Not only do I write books, but I bake cookies for book events.

These extremely homemade record cookies were for my friend Kirstin Cronn-Mills, who recently gathered with some friends to celebrate the release of her second book for young adults, Beautiful Music for Ugly Children.

The main character, Gabe, is a high school senior who spends his time as a radio DJ on a community radio station (very much like our own KMSU in Mankato). So of course Kirstin needed to have the launch at Tune Town in Mankato.

The playlist of B-sides for the evening included The Smiths’ “How Soon Is Now?” (Amazing to think the group’s most popular song was a B-side).

I was honored to be in the same writing group as Kirstin when she was working on BMUC. I saw this book from inception to finished product, and loved reading it while it was in progress. Kirstin has a special talent for writing in an authentic outsider voice. If you are a young adult or know any young adult who would appreciate reading a narrator who has an outsider perspective, please check out Kirstin’s books.