|
Last weekend was a whirlwind of activity at the National Council of Teachers of English conference. In addition to doing a book signing for Queen of Physics at the Union Square booth, I also presented at a panel on writing poetic nonfiction. For fun (as much fun as an introvert can have anyway), I attended a Candlewick Press author reception, met up with author/illustrator friends, online critique partners, and some editors, and ate some tasty seafood! Since I'm still digesting my Thanksgiving meal, and need to go make some sourdough crackers, I will keep this short and not show you the desserts I made for yesterday until next week.
I hope you had a lovely and low-stress holiday!
0 Comments
Last weekend, I was at the annual Books By the Banks festival in Cincinnati where I signed books and also appeared in a panel called Scientifically Speaking: Science Nonfiction along with Carmella Van Vleet and Jillian Scudder, moderated by Mary Kay Carson.  I also got to see a bunch of author friends. From the Kidlit For Growing Minds group, there's Katie Mazeika, Debra Shumaker, and Keila Dawson. In the photo on the right is me and Robin Newman.
The left-hand photo is of me and Laura Gehl. Annnd, I got to meet THE John Scalzi (you sci-fi folks will know why I'm geeking out).
This weekend, I am in Boston for the National Council of Teachers of English conference. I'll be at the following panel (see below) as well as signing copies of Queen of Physics at the Union Square booth (#704) today (Friday, Nov. 22) at 10:30 a.m. So if you're there, stop on by!  The lovely and talented Lydia Lukidis featured an interview of me about my newest book, Clouds in Space, on her blog this week. Be sure to check it out as there is a giveaway! And if you're near Cincinnati, OH, tomorrow (Saturday, November 16), do drop on by the Cincy Main Library for this spectacular annual Books By the Banks Festival. I'll be there signing and am also a panelist for a talk called Scientifically Speaking: Science Nonfiction.  Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the death of a country and its morals. Don't mind the ground shaking; it's just the bodies of all the World War II veterans rolling over in their graves.
On the very slim chance that anyone reading this lives near Bloomington, Indiana, I want to invite you to local authors fair tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 2nd) that will be fun for all ages.  Notable authors like graphic novelist Nate Powell and best-selling author-illustrators Rob Harrell and Keiko Kasza will be there! I will, too, but as a minor star in among bright constellations. I'll be signing my latest book, Clouds in Space.
There will be free cake and cookies, too! That's what I'm really there for. ;) Hope to see some of you there. I have been wanting for years to learn how to create products with designs on them but only learned recently that it's called "surface pattern design." Mostly, it began with fabrics. I was a fabric hoarder for a long time. I'm no longer as obsessed, but I still love fabric with unusual designs. As well, I love notebooks with gorgeous covers (and hoard notebooks, too). So, it was about time I learned how to do it. I only wish I had learned 20 years ago. I'm on my second intensive course on it and I absolutely love it. Here are some basic rosettes I've created in addition to a drawing of dogwood blossoms. They will need to be inked, colored, and vectorized. I can't wait to make fabric, wallpaper, or other products with the designs! What do you think? Would you buy my products with this type of art on them?
The breakout session on “writing graphic novels for the first time for total beginners” that I taught at the Marvelous Midwest Conference was very well received. It was a step-by-step guide based on my experience writing two graphic biographies combine with everything I learned from courses I'd taken, books I've read, and research I'd done. Since a number of people have mentioned that they would have liked to have been in that breakout, I decided that making an e-course would be the best way to reach the most people. The course will comprise of “bite-sized”, manageable lessons that include video and text, as well as exercises and handouts. I plan to have it available as a self-paced course that people can do on their own schedule. But I will, once or twice a year, offer a guided option, too, where I can meet with students several times during the asynchronous lessons. If you know anyone who'd like to take the class, have them sign up here to be notified as soon as it comes out in the early part of next year, stamina willing.  Whoa, it's been a busy week...and I forgot it's Friday! If you don't want to forget what day it is next year, you might want to buy one of my 2025 Wild About Wildflowers desk calendars. 😊 They're a tidy 4x6 inches big with its own metal stand. The calendar, complete with a stand, is $10 each (with $5 shipping for U.S. $7 shipping for two or more; higher for mailing to Canada and other countries). Here'a sampling of the pages...click on any image to bring up the slideshow. If you would like one, just leave a comment or use my contact form to let me know. I take Venmo or Paypal. Indulge in some native floral beauty next year!
I have spent too much time in the past 3 days on Canva creating reels for social media. What did you waste your time on this week? We've reached the end of the haiku sampling from my #HaikuSaturday poetry over at Bluesky. I hope you've enjoyed these snippets of poetry and photos! See you next Friday for something completely different. 😃
|
AboutI'm in the process of moving content from my Wordpress blog to here. I'd love for you to follow me here; we will have fun together! Archives
November 2024
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed