A listserv question prompted me to talk about my writing space today.
I have plenty of possible “offices” in my house, but I’ve always been a kitchen table kind of girl.
I remember doing high school geometry across my family’s kitchen table from my “Nonna” who lived with us.
She would ask me, in Italian. “What are you working on now, Jeanie?” And I would do my best to explain triangles to this magnificently smart woman who boasted only a 3rd grade education. She died when I was just out of college.
I’m still drawn to my kitchen table – albeit a different one – surrounded by activity and FOOD …
and often a sweet Italian angel voice saying “What are you working on now, Jeanie?”
Happy Friday! Jean
P.S. Above is a picture of my writing space today!!
The TOO PICKLEY PARTY was so much fun! Congratulations to all the prize winners.
Monday’s Door Prize, TOO PICKLEY! T-shirt and signed softcover book – Amy Dixon Tuesday’s Door Prize, Bloomsbury Picture Book Pack – Denise Schurr Wednesday’s Door Prize, Bloomsbury Picture Book Pack – Brigette Brankin Thursday’s Door Prize, copies of TOO PURPLEY! and TOO PICKLEY! – Crissy Medley Friday’s Door Prize,TOO PICKLEY T-shirt and signed book – Alexa Kaufhold Saturday’s Door Prize, Bloomsbury Picture Book Pack – Lisa Perez
Picture Book Manuscript Critique – Susanne Drazic
30-Minute Skype Visit – Paul Hankins
TOO PICKLEY! Grand Prize Package – Janice Ostrander
Please help me celebrate the release of my picture book
TOO PICKLEY! (Bloomsbury) It’s an online party with door prizes, party favors and more.
Kids, Parents, Grandparents, Readers – Come join the fun and win prizes. Writers – Win a Picture Book Peek critique. Teachers/Librarians – Win a Skype visit or the Grand Prize TOO PICKLEY! Package. Where: www.jeanreidy.com When: August 23-28, 2010 (Midnight to Midnight Mountain Time) We’ll be partying all week long.
A portion of my author proceeds from the sale of TOO PICKLEY! will benefit The Children’s Hospital
Spread the word. Invite your friends. No R.S.V.P. necessary. I hope you can drop on by.
I have to run title contests more often. There were loads of entries – and a little snark on the side. Among the incorrect – but very entertaining – titles were:
TOO CASTLEY! (great guess) TOO PURRY! TOO PRICKLY! TOO PASTY! TOO PHONY! (about politicians – see what I mean about snark) TOO WAVY! TOO CURLY! TOO GIRLY! TOO WORDY! TOO BARKY! TOO SCARY! TOO QUEENIE! (getting warmer) TOO PILLOWY! TOO PANICKY! TOO PUTRIDY! (um, what?) TOO PRINCELY! (almost) TOO PRINCESSLY! (couldn’t get any closer) TOO PIMPLY! TOO POMPOUSLY! TOO PERPLEXINGLY! (does this have a Latin derivation?) TOO POLKA-DOTTY! TOO PEPPERY! TOO PERFECTLY!
And while there are several “winning” titles on the list the only correct title is
TOO PRINCESSY!
Here’s the announcement in Publishers’ Marketplace:
And many of you guessed exactly that. But alas there’s only one winner. So by random drawing … (drumroll)… the winner is
TERRY HUNT!!
Congratulations Terry! You’ll be receiving a signed copy of TOO PICKLEY!
Thank you to all contestants. And don’t forget the TOO PICKLEY! ONLINE PARTY starts this Monday 8/23/10 and runs through Saturday 8/28/2010. Log in to www.jeanreidy.com for activities, prizes, party favors and more!
I just sold another book to Bloomsbury as part of the TOO PURPLEY! and TOO PICKLEY! series. YIPPEE!!
Guess the title of this new book at reidy(dot)jean(at)gmail(dot)com subject line “TOO BOOK TITLE” and you’ll be entered to win an autographed copy of TOO PICKLEY!
Please help me celebrate the release of my picture book
TOO PICKLEY! (Bloomsbury) It’s an online party with door prizes, party favors and more.
Kids, Parents, Grandparents, Readers – Come join the fun and win prizes. Writers – Win a Picture Book Peek critique. Teachers/Librarians – Win a Skype visit or the Grand Prize TOO PICKLEY! Package. Where: www.jeanreidy.com When: August 23-28, 2010 (Midnight to Midnight Mountain Time) We’ll be partying all week long. A portion of my author proceeds from the sale of TOO PICKLEY! will benefit The Children’s Hospital Spread the word. Invite your friends. No R.S.V.P. necessary. I hope you can drop on by.
Next week on 7/6/2010 TOO PICKLEY! hits bookstore shelves. If you’ve been following my blog, you already know that on release day I’ll be at Musana Children’s Home in Iganga, Uganda, mending mosquito nets, tutoring, playing, singing, dancing, reading and helping the kids there tell stories.
While I plan to hold a TOO PICKLEY! ONLINE LAUNCH PARTY in early August, I’d love a bit of buzz next week. Unfortunately I can’t do it myself since I’ll have very limited internet access at Musana.
So if you have an extra minute, I’d so appreciate a tweet, post or message about TOO PICKLEY! It should be on sale at all major bookstores including Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
ASPEN, CO – A standing-room-only crowd, including Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, celebrated the 19th Annual Colorado Book Awards on Friday, June 25, 2010 at the Doerr-Hosier Center in Aspen. Hickenlooper, a long-time collaborator with Colorado Humanities and Colorado Center for the Book, spoke to the 200 attendees about taking the One Book, One Denver program statewide, and about the importance of the writing community in Colorado, which Hickenlooper said creates a momentum for literacy.
The Colorado Book Awards, one of the oldest state book award programs in the country, recognizes outstanding contributions by Colorado authors, editors, illustrators, and photographers. Vectra Bank representatives Tom Griffiths and Rick Sullivan and Outskirts Press CEO Brent Sampson joined Colorado Humanities Executive Director Margaret Coval and Board Chair Judy Casey to announce the winners.
The winners of the 2010 Colorado Book awards are:
Anthology/Collection a Dozen on Denver: Stories, Rocky Mountain News (editor), Fulcrum Publishing Biography Rosalie Edge, Hawk of Mercy: The Activist Who Saved Nature from the Conservationists, by Dyana Z. Furmansky, The University of Georgia Press Children’s Literature Grandmother, Have the Angels Come? by Denise Vega, illustrated by Erin Eitter Kono, Little, Brown and Company
Creative Nonfiction Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America by Helen Thorpe, Scribner General Nonfiction Voices of the American West by Corinne Platt and Meredith Ogilby, Fulcrum Publishing Genre Fiction – Historical & Romance A Land Beyond Ravens: Book 4 of the Macsen’s Treasure Series by Kathleen Cunningham Guler, Bardsong Press Genre Fiction – Mystery/Thriller & Science Fiction/Fantasy The Radio Magician and Other Stories by James Van Pelt, Fairwood Press History First Kill Your Family: Child Soldiers of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army by Peter Eichstaedt, Lawrence Hill Books Juvenile Literature Artsy-Fartsy: An Aldo Zelnick Comic Novel by Karla Oceanak, illustrated by Kendra Spanjer, Bailiwick Press Literary Fiction Spoon by Robert Greer, Fulcrum Publishing Pictorial Phlogs: Journey to the heart of the human predicament by George Stranahan and Nicole Beinstein Strait, People’s Press Poetry Theory of Mind: New & Selected Poems by Bin Ramke, Omnidawn Publishing Young Adult Literature The Indigo Notebook by Laura Resau, Delacorte Press About Colorado Humanities & Center for the Book Colorado Humanities supports high-quality literary, cultural and historical programs throughout Colorado in an effort to bring the humanities to life across the state. The mission of Colorado Humanities is to inspire the people of Colorado to explore ideas and to appreciate our diverse cultural heritage. Our programs, including Motheread/Fatheread Coloradoã, Writers in the Schools, Hispanic Heritage Live! and High Plains Chautauqua, encourage and enable people to read, listen and learn in cultural activities, and to participate in civic dialogue. Colorado Humanities is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Colorado Center for the Book is a program department of Colorado Humanities, affiliated with the Library of Congress. More information about Colorado Humanities can be found by visiting http://www.coloradohumanities.org. Follow us on twitter http://www.twitter.com/cohumanities or Facebook http://bit.ly/9SJ7JZ
In less than a week, I head off to Iganga, Uganda to spend two weeks with the kids at Musana Children’s Home. While I’m there I expect to be doing a little sewing, a little dancing, a little mosquito net mending, a little netball playing, a little tutoring, and a lot of loving those kids.
But one of my projects has me a bit intimidated. Along with my daughter, Molly (a photography hobbyist and fellow kid-lover), a couple of netbooks (long battery life is a must as power is spotty) and a couple of digital cameras, I’ll be helping the kids of Musana tell stories. Fiction? Factual? Illustrated? Photographed? I’m not certain. I’m approaching the project with few rules, few expectations, and a very open mind and heart.
I’ve heard from one of the directors that for some of the kids, their childhood imaginations may be locked away behind the bars of their past tragedies or abuse. It’s hard to imagine a child who finds it difficult to dream. Hence, my intimidation.
Dreaming filled a huge space in my childhood. It was part of my learning and loving and life in general. Dreaming is a like a periscope to happiness and, at the very least, a survival skill every kid deserves to master.
I’m taking loads of picture books with me – thanks to all my dear friends who have donated – hoping to do a lot of reading with the kids. It will be fascinating to see how they respond to our mostly American stories. Then we’ll chat and we’ll play … and hopefully, with some divine inspiration, we’ll dream.
And maybe tell some stories along the way.
I know that “Musana” means “sunshine.” And sunshine spells hope.