him last month.

It’s proof that inspiration doesn’t always arrive as a sweeping revelation. Sometimes it shows up wrapped in bubble wrap, carrying the faint scent of adventure — then takes its sweet time, sitting around for years before finally revealing the story it had tucked away all along.

So if you’re curious how a silent garden ornament ended up at the heart of a whimsical tale (and maybe stirred up a bit of gnome politics along the way), you can now find The Gnome with the Golden Hat in print and ebook on Amazon. Because every golden hat deserves its legend.

Cats, Cameras, and Compassion: A Little Love Letter to Hannah Shaw’s Cats of the World

Let’s be honest — most of us have bought at least one coffee table book purely for the pictures. (Guilty as charged.) But Cats of the World by Hannah Shaw is different. It’s one of those rare purr-fect finds that combines drool-worthy photographs, charming writing, and a deep pulse of genuine heart.

First, a fun fact you won’t see on the jacket flap: Hannah Shaw is the daughter of none other than Tommy Shaw — yes, that rock star from Styx. Turns out star power runs in the family, but so does raw talent. Hannah’s not just any celebrity’s kid cashing in on a famous name. She’s a bona-fide wordsmith. As a writer myself, I can confirm she’s got the chops: playful turns of phrase, well-paced stories, and a knack for bringing out the personalities of her feline subjects.

I stumbled on Cats of the World in a delightfully roundabout way. Last year, It flashed by on TV one afternoon, a teaser for a new book about global cats (and let’s be real, they had me at “cats”). Not long after, I met Hannah at a bookstore event. She was warm, funny, and exactly the sort of person you hope an animal advocate would be — someone who doesn’t just coo at kittens for the camera but rolls up her sleeves to rescue them.

And about that camera: the stunning photographs in this book are by her husband, who clearly knows his way around both a lens and a whiskered subject. Together, they’ve created more than a book — it’s a globe-trotting gallery of feline fabulousness. From scrappy market cats to sun-drenched porch loafers, every page is like a little passport stamp to another corner of the world, each paw print telling its own soft-footed story.

What I love most is that underneath the glorious shots and Hannah's kitten-claw sharp writing beats a very big heart. Hannah has dedicated her life to rescuing the tiniest, most vulnerable kittens. The ones most people overlook. The ones who need more than just food — they need someone to fight for them. That compassion radiates through every page.

So if you’re looking for a book that’s as easy on the eyes as it is good for the soul, snag a copy of Cats of the World. You’ll get dazzling photos, edgy and soulful writing, and maybe — just maybe — a little nudge to be kinder to the small creatures in your own orbit.

After all, rock stars come and go, but kindness? That’s truly legendary.