iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 21/07/2026

Today is the day! WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID ON HALLOWEEN is officially in stores and online wherever you buy books. Sequel to our best-selling and award-winning WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID series, featuring a stegosaurus dressed like a taco and a mechanized 9' yard skeleton. Don't miss it!

Book cover with orange title text over a purple background reading, What the Dinosaurs did on Halloween" featuring three colorful plastic dinosaurs leaning greedily over a bowl filled with candy. Below them, the text reads, "Authors of What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night, Refe and Susan Tuma."

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 20/07/2026

Ok people. WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID ON HALLOWEEN rises from beyond TOMORROW. So if you don't want to miss mischievous plastic dinosaurs piloting a mechanized 9' yard skeleton to steal candy from children, preorder a copy now.

Two plastic dinosaurs lower a third into a cauldron filled with colorful candy using a toy fishing pole while a child dressed as a witch tries to pull it away. Bold, shining text reads, "LAST DAY TO PREORDER!! Find it wherever you buy books."

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 08/07/2026

Oh hey what is this big box on my doorstep...

A large cardboard box roughly the space and shape of 25 copies of What the Dinosaurs did on Halloween, labeled 'Hachette Book Group'

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 21/04/2026

The first trade review for WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID ON HALLOWEEN is in, and it's already going to Rex's head. open.substack.com/pub/refe/p/g... #kidlit #picturebooks

White text over a purple background: "Great, now Rex thinks he's Tom Cruise. refe.substack.com" and an image of a purple dinosaur mugging in front of the Hollywood sign.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 26/03/2026

WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID ON HALLOWEEN is now available for preorder! open.substack.com/pub/refe/p/t...

The cover of WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID ON HALLOWEEN featuring the title in orange lettering across the top, a misty purple background, and three colorful plastic dinosaurs leaning over a bowl of candy, grinning mischievously.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 18/02/2026

Take a millennial song but change one word to make it gen alpha: Hey There Delulu

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 24/01/2026

It is WILD hearing Evanescence blasting from my 17-year-old's room

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 16/01/2026

Shipped a cool new feature on FlipCraft this week: authors can now share a draft of their story with trusted readers and view their comments. Also made a bunch of smaller tweaks and enhancements. If you write picture books, check it out! flipcraft.app #kidlit #picturebooks #amwriting

A screenshot of the FlipCraft UI showing the reader preview pane which includes a flip book style reader and a comment form for reader feedback.

A screenshot of the FlipCraft UI showing the Share for Feedback modal, which displays a secure link that authors can forward to trusted readers to get feedback on their story draft.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 08/01/2026

Made some big updates to FlipCraft.app this week, including: - Autosave w version history (don't lose your work) - Scratch pad (jot down unstructured notes & ideas) - Themes (Sage, Sepia, or Slate; light & dark modes) - Better export (submission-ready formatting) #picturebooks #kidlit

An image showing the FlipCraft story editor featuring all three theme options (green, brown, and blue).

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 07/01/2026

Hey picture book authors of #kidlitchat, I built a tool for drafting PB manuscripts and would ❤️ to get some eyeballs on it. If you're interested in testing it out I'll set you up with a free trial. (It's already free for one story, but this way you can get the full experience). flipcraft.app

flipcraft.app

FlipCraft

Create picture books that make every page turn matter.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 02/01/2026

Hey #picturebook writers. I got frustrated while writing WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID ON HALLOWEEN because I couldn't find a tool that let me draft in a way that focused on what's most important in PB—the page turns. So...I built one. I call it FlipCraft, and you can check it out here: flipcraft.app

flipcraft.app

FlipCraft

Create picture books that make every page turn matter.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 13/12/2025

Don't like promoting am*zon but if you're on a budget looking for a Christmas themed picture book to give this year, What The Dinosaurs Dis The Night Before Christmas is currently on sale for only $7 (!!!!) a.co/d/6c7cG99

a.co

What the Dinosaurs Did the Night Before Christmas: Tuma, Refe, Tuma, Susan: 9780316539654: Amazon.com: Books

What the Dinosaurs Did the Night Before Christmas [Tuma, Refe, Tuma, Susan] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. What the Dinosaurs Did the Night Before Christmas

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 18/10/2025

Feeling more hope today than I have in months.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 05/10/2025

Democracy is dying but don't worry we have

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 15/09/2025

My wife was complaining about our house not having any medicine cabinets so of course I had to show her the medicine cabinet tracking shot from the 1997 science fiction masterpiece Contact.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 22/08/2025

It's time for yet another round of How Many Phone Calls Does it Take to Refill My Child's Prescription

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 20/08/2025

Been a while since a new album has made it into heavy rotation but 'Headlights' by Alex G has been playing on repeat since I stumbled onto it a few weeks ago. 'Afterlife' is the obvious standout, but there are a bunch of great tracks. music.apple.com/us/album/aft...

music.apple.com

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 06/08/2025

Final night at the lake.

An orange moon shimmers on the dark blue waters of a large lake at night.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 05/08/2025

Boris the water dog* *definitely NOT a water dog

A white dog with black patches around its eyes sits regally on a sandy beach with the lake behind him and clear skies.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 04/08/2025

Oh, hey, another lake photo.

A girl in a dress standing in Lake Michigan silhouetted by the gray sky behind her.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 03/08/2025

Endless gray. Lake Michigan this morning.

A hazy-gray, foggy morning on Lake Michigan. Four kayakers float in the middle distance. The horizon line is barely visible, with the water and the sky nearly the same shade of soupy gray.

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Reposted by Refe Tuma

Nothings Monstered @nothingsmonstrd.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

An eloquent image: Setting aside the content under the tarp for a moment, teens were asked to make art expressing what it is like to be a teen, and the end result was a mural wrapped in a tarp by adults. I bet a lot of teens would find this expressive of their experience.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 18/07/2025

Absurd 'About this Book' sections have become a staple of the WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID series, and the one for WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID ON HALLOWEEN will not disappoint... ...Assuming my editor doesn't make me cut it down—it features about as many words as the rest of the text combined 🤣

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 16/07/2025

Apple just recommended my own books to me, so I'd say they have my tastes down pretty well.

An email from Apple Books with the headline, "Want a book you'll love? We've got you covered." Below that, the covers of WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID LAST NIGHT (white with colorful plastic dinosaurs drawing on a wall with crayons,) and WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID AT SCHOOL (green with the same dinosaurs rising paper airplanes and making a mess with glue in a classroom.)

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 24/06/2025

Drove through a torrential downpour on the highway this morning and instinctively removed my sunglasses. I put them right back on again when I realized the polarized lenses enabled me to see *so* much better

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 20/06/2025

So one of my kids left a bottle of hair spray in the kitchen and my wife mistook it for cooking oil. On an unrelated note, do you have any recommendations for good cast iron pans?

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 19/06/2025

Got a free trial of Apple Music and I can't believe how much better the curated recommendations are vs Spotify

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 19/06/2025

I literally gasped when I read the nutrition facts on the packet of tteok bokki my kid brought home from the grocery today.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 16/06/2025

My home office shares a wall with my youngest kid's room which means I am on a zoom meeting while she practices her solo in 'Be My Guest' at the top of her lungs about 18" behind me

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 05/06/2025

Interiors? ✅ Front cover? ✅ Back cover? ✅ Jacket flaps? Not my department. Pretty sure my work WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID ON HALLOWEEN is done until it's time to review proofs. Now, back to working on my Middle Grade suburban portal fantasy novel.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 04/06/2025

Pretty sure I just sent off the final interior art for WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID ON HALLOWEEN and I am feeling very good about that.

A purple plastic dinosaur holding a green lollipop reclines on a pile of foil candy wrappers that glimmer against a pink background.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 31/05/2025

Pulled a big section of vine off my house and nearly took a small nest down with it. Thankfully, this section was attached securely enough to stay put. I bolstered it with some wire and a few sticks. Fingers crossed it's sturdy enough to hold them until they're ready to fly 🤞

4 newly hatched birds huddled in a tiny nest made from plastic netting.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 25/05/2025

Hiking with Boris and my oldest kiddo. Neither of whom are pictured here. But they were there, I promise.

A panoramic photo of trees in a field of short, green, broad-leafed plants.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 22/05/2025

Last author visit of the year is in the bag. Big thanks to both Prairieview and Elizabeth Ide Elementaries (and their PTOs!) for the double-header this morning!

A selfie by a man with dark hair and beard and a fancy mustache standing in front of a gym full of excited kids.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 22/05/2025

Whenever I visit a school now, a kid asks "what's your favorite Italian brainrot." After like 3 of these encounters I finally looked it up. It is...something.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 19/05/2025

Had the perfect idea for end paper art for What the Dinosaurs Did On Halloween but I can't find the prop I need! We had 2 of them we used for interior photos. Not only can not find either, they're not available online anymore. Only hope now is that some other photo we took of it will work...

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 18/05/2025

A very happy, somewhat thirsty Boris.

A large white dog with black patches over his eyes takes a break from hiking on a dirt and gravel trail, framed by green trees in the background.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 14/05/2025

I am on a train with nothing to do but write. Thus, these train haiku:

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 14/05/2025

Writing (along with most other things, honestly) has been such a slog this past year under the poison cloud of the world's hopelessness but school visits continue to be an effective antidote. Talking and reading with students never fails to get me excited about telling stories again.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 13/05/2025

Having a blast at Edison Elementary in Elmhurst, IL! Getting ready for my last session of the day—4th and 5th graders—and signing books. #authorvisit

Stacks of books with yellow post-it notes sticking out of the tops with names on them for personalization.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 08/05/2025

Sometimes my wife will be silently tapping at her phone for several minutes then randomly look up and say something like "HSA is the thing I'm thinking of, right?"

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 06/05/2025

How could it possibly be met gala time again? Either that event is being held at shorter and shorter intervals or I am tumbling ever faster down the widening maw of my own mortality.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 06/05/2025

Making chicken parm from scratch. It's going to be good. Or if it's not I may never cook again.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 02/05/2025

Punta del Este, Uruguay

A green, rocky hillside against a bright blue sky. In the distance, a beach splits the horizon.

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Refe Tuma @refe.blue · 29/04/2025

Ever feel like you're being watched...?

A tiny black cat peeks its head above a red-tile step with the ocean in the background.

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