Publication day!
When the Witch Wrote Back! is out today
Today, When the Witch Wrote Back! is officially published, and I can’t wait to hear what kids think of it.
Writing contractual-obligation-sequels was a different experience than writing the first book in the series (When Santa Wrote Back!)1. Typically you start writing a book because (somehow, serendipitously) inspiration struck, and you had an idea that you were excited to pursue with the hopes that it could become a good story. With sequels, you need to sit down and generate an idea without that inspirational spark. For me, that process is arduous—like poking at hundreds of ideas one by one to see if any of them actually opens a path into a story.
Happily, I’m thrilled with how When the Witch Wrote Back! turned out. It’s a fun Halloween adventure, crammed with every witchy trope I could think of and dozens of monstrous creatures, all brought to life with incredible illustrations by Pablo Pino. A few readers have told me they like it more than the Santa book, and I couldn’t hope for any better result than that.
School Library Journal reviewed the book and had some nice things to say:
“A Halloween romp . . . A humorous, visually energetic cautionary tale.”
“Christopher’s rhyming text is lively and well suited for reading aloud.”
“The escalating absurdity will appeal to young readers.”
If you’ve ordered When the Witch Wrote Back!, let me know and I’d love to mail you a signed bookplate sticker.
Wishing you a happy summerween 🧙♀️🎃, and a huge thank you for your continued support.
Nathan
Some incidental trivia: this is the third book I wrote for the series, but is the second being published. When the Easter Bunny Wrote Back! was written, edited, and illustrated before When the Witch Wrote Back!, but was rescheduled from December 2025 to December 2026. That sort of thing happens in publishing.
I was *just* thinking about this! Congrats! Can't wait to read it =)