A picture of the sunrise on a river and me sitting in the distance on a stand up paddle board.
Giveaways, Resources, News and Updates

September News | Book Launch!

Photo Credit: Anna Cools


Pictured above is me, attempting to soak up the last dregs of Summer. It’s been in the 90s here in Michigan, which makes it impossible to believe that Fall is almost upon us. Despite clinging to these final hot and sunny days, I couldn’t be more excited for it to be September. This is the month the books will release!!! I can’t wait to finally hold them in my hands. I can’t wait for you all to have access to them. They’re available for pre-order on Amazon now. You can also pre-order them here on the Routledge website starting on September 9th.

I’ve also received word from my publisher that I have fifteen sets to give away across book launch events. Like and reshare any of my book launch social media posts throughout September, including this blog post, to be entered into the drawing.

Lastly, a request. The #1 way authors get discovered is through Amazon reviews. Once you see the books, if you have a moment to give an honest review on Amazon, I’d be eternally grateful.

AI Tool I’ve been experimenting with.

Over the summer I gave three presentations about AI in Education. The first was as a spotlight speaker at the Longwood University Summer Literacy Institute, the second was on a panel for the Michigan Education Association, this talk will be turned into a course soon, accessible to MEA members and the final presentation was to the librarians at Ann Arbor Public Schools.

After each of these talks, participants messaged me about the songs they’d created using the music creation AI tool, Suno. If you’d like to listen to the songs I shared at the presentations, you can listen here. Suno is fabulous for creating catchy music with lyrics that reflect your prompt. My favorite is ‘Library Beats’.

I’d love to hear your Suno creations too! If you want to, you can share with me over social media or send the link to my email: AuthorJulieDarling@gmail.com

Resources, News and Updates

Read | Write | Tech Blog – April 2024

One week from today, on Monday April 8th there will be a total solar eclipse in North America! Check out this NASA site for a 3D visualization of the path of totality. To add a bit of whimsy, also consider this eclipse playlist (scroll down and preview before sharing with kids) compiled by NASA interns for the 2017 eclipse.

A Few Beautiful Minutes by Kate Allen Fox (with gorgeous illustrations from Khoa Le) is a great read to use to explain how solar eclipses work and build anticipation for this event.


MACUL name and logo

Speaking of A.I., Verse by Verse is an intriguing tool that helps you compose poetry inspired by classic American poets. Click on “let’s write a poem”, choose up to three famous poets, choose your preferred poem structure. I wrote one just now about the solar eclipse, here’s how it turned out:


If you’re someone who buys me birthday gifts, in lieu of a gift this year consider leaving a review of my first book (assuming you read or skimmed it).