My tweets

My tweets

  • Tue, 14:24: Workshop materials due to VCFA soon. What’s polished enough to show other writers but fresh enough that I still want feedback?
  • Wed, 06:50: Doing the happy dance! Critical thesis officially emailed and snail mailed. Now to fiction revisions already in progress.(Oh, & my job.)#mfa
  • Wed, 11:17: Happy book bday, REAL MERMAIDS DON”T WEAR TOE RINGS. @HeleneBoudreau #realmermaids don’t do flip turns

My tweets

Happy T-day to Everyone!

macy's day parade turkey balloon
Illustration by Anna J. Boll

I had a great visit to the Big Apple this past weekend. It was a long needed break from the pressures and responsibilities I’ve given myself this fall: two part time jobs, full time school, and overtime parenting. (By the way, this is why I haven’t been blogging.)

I hung out with friends in Union Square, walked Central Park on a beautiful fall day, and attended the Jewish Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators conference. (Thank you Jewish Book Council and Barbara Krasner for keeping this one-day conference alive. See Barbara’s take on the conference at her blog.)

I got woken up at 2 in the morning by the garbage workers and found a corner grocery open at 3am to find Ibuprofen and a tall carton of OJ. (Nowhere but NYC). I read Jandy Nelson’s, The Sky is Everywhere and marveled at how naturally the poems and prose worked together. I wrote down favorite lines, swelled with Jandy’s portrayal of the sadness of death and glowed in the loveliness of life. Then for a stark contrast, I entered Suzanne Collin’s stark dystopia of the Hunger Games.

By Sunday night, I was ready to head home from my mini-vacation. I hailed a cab driven by a Nigerian man who came to the US on a philanthropist’s scholarship. He got a degree in Computer Information Systems, works for the State of NY and also drives a cab on the weekends to fund a scholarship that he founded. His $10,000 dollars has brought seven students to the US to learn and prosper. Amazing!

So today I am thankful: thankful for my family, healthy and wise, thankful for my safety and freedom, my love of learning and life. I send my wishes of peace and homecoming for those service men and women who are away from their families- and to their families, whose missing and longing I know so well.

Peace.


Hello From Montpelier

When I am able to pull away from the isolation of my studio, and reenter the land populated by real (as opposed to imagined) people, it is a gift. The Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adults program is an such an amazing community of real people that I consider myself especially lucky and blessed. We are five days into the residency and it is laundry day. Traditionally, this is the day when people cry. Think of it, you put generally solitary people in rooms where they schmooze, and discuss craft, and put their writing up for critique (the work that they’ve birthed out of their hearts and heads), and listen to lecture after lecture after lecture and there are bound to be a few tears.

Not for me this time. As a third semester student I know what to expect and I’m savvy enough to skip a few events here and there to keep myself sane. In fact, I am extremely happy right now because I presented my semester’s work to the school and it was very well received. The whole Picture Book Certificate class was extremely thoughtful in their work and we were told the presentations were particularly professional. Some have even suggested we submit our work to industry journals. Very, very exciting!

Also, the list of advisors was posted last night and I’ll be working with faculty head, Margaret Bechard. I’ll focus on my researching and writing my critical thesis and then work on my novel with her guidance. Margaret is famous for her lengthy editorial letters and her wonderful teaching abilities. I’m thrilled.

It’s been a little difficult, but necessary for me to break out of my VCFA head space to complete work for Friends School of Portland. Look for our ad in the Common Fair newspaper!

The Prouty

If you’ve read my blog recently you know that this spring I jumped into the sport of the triathlon, wetsuit and all. While really good triathletes are really good at all three sports: swimming, biking, and running, many triathletes have one sports that was the entry point. For me, it was cycling. I’m not a Time Trial expert. I don’t go cruising down mountains at break neck speeds. I don’t have a helmet shaped like an ice cream cone. For me, cycling brings me a sense of freedom. It takes me away from my domestic responsibilities, the deadlines of school, and the stress of work. No one calls me Mom. There is no email, no reading, just the sweat and strain of attacking the hills and the rush of going down the other side.

Now I’m using all my bike training to ride in honor of Norma Fox Mazer for the Norris Cotton Cancer Center in their charity ride, The Prouty. If you are a member of the kidslitosphere, you probably have read Norma’s books. If you are a VCFA alum, you may have had Norma as an advisor. I hope you’ll consider donating $5, $10, or $20 to my efforts or the efforts of my team the "Bike Writers." We are a group of VCFA students and alum who write for children: Sarah Aronson, Tami Lewis Brown, Eric Pinder and myself.

If you donate, send me a message or leave a LJ or Facebook Comment with the name of a song that inspires you. I’ll put your song on my "Inspire" playlist and listen to it while I train. If you can’t donate, post a link to this blog or my donation page on your Facebook profile or twitter about our efforts. Thanks for helping us meet our fund raising goals!