everyday life and other joyful fiascos
By purchasing your book directly through me, you get a signed copy and some extra goodies to celebrate the book release.
Continue reading “Opossum Opposites: Fosters Empathy & Environmental Awareness”
I am learning so much right now.
Just so much.
It all started with the modest goal of writing a children’s book about opossums and then publishing and selling it. No big deal. Lots of people do that.
Not everyone goes the traditional publishing route — there are many reasons for that, but this post is not about that.
Not everyone produces a high quality, beautifully illustrated, educational book that can be enjoyed by parents and children, which they then manage to sell and maybe even have a tiny little bit of profit left over in the end.
That’s my goal.
Continue reading “I’m Publishing My First Children’s Book with Crowdfunding”
Welcome to the third installment of my journey to self-publishing my first children’s book, Opossum Opposites. I started this project a few months ago and I’ve learned so much already. But, as with many industries, the more I learn, the more I find out I need to learn.
On the menu today: illustrations!
Continue reading “Opossum Opposites Has an Illustrator!”My tender mother’s heart recently sustained a stinging injury. It was a minor pin prick of reality. But it hurt. I doubt if my son even registered what happened, but I did. Memories of the long, painful process of learning to fit my square peg self into the round hole world I grew up in came flooding back to me.
My kindergartener, “Sweetie Bird,” participated in his school’s annual fundraiser. For each goal level the school reached, they earned a reward. One day was no uniform day. Another day was crazy socks & hats day. I loaned Sweetie Bird a colorful striped hat of mine and some multicolored striped socks that he pulled up over his pants all the way up his thighs. At home, before he left for school, he was thrilled with his look. Those boney striped legs were killing me. I swoon hard over his whimsical tendencies.
Continue reading “Stay Weird, My Darling Child: How kids help us rediscover our strange & beautiful selves”Don’t even call me a SAHM.
I am a SAHW.
Yeah, I’ve got kids. I guess you could say I’m a mom. No, I’m not getting paid for any of my labor right now, except in love. Yes, I do spend as much time as I can at my house, but only because I’m not really all that into people & places. Still, I am uneasy with the term stay-at-home mom.
Continue reading “Stay-at-Home Writer”People often wonder how I manage to get any writing done with a six-year-old and a baby at home. I blush. I’m flattered, but trust me, it hasn’t always been this way. I’ve always enjoyed writing and I’ve dreamed of “going for it” for many years, but I kept finding reasons I couldn’t. They weren’t good reasons, but I let them stop me anyway.
I finished grad school when my son was about 15 months old, so I do have a track record of writing with a baby around, but it wasn’t the kind of writing I wanted to be doing. I just had to finish. Then I was teaching classes and I was tired and we were traveling and I wanted to watch my mystery shows…
See? Not very good reasons.
It’s not every day, or even every month that my son and I are infatuated with the same TV show, but the new Carmen Sandiego changes everything! I’m feeling pretty damn hip right now TBH because Netflix’s new re-boot of the iconic character has only been out for a few weeks and I have seen it all. Cutting edge – à la mode – Zeitgeist – finger on the pulse – that’s me.
The show impressed me so much, I’d watch it again. I can’t wait for the live action movie and the next season to come out! Season two is already confirmed! I’m becoming a total fan-girl and getting a red coat and fedora for my Halloween costume (maybe for everyday wear,) maybe even a temporary tattoo!
Continue reading “11+ Reasons Our Sons Should Definitely Be Watching Carmen Sandiego”Move over Chef Boyardee!
Ooops – strike that. I just googled that because I wasn’t sure of myself and I learned something we all need to know and be able to differentiate. Chef Boyardee is Italian-American. Duh! But I knew there was some pasta-like product with a Franco-American name or slogan somewhere in the murky history of my youth.
My neighborhood bookclub recently convened to discuss Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming. It’s so very affirming to sit with other women for a few hours gushing over someone like Michelle Obama.
Plenty of people have already reviewed the book a long long time ago, but some of us were on waiting lists at the library for months, so this is not a review. More like a meditation. I loved it. I love her. I love everything Obama. I have a terrible memory at the moment with two kids sucking my brain power right out of me, so I just want to put down a few thoughts about some of the disparate things I managed to jot down as I listened.
My six-year-old son has not had time to develop any of the insecurities about writing I’ve spent years perfecting. He just turned six and he’s only just learning to write, but I’m pretty sure he’s well ahead of me on the path to publication.
“Sweetie Bird” has been writing and illustrating his book, (not even his first book, but certainly his most serious effort to date,) for a week or so now and he’s definitely onto something. The story had been brewing in his young mind for a couple of years. As far as he knows, all it takes to be a writer is to write. Why didn’t I know that FFS?