This Is My Secret: The Blog and Website of Writer Kristin Cashore

Graceling is coming out in September with a new 10th Anniversary cover :o). And an Afterword and Q&A from me! In the Afterword, I speculate a bit upon what I've learned in the past ten years, thanks to the world of experience Graceling has given me.  I hope you like Katsa's new look as much as I do. I'm so grateful to the team at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for this green beauty!



More news soon, here and on Twitter @kristincashore. Happy Sunday, everyone :o).

I walked home through a lovely, gentle rain, then propped my umbrella up in front of the couch to dry. Seeing a package waiting, I opened it eagerly, suspecting it was the paperback of Jane, Unlimited. Then I noticed something matchy!


Some things, at least, are aligned in this universe.

The other day, I wrote a blog post with the heading, "These times make me inarticulate."

I wonder if any of you noticed my misspelling? I changed it as soon as I noticed it, but for a little while, it said, "These times make me inarcticulate"…

I'm afraid I have the Arctic on the brain :o). That's because in October, I'm going to be doing an artist residency for a couple weeks on a tall ship in the Arctic Circle, opening my writing heart and mind to that vulnerable ecosystem. I bet it will affect everything I write thereafter.

The remarkable organization making this possible is called The Arctic Circle. The photos you'll see if you go to that link are not out of this world, they're right at the top of this world, but you may think otherwise when you see them. In the words of the organization, "International artists, scientists, educators and innovators will live and work aboard a Barquentine Tall Ship while sailing the waters of the inter…

Do you know the art of Arizona-based painter Carolyn Schmitz, whose paintings include a series of animals wearing gorgeous natural hats? Go check her out. It's hard to choose, but I might love the bear with the bluejay on its head best of all.

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you may have caught on that I like wearing cool stuff on my head. In that spirit, I want to share the Etsy shop ElsewhenMillinery, whose proprietor, Wendy, recently made me a beautiful green hat.

I have an upcoming social event that requires a hat. (If there are good pictures, I promise to share them, because, weather depending, it's going to be a photo-worthy event!) I decided to treat myself to exactly the hat I wanted, which meant finding a skilled artist who could make it for me. Look how it turned out.


I love it. Here's a photo that shows the pretty shape and fine details...

 I chose a green linen fabric because I wanted a hat I can wear anytime that will always match my ring. …

These times make me inarticulate.

I've felt for a while that I want to blog more. I miss my blog! But regularly blogging about the current political / social / international / environmental / [insert crisis here] situation is a fast route to a mental health meltdown for me, in addition to which, I don’t see that I have anything useful to add. I’m working with these topics in my writing and in my daily life. This blog has always been my respite.

Yet I'm also somewhat uncomfortable with saying anything online that isn't an acknowledgment of the state of our world today. It's a dilemma.

I’ve decided to give myself permission to return to blogging and blog about relatively inconsequential things. Little things are important too, you know? Which is why today I’m going to share pictures from a recent day off :o).

I knew on Wednesday, when my book-in-progress seemed not just currently awful but certain to be permanently awful (in addition to never being completed, which wo…

While digging through our storage room this morning in search of something else, I found some early manuscripts of Bitterblue. Then took a closer look, and had to laugh.

Here's my own copy of the first draft I ever sent to my marvelous editor, printed out, with "concerns flagged."


I guess I was pretty concerned.