Snow sculpture illuminated by colored spotlights

Much to be grateful for this week!

Quotes on Gratitude

“Happiness is the settling of the soul into its most appropriate spot.” — Aristotle

“Deficiency motivation doesn’t work. It will lead to a life-long pursuit of try to fix me. Learn to appreciate what you have and where and who you are.” — Wayne Dyer

“Many times a day I realize how much my own life is built on the labours of my fellowmen, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.” — Albert Einstein

Gratitude list for the week ending February 4

1. Getting to ski and hang out with great friends, including my bestest girlfriend!
2. Witnessing more than one beautiful sunrise reflecting on the mountains
3. Completing my January picture book draft for the 12 x 12 challenge
4. The incredible community of writers that have come together for the 12 x 12.  They inspire me daily.
5. Finishing one good book and starting another
6. Reading THE LAST OF THE REALLY GREAT WHANGDOODLES with the kids
7. Skype
8. Writing the last page of a lovely journal (was a gift from the friend above). Great way to end Week 9 of The Artist’s Way.
9. Snow sculptures in Breckenridge
10. A long nap on a day I felt under the weather

What are you grateful for this week?

As I look over my list for the year, I must admit this hasn’t been a banner one for life-changing reading experiences. I read some good books, even some great ones, but none that made me fall so deeply in love that I wanted to shout about it from the mountaintops. Luckily, there are many more books to be read in 2012!

There were two primary themes to my reading in 2011: Italy and nonfiction. The first is obvious. I wanted to read as much as I could about the places (both in history and in the present) we were going to visit. The second is a bit surprising, as I’m way more of a fiction reader. Some of them were book club choices and some were related to the Italy trip. Still, a high percentage for me. Now, for the list of books, in the order (more or less) that I read them.

1. The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver – Kingsolver is one of my favorite authors, and while this isn’t my favorite of her books, it is still stunning.
2. Three Junes, by Julia Glass – Gorgeously written, this was a Margareaders selection and the 2002 National Book Award winner.  Not for you if you are into plot-driven books.
3. Vampire Academy, by Richelle Mead – This series was my guilty pleasure last winter.  We shared a ski condo in Keystone, and I was often going to bed with the kids in the same room.  I started reading these on my Kindle app so as not to go to sleep at 8:00.  Very fun!
4. The Same Kind of Different as Me, by Ron Hall and Denver Moore – Margareaders selection.  Not my typical book but thought-provoking.
5. Frostbite, by Richelle Mead
6. Shadow Kiss, by Richelle Mead
7. Half-Broke Horses, by Jeannette Walls – Very good, but lacked the immediacy and poignancy of The Glass Castle (which is one of my favorite books)
8. Blood Promise, by Richelle Mead
9. Spirit Bound, by Richelle Mead
10. The Last Will of Moira Leahy, by Therese Walsh – LOVED this book.  Dreamy, suspenseful, romantic.  Stayed up until 3:00 in the morning to finish.
11. The Last Sacrifice, by Richelle Mead
12. Miss Garnet’s Angel, by Sally Vickers – Vickers does it again with psychological profiles being front and center in a story where Venice becomes a character.  The first of my Italy books for the year.
13. The Food of Love, by Anthony Capella – Delightful Cyrano de Bergerac-esque tale of food and love (two of my favorite topics) in Rome
14. La Bella Lingua, by Dianne Hales – Engaging and entertaining history of the Italian language, which should be known as the language of love.
15. Venice is a Fish, by Tiziano Scarpa – Gorgeous and sensual “guide” to Venice.
16. When in Rome, by Robert Hutchinson – The title is a bit misleading, since it’s the memoir of a journalist’s year writing about the Vatican (which is NOT Rome).  Fascinating nonetheless
17. The Glassblower of Murano, by Marina Fiorato – Historical fiction alternating between the stories of a Murano glassblower in the 1500s and his descendent in the present day
18. The Wedding Officer, by Anthony Capella – Half love story, half harrowing account of WWII as it played out in Naples.  Very different from The Food of Love, but equally as good.
19. The Borgia Bride, by Jeanne Kalogrides – Steamy, fast-paced and with enough history thrown in to make it respectable
20. Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins – Lovely girl meets boy YA novel that takes place in Paris
21. Extra Virgin, by Annie Hawkes – Memoir of a woman who bought a house in Liguria (Italian Riviera) with her sister.  I enjoyed learning the history, culture and lifestyle of this region, particularly the art of making olive oil.  Given that it was a memoir, however, it was oddly distant and impersonal.
22. Leonardo’s Swans, by Karen Essex – My favorite kind of historical fiction – compelling characters in compelling times.  Add to that the obsession over being immortalized by one of the world’s greatest artists and you have a recipe for a great book.
23. The Enchanted April, by Elizabeth von Arnim – Four English women, strangers to one another, rent a villa for a month on the Italian Riviera near Portofino.  Since I started reading this book while I was in the Riviera, I found it even more enchanting.  A comedy of manners and errors, and oh so very British, it deserves its place among the classics.
24. Same as it Never Was, by Claire Scovell LaZebnik – Light chicklit that was fun to read but not all that believable of a plot
25. Pompeii, by Robert Harris- I read this whole book on my flight home from Italy this summer. It was both fascinating and gripping. I finished the last ten pages at the baggage claim because I just couldn’t wait to finish it. Yes, I realize that we already know the ending. However, having just been to the ruins of Pompeii and the crater of Vesuvius, I felt the suspense of the novel keenly, and it brought the ruins alive for me.
26. The Messenger of Athens, by Anne Zouroudi – Literary mystery?  Good book and a good writer who was able to make a Greek island believably dreary and desolate
27. The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield – Gothic literary tome, complete with moors and rattling windows
28. The Art of Non-Conformity, by Chris Guillebeau – Who hasn’t heard of this book?  Easy to read and with good points of departure for planning a life you want to lead rather than one that is accepted by others.
29. Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall – Very close to the best book I read this year.  The perfect combination of science, memoir and travelogue.  The book is mind-boggling, funny and intense.  It’s a book about the  human spirit disguised as a running book.
30. My Stroke of Insight, by Jill Bolte Taylor – A brain scientist evaluates her own stroke as it is happening.  When she loses the language/logic center in the left hemisphere, she discovers a peace she never knew existed.  A must read
31. Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand – Another Margareaders selection. So many people I know raved about and loved this book, including some of the Margareaders.  No doubt it is a brilliant book, and I learned more than I ever wanted to know about the Pacific side of the WWII conflict.  Overall I couldn’t get past the horrors the main character endured, especially since this is a biography.  It didn’t help that I read it in September, which is a tough month for me anyway.  The subject of the book – Louie Zamparelli – was treated with too much emotional distance.  Since I couldn’t understand his feelings, all that was left for me was the treachery of what was done to him.
32. A Week in October, by Elisabeth Subercaseaux – This book’s chapters alternated between a sick woman’s journal recounting an affair she (supposedly) had for a week a few months before her death and that of her husband reading the journal, supposedly without his wife’s knowledge. It was beautifully written and quite cerebral – two characteristics I ordinarily love in a book. However, when you have both an unreliable narrator (the wife’s story in the journal) and an ending that is left too ambiguous, it no longer works for me.
33. Stories I Only Tell My Friends, by Rob Lowe – Before you laugh, I’ll have you know Rob Lowe is a decent writer and this book was NOT ghost written.  If you “came of age” in the eighties in the U.S. you should read this book.  It is juicy without being petty, and I enjoyed being taken back to all of those movies I loved and grew up with.  And yes, I did have Rob plastered all over my wall when I was in the 8th grade.  He had me at Pony Boy.
34. The Agony and the Ecstasy, by Irving Stone – The winner for my best book of 2011.  This fictional biography of Michelangelo is beautiful, epic, inspiring and unforgettable.  I don’t think further description could do it justice.  I marked so many passages in the book I might as well re-read it.
35. Perfect Chemistry, by Simone Elkeles – Highly addictive YA romance
36. The Cellist of Sarajevo, by Steven Galloway – Gorgeous book.  More of a psychological examination of the way war changes people rather than specifically about the siege of Sarajevo
37. Eragon, by Christopher Paolini – When your 8 year-old daughter reads a 600 page book, you need to read it too.  I was so proud of her and she loved it so much.  I liked it, and I can’t believe Paolini was only 15 when he wrote it.  It wasn’t a love-affair however, perhaps because I am a Lord of the Rings and Narnia snob.

Books I read aloud to the kids – not including the hundreds of picture books we read, and I do mean hundreds

1. See You Later, Gladiator – Time Warp Trio series, by Jon Scieszka – The Time Warp Trio series is historical fiction/time travel similar to The Magic Tree House series but with lots of boy (read: bathroom) humor.  I was laughing just as hard as my kids reading these.  Added bonus: when we met Jon at a book signing at the Boulder Bookstore, Jay was able to recall every potty reference in all of the books we read.  So much so that Jon signed one of his books to him as “Stinker.”  TRUE story!
2. Da Wild, Da Crazy, Da Vinci – Time Warp Trio series – For example, in this book we not only learn about da Vinci’s military engineering and mechanical inventions, but also that Thomas Crapper invented the modern flush toilet.
3. Tut, Tut – Time Warp Trio series – This book has an evil character named Hatsnat (pronounced Hotsnot).  Imagine trying to read that name out loud throughout the whole book without laughing.
4. It’s All Greek to Me – Time Warp Trio series – In this book, our trio is plunged into Hades where they confront Zeus, who believes they’ve stolen his lightning-bolt.
5. Tales from the Odyssey, Part 1, by Mary Pope Osborne – I wondered how any author could render a version of The Odyssey that removes some of the wilder *ahem* escapades Odysseus has in his long journey home while still retaining the core and heart of the story.  Leave it to Mary Pope Osborne – she did it.
6. Tales from the Odyssey, Part 2, by Mary Pope Osborne

Thoughts? Any highlights from your own reading year you want to share?

Even Wile E. Coyote gets to read!!!

Sorry I am a day late with the check-in this week.  A bomb went off in my day yesterday and I just couldn’t get it finished, but here goes…

I don’t even know where to start with this week’s check-in.  If you read my earlier post, you know that one of the assignments for this week was a reading fast – no reading at all for a whole week.  The rationale is to get out of other people’s thoughts and creations and into your own.  What I can say for certain is that while it was pretty miserable, I learned a LOT about myself.

• Week 4 Theme: “Recovering a Sense of Identity.”  This week is all about dealing with your real self and your realfeelings, as opposed to the ones that are on public display.  Mission accomplished.  Painfully so.Morning Pages: Yup.  I even powered through a couple of times when I wanted to stop after two pages.  Sure enough, something significant would come out in that third page.Artist Date:  Tuesday night, at 9:00, I found myself too tired to do any more work and DYING to read.  I was so angry that I couldn’t and found myself thinking, “FINE!  You want self-exploration, inner peace, silence, solitude?  I’ll give it to you!!”  So I did a 30-minute meditation with no music, no guidance from a recording – nothing.  I almost always use some sort of music or mantra when I meditate, and I have never sat for that long of a time in one block.  I’d love to say it changed my life, but it didn’t.  It did, however, calm me down and get me through the evening. I slept better that night than I had all week.

Any “Aha” Moments? Uh, yeah. Brace yourselves.

• First, I knew I loved reading, but despite the fact that my house is loaded to the rafters with books (which should have been a clue), I didn’t realize how integral reading is to my life and well-being.  At different times during this exercise I felt anguish, longing, anger… Not dissimilar to the range of emotions you feel when after a break-up, actually.  Sometimes, not being able to pick up a book felt physically unbearable.  I’m not even kidding.
• Second, I learned that I DO use reading as a way to escape from unpleasant feelings and self-examination.  Not all the time, but definitely sometimes.  Over this past week, whenever I felt upset, my hands just itched to pick up a book.  Not being able to forced me to confront what was bothering me.
• Third, I learned that I DO use reading as a way to avoid creating.  I amazed myself with my productivity this week.  I even finished a brand new story!  I’ve been promoting the MeeGenius children’s author contest, writing on my own blog and still, I didn’t feel totally out-of-control like I sometimes do.  Although I missed reading my favorite blogs and hanging out on Facebook and Twitter (I did a teensy bit, but FAR less than usual), it was a blessing to have an excuse to skip all that reading.  I will, however, be glad to get back to them.  Kind of like greeting a friend after an absence. 

So, what did I do while I wasn’t reading?  Well, I decorated my house for Christmas.  I cooked several meals on Sunday so as to be prepared for the week ahead.  I listened to Christmas music.  I took the dog for long walks.  I watched a movie and The Grinch with my kids.  I reflected (even when I didn’t want to).  And I wrote.  I learned that you really do need the silence spaces in order to let creativity bubble up to the surface.

What will I do with these lessons?  One thing is for sure, and that is I will NOT do a reading fast EVER. AGAIN.  HOWEVER, I do commit to bringing more awareness to my reading – just checking in mentally to see if I am reading for pleasure, for purpose, or to escape myself or my writing.  If it’s the latter, I will attempt to explore those feelings further before running away with a book (or Google Reader).

I also realize that I need to put more structure around my social media time.  I’ve known this for a long while, actually, but it took this week for me to admit that it’s getting in the way of my writing.  I LOVE blogging, reading blogs, Tweeting, Facebooking.  I’ve made some amazing friends this way!  *Here’s me looking at YOU.*  I will keep doing these things, but I am going to have to prioritize and set time limits.  For example, reading the blogs of my regular followers will always come first.  Next will be the ones that provide professional benefit to me.  If I have time left after that, I can read the ones that are just for fun.  And no matter what, I have to actually STOP when the time is up.

For one thing, I’ll never take reading for granted again!  While I certainly do not think that reading is an enemy to creativity or self-exploration, I do think bringing awareness to when, how, and why I choose to read when I do will be a good practice going forward.  I don’t think I’ll have any choice but to be honest with myself if I’m picking up a book, a magazine or scrolling through my Google reader as a way to escape difficult feelings or to shove my creative self away under the guise of “other work” I need to do.

A few favorite quotes from the Week 4 chapter:

“People frequently believe the creative life is grounded in fantasy.  The more difficult truth is that creativity is grounded in reality, in the particular, the focused, the well observed or specifically imagined.”

“Until we experience the freedom of solitude, we cannot connect authentically.  We may be enmeshed, but we are not encountered.”

“Reading deprivation is a very powerful tool–and a very frightening one.  Even thinking about it can bring up enormous rage (Uh, yeah!)  For most blocked creatives, reading is an addiction.  We gobble the words of others rather than digest our own thoughts and feelings, rather than cook up something of our own.”

The only other thing I have to say is — THANK GOD THAT’S OVER!

Have you ever examined hobbies or habits to see if you use them to escape?  Not only reading, but watching T.V., listening to music, surfing the Internet, etc.?

Week 3 Check-In

Week 2 Check-In

Week 1 Check-In

The Artist’s Way

The rationale behind this exercise is sound.  Cameron says that blocked creatives often use reading as an escape from their own creativity, as a “tranquilizer” of sorts.  The idea is to get out of other people’s thoughts and creations and into your own. Maybe, if I don’t read for a week, I might even *gasp* WRITE!

So, after a good bout of keening on the floor in great likeness to Rain Man in the “Hot Water Burn Baby” scene, I managed to pull myself together in order to write this post.

This will be the longest I’ve gone, in living memory, without picking up a book.  It’s like cutting off a limb.  Reading is like breathing to me.  How many more melodramatic statements can I make?

What does this have to do with you?  Not much unless you live within screaming distance, except that this reading deprivation exercise has to include blogs.  So if I normally read and comment on your blogs, I want you to know why I will be AWOL for a week.  It’s not because I don’t love you; it’s because I’m being subjected to something far worse than Chinese water torture.

I will still be checking my own blog comments, email and Facebook in order to manage administration for the 12 x 12 in 2012 writing challenge, so please feel free to continue signing up for that!  I will also post on my blog, because I figure that’s writing, not reading.  Right?  Right.

Okay.  I’m going to stop feeling sorry for myself right…. NOW.

Sniff!

Have you ever had to go for an extended amount of time without reading?  How did that work out for you?

Week 1 Theme: “Recovering a Sense of Safety.”  The idea is that artists need support, especially from ourselves.  We need to learn how to nurture our inner artist, to make her feel safe and to avoid self-sabotage from ourselves and from others.  One way to do this is to write out every negative thought we think about our art and then write a positive affirmation next to it.  I didn’t do this or the other exercises in this chapter this week because I’ve done it twice before.  I am well aware of which personal demons haunt me the most.  I know that if I don’t write or start talking negative smack to myself it’s because I am afraid.  In fact, I know I have a lot of fear.  I’m hoping later chapters will address how to overcome (or at least work with) the fear.

Morning Pages: Yes, I did them.  Every day.  I even did them enthusiastically for the first few days.  It was only yesterday that I started feeling the temptation to sleep rather than get up and write them, but that is because I don’t like waking up period.  I tell myself the truth – that 15 minutes of extra sleep is not going to make a difference in how I feel that day, but skipping the morning pages most definitely will.  So far that pep talk is working.

Artist Date:  I spent an hour in antique/flea market that I love.  I love looking at the huge variety of objects there and imagining the stories behind them.  The simplest things are the ones that intrigue me the most – a jar of old buttons, a dough bowl and a biscuit tin, a milk-glass cake stand, porcelain tea cups.  Who owned these little treasures and what were their lives like?  When and why did they give them up?  How did they land in this store?  Stories, stories.  Then of course, there are the books.  On this visit, I scored a 1968 hardcover copy of The Complete Poems of Robert Frost and a hardcover copy, in excellent condition, of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.

Any “Aha” Moments?  I’m not sure this counts, but one of my children’s book manuscripts had a prologue of sorts that was way too long, but I could not figure out how to cut it down.  It came to me suddenly in the car today, and it’s so simple I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before.  Coincidence?  Perhaps.  But it could also be that the course is greasing my creative wheels.  Time will tell.

A few favorite quotes from the Week 1 chapter:

“In a twisted version of Darwinian determinism, we tell ourselves that real artists can survive the most hostile environments and yet find their true calling like homing pigeons.  That’s hogwash.”

In recovering from our creative blocks, it is necessary to go gently and slowly… No high jumping, please!  Mistakes are necessary! Stumbles are normal.  These are baby steps.  Progress, not perfection, is what we should be asking of ourselves.”

“By being willing to be a bad artist, you have a chance to be an artist, and perhaps, over time, a very good one.”

Any others have experience to share, either from The Artist’s Way or other creativity-building practices?

The Artist’s Way

Me (channeling Cruella) and my French Poodle

It was a big week in the Hedlund house.  Em performed in her very first musical – 101 Dalmations.  She was amazing in her role and most importantly, had a blast!  Her enthusiasm was infectious, and we are so proud of her.  Not only that, but after the show I had just enough time to take off her makeup, get her changed and take her to play in her first basketball game of the season.  Even though she must have been tired, she played her little heart out.  Yes, kids can definitely teach us something about joy and commitment.  She loved every minute of both, and to say that I am grateful to have her as my daughter would be an epic understatement.  Without further adieu, here’s the list for the week.

Quotes on Gratitude

“Even after all this time,
The sun never says to the earth,
“You owe me.”
Look what happens with
A love like that.
It lights the whole sky.” — Hafiz of Persia

“The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.” — William James

“The easiest way I have found to humble myself back into a state of peaceful grace is through the act of gratitude.” — Jill Bolte Taylor

Gratitude list for the week ending November 12

1. Em in her play! Such a treat to see all their hard work come together in an amazing performance.
2. Jay coming up behind Em after the play, giving her a big hug and saying, “You were so great!”
3. The Girls Leadership Institute, which is running a month-long program at Em’s school for 2nd and 3rd graders, teaching them how to be strong, stand up and speak up for themselves and others.  It’s a mother-daughter program, and I’m learning as much as she is!
4. My oldest nephew won first place in the Varsity debate tournament and he’s only a freshman!  He’s a chip off the old block (my brother) and his old block (my father)
5. 

   Is there anything as precious as a newborn baby's feet?

   There isn’t much good news coming out of Greece these days, but a close friend of mine became an uncle last Sunday when his sister gave birth to a little boy – Kostakis.  There is nothing like a brand new life to remind you of what really matters.

6. Warm enough weather to take two outdoor runs this week.
7. Take-out food – it’s what kept us alive during this very busy week!
8. The Margareaders (my book club). We had a great discussion about Unbroken at our meeting this week. I’ve never failed to have a blast at our meetings.
9. Watching the gorgeous full moon rising on the horizon.
10. Rocky made friends with two of the sheep that live behind our yard.  It’s so fun to watch them interact.  Now he is trying to dig a hole underneath the fence to reach his new friends.  The llamas, however, are still the mortal enemy.
    

    The presence of a fence and a difference in species poses no barrier to true friendship

What are you grateful for this week?

My first thought was, how on earth do I choose just one book?  But as quickly as I had the question, I already knew the answer.  Because A Prayer for Owen Meany is simply, “The One.”

First of all, forget the oft-quoted first sentences of Moby Dick and Pride and Prejudice.  Owen has the best first sentence ever written.

“I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice–not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother’s death, but because he is the reason I believe in God.”

I ask you, how much more intrigue could you pack into a single sentence??

I have long believed that books choose their readers rather than the other way around.  How many times have you picked up and read a book at the exact right time for you to appreciate it or receive its message?  It’s happened to me more times than I can count, but it began with A Prayer for Owen Meany.

Here’s the Story

This is not the most modern cover, but it's the cover of the book I read almost 20 years ago

October, 1993:  I was living in England and attending graduate school.  I was also suffering from a common malaise – a broken heart.  This was not my first breakup, and it was not quite the last.  It was, however, the most painful as it involved a seminal relationship.

If you have experienced such a breakup of your own, I’m sure you can relate to my strategy for dealing with it: I kept myself as busy as humanly possible in order to leave no time to wallow in my misery.  The strategy worked well during the days and evenings, occupied as they were with graduate work.  At night, however, when the lights went out and I found myself alone in the dark – well, that’s another story.

So I did what any book lover would do.  At night, I read until I was so exhausted I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore and could fall asleep without thinking.

I remember so clearly going to the bookstore in Coventry and plucking Owen off the shelf.  Owen was not at all typical of the type of books I was reading at that stage, but the title caught my eye.  Then I read that first sentence and was hooked.  Plus, the cover had an armadillo on it and I wanted to know why.

The night I started reading Owen, I stayed up until 3:00 in the morning.  At one point, I was laughing so hard I could barely breathe. (For those of you who’ve read the book, it was the ‘waterskiing with the cousins’ scene).  Little did I know that I would be crying equally as hard by the end of the book.

Owen is still one of the most original books I have ever read, yet its themes are grounded in the universal life questions: What makes a family? Does each person have a purpose and a destiny in life? Can we shape our own destiny or is it pre-ordained? How do the people in our lives change its course?  What is the relationship between faith and religion?  Between politics and religion?  Why can you eat two pounds of Chinese food and still be starving afterwards?

Okay I made that last one up, but the others are all there.

This book not only kept me company during those long nights, but it would forever change my view of reading and writing.  It’s fair to say that outside of the classics I had read for school, Owen was the first real taste I had of modern literary genius.  A book like no other.  A book that only one person could have written.  A book that would haunt you and keep you thinking about it years later.  A book that changes you from the inside out.  Those were the types of books I wanted to read from now on.  Those are the books I want to write (and yes, you can write books for children with all of those qualities).

Two years ago, I finally had the courage to read Owen again.  I was so afraid I would be disappointed, that it wouldn’t live up to my memory.  Well, I am happy to report I was wrong.  I enjoyed it even more the second time around because life experience has given me a whole new perspective on its themes.  The book is epic and brilliant and beautiful.  I know I will read it again.  And again.

P.S. If you want to see more of my favorite books, last year I wrote a post listing 200 of them.  You will find a very familiar cover on the post and A Prayer for Owen Meany in the #1 spot.

What is one book you are grateful for?

Em's Masterpiece

Welcome to this week’s Gratitude Sunday post.

Quotes on Gratitude

“I am eternally grateful… for my knack of finding great books, some of them very funny books, reason enough to feel honored to be alive…” — Kurt Vonnegut

“I walk ahead of myself in perpetual expectancy of miracles.” — Anais Nin

“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.” — Anne Frank

Gratitude List for the week ending October 22

1. Fun day of Halloween window painting in downtown Lafayette with the kids yesterday.  Jay was finished in 15 minutes.  Em spent 3 hours!  Luckily it was gorgeous outside and we were painting the window of a restaurant.  They brought us
   

   Jay's Masterpiece

   lunch!

2. Can I just say it again? We have had the most spectacular fall weather. Every day is sunny and 70 degrees and the colors are phenomenal.  Looks like we’ll get 2-3 more days before the cold weather blows in.
3. Both kids got rave reviews at Parent-Teacher conferences this week.  Em is reading at near-sixth grade level and Jay is learning to contain his “big personality” (teacher’s quote) in order to pay attention and concentrate in class.
4. Pizza dinner outside with the kids, followed by A Dolphin Tale movie.  The movie is amazing! Everyone should see it.
5. I bought a KILLER “little black dress” that will be my uniform for meetings, dinners out, etc.  It can be worn in every season, dressed up or down, worn with boots, sandals or heels.  In other words, one of those rare pieces that is just perfect.  Seldom do I get so excited about purchases I make, but this one is an exception.
6. I got a freelance writing assignment for an upcoming trip.
7. I made a delicious Bucatini with Amatriciana sauce (which the kids ate almost every day in Italy), which we ate while sipping red wine (the adults) and listening to Luciano Pavarotti.
8. I got very positive feedback from an author/mentor on one of my manuscripts.  I really needed that at this particular point in time.
9. I had a great time volunteering at the school Book Fair.  It’s always fun to see which books the kids pick and talk to them about their choices.
10. Although I don’t have much time to study, I’m enjoying my Italian classes.

What are you grateful for this week?

From Picture Book to App - Snuggle Mountain by Lindsey Lane, one of the presenters at the conference

It’s astonishing how much the conversation about digital publishing, self-publishing and indie authors has changed in just one year.  Last year at the Rocky Mountain SCBWI conference, agents and editors said things like, “Yeah it’s out there, but it’s not a huge factor in children’s books yet.”  This year, publishing houses are racing to set up digital publishing arms, E-book sales are outpacing hardcovers in the adult market, and a few breakout indie authors have made millions outside of traditional publishing.

While e-book sales of picture books are not at the level of adult e-books by any stretch, it is only a matter of time before it explodes, IMHO.  Why?  Picture books are the perfect medium for “enhanced e-books”(read: apps).  Also, the expense of printing full-color picture books requires retail pricing of around $16 per book.  Compare that to .99 cents to several dollars for an app or e-book, and suddenly you can imagine how this might revitalize the picture book market down the road.

With this in mind, last weekend I attended a Symposium hosted by the lovely Austin SCBWI folks entitled, Storytelling in the Digital Age. What I learned is that the more you learn, the more you realize you have LOTS more to learn.  But you know what? So does everyone else.  Presenters and attendees agreed that right now, it’s the Wild West out there in publishing.  One thing that’s certain is that no matter how you plan to publish – traditionally, indie, or self – understanding digital publishing is no longer optional for writers.

For that reason, I am going to write a series of posts on this topic with the intention of creating a forum where we can share what we know and ask questions about what we don’t know.  For this, the first, I figured we’d better begin at the beginning.  Definitions.

Deanna Roy of Casey Shay Press provided very clear definitions of the types of books in the marketplace today.  In my own words:

• Print Books: You know – those paper thingies that people say are going to be made obsolete by e-books because they’ve forgotten that people said that T.V. would make radio obsolete and VCRs would make movie theaters obsolete.  If you’re still not sure, watch this video.  Sold in bookstores, retail stores, online stores and available in libraries.
• E-Books: This is a digitized version of the print book.  It has exactly the same material but has been formatted to run on e-readers.  Unfortunately, there is not yet a standard e-book format, so the same book will have to be formatted multiple times to work on all e-readers (Kindle AZW, ePub, Mobi and PDF are the major ones. Look here for a list and comparison of formats).  Because most picture books are imported to the e-book formats as a fixed-width (i.e. exactly as the pages appear in the book), and the width of the e-readers vary, the illustrated pages have to be re-sized for each device.  Sold primarily in online stores, although physical bookstores are also devising ways to sell them in-store.  Likewise, many libraries already make or plan to make e-books available for patrons to borrow and read on their e-readers.
• Enhanced E-Books:  Deanna Roy said, “A true enhanced e-book is one that changes the way you experience the book.”  Not just an extra chapter, for example.  For a novel, an enhanced book might include videos embedded with scenes from the book, an interactive map of a fictional world, music, etc.  For picture books, an enhanced e-book is called a storybook app.  The app combines the art and text of the book and adds sound, animation and interactive features.  While some apps are created from existing picture books (like Snuggle Mountain), many stories are now being written directly for the app market.  An author/illustrator can work directly with an app developer to create a storybook app.  Sold in the iTunes store (or the Android app store, etc.).

So that’s it for now – just a few definitions.  Not too complicated right?

Like a fish, Venice glimmers in both sunlight and moonlight.  It flashes diamond light that is at once there and then just as quickly gone.  It is buoyant and still, but if you reach for it, it will slip your grasp.  It can rise to the surface or slink into the depths.  What it will never do, however, is reveal itself to you willingly.

Venice is a mystery.

Venice is a dream.  Such a place cannot exist in the world.  Now that I have left, I am convinced I was never there, as if it were a mirage.

The only thing I can say with absolute certainty about Venice is that two days is not nearly long enough to spend there.

Evening light dancing on the Grand Canal