Author: still a dreamer

Grateful for A Family Farm

/ still a dreamer / 8 Comments

One of the best things about living where I do is that there is a family farm just 2.5 miles from my house – Phillips Farms. They once were a small roadside stand, but expanded and built a much bigger store in a more accessible location.

They grow everything they sell, and it’s all fresh and delicious. They have over a dozen variety of apples, including my favorite macouns.

Plus every fruit or vegetable imaginable as the months roll by. We are often advised to eat foods that are in season, and Phillips Farms makes that easy. Plus they offer apple and pumpkin picking in the fall, berry picking in the spring and summer.

When they expanded, they built a kitchen on the premises. They bake pies, doughnuts, and fresh breads, and make their own jams and pasta sauces, all these items with their own produce

They offer fresh flowers in every season in pots or cut to make your own arrangements. This year they added eucalyptus.

New Jersey is known as the Garden State, and my county is the highest agricultural county within the state. Living here does mean some sacrifices in that a trip to go see art or other events in NYC or Philadelphia is a bit of a trek, but a good life with fresh and delicious food all year-round just 7 minutes away seems a pretty good counterbalance.

Thriller

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

No, not that kind of thriller. Well, maybe a little.

From time to time, I’m restless and can’t seem to find the right book to read. I recently picked up four books, read a few pages, and put them down. Know what that means? It means it’s time for a thriller. A good mystery. Suspense. Twists and turns.

I went to the library and picked up one of the many titles that got great reviews on Instagram from a fellow children’s book author. Nancy periodically reviews the latest thrillers, and having followed several of her past recommendations, I felt pretty confident in choosing this one. Just a few pages in, and I was committed. I’ve never read Lisa Gardiner, but she knows how to write a great hook.

Moral of the story? Can’t settle on a book to read? Get scared!

Photo thanks to Simon Wijers at Unsplash

Drawing in Pen and Ink All October

/ still a dreamer / 4 Comments

That’s the Inktober challenge – one pen and ink drawing every day for the month of October. I completed it in 2022 for the first time, and am hoping to draw all 31 days again.

Artists are given a prompt for each day’s drawing, but we needn’t follow the prompt if we choose not to. For the drawing above, the prompt was “Golden”, and what came to mind was the Beatles song, Golden Slumbers. Even though the song was not really written for a baby, I liked the idea that it might apply.

I’m always stashing lots of quotes that appeal to me, and I love this one by Maya Angelou. The prompt was “Dodge”; nothing of interest came to mind so I went with this great quote.

I am posting daily on Instagram, so if you’d like to follow along on this month-long pen and ink journey, come visit me on Instagram. Every day will be a surprise – for me as well as you!!

Self-Publishing Children’s Books 101 – Oct.2023

/ still a dreamer / 1 Comment

Self-publishing one’s own children’s book has great appeal, but it’s not quite as simple as it seems. A most important question — what is your purpose in self-publishing?

If you wish to have a lovely book to read to the kids, grandkids, or your students, the journey may be fairly simple, and not terribly expensive. But if your goal is to compete with traditionally published books, and you truly want your book to sell, then your investment in both time and money may be more than you suspect.

I cover all this in my upcoming in-person workshop – Self-Publishing Children’s Books 101 – at the Stewartsville Public Library on Wednesday, October 18, 6-7:30 pm. Registration opens October 4.

I’ll be covering:

* Why publish?

* Your idea – coming up with what will sell

* Your story

* Dummy

* Illustration

* Book design

* Traditional vs. Self-Publishing

* Q and A

If you’re in the neighborhood, please come and learn about self-publishing! For more information about how I help people self-publish, please visit me at Jeanne Balsam Graphics.

Stories Change Us

/ still a dreamer / 9 Comments

And stories make us grow. They add colors and textures and emotions and new perceptions to our personal library called `self’. Stories add depth and dimension to our being, and give us perspectives on things that we may never have considered, whether fiction or non-fiction.

That is, of course, if we choose good books.

Up until a couple days ago, I had several spots around the house with books that I had picked up here and there, books I’ve been waiting to read. Now they’re all in one place. And as I am just finishing the fabulous book I’ve been reading, I also find myself wondering … who do I want to meet next? Where do I want to go? What time period feels inviting right now? What do I want to know?

And which book, which story, will take me there? Is it here on my shelves, or will I take a trip to the library? Reading is just such an incredible gift.