Three years ago, a mother published an angry article claiming Bluey set absolutely unrealistic expectations for kids. I laughed about with my wife Rachel. Yet, Rachel noted that most people don't know Bluey is based on theatre skills. Few parents had my theatre background, and fewer still had any idea how to learn them and apply them to parenting. "Write this in a book." she said.

It has been a ROLLER-COASTER. The project has been the pivot point of my career. It brought me into contact with celebrities, it cost me one agent, and briefly landed me a second agent. It landed my biggest publishing deal so far. It led to my spending over three months after the book was done, building a custom video course to accompany it. 

Yet, perhaps, wildest of all, was the nature of the book itself. The book is unlike anything I've written. I have been an author for well over a decade, writing over 30 books, but never a nonfiction. Spoiler alert: there's no plot, no characters, and no villain. What's more...the book is intensely personal. This is a book about connection, a book that could help the entire world. But it's also a book about me and my children. There is perhaps nothing more personal than your bond with your kids, and putting that into the world is exciting and terrifying. 

The book launched Tuesday, and the early reviews are all gushing. I have been on an interview/podcast circuit, with more coming, and am excited to get the book out there. As we head into 2026, the world itself seems tougher, and harsher than it ever has before. This book, I hope, can bring a bit of light into the gloom, and refocus on what's far more important: connecting with our kids. 

Improv isn't new. It's arguably as old as our species. And parenting must've been around. Cave Mom and Dad had to do something, right? Theatre as we know it is only a few millennia younger than that. But the skills I teach in the book really are new. And the way I combine all these older skills in an easy-to-learn fun and engaging narrative is something I'm genuinely proud of. This isn't a book that you'll look at and feel lectured to (like every psychology or behavior parenting book out there). It's an enjoyable read filled with anecdotes, easy-to-try skills and actionable parenting tips. I had been reading a few other nonfictions when drafting and was frustrated by the amount of fluff. I remember telling my editor Michelle that we were going to make sure every single page had value, and something genuine to help parents and kids. From improv skills and active listening to engage during play, to emotional recall methods to help you dispel the noise and worries in this crazy time. And I stand by the mantra I advertise now: ten minutes a day will change the way you play. 

So, thank you, for the fans who have been along since School of Deaths or even before. Thank you to those who are new and curious. Thank you to Rachel and the kids who are my continued to muses. Thank you to Familius for believing in me. Thank you to those who can't wait to see how this pivots my career, and where I might be heading next. And thank you to every reader who's ready to try MAKING IT UP. 

   

Twas a week before Christmas, and here in this house,
I clicked on a button, using my mouse. 
The book launch was still a few weeks away,
But the COURSE - it was ready - so I launched it TODAY!

Making it Up is a method that will change the way adults connect with kids. This is a revolutionary approach, grounded in simple-to-learn skills that are both fun and game-changing.

This project began over three years ago, when a mom in a magazine complained about the show Bluey, and how it had set "unrealistic" expectations for parents. While Bluey's a cartoon, the parenting approach is grounded in a simple secret: theatre. In fact, almost every episode is simply an extended improvisation between kids and adults. 

My wife Rachel urged me to write this book: to take what was clearly popular and desired from millions of Bluey fans and combine it with my decades of experience in theatre and education, as well as my time as a Stay at Home Dad for over 7 years. 

What emerged is a book unlike any other, and a method that is genuinely transformative. While writing the book, I reached out to test readers who tried out the method (you'll find great quotes from them throughout the book itself) and the response was overwhelming. Learning these skills will transform the way you play and the way you connect with kids. 

But as I was in editing the book, I realized that the text alone might not be enough. Even with the addition of beautiful illustrations by Cory Reid, this method is still unique and different. This isn't a psych book or a behavior book. It's a parenting book unlike any other parenting book out there. I wanted to make sure people really had all the support possible to learn this new technique. 

So for the past three months, I've been carefully crafting a self-paced video course. This course can be taken independently from the book, but works best in tandem with it. And today, the course is LIVE. To celebrate- and to sneak in a bit of pre-Holiday cheer, I'm offering this normally $250 course for only $150. And what's more, if you order it you get INSTANT EARLY ACCESS to the Making it Up EBOOK! 

Yes, you read that right. You get the ebook NOW -three weeks before the book launch- if you order today.
And if you order later, you still get an ebook with every Course purchase. 

Whether you're excited for the paperback, the ebook, the audio, or the Course, I genuinely believe that Making it Up has the power to transform the way you play with and connect to the kids in your life. Whether you're a parent, grandparent, teacher, parent-to-be, or caregiver - you will NOT want to miss this. 

It has been a very long journey over these three years. The finished Course and book are the most personal projects I've released yet. I'll admit- there's no villain or hero, no plot, no big battle...but there are dragons. Can't write a book without dragons, right? This book, this course, and this method are all straight from my heart, and I  can't wait to hear how all of you use Making it Up in your lives!

Note: If interested in giving the Course/ebook as a GIFT- please email me after purchase (email on receipt)- just need the email of the recipient. 

Check out the Course HERE

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. And I have so much to be thankful for. 

Just yesterday, the print copies of MAKING IT UP arrived here in Malta. And I'm headed to a big Thanksgiving with all our new Maltese friends feeling an overwhelming sense of excitement and gratitude. The books look truly amazing. From the embossed lettering on the cover to the gorgeous illustrations throughout. This book is a major turning point for me- and it's a deeply personal book, filled with anecdotes of my own parenting journey. I am so excited to share this book with everyone- and I encourage you to consider ordering now, during the Black Friday sales- it's available everywhere books are sold, for release the first week of January. The accompanying video course is nearly complete as well, and has been a delight to make. 

​Take a look at my unboxing vid below: 

The news in much of the world is rather ominous and bleak. And work has been very busy lately. Which is why I'm so glad to be living in a place where it seems like I can constantly explore and constantly escape. Perhaps that's the true beauty of worldschooling, and the true power of being a writer in different nations: the nonstop escapism and inspiration.  

This past Sunday, my wife was ill, and I decided to go adventuring by myself. I visited a Roman catacomb that's only open to the public one day a month, hiked the long Mosta valley, and then journeyed to the Xemxija Heritage Trail. This trail, pictured above, is off the beaten path, and mostly unlabeled. An online article and google maps were my key to enjoying it, and I was there during the biannual airshow overhead, which was great. The trail leads from well-preserved Roman apiaries (right picture) to Punic caves and tombs to a barely marked series of steps on the cliff face (center pic) that leads to a perfectly preserved enormous Roman Bath House. There is a sense of wonder and beauty, as there's no one around, and you really have to trek through bushes to get to these areas, but they're so remarkable. I am grateful to live in a land of inspiration! 

And, speaking of inspiration... Making it Up is available for PREORDER on all major outlets as of now!
​Check it out!  

Another beautiful sunrise in Malta, viewed from our roof. This one was extra special, though, because last night I gave Familius final approval for the proof of MAKING IT UP. The book looks wonderful, and the illustrations throughout really add to both the method itself and the uniqueness of this parenting book. I am excited to share the book with everyone in January.  

Malta itself is sometimes called "the Rock." It is a large rock: a blend of layered sedimentary rocks that rise from the sea in a dramatic fashion. Today, Rachel and I visited the Blue Grotto. Unlike the smaller similarly named grotto I once visited in Capri, the Blue Grotto in Mala is more of a complex: several sea caves, sea arches, and sea windows. The water is a more vibrant blue than any I have ever seen, and is shallow, with bright white sand beneath. Fish are easily visible, dodging the many boats. Malta's geology and topography are quite different from anywhere I've lived. Especially the weather. Today, for the first time since moving here, we saw water fall from the sky. Rain! It was hard, but brief, lasting maybe 25 minutes, though there was even some hail. Enough to make the local news on this desert rock, dramatically rising from the blue, tranquil waters. 

The news of my book coming really ROCKS. And so does Malta. 

Act One: Malta

Four years ago today, my family moved from Maryland to Delaware. It seemed a big move at the time. Maryland was a nice place, but I'd grown up there, and not too long before moving, we'd weathered a global pandemic there as well. Delaware was new. Well... no, not really. 

MidAtlantic America is all pretty much similar. Stretches of highway, suburbia, shopping centers with Target and Starbucks. And one constant in all the places I've lived in America is a single need: cars. Where we lived in both Maryland and Delaware, it was impossible to live without a car. Public transit is basically nonexistent. The grocery store was a twenty minute drive. The places we liked to visit often were closer to an hour. Life in the mid-Atlantic revolved around the car. 

A month and half ago, we moved to Malta. It has been wonderful, and very different. Many differences were expected and welcome. Some were surprises (like the loud fireworks every...single...night...all summer) and others are things we're still getting used to. Yet, on a personal level, I think the biggest life difference in Europe is that we've become a car-free family. We'd planned to buy one here, and were told we'd need one. But...Malta is small, public transport is free and everywhere, and when needed cabs are ridiculous easy (just an app away). This morning I rode the city bus with the kids into town to bring them to camp, and walked back up the long hill. It was peaceful and beautiful, and driverless.  

In fact, the more we explore Malta, the more we love. Its history goes back to the neolithic times (with some of the oldest temples on Earth right here), but its real culture develops around the crusades, when a group of warrior-priests took over the island. The Knights of Malta, hailing from eight different locations in Europe (hence the eight-pointed Maltese cross) are responsible for turning this group of rocky islands between Italy and Africa into a fortress. The medieval feel remains intact, with much of the historical sites centered around the Knights' era, and film studios like Gladiator and Game of Thrones filming here to capture that very real vibe. On the top left, the Co-Cathedral of St John, where 450 of the knights now lay entombed, is a masterpiece of Baroque architecture and art. It sits at the heart of Valetta, Malta's capital. The center top image is the carless, medieval Mdina, a fortress in the middle of the island called the Silent City. The top right is Valetta as viewed from Kalkarra and the Three Cities- including where the Inquisition built a massive palace. 

And all of those pictures are from places close to our house. The picture on lower right is walkable from where we live. The grotto, center bottom, is the bottom of the island- only a 30 minute cab ride away. It's okay to be driverless, when you've chosen to drive your life and your family into a new state of adventure, excitement, and honestly freedom.  The kids (above) are genuinely happy and making friends and going on adventures. I'm grateful to show them the world. With all the crazy things happening now, especially back in the USA, I feel totally free here. However, there's another side to being driverless...

ACT TWO: PUBLISHING
I've spoken about publishing, and live in an inspiring place. I made the choice to leave my agent, and felt like I was taking the wheel back for myself so to speak. Yet, publishing is entering a new, driverless period itself. 

I write because I have so many stories in me. Ive written 30 now. Each a labor of love, and while I've taken the very slow, uphill road of trying to be traditionally published, I believe in my books and in my future as an author. 

And yet, today my writing group was talking about picture books. Gemini (Google's AI) has proudly announced that it can write an entire picture book, complete with illustrations, in a matter of seconds, responding to personalized prompts. Newsweek recently talked about a girl whos mother was bragging that she could write full novels, all by just prompting AI. 
Sigh. 

Publishing is moving into a driverless road. And this is sad, and dangerous. Publishing is already hard. It is one of the most overcrowded industries, and has been slow to respond to a series of crises: the closing of Borders, the move to ebooks, the flood of self-publishing titles (2000+ self pubbed titles released every day even before the AI explosion), the pandemic, and now... AI. 

I am not opposed to AI as a tool, and admit I use it in my day job as a fundraiser. Heck, if AI can help get money from the rich to the poor, Robin Hood would've been using it too. And in truth, I don't even blame the tool itself. BUT... don't think you're an author if you write some AI prompts. Just like I don't think you're an author if you speed wrote a NaNoWriMo draft and then went right to query or publish it. You can't just abandon the wheel. You can't let it drive itself. 

Publishing is a process. It takes months and months to draft, months to revise, to self-edit, to give to peer groups to edit, to revise again, and polish and polish. At least, if done properly. Yet, if the self publishing crowd decides to just move full AI, will the public even notice? If authors start pumping out a novel a day, or ten novels a day, all with personalized prompts, what happens to the publishing industry itself? What happens to those of us who have put in the work and continue to try and get our stories out there? 

I dont have answers.
But, I do live a wonderful life, beside the sea, in a country built by knights.
I know that overall, life is good. As the song says, life is a highway, and I'm gonna drive it. 
Even without a car. 

I'm a big fantasy fan, and the phrase "Journey Before Destination" isn't just an important phrase from Sanderson's Cosmere- it's arguably the theme of his entire expanded universe. 

It's also how I feel about publishing, and perhaps life in general since moving. 

The above shot is the ravine I walked up in the heat after dropping the kids off at school. It's a hard 30 minute climb from the bay and the city to our home at the top of the hill, and yet it was a wonderous climb, passing ancient ruins, stunning ravines, and the stunning Mediterranean shoreline. It was a walk alone, often in silence. It only takes a block or two walk away from the touristy-busy areas to be surrounded in silence here in Malta. 

Writing and publishing are a similar journey. Miley Cyrus talks about the climb and always having another mountain. Those who've followed along since the beginning, know I've been in publishing a long time. I've been agented, and I've had some major successes, but I definitely haven't broken through yet. I also recently left my agent, and am back in the query trenches. It was the right move, but it puts me back on that journey. 

And yet, I feel more optimistic than ever. My life is amazing. I am living where I want to be, and showing my children the world. Every weekend brings something new to explore or see or do. And writing is bringing unexpected joys as well. I've been quoted in many major publications for my parenting book - a process that involves tons of pitching and mostly rejections. Last week, one magazine I'd appeared in before reached out to me to set up an interview about the book and asking for my expertise. This is a big step. And an exciting one. 

The right agent is out there, as is the right publishing deals. And in the meantime, the journey is amazing. Journey BEFORE destination. It's the climb that counts. 

Malta is essentially a city-state. Yet, where we are is exceptionally quiet. The flora is a cross between tropical Mediterranean and pure desert. Palm trees sway above hedge-walls of cacti. The most common animals we see are snails, lizards, cats, and roosters. The hilly land is riven with terraced ravines, laced by crumbling stone walls. Each morning is silent, save for many roosters and the clip-clopping of our neighbor's horse/buggy, which always leaves at promptly 7am Malta time (see note below). It is only a fifteen minute walk to be amid a Manhattan-feeling bustling city filled with tourists. And the sea is often visible in the distance, crowded with ships. Yet here, on the hill above the town, all is very calm.

​(Note: 7 am Malta time means it could be 6:30am, 7:45am, 8 pm, or never. The concept of "time" is quite abstract here, as is particularly evident in the busses, which exist in a separate reality and bear no connection at all to the bus app that supposedly lists their times)

I began blogging 14 years ago, during my time at Oxford. It was originally a travel blog. Oxford was when my writing journey began. My travels were sources of great inspiration. 

Now, I am a full time writer and my parenting book releases in Jan.
And now, travel resumes, as my family and I are moving to Malta next month.

Above, my son and I, when we visited Malta for the first time, securing a rental and getting a taste for the wonderful culture. This will be the beginning of our worldschooling journey. I can see the Mediterranean from my roof, and I'll be taking those views and inspiration to heart as I write. In fact, I'll be living 20 minutes from Mdina, the Silent City, which is a medieval fortress and a major filming location for Game of Thrones. Talk about fantasy inspiration! 

This shift is part of a move towards hope, which is a bedrock of my family.

Today, one of my writing friends shared this Instagram post about "Ominous Optimism" I found the video hilarious. But it was also a reminder of one of the core principles in Making it Up. The idea of Radical Optimism and the Anchor Technique. 

If you're feeling despondent or stressed, it's a technique of self-focus on positivity. And while I gave the below TEDx talk last year, it's perhaps even more relevant today, with all the craziness in the world. If you haven't seen it yet, or even if you have, take a moment and watch, and embrace optimism. I'm posting the video below. 

On to Malta, to excitement and inspiration, and continued radical optimism.