In late April, I promised to send newsletter updates more often, but I didn’t keep that promise.

However, there’s a reason why I couldn’t keep my promise.

This is a gentle warning for those who do not want to read about pet death. Scroll until you see the next Spongebob GIF. If you’re gonna stay, get comfy.

This newsletter has been hard to write. I’ve been writing and rewriting it for two months now.

Like anniversaries and birthdays and book publication dates, April 30, 2026, is now engraved in my memory. It’s the day that my best boy and grumpy little old man of 13 years died suddenly and unexpectedly while I was at the Edgar Awards in New York.

As we packed our bags and left NY, I waited for the vet to call back. “Ally, good news! We made a mistake. Nox is doing well now.” But that phone call never came, and we rushed home in silence. We went home to a house that was missing a family member.

In the days after Nox’s passing, Fury seemed to understand that he was gone. I spent two weeks on the couch, and she was beside me the whole time. When it was time to go to sleep, she took Nox’s side of the bed. I think she was sad too.

May and June, I revolved around sadness, apathy and nihilism, anger, and on less awful days, nostalgia. I cried a lot, wrote in a grief journal, talked to Nox’s ashes daily, cried some more, and painted a table the same shade of green as his eyes.

Because how could my grumpy companion be gone? Not the cat that used to huff and stalk off if I gave him one too many kisses on his head. Not the cat that followed me from room to room and slept beside me nearly every night for 13 years.

Nox was not just a cat. I will not elaborate. You either understand this kind of deep connection with cats, or you don’t. You’re lucky if you do.

I will never completely recover from the loss of Nox. How could I? How does one recover after losing magic? We started, lived, and ended nearly every day together for 13 years. My heart will always ache for Nox, especially in the quiet moments at home when he would normally be by my side, but I think he will come back to me some day. Look at those eyes. Do you really think he wasn’t made of magic and stardust?

Recently, I read Angela Cervantes’s The Cursed Moon. It’s a fantastic and chilling middle-grade ghost story. Angela’s words comforted me, and if you are hurting from pet loss, I hope they soothe your soul too. “He always returns to family. It could be tomorrow. It could be five years. Cats take their time.”

For those skipping ahead, it’s time to jump back in.

While no creature can ever replace Nox, we have opened our home to two tiny voids. You can read about Nyctous (pronounced Nick) and Crescent over on Instagram, but here are some photos that perfectly capture their unique personalities.

Between losing my familiar, gaining two family members, and adjusting to a new way of life, do you see why I couldn’t keep my promise to write more frequently? The last four months have forced my family to readjust and learn how to live with loss.

Now that life is stable, the summer seems to have zipped by, and I’m not the only person returning to the land of the living.

Mystery James Returns from the Grave publishes September 15! This book has awkward friendship dynamics, a poltergeist, a black cat, lots of skeletons and bones, an uncomfortable amount of worms, and more creepy thrills.

It feels like I just started writing the Mystery James duology, and somehow…it’s over? I’m sad about it. I love Ellis Town. I have a soft spot for Mystery, Garrett, Eliza, Coffin, and Tía Lucy. I want to live in the Olde Ellis Town Cemetery. I could stare at Dev Forst’s incredibly creepy artwork forever. Most of all, I’ll miss sitting at my desk and getting Mystery into and out of spooky shenanigans.

And now, friends, here comes my annual request to preorder, preorder, preorder. (And this goes for all books that you’re excited to read. Support authors when you can.)

If you enjoyed Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave (out in paperback September 15), please consider preordering the second and final book in the duology from Copper Dog Books, Thrillerdelphia, or Spark Books. Preorders will let my publisher know that Mystery has fans! Plus, you’ll get exclusive swag, including a character sticker sheet, a bookmark, a postcard with a map of the Olde Ellis Town Cemetery, and a signed glow-in-the-dark bookplate.

In case a good review might entice you to preorder.
“Thrilling, cozy, and oh-so-creepy: an exciting finish to a spooky duology.”—Kirkus Reviews

I’d love to meet you and sign your book in person! I’ll be in the following cities in the coming weeks. I’ll have bookmarks, stickers, worms, a shovel, dirt-scented room spray (for ambience), and a big tombstone!

WILLIAMSPORT, PA
Saturday, September 5, 2026 • 12 PM • FREE
Williamsport Children’s Book Festival - ATTEND

PITTSBURGH, PA
Saturday, September 19, 2026 • 1 PM • FREE
Spark Books - ATTEND
In conversation with Karuna Riazi

BEVERLY, MA
Friday, September 25, 2026 • 7 PM • FREE
Copper Dog Books - ATTEND
In conversation with J.W. Ocker

BOSTON, MA
Saturday, September 26, 2026 • 10 am • FREE
Spooktastic Book Fair (Roundhead Brewing Co.) - ATTEND

WYNNEWOOD, PA
Saturday, October 3, 2026 • 11 am • FREE
Chapter Two Books - ATTEND
In conversation with Diana Rodriguez Wallach

NEW YORK, NY
Thursday, October 8, 2026 • 2:45 PM
New York Comic-Con - ATTEND
Safe Spaces in Scary Books Panel with Taylor Hunsberger, Tracey Baptiste, and Dan Poblocki

PHILADELPHIA, PA
Friday, October 30, 2026 • 7 PM • FREE
Thrillerdelphia - ATTEND
In conversation with Insha Fitzpatrick
👻 HALLOWEEN COSTUMES ENCOURAGED 👻

I’m still getting back into the swing of things and gathering my thoughts, so for now, here’s a quick list of some other sweet and exciting things that happened this summer.

📌 I didn’t have a chance to celebrate when this happened, but It Came from the Trees WON the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award for grades 6-8! Thank you to the school librarians and young readers in the state of Maryland! The book was inspired by The Blair Witch Project, so that makes this win even more special.

📌 Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave and It Came from the Trees made it into the Obama Presidential Center Library! Librarian and friend @rachaelreads snapped this photo. (Y’all, I’m sorry. I can’t control that RU comes after RO. 🫠)

📌 Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave was shortlisted for an Ignyte Award and was selected as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.

📌 My birthday came and went. Of course I ate cake, and Kellen got me the new X-Files lego set. I get to do my first Lego build, and I’m starting with Scully’s lab.

📌 My friend Emily Hughes invited me to write about middle-grade horror under the banner of her new endeavor—Darker Times, which is “a worker-owned horror magazine that takes a thoughtful, personal, and critical look at the horror genre, from books and movies to TV shows, short stories, games, and beyond.” Please consider subscribing!

📌 The city of Pittsburgh is really showing all the love and support to this local author. I was invited to the Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books. Say hi to Dippy!

📌 I also got to chat with Pittsburgh Magazine and Trib Live about what it’s like to be creepy 24/7.

📌 I deleted my personal Facebook a year ago, but the reality is that I have to be able to shout about my books so that I can keep publishing them. If you’re on that site, give me a follow, please. If you’re on Threads, let’s connect there, too.

📌 I wrote two books, and I can’t tell you about either of them. 🤐 But stay tuned for more details.

I know that was long, but four months is a long time to be away, and Nox deserved a proper tribute. Thanks for reading all the way to the end.

Here’s your spooky little treat—something actually scary. WARNING: Don’t watch this video if you’re by yourself, in the dark, about to go to bed, or scare easily.