The Carousel

October 24, 2014October 29, 2014 / still a dreamer / 6 Comments

Sometimes we have to indulge ourselves a wee bit. So after all but shackling myself to my Mac all week long, faithfully taking care of my clients’ needs, I am sharing something that I have always found nothing short of magical – a carousel.

From when I was a small child and our family went every year to a nearby amusement park on my birthday, the greatest attraction for me was always the carousel. Of course … it had horses, music, lights … what’s not to love?

The carousel you see in the photos here is a P.T.C. carousel, i.e., made by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, one of the greatest and most historic manufacturers of carousels in this country. And although I would love to visit Jane’s Carousel in Brooklyn, this one is much closer, a bit more than a half hour away in Lahaska, PA. P.T.C. #59, as this carousel is known, was built in 1922, and has been in numerous places around this country, but found its current spot in Peddler’s Village in 1998; it includes forty-six hand-carved wood figures, by Master Carver Ed Roth from Long Beach, CA.

Perhaps all these photos are a bit indulgent, so feel free to pass on if you choose. But if you find carousels as magical as I do, hop on for a ride. I’ll only say I’ve saved my favorite horse for last.

It was becoming late in the day, and the sun was lowering in the sky, creating some unavoidable light and shadow contrast.

The carousel had a goat, rooster, pig, cat, rabbit, and a few others, but I have never been as enamored of any of them as I have the horses.

The most stunning of all …

Writing What We Know

July 15, 2014 / still a dreamer / 17 Comments

This started out to be about three aspects of writing what we know, but I see that it would be a ridiculously long post. So I’ll divvy it up and start with a fairly recent example. I received a lovely personal response from an editor at one of the publishing houses represented at an NJ SCBWI event. I am very appreciative to receive such a thoughtful and detailed reply, although, of course, I wish it were better news. She complimented me on tackling a difficult subject, but found it a bit melancholy and added that quiet stories were not selling much in the picture book market these days. Happily, she was also very encouraging about my writing and my pursuing it.

This is where writing what we know comes in. What I know – one of the things, anyway – is about animals and their ability to affect us profoundly, both personally and through literature and imagery. This particular picture book story has a wonderful magical element to it and healing on several levels. While I don’t see it as melancholy, it still behooves me to pay attention to the perception and opinion of one who lives and breathes children’s books. But what stops me is the “quiet story” part.

I like quiet stories. I like funny stories, too, but I also like something that touches the heart and soul in some way, something that’s real, that’s a reflection of what children go through in their young lives. I get that kids like funny and action-filled, but what about the other aspects of a child? Are we no longer looking to feed that as well? Are our increasingly fast-paced and digital lives crushing the inner lives of picture-book age kids? (OK, maybe that’s extreme, but then again …)

As writers, we certainly need to be aware of the trends in the industry and what the market is looking for, otherwise we can be twirling about in our own stew of ideas that will never get published. At the same time, we need to consider what “writing what we know,” (the advice we are always given by editors and agents), actually means and where it fits in what’s being published. It’s a challenge to all of us. So I look at the body of work I have to date. Maybe it’s time to let some of my stories go; maybe I haven’t sent them out often enough and/or to the right publisher/agent who will appreciate a particular “quiet story.”

So where does the rubber hit the road? Where do writing what we know and what’s being published intersect?

Stieg Larsson – The Millennium Trilogy

June 15, 2014June 16, 2014 / still a dreamer / 4 Comments

What a writer! Oh, my. Talk about books you cannot put down.

I just finished The Girl Who Played with Fire, not all that much later after reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo*. Is it any wonder Larsson won so many awards? He was truly a masterful writer. Not only does he have that whole end-of-the-chapter-page-turning thing going on big time, but he is able to effectively flip back and forth into different places and characters’ situations in rapid succession, never losing, but rather only building, the momentum of the story.

The fact that the names of the characters and frequently referenced locations are all Swedish and unfamiliar to the English-speaking reader still does not slow one down. Larsson periodically goes into paragraphs of description, such as in his providing the background of each member of the murder investigation team under Bublanski in The Girl Who Played with Fire, but that doesn’t seem to slow you down either. The information proves to be relevant later on in the story, but in the hands of a lesser writer, such descriptions might leave one meandering and lost down some other path. Larsson’s twists and turns keep you turning the pages and reading far later in the night than you should.

His characters are engrossing, particularly, of course, the main character, Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant computer hacker with a profoundly painful past. She can be violent, yet is at the same time, highly moral, and always complex and challenging. Mikael Blomqvist, the investigative journalist, is also compelling in his own way, but more so, I believe, in his relationship to Lisbeth. The trilogy is classified as crime thrillers/murder mysteries, and, of course, this is true, but for me, I also found them fascinating character studies.

Sometimes we have to be in the mood for a certain kind of book – I don’t always feel like reading a crime thriller any more than I do any other genre. But if you are in the mood, these are books you will not easily put down. I was lent the first two by my neighbor, but for the third, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, I will need to go to the library in town. Starting Monday morning, I am committed to being home for the tree people to come at a currently unspecified time to remove a very large and threatening dead branch high up on an older spruce next to my home. Start a new book? Wait to get to the library? All life’s decisions should be this enticing.

* The movie version of this book with Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig is also outstanding, in my opinion.

Seward Johnson Retrospective at Grounds for Sculpture

June 5, 2014September 29, 2014 / still a dreamer

This piece is titled “Were You Invited?” and was inspired by Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party”

This brilliant sculptor is now having a major retrospective at the Grounds for Sculpture museum. Seward Johnson founded the non-profit museum whose doors opened in 1992. Johnson is known for his likenesses of famous figures as well as characters in well-known paintings from different eras, some of which are life-sized and some of which are truly of monumental size. He is also known for his sculptures representing people of all ages from all walks of life, including the boy bicycling in front of the post office in town to the couple looking up at the towering version of “American Gothic” by Grant Wood near the highway exit.

You may have stopped by and viewed some of his amazing sculptures in previous posts on my blog – you can start with Grounds for Sculpture III; the others are all linked. When my friends and I went to visit this 42 acre outdoor sculpture museum, there were so many examples of his work, and so many other wonderful sculptures as well, that I went into a picture-taking frenzy, and never found the time to get them all up. When we go again over the summer, I plan on just focusing on Johnson’s sculptures that I haven’t yet seen or photographed, including the 26′ tall Marilyn Monroe, titled “Forever Marilyn.”

The retrospective will be on view from May 4, 2014 through September 21, and if you are anywhere within traveling distance and can make it to the Grounds for Sculpture, I promise you will not be disappointed in Johnson’s amazing work or the collection of sculpture on the whole. Read more here about the exhibit, and more here on his own website. I can’t wait to go!

UPDATE: By popular demand, the Seward Johnson Retrospective‘s stay has been extended and will be available through July 2015!

Children’s Books and Fused Glass

May 17, 2014May 18, 2014 / still a dreamer / 6 Comments

The journey of writing and illustrating children’s books, as in any serious endeavor, has been packed with a wide variety of experiences. The learning curve has been tremendous between a writer’s critique group, caring support from fellow writers and artists, and the many opportunities to grow offered through the SCBWI, (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.)

Conferences, workshops, individual critiques and sometimes just time to sit down and talk with professionals in our field have given us all hope and sustained us on the road to being published and beyond. I consider myself very fortunate that, in the time I have belonged to the SCBWI, my New Jersey chapter has been extremely pro-active in providing so many ways to become involved in the world of children’s books.

Our current NJ SCBWI Regional Advisor recently put together a really fun workshop at the Fire Me Up glass studio. It was a chance to create something new and to also sit down and brunch with the Executive Editor of Children’s Books at Sterling Publishing of NYC, Meredith Mundy. And getting there early gave my friend and I the opportunity to sit right opposite her and talk about all manner of things. It was a friendly gathering of about 20 writers and artists in the children’s book field, some published, some not yet, trying our hand at a glass project while talking about our favorite subject.

After brunch and getting instructions about our projects, Meredith chatted with us, talked about changes in the industry, what Sterling was looking for as well as what she, in particular, was looking for in terms of stories and subjects. And when our afternoon was done, we were each given our individual critiques of whatever manuscript we had submitted ahead of time.

Meredith’s critique was very helpful and included wonderful insights and detailed suggestions for improvement, really challenging me to expand the ideas I was already working on, while acknowledging what I’d already accomplished. What a treat! I have since been working hard on my MS, getting ready to make a pacing dummy, and sketching my main characters for still new insights.

And what about the fused glass project? We had a variety of options to choose from, and I took a fairly simple one so I could focus on the conversation around me. (You don’t want to lose attention when you’ve got such a talented Executive Editor sitting across the table!) One of the options was a glass votive holder, and as a candle lover, this seemed perfect. So with an 8″ square piece of clear glass and a variety of jewel-colored glass in the form of spaghetti, linguine, flat marbles, small chunks and other possibilities, I made what you see here. TaDa!

If you are an aspiring author or illustrator in the area of children’s books, I encourage you to look into and join the SCBWI, take a look at what’s going on in your own state, get involved and amp up your learning curve and grow!