JANUARY 2021

Posted on January 9, 2021 by Linda

Hello 2021!

…And it’s been a very long time since I have even looked at this blog. In fact, this website has not even been working for an equally long time. I tried to fix it a few times in the past but gave up after having no success. Today I was determined; it took most of the day – and it appears I was hacked by almost every country in the world at some point (no wonder I couldn’t access it!) but… Voila – I’m back!

Now I just need to decide what I want to do with it: Save the old posts, get rid of them – or what. And the biggest question is whether I actually will start writing posts again. I want to, and this does feel like a good time… we shall see.

I’m just pleased to finally be able to log on again and look at it! A lot has changed in the past few years, it might be a fun thing to do again.

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Angelfall

Posted on January 21, 2017 by Linda

I had ordered this trilogy quite some time ago and had forgotten that they were actually YA (young adult – or teenage) books.  And that’s fine because I have loved such books as the Twilight series and the Hunger Games books, etc., and apparently was intrigued enough to buy these when I did.  However, when I first started reading this I found myself a little annoyed to find it written in the viewpoint of a silly teenage girl, and a bit concerned that I would find the story just silly.  I mean, angels – really?

But as I began to read it, I found myself sometimes giggling at the teenager’s… well, “teen-ness” and began to realize that I was beginning to really enjoy the story.  The writing is good, the pace is tight – and I soon found myself completely gripped; I could not put the book down!  Some of it is completely frightening!  I quickly finished this book and went on to read the next one.  I will be done with that one very soon and will likely finish the last book before the end of the month.  A very good escape during this difficult time and I am pleased.  🙂

Angelfall, by Susan Ee

(Penryn & The End Of Days Series Book 1)

From Publishers Weekly

In Ee’s gritty debut, which stars a heroine with backbone, angels of the apocalypse seek revenge against humans for killing the Archangel Gabriel, and street gangs have taken over Silicon Valley. Seventeen-year-old Penryn lives with (and cares for) her wheelchair-bound sister, Paige, and their paranoid schizophrenic mother. While attempting to escape their apartment to find safety, Paige is kidnapped by an angel. At the moment of the abduction, Penryn meets Raffe, an angel whose wings have been cut off by the angels who take Paige. Hoping Raffe might know where Paige is, Penryn reluctantly nurses him back to health, and the two join forces, traveling to the angels’ “aerie” in San Francisco to recover Paige and repair Raffe’s wings; along the way, they are captured by a dangerously anarchic army of the human resistance.

World After (Book 2)

End of Days (Book 3)

 

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January 2017

Posted on January 15, 2017 by Linda

Well, I did it – actually managed to get a “31-point-plan” done for January.  Didn’t get it done until halfway through the month, but at least I did it!  I am crawling along here, trying to get back into my “swing.”  Hopefully better days are ahead!

31-Point-Plans

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Oops, forgot one:

Why Smart People Hurt: A Guide for the Bright, the Sensitive, and the Creative by Eric Maisel

This was a great book!  🙂

 

Posted on January 8, 2017 by Linda | Comments Off on Oops, forgot one:

2016 books (catch-up)

Posted on January 8, 2017 by Linda

I suppose if I am going to try to re-start/continue to keep my blog up to date, I should record the books I read and never included here.  I have recorded nothing since last April.

And, interestingly enough – to me anyway – I read very few books the greater part of this past year.  I was in a strange phase/funk and could not seem to focus on wanting to read anything.  That has happened very few times in my life!

I have no idea of start/stop dates; I only know that I did read these books – and I do remember that I very much enjoyed them at the time:

Tana French:

In the Woods

The Likeness

Louise Penny:

 A Great Reckoning

And then after a very long break…. starting in December and on into the beginning of January 2017, I read this:

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, by Natasha Pulley

 

I am now reading…..

Angelfall, by Susan Ee

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2017 Goals & Resolutions

Posted on January 1, 2017 by Linda

 – First Draft –

  • Stop Smoking – by February 4 (?)
  • Re-start “31-Point-Plans“
  • Re-start blog posting (1 per week?)
  • Keep up with my reading (and logging)
  • Organize closet/clothes
  • Establish a (new) exercise routine
  • more to come…..
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2016 – My Year of Living Precariously

Posted on December 31, 2016 by Linda

December 31, 2016

To begin to summarize 2016, I think that I first need to revisit 2015. I neglected to ever summarize that year or do anything of the kind.

I did manage to keep up my normal tasks of monthly blog posts, “31-point-plans” and such in 2015 but by the end of the year I was feeling rather lost and overwhelmed.  I kept myself very busy but was frequently stressed out with worries about my son and I was not particularly happy.  I think I can sum up 2015 as being “LOST IN BUSYNESS.”  Enough said.

2016 started out with a bang, full of hopes and dreams as usual but I soon succumbed to total overwhelm.  With my son’s failure to get on with the business of school, I began the process of pursuing an IEP including hiring an advocate and going into debt to pay for it.  Thus began a year of working with the school district, trying to get him placed in a residential school but instead having to go through all the bells and whistles of trying first one thing and then another only to watch him fail again.  This process is still happening.  It has been difficult, frustrating, and at times completely overwhelming and sucking all creativity out of my soul.

Continue reading →

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Update 4/10/16

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Linda

I decided it’s high time I explain here why there has been so little activity here lately. So far, this year has just been flying by for me and it is hard to even know what I’m doing these days.

I have not done any of my “31-Point-Plans” since January.  I have not been doing any of the usual stuff that I’ve been doing for the past 3 years or so.  But what I HAVE been doing is working diligently on my current picture book with a determination to try and get it published.  In addition, my best friend, Jennifer, has been working on a wonderful book of her own and I have felt inspired to help her with her project because it is so very good and I would love to see her find success with it.  My project is also nearly done and I am now facing the “scary” part.

In the meantime, I have been thinking about trying to do my “31-Point-Plans” for the past couple (soon to be 3) months and already have drawings in mind for them.  But we shall see.  There is always so much to do.

I am still reading of course.  But I’ve lost track of when I finished The Rosie Project and started reading something else.  I just know it was sometime within the last 2 or 3 weeks.  And what I chose to read next was this:

Temeraire series by Naomi Novic

His Majesty’s Dragon: Book 1
Throne of Jade: Book 2
Black Powder War: Book 3

As of this date, I am halfway through Book 2.  This is an interesting series; it is sort of a historical novel set during the time of the Napoleonic Wars, but with a twist:  In this history, dragons are alive and well and are assisting in the war to fight Bonaparte.  Pretty clever, all in all.

So, that’s about it for now.  With luck, the next time I post here I will have some exciting news about my children’s book.

🙂

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The Rosie Project

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Linda

…And here is what I decided to read next:

The Rosie Project: A Novel
by Graeme Simsion

I began this book yesterday evening (February 27).  By page two I was already laughing!  This one probably won’t take me very long at all to read – looking forward to it!

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Currently Reading…

Posted on February 6, 2016 by Linda

I lost track of when I started reading these books, but I am presently in the middle of the second book of the Magicians Trilogy, by Lev Grossman:

  1. The Magicians
  2. The Magician King
  3. The Magician’s Land

These books are really good!  Very different from your “typical” fantasy.  Here is what amazon.com says:

Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A high school math genius, he’s secretly fascinated with a series of children’s fantasy novels set in a magical land called Fillory, and real life is disappointing by comparison. When Quentin is unexpectedly admitted to an elite, secret college of magic, it looks like his wildest dreams may have come true. But his newfound powers lead him down a rabbit hole of hedonism and disillusionment, and ultimately to the dark secret behind the story of Fillory. The land of his childhood fantasies turns out to be much darker and more dangerous than he ever could have imagined . . .

The Magicians is one of the most daring and inventive works of literary fantasy in years. No one who has escaped into the worlds of Narnia and Harry Potter should miss this breathtaking return to the landscape of the imagination.

Fun, fun!  🙂

UPDATE:  I finished the 3rd and final book of this series on Feb. 26.  It was a very enjoyable ride!

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Sixteen

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Linda

Today my son is 16 years old.  How can that be?  Time just goes by so swiftly…

And he’s been having some struggles for the last couple or so years.  School.  It is not working.  So I have enlisted some help to try and get him in the right situation.  It has not been easy and it isn’t over yet.

But I am proud of my young man, nonetheless.  He has my heart and soul.  And I know his future will be brighter.

I did not do a drawing for this birthday card I made for him, but I did write the poem inside:

Dalton16thDalton16th (2)

Happy Sixteenth, my darling son!

 

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31-Point-Plans

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Linda

My long-time therapist/mentor/friend (and ADHD specialist), Molly Bloom, is also the facilitator of the local CHADD group here in Petaluma and runs meetings once a month.  She is the one who came up with the “31 Point Program” as a way to take charge of your life, find balance, and make sure you do the things on a daily basis that are important to you.

I struggled with this concept for a few years but then found myself illustrating a new one every month and really making use of them.  I have found my life much benefited and enriched by the process.

Recently, Molly has suggested that I make my illustrated plans available to others.  So I went through and edited them all to make them blank so that others can fill in whatever they want on them.  And I have now sold a couple of them.

I offer three versions of each month and a set of twelve months is available for $25.  Here are my plans as examples, and I have included an Order Form which can be printed out and sent to me to order the blank versions of these: Order Form

2013 Plans

2014 Plans

2015 Plans

And here is 2016 – unfortunately I only did a couple of these this year:

Jan2016

UPDATE – It is now 2017 and here is my first one:

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Book Passage Conference

Posted on January 31, 2016 by Linda

Children’s Picture Book Writers & Illustrators Conference

Sat., Jan. 23 • 9:00 am – 7:00 pm & Sun., Jan. 24 • 9:00 am – 4:30 pm

I have wanted to attend this conference for years.  But it’s a bit pricey and it wasn’t until this year that I decided that I could actually do it.  And I am very glad I did!

Open to new, established and aspiring writers and illustrators, the conference takes place in beautiful Marin County, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco and adjacent to Northern California’s wine country.  When participants are not writing and critiquing their work, they will participate in panels and discussions about a variety of key topics for authors. The topics will include:
• How to find an agent       
• Query letters and pitches
• Trends in the Picture Book market  
• Working with an editor
• Creativity and inspiration        
• Working with a writing group    
• Developing empathetic characters
In addition to these structured sessions, participants will have plenty of time to network and interact. The Weekend Workshop will include lunch on both days and a dinner on Saturday, during which the faculty and participants are encouraged to mingle.

I enjoyed this immensely.  It was highly motivational, interesting, educational and inspiring.  I learned more at this conference than I have anywhere else.  And, most important to me, I learned when I met with an agent in consultation about my work, that my art and writing is, in fact, pretty darn good.  And all that remains is for me to get it in ship-shape form and get it out there.  And this I intend to do.  Edit, edit, edit!

 

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January 2016 (catching up…)

Posted on January 3, 2016 by Linda

It’s 2016 – and that happened amazingly quick!  I’ve not had time to do much of any of the things I usually do at the end of a year.  I didn’t even manage to get my 2015 Christmas Card done – just didn’t have enough time.  But I have 6 years of them now (Christmas Cards) – perhaps I can take a break.

Jan2016And here is the first of my 2016 “31-Point-Plans.”

I have also gotten very behind on keeping up this BLOG.  So here are some posts that I have written and only now published:

I am hoping soon to have my New Year’s Goals up here, and there are still lots of things I am needing to get done – such as the art classes I signed up for on Craftsy.com.  I also need to work on my Etsy store, which I put up recently.  And too many other things to even think of at the moment.

But – HAPPY NEW YEAR!  I’m hoping it will be a very good one.

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December Books

Posted on January 2, 2016 by Linda

Beginning on or around December 1st, after finishing The Alchemist, I started reading this:

Uprooted, by Naomi Novik

“A very enjoyable fantasy with the air of a modern classic . . . Naomi Novik skillfully takes the fairy-tale-turned-bildungsroman structure of her premise . . . and builds enough flesh on those bones to make a very different animal. . . . The vivid characters around her also echo their fairy-tale forebears, but are grounded in real-world ambivalence that makes this book feel quietly mature, its world lived-in.”—The New York Times Book Review.

I really liked this book!  I finished it very quickly and turned to another fantasy, one that my sister loaned to me to read:

The Golem and the Jinni, by Helene Wecker

In The Golem and the Jinni, a chance meeting between mythical beings takes readers on a dazzling journey through cultures in turn-of-the-century New York. Marvelous and compulsively readable, Helene Wecker’s debut novel The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.   ~Amazon.com

I liked this book also and now on to the next book in my fantasy series:

Haunting Bombay, by Shilpa Agarwal

“[An] intriguing debut novel…Agarwal seeks to give voice to the dispossessed through the supernatural.”—USA Today

I really enjoyed this book as well – this time the tale concerned a ghost and family secrets.  Very interesting – and I also enjoyed getting a glimpse of another culture.

I finished this third and last December book at the start of the New Year.  Happy Reading!

 

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Christmas Pictures

Posted on December 26, 2015 by Linda

Christmas 2015

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A Chanticleer Christmas

Posted on December 22, 2015 by Linda

A Chanticleer Christmas

November 28 – December 23, 2015

A Chanticleer Christmas is Chanticleer’s beloved offering, a favorite with audiences and critics alike. The warmth and profundity of A Chanticleer Christmas are revealed in a telling of the Christmas story in Gregorian chant, Renaissance polyphony, traditional carols, Franz Biebl’s “Ave Maria” (Chanticleer’s most requested Christmas selection) and Chanticleer’s traditional medley of spirituals.

On December 20th, my sister and I had the pleasure of seeing Chanticleer perform at the historic St. Vincent De Paul Church in Petaluma for a beautiful holiday concert at a very beautiful location.

Called “the world’s reigning male chorus” by The New Yorker magazine, the San Francisco based GRAMMY® award-winning ensemble Chanticleer celebrates its 38th season in 2015-16, performing in the United States, Germany, Austria, Italy, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macao, the Republic of China, the People’s Republic of China. Chanticleer will also represent the United States at the biannual Festival de las Chiquitas in Bolivia, celebrating the rich musical heritage of the South American missions. Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for their “tonal luxuriance and crisply etched clarity,” Chanticleer is known around the world as “an orchestra of voices” for the seamless blend of its twelve male voices ranging from soprano to bass and its original interpretations of vocal literature, from Renaissance to jazz and popular genres, as well as contemporary composition.  ~chanticleer.org

Photograph

Chanticleer is simply amazing.  It was a wonderful way to spend a rainy December evening.

 

 

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Matt Gaser

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Linda

GIVE THE WORLD IN A BOOK – Holiday Event – MATT GASER

Copperfield’s had another event that I decided was a perfect birthday present to myself.  So on December 5th, I went to see Matt Gaser.  I loved this – his art is wonderful!

 

So, of course, I HAD to buy his book!

Fantastical: The Art of Matt Gaser

 

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December 2015

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Linda

And here it is finally – my December 31-Point-Plan:

Dec2015

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The Alchemist

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Linda

On November 26th I started reading The Alchemist, by By Paulo Coelho, which I finished just yesterday.

From Amazon.com:       The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho continues to change the lives of its readers forever. With more than two million copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has established itself as a modern classic, universally admired.

Paulo Coelho’s masterpiece tells the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found.

The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories can, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life’s path, and, above all, following our dreams.

I really enjoyed reading this little book.  I found the language simple but elegant; it was a sweet book and I marvel that I didn’t read it years ago.

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The Martian

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Linda

I finally finished reading all of the Louise Penny books on November 19th and, as hard as it was to move on to something else after spending so much time immersed in those wonderful books, I decided I would simply choose something completely different to read next.  So I chose The Martian, by Andy Weir.

What an interesting – and chilling – premise:  To be marooned alone on MARS. 

martianmovieI read this book very quickly and was finished by November 25th.  And I really, really want to see the movie.  Unfortunately, I missed it in the theaters and have not yet found it to be available on On Demand.

But I will see it when I can!  It’s sure to be a winner.  Good Book!

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Kay Ryan

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Linda

Another Copperfield’s event this month was to see the poet Kay Ryan on November 14th.

Meet author KAY RYAN

Copperfield’s Books

Ms. Ryan was Poet Laureate in 2008 and has had eight volumes of her poetry published.

Ms. Ryan is very clever, witty; she has a dry sense of humor and quirky way about her. It has been said that she “delights in quirks of logic and language and teases poetry out of the most unlikely places.” I enjoyed hearing her very much and I know I will enjoy her newest book:

ERRATIC FACTS

By Kay Ryan

 

 

 

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Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on November 26, 2015 by Linda

KidThksgvg

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving Day!

Here’s a card I made for my parents one Thanksgiving when I was a child.  I found it among my mother’s things after she died.

 

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November 2015

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Linda

I’ve had a really hard time getting this done this month.  I decided to finally quit smoking on the 1st of November.  BUT – it hasn’t exactly worked.  I’ve been stupidly putting myself Nov2015through withdrawal on a daily basis by only partially quitting.  I have felt totally insane.

“31-Point-Plan”

I actually got this drawing done about a week ago, but failed to post it because I couldn’t figure out what to write.

I’ve also been intending to write a post(s) about my efforts to stop smoking (among other things) but have found myself unable to concentrate enough to write much of anything.  So… November has just been strange so far.  Next month is my birthday month; perhaps it will be better.  I sure hope so!

My next plan is to quit smoking the weekend before Thanksgiving.  And this time to just STOP.  Then maybe after my nicotine-free brain kicks back in perhaps I can do some writing…

And that’s about it for November – at least for now.  🙂

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The Annotated Alice

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Linda

The Annotated Alice: 150th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

Who doesn’t love Alice in Wonderland? Well, when I learned that Mark Burstein was going to be at Copperfield’s  on November 7th to talk about the 150th Anniversary edition of The Annotated Alice, I had to go. And how cool is it that the current Chairman of the Lewis Carroll Society and editor of this marvelous book lives right here in Petaluma?

Meet Alice in Wonderland expert MARK BURSTEIN, Organized by Copperfield’s Books

I enjoyed this event very much!  And I am thrilled to have a copy of this book.

 

And, along with this beautiful book, I also had to buy a copy of the recently published edition of Alice that was illustrated by Salvador Dali.  This book was also edited by Mr. Burstein.

 

I wonder how many hundreds of years we will still remember and love our Alice in Wonderland?

alice_in_wonderland

 

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