Okay, that title is a stretch. I did not score in any way related to football, but I did indeed score a great time at a revived book festival in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the aforementioned TitleTown of renown.
The UntitledTown literary festival was long missed, stalled by the pandemic six years ago. But it came back. And I was honored to be invited to speak. I gave four talks: bringing humor into your story, creating sticky/memorable characters/plots, writing for young audiences, and plotting. In the photos below you see me talking both with my mouth and my hands. I talk a lot with my hands, it seems.
Anyway, it was fun! I met new authors. I learned stuff. I was creatively inspired. I highly recommend this and other literary festivals, whether you’re an author yourself or not, for the pure joy of meeting fellow lit lovers. Hope to see you at one in the near future.
Photo by Justin Keys
Photo by Kara Counard/Bloom Photography
http://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Kidlit-5-_Photos-by-Bloom-Photography-by-Kara-Counard-scaled.jpg17072560Silviahttp://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/logo_1024x156.pngSilvia2026-09-28 03:57:112026-10-29 21:29:34Scoring at UntitledTown
Wow, people. I am so thrilled to tell you that my book is a finalist for THREE awards. This is AMAZING and SO MEANINGFUL for me because, when you let a book out into the world, you never know how it’s going to be received, whether people will like it, whether it stands out. So when literary organizations pick your book out of all others, it’s… well, kinda wonderful.
So here they are. The Wishing Shelf Independent Book Award means so much to me because that award is chosen by kids! The target audience!
Chanticleer’s Gertrude Warner Award is specifically for middle grade works. Warner wrote the Boxcar Children book series.
And finally, Reader Views’ Reviewers Choice Awards, so the reviewers put the book up top.
Writing a book is a huge endeavor taking tons of mental gymnastics, time, energy, devotion to learning, and upgrading of skills. It’s…oof… a lot. So I’m incredibly grateful for any attention the work gets.
If you’ve read and enjoyed MAIL-ORDER MONSTERS: CRASH COURSE, please help others discover it by leaving a review or rating at any bookish site. Thank you! And if you haven’t yet ordered it, please consider doing so for the young monster- and robot-lover in your life or to donate to your local library.
Thanks, friends, for your support and encouragement. It means the world.
http://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/gertrude-warner-finalist.png500418Silviahttp://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/logo_1024x156.pngSilvia2026-03-02 03:53:012026-10-27 03:53:45Mail-Order Monster is up for awards!
Wow, I loved this book. You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego* takes us to a writers’ retreat hosted by an anonymous bestselling author bent on murder. Everyone here has something to hide, something they’re ashamed of, something that could damage their career and reputation. But their host–and a few among them–know how the subterfuge has ruined lives and fortunes. It seems no one will let the others get away with it.
If you like books steeped in the writerly world, tainted with prophetic writings, and wrongdoers getting what’s coming to them, pick up this title. The audiobook is superb too. Five stars. Highly recommended.
(*This post contains affiliate links, meaning I make a few cents off a purchase, at no cost to you.)
http://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/You-Are-Fatally-Invited-by-Ande-Pliego.jpg522348Silviahttp://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/logo_1024x156.pngSilvia2026-02-07 15:48:502026-02-07 15:53:45Book Review – You Are Fatally Invited
I am thrilled to announce that Mail-Order Monsters: Crash Course is a semi-finalist in the Gertrude Warner Award for Middle Grade Fiction, put out by the Chanticleer International Book Awards. Gertrude Chandler Warner authored the original 19 books of the beloved Boxcar Children series.
There is just one round of judging to go, and I’m so happy to be considered. Thank you, GWA and CIBA.
http://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Gertrude-Warner-Award-semi-finalist-copy.png336336Silviahttp://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/logo_1024x156.pngSilvia2026-02-04 12:00:262026-02-07 15:35:52Short-listed for the Gertrude Warner Award
So many thanks go to Blue House Books in Kenosha, WI, for selecting Mail-Order Monsters: Crash Course as one of their best books of 2025. I am truly honored. Reader, if you’re thinking of buying it, please patronize this store.
Also, truly, if you love beautiful spaces, you’ll love the something extra they did make it a welcoming community space. They renovated the room behind their store and connected it by an adjoining hall to create to a gorgeous event area. Behold and enjoy this captivating space.
http://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Blue-House-Books-Best-of-2025-Mail-Order-Monsters.jpg18191819Silviahttp://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/logo_1024x156.pngSilvia2026-01-08 12:00:302026-02-07 15:36:13Thank you, Blue House Books
I asked Google who I dedicated my book to. The exercise was based on author John Scalzi asking various AI programs the same regarding his own works.
It confidently states that MY book, Mail-Order Monsters: Crash Course, was written by R.L. Stein, the creator of Goosebumps, and is part of that series. Nope. Not true. Absolutely not. If search engines and their AI sloppery can’t correctly identify info as basic as authorship, you should know that it will get everything wrong and *you cannot trust it.* Here’s a screenshot of its results:
It is easy enough for real, live people to find the correct author by scrolling past Google’s awful AI results. And, yes, it’s easy enough to find the dedication page elsewhere online or by pulling the book off your shelf, assuming you have it. And, yes, I know “AI will get better,” but that’s not the point. AI is not smart nor to be trusted nor ethical *in any way,* so using it until it gets better doesn’t ease my anxiety in the least. AI truly sucks.
Oh, and for the record, here’s the answer. Mail-Order Monsters: Crash Course by Silvia Acevedo is dedicated to (granddaughter) Eliza, “who asks me to check for monsters under the bed. May she someday love these monsters friends.”
http://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Mail-Order-Monster-dedication.jpeg4741754Silviahttp://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/logo_1024x156.pngSilvia2025-12-19 12:00:252026-02-07 15:36:39AI IS DUMB (and unethical and environmentally catastrophic and … and … and …)
Scoring at UntitledTown
/in Presenting the Prose /by SilviaOkay, that title is a stretch. I did not score in any way related to football, but I did indeed score a great time at a revived book festival in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the aforementioned TitleTown of renown.
The UntitledTown literary festival was long missed, stalled by the pandemic six years ago. But it came back. And I was honored to be invited to speak. I gave four talks: bringing humor into your story, creating sticky/memorable characters/plots, writing for young audiences, and plotting. In the photos below you see me talking both with my mouth and my hands. I talk a lot with my hands, it seems.
Anyway, it was fun! I met new authors. I learned stuff. I was creatively inspired. I highly recommend this and other literary festivals, whether you’re an author yourself or not, for the pure joy of meeting fellow lit lovers. Hope to see you at one in the near future.
Photo by Justin Keys
Photo by Kara Counard/Bloom Photography
Mail-Order Monster is up for awards!
/in A Writer Writes, Presenting the Prose /by SilviaWow, people. I am so thrilled to tell you that my book is a finalist for THREE awards. This is AMAZING and SO MEANINGFUL for me because, when you let a book out into the world, you never know how it’s going to be received, whether people will like it, whether it stands out. So when literary organizations pick your book out of all others, it’s… well, kinda wonderful.
So here they are. The Wishing Shelf Independent Book Award means so much to me because that award is chosen by kids! The target audience!
Chanticleer’s Gertrude Warner Award is specifically for middle grade works. Warner wrote the Boxcar Children book series.
And finally, Reader Views’ Reviewers Choice Awards, so the reviewers put the book up top.
Writing a book is a huge endeavor taking tons of mental gymnastics, time, energy, devotion to learning, and upgrading of skills. It’s…oof… a lot. So I’m incredibly grateful for any attention the work gets.
If you’ve read and enjoyed MAIL-ORDER MONSTERS: CRASH COURSE, please help others discover it by leaving a review or rating at any bookish site. Thank you! And if you haven’t yet ordered it, please consider doing so for the young monster- and robot-lover in your life or to donate to your local library.
Thanks, friends, for your support and encouragement. It means the world.
Book Review – You Are Fatally Invited
/in In The News, Uncategorized /by SilviaWow, I loved this book. You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego* takes us to a writers’ retreat hosted by an anonymous bestselling author bent on murder. Everyone here has something to hide, something they’re ashamed of, something that could damage their career and reputation. But their host–and a few among them–know how the subterfuge has ruined lives and fortunes. It seems no one will let the others get away with it.
If you like books steeped in the writerly world, tainted with prophetic writings, and wrongdoers getting what’s coming to them, pick up this title. The audiobook is superb too. Five stars. Highly recommended.
(*This post contains affiliate links, meaning I make a few cents off a purchase, at no cost to you.)
Short-listed for the Gertrude Warner Award
/in In The News, Presenting the Prose /by SilviaI am thrilled to announce that Mail-Order Monsters: Crash Course is a semi-finalist in the Gertrude Warner Award for Middle Grade Fiction, put out by the Chanticleer International Book Awards. Gertrude Chandler Warner authored the original 19 books of the beloved Boxcar Children series.
There is just one round of judging to go, and I’m so happy to be considered. Thank you, GWA and CIBA.
Thank you, Blue House Books
/in Presenting the Prose /by SilviaSo many thanks go to Blue House Books in Kenosha, WI, for selecting Mail-Order Monsters: Crash Course as one of their best books of 2025. I am truly honored. Reader, if you’re thinking of buying it, please patronize this store.
Also, truly, if you love beautiful spaces, you’ll love the something extra they did make it a welcoming community space. They renovated the room behind their store and connected it by an adjoining hall to create to a gorgeous event area. Behold and enjoy this captivating space.
AI IS DUMB (and unethical and environmentally catastrophic and … and … and …)
/in In The News, Personal /by SilviaAI is so bad at *absolutely everything.*
I asked Google who I dedicated my book to. The exercise was based on author John Scalzi asking various AI programs the same regarding his own works.
It confidently states that MY book, Mail-Order Monsters: Crash Course, was written by R.L. Stein, the creator of Goosebumps, and is part of that series. Nope. Not true. Absolutely not. If search engines and their AI sloppery can’t correctly identify info as basic as authorship, you should know that it will get everything wrong and *you cannot trust it.* Here’s a screenshot of its results:
It is easy enough for real, live people to find the correct author by scrolling past Google’s awful AI results. And, yes, it’s easy enough to find the dedication page elsewhere online or by pulling the book off your shelf, assuming you have it. And, yes, I know “AI will get better,” but that’s not the point. AI is not smart nor to be trusted nor ethical *in any way,* so using it until it gets better doesn’t ease my anxiety in the least. AI truly sucks.
Oh, and for the record, here’s the answer. Mail-Order Monsters: Crash Course by Silvia Acevedo is dedicated to (granddaughter) Eliza, “who asks me to check for monsters under the bed. May she someday love these monsters friends.”