Going Under, A Graphic Novel

October 30, 2024

It’s nearly Halloween and I’m acclimating to my new home in Philadelphia! I miss my friends and family in Ohio, but coming here feels right. Philly is kind...

Ok, but what is Fantasy?

May 30, 2024

There’s nothing quite like preparing to teach a course that forces you to grapple with that subject matter in the most concrete way. My Atlas Obscura online...

Weaving the Dreams of Fantasy

May 6, 2024

Gosh there's been a lot going on, much of it I can't talk about yet (isn't that always the way?), but there are a few things I wanted to share: I will be...

5 deliciously dark horror novels that are more sad than scary

April 1, 2024

Over on Shepard, I was asked to pick a theme and list five of my favorite books on that theme. Here is the result! The most dark horror novels that are more...

What Is Horror

January 11, 2024

As Scholastic Press and I gear up for the February release of No Filter, my new horror novel for kids, I have been thinking a lot about what horror means to...

GI JOE Classified: Revenge of the Ninja!

July 11, 2023

The second installment in my GI Joe series for kids features Scarlett as the protagonist. Writing her was an unexpectedly meaningful and emotional experience...

Cover Reveal: NO FILTER

June 1, 2023

From the author of The Ghost of Drowned Meadow comes another haunted tale that's as touching as it terrifying. Janessa "Jinx" McCormick loves photography...

Cover Reveal: NO FILTER

May 31, 2023

Sometimes I like to begin a newsletter referencing my location, because some people (myself included) like having a visual that grounds the writer in the...

The Ghost of Drowned Meadow: Bonus Manga/Anime Content!

October 3, 2022

I had hoped to send this out before the end of September, but there were a few deadlines that needed my attention, including my next Scholastic horror novel,...

Nazis in Long Island, Part 3: Helen's Story

September 19, 2022

In the last newsletter, I gave you the big picture for the American Nazi movement during the 1930's. But while I was researching, I stumbled across a very...

Nazis in Long Island Part 2: The Big Picture

September 7, 2022

Early in my research for The Ghost of Drowned Meadow, I asked my teenagers whether they knew who Charles Lindbergh was. Somewhat to my surprise, they did...

Nazis In Long Island, Part 1

August 30, 2022

Hello, all. Summer is apparently just about over? I spent most of it writing like mad, although I did get a nice break at the end visiting family up in Long...

The End Is the Beginning (Literally)

June 20, 2022

Hello, dear readers. I am in the middle of deadline madness, with two different projects back-to-back, plus two books launching within the next month, and my...

The Ghost of Drowned Meadow

May 2, 2022

kg-card-begin: html The Ghost of Drowned Meadow Coming this September: From Kelley Skovron comes a ghostly mystery that explores the little-known history of...

Announcing: The Ghost of Drowned Meadow

May 2, 2022

The Ghost of Drowned Meadow Coming this September: From Kelley Skovron comes a ghostly mystery that explores the little-known history of Nazi indoctrination...

Why G.I. Joe?

April 7, 2022

I was so pleased to see the positive response for my upcoming G.I. Joe Classified series. But I suspect some of my long time readers might be scratching...

GI JOE Classified, a series for kids

March 16, 2022

kg-card-begin: html A book for readers young and old, coming this July from Amulet Books, Hasbro Inc… and me! When Stan’s mom gets the job offer of a...

Announcing: G.I. Joe Classified, a series for kids

March 16, 2022

A book for readers young and old, coming this July from Amulet Books, Hasbro Inc… and me! When Stan’s mom gets the job offer of a lifetime at a cutting-edge...

Favorite Music of 2021

January 25, 2022

It's been unusually cold in the DC area this month. We're far enough south that the temperature rarely dips below the twenties, but lately it's been in the...

Rest in Peace, Richard C. Skovron

January 5, 2022

I had hoped to send out a "Favorite Music of 2021" before the end of the year, but then my father fell ill. He'd been diagnosed with liver cancer on November...

Somehow it's the end of the year

December 20, 2021

The end of the year crept up on me! Oh sure, I went to my son's holiday winter concert—his last one, in fact, since he graduates in the spring. And yes, I...

The Wizard of Eventide

October 21, 2021

kg-card-begin: html The cover launch for The Wizard of Eventide, the final book in The Goddess War trilogy! It’s it a beauty? Magali Villeneuve has once...

Cover reveal for The Wizard of Eventide

October 21, 2021

I've gone and changed the newsletter again! Can you believe it? I'm so fickle... I do have a reason, though! Initially I envisioned juggling two newsletters,...

Introducing: Gutter Mage

September 1, 2021

Surprise! I have a novel coming out later this month! And it’s under a pseudonym! Here's the summary: J.S. Kelley weaves epic fantasy and hardboiled noir in...

Characters With Room to Grow

April 15, 2021

Every writer has pet peeves, and I’m no exception. For me, it’s lack of character growth. I won’t say a story is bad if the characters don’t change markedly...

Inventing Raíz

April 7, 2021

Hello newsletter folks, both longstanding and new! The Queen of Izmoroz comes out later this month, so I thought it would be cool to send out a couple of...

Gutter Mage: The Character Sketch

February 26, 2021

kg-card-begin: html Sometimes a publisher asks for your input on a cover, and sometimes they do not. It’s nice when they do, but they are not obligated. So...

Gutter Mage, coming Sept 21st

February 14, 2021

kg-card-begin: html You can call her mercenary, detective, archanist, or asshole. Just don’t call her… GUTTER MAGE In a kingdom where magic fuels everything...

Long Live The Queen of Izmoroz

October 4, 2020

Hello all. I hope this finds you still healthy and well. So far, Subtstack seems to be working fairly well for the newsletter. At least judging by responses,...

A hearty dose of pop-culture

September 13, 2020

I hope this finds you all healthy and well, never a given these days. Especially for my West Coast folks. A friend of mine has been sending me pictures of...

Writing, research, creativity, and music

September 13, 2020

Welcome to The Eye of the Storm by me, Jon Skovron. Author of fantasy and adventure books like THE RANGER OF MARZANNA, HOPE AND RED, THE HACKER'S KEY, and so...

The Hacker's Key Goes International

August 22, 2020

Somehow summer is nearly over despite the fact that the boys and I did none of the things we normally do during summer. It also means that the release of my...

Hope and Red: The Serialized Podcast

July 7, 2020

kg-card-begin: html Anyway, it’s been a while since I talked about Hope and Red, but I have some exciting news. Years ago, I recorded the audiobook for my...

The Hope and Red Podcast Is Live

July 6, 2020

The grand experiment has begun! After a bit of a bumpy start, the Hope and Red serial podcast has officially launched with episode 1, “Murder and Abduction”....

[EotS #63] Some Hope (and Red)

June 20, 2020

Hello all. I have some very exciting Hope and Red news, but first, like so many others, I wanted to take a moment to talk about race. There is so much going...

[EotS #62] Ranger Post-Launch

May 2, 2020

I hope this finds everyone well. After my hectic launch week, the boys went to their moms’ for a bit and I spend a glorious two days doing nothing but re-...

EotS #61: Launch Week

April 18, 2020

It’s come at last. Launch week for The Ranger of Marzanna! Of course all the in-person events have been canceled, but Orbit Books as been wonderfully adept...

EosT #60: Pre-Launch for RANGER

April 4, 2020

Well hello. I hope you’re all holding up. Staying healthy physically and emotionally. Not contemplating the murder of the other people in your home. That...

EotS #59: Sanity Assistance

March 21, 2020

Well. Here we are in the middle of a pandemic. I hope you’re hanging in there. As someone with hermetic tendencies, I’m weathering it fairly well, but there...

Cover Reveal: The Hacker’s Key

March 1, 2020

kg-card-begin: html I’m pleased to share more good news, which recently appeared in Publisher’s Weekly: Zachary Clark at Scholastic has bought The Hacker’s...

From the Eye of the Storm #58: The Hacker's Key

February 29, 2020

Hello all. Winter is still being coy here in the greater DC area, but I went on a short trip to Columbus, Ohio to visit family and got to experience a proper...

From the Eye of the Storm #57: Starred Reviews

February 1, 2020

Hello all. DC seems to be leaning into spring already, but I’m not buying it. Experience has taught me that we’ll have one more big freeze before winter...

Win a free ebook of THE RANGER OF MARZANNA on Goodreads

January 5, 2020

My humble apologies for not including this in yesterday's newsletter. I'm afraid I'm still not as good with the promotional stuff as I should be... Anyway, I...

From the Eye of the Storm #56: Music, 2019

January 4, 2020

Another holiday season has passed and if you’re reading this, that means you survived. So well done. Those of you not interested in music (surely there must...

From the Eye of the Storm #55: From Poland with Love

November 30, 2019

Well, hello. I hope all my fellow Americans had an enjoyable Thanksgiving, and the rest of you weren’t too inconvenienced by our absence. The boys were with...

From the Eye of the Storm #54: The Ranger of Marzanna

November 17, 2019

At long last, I finally have news I can share. The newsletters had tapered off for a while because most of the things I wanted to talk about were related to...

From the Eye of the Storm #53: Pitching for Authors

July 6, 2019

In a previous newsletter, while talking about waiting patiently for a bunch of work to come in, I wrote the following: ”And so I wait, poised to spring into...

The Eye of the Storm #52: Seeing, Clearly

May 30, 2019

Ah, DC’s summer has descended in its sluggish, swampy way to squat over us until late September. It has taken more than a decade, but I believe I’ve...

From the Eye of the Storm #51: Idle

May 2, 2019

I’m trying to stay on a regular monthly schedule with this newsletter, so I’m writing this a few days before I actually send it because any minute (or day)...

From the Eye of the Storm #50:

March 23, 2019

Well hello there. It’s been a while. I hope you’re well. I haven’t sent the newsletter in a while because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it, and I...