Escape Adulthood

Penguins Can't Fly

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Behind the Scenes of My Book Writing Retreat, Part 2

You guys! I am thrilled to report that today I completed drafts for all 40 rules that will be in the book! I ended up including 6 of the top 7 rules voted on by you, so thank you to all who voted! (I decided the rule "Thou shalt take yourself seriously" was a theme that ran throughout many of the ones I already had, so that didn't make it.) Almost all of my writing took place outside near Lake Michigan today, as it was finally sunny and beautiful :) Tomorrow I will be hitting the sketchbook hard. I have plans to use much of my existing art in the final book, but I need to create a lot more …

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Behind the Scenes of My Book Writing Retreat

Pretty productive writing day yesterday! I have drafts of 28 of the 40 chapters for the book done, a feat I attribute 50% to focus & freedom from distraction and 50% to me drinking coffee for the first time :) Here are 10 things I wrote that I'm pretty proud of... “No one ever died at the age of 100 looking like a 19-year-old.” “And if you don’t want to make the bed, no evil will befall you. Sure, the ghost of your mother may haunt you, but it’s not like she wouldn’t have anything else to hound you about, right?” “The tuxedo I wore was a rental, but if it were still in my possession …

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Help Write My Book (a Poll)

As you may have heard, we have a new book in the works with St. Martin's Press about the "Rules That Don't Exist." There are approximately 1,385,984 of these so-called rules, although most of them have yet to be discovered. I have uncovered no less than 118 so far, but alas, the forthcoming book can only hold 40. (I smell a sequel. And maybe even some prequels starring the cousin of Jar Jar Binks!) Anyhoo, I am on a writing retreat in Milwaukee this very moment, trying to decide which rules should be included in this particular book. So far, I've got over 30 of the rules nailed down. …

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The Biggest News Since the Birth of Our Kids

As of today, Kim and I have been married for 14 years. So it seems like a good time to share some super exciting news with you guys... We recently finalized a book deal with a major New York publisher!!! St. Martin’s Press, which is owned by Macmillan Publishers, is headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City and is considered one of the largest English-language publishers. They loved the concept for my next book, “Penguins Can’t Fly and 39 Other Adultitis-Ridden Rules That Don’t Exist” (tentative cover above), and so we'll be working together to bring it to life! An Itty …

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