That incredibly crude picture isn’t just to highlight my juvenile sense of humor. It’s also an announcement for my new kids book! In addition to the Rotten Stepbrother books, which will be published August 1, 2017 (so soon!), I’m happy to announce another middle grade novel in the pipeline, BUTTHEADS FROM OUTER SPACE!

(I’m very grateful to my 7-year-old daughter Sutton for the suggested artwork above. I imagine the publisher may ultimately go a different way, but I have to say, the kid gets me.)

The book is about two sixth-grade boys, Josh and Lloyd, who want to hang out with some fun aliens — and maybe enlist their help getting revenge on their rival Quentin. But their plan to show some E.T.s what a cool planet Earth is works too well, and soon the buttheads want to take over the planet. Oops. Now the boys are going to need to work with Quentin to stop them, or Earth is doomed!

Do you like fart jokes? Have you ever read the great classics of American literature — say perhaps “The Grapes of Wrath” or “For Whom the Bell Tolls” — and thought, “Not bad, but it could’ve used more fart jokes”? Well, good news. This book is for you!

The bad news is you’ll have to wait until Spring 2018 for this one to be published, by the fine, twisted minds at Sky Pony Press.

In the meantime, I hope you’ll check out my new website. Yes, a whole new website! For me! I figured it was a good idea to have a site just for my kids’ writing, which I could keep free of adult topics and swear words. (Fart jokes are totes a go, though!)

Even better, follow me on my new Facebook site for my middle grade writing. That’s probably the best way to keep in touch with me, since there’s no subscription option on the new writing site. (Apparently, when grown-ups collect emails from kids, it’s “creepy.”)

I may still post here on Mommy Man from time to time, but as you’ve probably guessed, kidlit is what takes up most of my time lately. It’s awesome writing books my kids can enjoy, especially when it gives me the chance to warp their minds directly, rather than letting Jeff Kinney and Dav Pilkey have all the fun.

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The Rotten Stepbrother books are available for pre-order! I’ll probably arrange a chart twerk as it gets closer to the publication date, but if you can’t wait and you want to pre-order now, I won’t stop you!