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I am 25. Most of the times, I have no idea what it means to be 25 but I do know that at this age, a person wants to live life with friends, career, love and never ending joy. These are just the basic things which every person would want from life. After all, we all are suckers for happiness. So was Pallavi who was 25 when her life was rudely or should I say gruesomely cut short by the wrath of

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“Bear helped Mouse find seeds on the forest floor.”

Yesterday at Kirkus, I rambled incessantly about Fall 2012 picture books for which I’ve already fallen and fallen hard. Since I like to follow Kirkus columns one week later with 7-Imp posts that feature art art and lots of art—if I don’t post lots of art, I start to get twitchy—I started gathering at least one spread from each book to feature here at 7-Imp later this week.

But then when I ended up with more than one spread from the new book Bear Has a Story to Tell (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook), written by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead, I couldn’t resist the urge to go ahead and post about it today. It will be released relatively soon anyway (early September).

If I gave away the entire story here, I’d not be able to sleep at night for having ruined the reading experience for you. So, I’m going to do something rare and unusual for long-winded me: I’m going to just list a small handful of things about it that I like. I’ll list seven of them (at the risk of looking formulaic here), given the blog’s title. (Why not?) Then, I’ll just let the beautiful art speak for itself. (more…)

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Lisa Alvarado - Interview with Luz Maria Umpierre

Luz Maria Umpierre has wrought a legacy, a challenge, a history, a love letter, a sinuous and sentient record of personal identity, revealing the crosshatched scars and singing victories of a warrior, the yielding body and the body politic in
"I'm still standing- 30 Years of Poetry -available through her website http://luzmaumpierre.com

"Luz Maria Umpierre is, quite simply, one of my heroes in a postmodern world that insists on rid­ding us of icons and pedestals in an attempt to level all people and institu­tions. Paradoxically, some institutions seem to merit such debasement when they never miss an opportunity to hound the historically marginal­ized and alternative voices out of the academy." Dr.Eric Pennington (Seton Hall)

She is an established scholar in the fields of Puerto Rican, Caribbean, Latina/o Studies, Poetry, and Gender Studies, with multiple publications in leading journals, including Hispania, Latin American Theatre Review, Revista do Estudios Hispánicos, Bilingual Review, Chasqui, Explicación do Textos Literarios, Chicana/Latina Studies and The Americas Review. Co-founder of the journal, Third Woman. Also published in internet journals, including La Acera, Diálogo Digital, Cruce and La Bloga.

Author of two books of literary criticism, ten collections of bilingual poetry, numerous book chapters and over 50 articles of literary criticism on Latin American scholars and writers from several generations, including a seminal article on writers and migration published in MELUS in 2002 and currently included in an anthology of essays in honor of Isabel Allende.

Her collected works and personal papers currently housed at De Paul University, Latina rare book collection housed at Bryn Mawr College.

She is recognized internationally as an authority on the interdisciplinary study of Literature, the Social Sciences, History and Language, especially regarding race, culture, gender identity and ethnicity. Complete list of publications available on request.

What do you believe is the purpose of poetry?
The purpose of poetry is to liberate the spirit, our soul, so that it has a concrete expression that is palpable. And as Julia Alvarez said in one of my favorite poems of all times, to be able to say "Whoever reads this poem, touches a woman." I am hoping that I am quoting her correctly because my copy of her book is at my rare book collection at Bryn Mawr. I can and will accept to be corrected in my quote but not in my idea. LOL

What do you consider to be "Latino/a" themes?
All themes are Latina themes. It is the vision or the approach we take as Latinas what gives them a sabor or authenticity that is ours. For example, many years ago I took Vanguardista poetry which was highly non-politicized and turned it into political poetry. From there, for example, emerged my Poemas Concretistas.

To say that there are Latina themes is to reduce us. Granted there are subject matters such as identity that we explore more than other groups of writers but I would not say that there are Latina themes and non Latina themes. All themes are human themes and that is overall the most important theme to me.

Describe the intersection of sexual identity and culture as it lives in your writing?
I learned from Audre Lorde years and years ago that I cannot be asked to divide my Self into separate pieces of identity and ignore some in favor of others. That to me would be mutilation. I refuse to mutilate my rich identity for the sake of pleasing the eye of a beholder or for an aesthetics of a political correctdness of beauty. Thus all aspects of my identity and culture live in harmony in my works.

What would you say to critics of your lesbian-identified work?
That they get a life and start living in the 21st. century. I never forced them to leave their heterosexist and nationalist macho agenda views through meanness, non inclusion or actual shuning. On the contrary, I questioned them publicly and made my dissenting opinions known to them. I did not go back stabbing them, making calls to bad mouth them into being denied jobs, I did not refuse to teach them in my classes. To the contrary, I included them because I wanted to have an open dialogue about difference. But "I'm Still Standing" as the only dancer on that inclusion floor because some of these people are so petty that they refuse to engage me in public and face to face or, as Lorraine Sutton marvelously said in one of her poems: "to cunt-front" me.

How has academia enhanced/impinged upon your creative process?
They have always wanted to deny me a claim to my poetry as an academic achievement. However, I have not allowed them to infringe on my freedom to write. I have used my academic struggles precisely to question antics and tactics in academia and make fun, mock and criticize their elitism and snobbery.

Who are some authors who move you and why?
 Adrienne Rich, her book The Dream of A Common Language has been my Bible since the 1980s. Nemir Matos Cintron has poems in her collections A través del aire y del fuego pero no del cristal and in Aliens in NYC that have made me cry time and time again because of her portrayal of genuine human identity angst. I recently re/read a poem by Ana Castillo entitled: "I Ask The Impossible" and I am afraid that I ruined the Thai Lemon Tilapia dish that I was eating while reading it because I began to cry uncontrollably. I feel that we have all have wanted to be loved that way and her poem is a voicing of a human need that I had never read exposed in poetry. Lorde also moved me with some of her poems on women. Marge Piercy's book The Moon is Always Female has some of my favorite poems of all times because of her delving into what constitutes to be a strong woman. Julia de Burgos, of course she is part of our collective unconscious as Puerto Ricans. The theme of the river in her poetry and the sea attracts me.

What are some thoughts you would share with newer poetas/poetisas/Nuyorican poets?
To remember that many people paved a path for them and they should be honored, not bullied, harassed, shunned and most importantly, not disrespected.

I think Puerto Rican poets of the younger generation have no respect towards their elders, their sages, those who broke a path for them now to enjoy. They are not like other Latina groups. I am marveled by the respect of Mexican Americans towards their wiser older Latinas/Latinos something that is totally lacking among young poets be they Puerto Rican or Nuyorican.

I would like to let them know that one day they will inevitably be older and if they do not change their ways and attitudes, they too will be the subject of disrespect.

What sustains your creative and spiritual longevity?
The power to love, to find love, to see everything with fresh eyes, to be able to marvel at beauty and to be passionate about living. But also, as the poem says: "To be of use."

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Mussorgsky was 42 years old. He had already written his immortal compositions, such as Night on Bald Mountain and Pictures at an Exhibition. But now his creative work was over.

He had been drinking heavily and was subject to fits of madness. Hanging out all day in a tavern with other composers and writers, he eventually he lost his government job. He told his friends "there was nothing left but begging."
He found a comfortable room in a military hospital. Despite several seizures, he seemed to be rallying.


That was where Repin found him. The portrait took four sessions. There was a soft light from the tall hospital windows, but the room was cramped, and the artist was forced to balance the painting on a small table. Repin captured his tousled hair, his red nose, and his bleary eyes. But even in the deep decline, the eyes are full of fire.

There was one more sitting scheduled two weeks later. When Repin came to the hospital one last time at the appointed hour, Mussorgsky was not among the living. Despite strict orders, an attendant had obtained for him a bottle of forbidden cognac.

The patron Tretyakov bought the painting sight unseen. Repin didn't want the the money, and donated it to help pay for a memorial to his friend.

The portrait is a masterwork of simplicity, vigor, compassion, and honesty. Repin's fellow portrait painter Kramskoy pulled up a chair and stared at the painting for hours, awestruck with its power. He described it as a combination of Rembrandt and Velazquez.

Modest Mussorgsky on Wikipedia
Ilya Repin on Wikipedia
Night on Bald Mountain (with Disney Animation) on YouTube
Book: The Russian Vision: The Art of Ilya Repin

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This was never to be written, as things mainly fall on deaf ears in this day and age. Little is ever done about anything, when it comes to world justice. There is always a lot of talk, and much investigation in things like murder cases. But seldom, is there justice handed out. And I'm not talking about things like seven consecutive life sentences, or the silliness played out in the world's kangaroo courtrooms. This I will only personally get off my chest, as things will never ultimately change. Defense lawyers and nose-in-the-air judges run many of these countries we call home. This article will focus mainly on Canada and the United States, although there is also a heartfelt mention of a distant land. Where does a person start, in something so sinister -- a lost world, where suits-and-ties think they can get their evil clients a better sentence -- those murderers receiving three meals a day, warmth, possible wages, use of computers, and other things that a corrupt system wishes to supply them with.

Let's get started. I will be blunt. The victims of these human animals are covered with cold dirt, and have no voice to speak for them. They are the ones that have received life sentences. Families and friends are the ones on a mental death-row, never forgetting what occurred to them or their loved ones. From a worldly standpoint, prim-and-proper law makers, polished-shoe lawyers, and candy-land judges, know little of the unbelievable and excruciating pain that victims suffer. The legal suits care little, as all they think about, is if their (paid-by-the-public) clients are sleeping and eating properly, or maybe getting the help they deserve -- mental instability issues always coming to the surface these days. Of course every one of them is a nut-bar. But I've always said -- that the most dangerous person in the world, is the smart lunatic. And believe me, they know how to play the authorities and the revolving door system. As I stated earlier, I will be blunt. Many will not understand the truth, what is needed to rid ourselves of much of the human scum that infests society. They need to be made extreme examples of to make others sit up and take notice -- what would happen to them. I'm talking about the killer and murderer receiving pain and suffering. I'm talking about a rope over a tree type prosecution, with the chair kicked out from under them, the public applauding. Well...not the tree-hugger of the human disgrace. But seriously -- these animalistic killers need to perish. The pain and suffering they produce for others is on a scale I can't comprehend. Man outside that crazed perimeter, knows little of what evil, victims have gone through.

And what about the fallacies of a failing society? Let's briefly enter that realm, this author picking out only a tinge of what is actually occurring to our fellow man. These stories have burdened our hearts. Sadly, there never will be real justice.

Starting with the subject of mass murders, we enter the state of insanity with what is known as the Tuscon, Arizona, shooter, of January, 2011. Among the 6 dead, and 13 injured, a lady politician was gunned down as well, shot in the head, surviving that ordeal. But what I want to say, is, that once you start to listen to the follow-up of such a gruesome crime, a person with a sound mind wants to throw-up. The defense lawyers begin to spin their webs, the spiders they are, bringing up a thing like the shooter's mental conditions, and that they may be stressed by the trial that is ensuing. The killer must also be put on suicide watch. Do the right thing -- give the human devil the rope he needs to hang himself. Done quick enough, this could save the U.S. Government hundreds of thousands of dollars in court costs, vulturous lawyers, prison costs, and what is the dreaded payroll hearings, where other kangaroo court antics sit in wait for the future. What this system actually does, is secure jobs for themselves. I have seen them release murderers before, rewarding them with day passes. The victim gets nothing but human suffering, if they survive at all. They get a life of tears. Also on this ridiculous case, it is over a year from the time of the massacre, that a plea is seriously entered in the courtroom. How long does silliness take? Obviously not long enough. I asked an Alberta politician years ago, why we are not killing the killer. The answer this time around, was, that government may not find the person that would pull the switch, or give the lethal injection. (They meant this sarcastically.) Very well. I told him, that they hadn't looked far enough. The sickening crimes against humanity in this country (Canada) continues.

A story that seriously touched my heart being a member of a working unit for over 32 years, was the G4S killings in Edmonton, Alberta, 2012, leaving three armored truck guards dead, another clinging to life. A fellow employee, would shoot each of them in the head, and run with the root of all evil. Although I'm trying to think rationally -- couldn't an evil fool just put sedatives in their coffees, and just walk away with the loot? No -- he has to execute them. Another sad thing to this story, is the fact, that ultimately, his fellow workers died for absolutely nothing. The idiot would be caught at the Canadian/U.S. Border with over $300,000 -- his mother's license plate on his vehicle, including not having a passport on him. A person that stupid, deserves to die right off the bat. But our defense lawyers will make sure the animal receives a fair trial. And with Canada having no-where near a death penalty, the Edmonton shooter should have a rather secure life in prison. He will also have a voice in the future -- wanting to get out with good behavior. He also may have to put square blocks in square holes -- these types of things securing his freedom? His victims however, never see the light of another day. They have paid the price for society's stupidity. The killer gets to share with his family. I think he deserves a bullet by a firing squad, made up of armed jurors. And I don't want to hear the sniveling argument of people trying to keep such a devil alive. They haven't stared down the barrel of a crazed gunman lusting for money.

Among other insane stories of mass murder of innocent people, we come to the Aurora, Colorado, shooter, of 2012, this year the world supposedly ending? (Yea...whatever.) Right out of the starting gate, vulturous defense lawyers would push their wares -- their client showing signs of mental illness (in their eyes.) Supposedly, the (what would be the shooter) -- he was already seeing a university psychiatrist before the massacre which took 12 lives, and injured another 58, some seriously. Because of the atrocity, the authorities tag him with 24 counts of first-degree murder, doubling up the 12. People -- forget the numbers, your game-playing, and circus show that will be the court case. Place the defense lawyers in custody long enough, so that justice can be served -- the human devil put to sleep. I personally, would like to see him suffer, but who am I. I only think about the 70 victims of the theater. The real justice would come, when he falls into the hands of the true Judge -- the one that puts them away for an eternity. They will also see those same western world defense lawyers that failed to uphold the real laws that should be in place -- an eye for an eye. The killer needs to die for his crimes. Someone please put that rope over the tree limb. The world could be saved a lot of trouble and money, just eliminating the scum that feeds off the innocent.

Concerning the Colorado incident, a judge had ordered a gag law, stating, that key people at the university couldn't respond to public records requests concerning the shooter. Remember -- he was maybe seeing a shrink before his onslaught. (Poor baby.) I enjoyed hearing about his lawyers -- their poor client mentally ill and unstable. This is the same shooter that planned out every avenue of his attack on people of all ages. He also set up wired traps at his apartment for coming first responders. Explosives, incendiary devices, and chemicals, laid in wait. Remember -- a smart lunatic? Doesn't matter! Take the mass murderer around back of the theater, look him in the eye, and pull the trigger -- justice served. But no, society will play with this for months or years. Because that's what defense lawyers do. The revolving-door...injustice system continues.

For this next ridiculous story, we move off-shore. It involves the next human maniac -- the Norway shooter. This piece of work would kill 77, and injure 319, in 2011. He would act like an ass in court, and literally, tease and ridicule the process. Sadly -- he's right. This inhuman animal should have been executed on the island where he murdered many innocent youngsters. He also set a bomb off in Oslo, killing and maiming civilians. I would like to seriously know why his case is taking so long. He murdered and killed in July of 2011. His main trial began in April of 2012. The system around him likes to act tough, and show who's boss -- also defense lawyers trying to prove that he's a kook -- mentally psychotic. Of course he is. Once again -- doesn't matter. He should have been put down by a police sharp-shooter's bullet months ago. Sadly, the officer could be charged for murder. (Go figure.)

This fool in Norway, admitted to the attacks, but denies being guilty. He also planned every detail out -- the killer using hollow-point shells in some cases. He would also come back for some of the injured playing dead, trying to hide. He also had fake police badges and uniform. He also purchased what was needed for a major explosive device. People -- what is there to figure out here? The justice system doesn't have a clue. Why do they have to wait -- find out if it's 76, or maybe 77 lives he took. Publicly execute him off just one or two lives. Send him to the Maker. There is no defense lawyers where he'd go. But man doesn't do this. He cannot serve true justice in what is an evil world, with devils at the helm. They won't believe or admit it -- but it's blatantly true. Kill the killer. Execute the murderer. The authorities even wondered what to ultimately charge him with. Word is, they decided on terrorism charges. Again -- it doesn't matter. He should have been put down like a wild animal, months ago. But man won't do this -- because that would be inhuman and barbaric. Is it time to put the defense lawyers in the jails? They defraud the public of justice every day. It's sickening really!

Ending this here, because there are so many cases of this -- yes, more coming -- I wish to mention the following. It occurred right in our region, a peace officer killed, checking on an animal complaint. And the point I want to get across here, is that this officer was practically beaten to near death a number of miles from the city. Would would be the killer -- he would drive the dying peace officer into the city in the officer's SUV -- dumping the whole ball-of-wax off at a police station in Calgary. The officer would die soon after, beaten to a pulp. What I want people to think about, and really digest, is, can you imagine what that officer went through in the elapsed time it took from the time of being beaten and then escorted into town by the attacker. The agony of your life ending. Can defense lawyers even comprehend such things? They can never know the fear and pain. Your attacker right beside you, dropping you off amongst others. I watched footage of this killer being escorted back and forth concerning the murder a day earlier. He was mouthy and a real prick! Now -- if we had any politicians, lawyers, judges, law-makers, with any balls or a set of tits -- this individual would be quickly processed, then publicly executed, like a rabid dog. Just find out for sure, if these animals are guilty -- then put a gun to their temple...and simply pull the trigger. Problem is solved, and immediately dealt with. Ohh...but right -- we can't do such ghastly things in the 21st century. I'm just very sorry for the many more victims that are coming. I have to laugh at the likes of a President, who wonders why all these things are going on, and what can be done about them. The answer is simple, but they will never understand it. You must put the animal down. And not to pick on just one leader, but this is becoming universal in the world today -- allowing the killers to escape. Politicians turn an eye and ear. Defense lawyers and judges become rich off of nothing more than a charade. Justice and  the likes can never be served. It is seldom eye for an eye.

Good-night everyone...

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This August illustration, sent in from Joanne Friar, shines a little light in the attic. I’m hoping this list of changes will shine a little light on what is happening in the publishing industry.  

Joanne was featured on Illustrator Saturday in March.  Here’s the link: http://wp.me/pss2W-4j3

Julie Romeis, former Editor at Chronicle Books has formed her own editorial consulting company.

Katerina Damkoelher, has left Sterling Publishing to take an art director position at Disney.

Melanie Cecka will join Knopf Children’s on August 20 as associate publishing director, reporting to Nancy Hinkel. Most recently she was publishing director at Bloomsbury Children’s, and she began her career at Random House, first as an editorial assistant at Villard Books before moving into children’s books.

Rebecca Hunt has joined Harlequin Nonfiction as editor. She was most recently associate editor at Penguin.

At Chronicle Books, Naomi Kirsten has been promoted to editor, children’s group.

At Holiday House, Sylvie Frank has been promoted to editor and Sally Morgridge moves up to editorial assistant.

At Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Andrea Spooner has been promoted to editorial director, while Erin Stein moves up to editorial director, brand, licensed, and media tie-in publishing.

At Simon & Schuster Children’s, Hannah Buchsbaum has joined Little Simon as associate editor. Previously she was at Disney Press.

Editor Samantha McFerrin has left Harcourt and is Senior Editor at Disney Animation Publishing.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Filed under: Editor & Agent Info, News Tagged: Andrea Spooner, Chronicle Books, Joanne Friar, Julie Romeis, Melanie Cecka, Naomi Kirsten, Rebbeca Hunt, Samantha McFerrin

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Minor, major—those words have never done much for me. I don’t understand them. The question any novel is really trying to answer is, Is life worth living? That’s a major question, a huge question, but the best way to ­answer it might not be to crank the novelistic universe into a crude, lurching ­motion by employing a big inciting incident. Sometimes life provides only the tiniest of inciting incidents—that your left shoelace snaps within a day of your right one. That’s enough for me. When something is beautiful, it can’t be minor. Also I think it’s neat when a novel offers you miscellaneous helpful tips or tricks or facts. When it’s a friendly companion, when it does you good on various levels. A lot of novels bully us into assenting to their importance. I’m tired of that.

 

Paris Review - The Art of Fiction No. 212, Nicholson Baker

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I really enjoyed the slideshow at the Melville House blog on writers attacking other writers.

And I was chuffed to discover there another nod to the title of this blog (whose derivation you can familiarise yourself with here ):

Elizabeth Bishop’s oft-quoted put-down of J.D. Salinger — make that oft-mis-quoted — may be all the more withering for being made privately and off-hand. In a letter to Robert Lowell, she made a passing comment on Seymour: An Introduction (not Catcher in the Rye, as is usually claimed): “I HATED the Salinger story. It took me days to go through it, gingerly, a page at a time, and blushing with embarrassment for him every ridiculous sentence of the way. How can they let him do it?” 

What is it she disliked so much about it? Perhaps it was that Salinger had his character write poetry. As is rarely quoted, Bishop’s comment went on: “Perhaps Seymour isn’t supposed to be anything out of the ordinary, nor his poems either, so that all that writhing and reeling is to show the average man trying to express his love for his brother, or brotherly love? Well, Henry James did it much better in one or two long sentences.” 

-Dennis Johnson

But it gets better. While looking for a quick link to Alice, I found this.  A treely ruly live university course in...

Taught by Michael Hulse at the University of Warwick, EN273 Reeling and Writhing is described on the university website as a "hybrid module... combining intertextual scholarship with poet-to-poet skills...described in student feedback (2011) as “bloody brilliant”."

 I will have to update my About Page,  Ninety-Nine, our lives may depend upon it.

 

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Some not so fresh stuff. Slow blogging is slow, as we might say on Twitter.

Putting Shakespeare's First Folio on line during the Olympics means you have to "Sprint For Shakespeare". Via Corsair Books on Twitter.

A very attractive way to document train readings, and also to present potential readers with the library's holdings. Via Karen Andrews (@Miscmum) on Twitter.

When I find a typo in a piece of work that''s already sent out...

Introducing Spineless Wonders Audio, along with a bunch of links to other Australian fiction recorded online. 

Cabaret writer-performer Michael Dalley's new show, Mademoiselle, will finish at fortyfivedownstairs on the 19th of August, so be quick.

If you haven't seen my tweet already, here is Bill Murray doing more stunts for Poetry House. Here he reads Wallace Stevens, with some reverence. Rather delightful.

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Thanks for visiting my site. I appreciate your interest in my work. If you have questions regarding my books or stories, please feel free to send me a message. I enjoy hearing from you, and I’ll respond as soon as possible. 

Happy reading!

Artie

Latest News

Artie’s children’s book Living Green: A Turtle’s Quest for a Cleaner Planet is now available as a free video for kids through StoryCub. A shortlist finalist for the national 2012 Green Earth Book Award, Thurman the turtle is tired of seeing the land he loves cluttered with trash and decides to take action.

To watch the Living Green video and many other books on StoryCub.org, please click on the cover below. StoryCub videos are one of the most watched programs on Apple’s iTunes Kids & Family section.

Use of any of the content on this website without permission is prohibited by federal law

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At Jack Kerouac's House, Writing Poetry

I remember staying up too late the night before, watching an episode of a detective show on my laptop, and then a second, and

I wanted to watch a third but

I told myself No, it's almost two a.m. You'll be too tired in the morning.

I remember I accidentally woke up before seven. Six shots of espresso moved like sludge through my veins.

I remember Jack's house was on the Christmas tour a few years ago. I asked the host to show me where Jack sat when he worked. The floor slants down in that room. His mother slept in a cramped bedroom just off, and he slept on a cot near his work, I think. I remember I sort of felt sorry for Jack. I could feel him hemmed in that room, his success hemming him in. That day was hot and sticky even though it was December, and I wanted to absorb Jack but too many people coming in and out and the walls closing in, the blinds were closed, and I didn't know how Jack could work like that.

I remember the first poem the writer-in-residence had us write was an "I remember" poem.

When I remembered my bossy sister and my grandma's ten brothers and sisters throwing money at us, the other writers at the workshop laughed and that made me feel good. I remember other people wrote about sad things and that made me cry, which made me feel good, too.

I remember the big white dog with brown eyes who looked into mine and made me miss my own dog, even for those few hours.

And I remember driving home, climbing the stairs, closing my door, and secretly rereading my first poem just so I could hear the laughter again.

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       At Veterans Today Nasrin Pourhamrang has a Q & A, Peaceful world my sincerest wish: Chinua Achebe.
       At least he gets some space to explain himself -- and answer relatively clearly (and sensibly) to questions such as:

NP: What are the most prominent features and attributes of the modern African literature ?

CA: Yes ... I have stated elsewhere that one cannot cram African literature into a small, neat definition. I do not see African literature as one unit but as a group of associated units -- in fact the sum total of all the national and ethnic literatures of Africa.

       I'm very much looking forward to his soon-forthcoming There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra (even if it's not fiction ...); pre-order your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk (and note those very different covers for the US and UK editions -- I much prefer the latter).

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       In The Scotsman David Robinson profiles Ruth Rendell, writer and author of The Saint Zita Society.
       He harps a bit too much on how amazing it is how active she still is, but she has been remarkably consistent over an impressively long career; I haven't picked up anything of hers in ages, but I have a couple of unread books by her on my shelves, and know that I can safely reach for them anytime I need a dependably good pass-time read.

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       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Fujisaki Shingo's Crystal Silence -- Japanese science fiction, from the always interesting Kurodahan Press.

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I’ve previously plugged Harry McCracken’s ongoing efforts to recognize Columbia Picture’s most popular (and now long forgotten) cartoon star of the 1930s – via his outstanding website Scrappyland. Now Harry has revised the site, presenting new material in blog format – and he’s begun posting updates with his latest Scrappy merchandising finds, rare art, reviews, and vintage cartoons. The whole thing is now easier to navigate and more fun than ever. Ahh, if only all classic cartoon characters had champions like McCracken and sites like this, the world would be a better place. For now, we have brilliantly realized Scrappyland: Bookmark this TODAY!.

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Cartoon Brew | Permalink | No comment | Post tags: Dick Huemer, Harry McCracken, Scrappy

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The breathtaking beauty of Hans Zimmer’s music makes many people feel that they would like his compositions to be the soundtrack to their life. But what about your book?

In a recent poll, Schiel & Denver Book Publishing Company and Book Distributors found that mystery and thriller authors would prefer Hans Zimmer above all other composers to write the soundtrack to their novel if it was ever made into a film through consistent book marketing. Listening to this above quite brooding and dark piece that Hans Zimmer composed for The Dark Knight Rises, that was released before the tragedy in Colorado, it’s hard to disagree.

Book publisher and Self Publishing Information provided by S&D book publishers and christian book publishers as a courtesy.

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Occasionally, one sees a cloud fall to its death.
Gouache 20cm x 42cm. Click to enlarge.

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I've had a lot of fun this week posting fun ballet art, and I hope you have been enjoying it too. I have drawn the winning names for my Ballet Week giveaways!


Winners of mini art-print postcard 4-pack sets:

Maria Arduino
Jennifer Justice Claymore
Lisa Stewart
Deb Johnson

The BIG Winner of a prize pack (one jigsaw puzzle, one copy of The Months, and one mini art- print postcard 4-pack):
Jennifer Thermes


Congratulations, everyone!

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Here are some things that have been going on in the swinging cocktail lounge that is my life and mind (vodka martini, very dry and very dirty).

1) Apparently there is a new show on TLC called Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. A lot of reviewers are saying this show is the equivalent of the coming of the anti-Christ.

However I have been told by people who actually saw it that it’s not that bad because this family is not fake like some of the families we see on reality TV these days (I won’t name names).

I’ll reserve judgement until I see it. Obviously I DVR’d it, but I have a lot of episodes of Misfits and Covert Affairs to catch up with before I’ll ever get to Honey Boo Boo.

Here’s my unicorn family. Sorry, I’m showing you a picture of them instead of Honey Boo Boo because I own the rights to this photo.

2) Speaking of reviews, this reminds me . . . Salon.com is shocked — shocked, I tell you! — to learn that some authors are hiring people to post fake raves about their books on Twitter, and also to post fake 5 star reviews about them Amazon.

I don’t know why Salon.com is so shocked about this since this kind of thing (it’s called “sock puppeting”) has been going on for years and years, and not just in the publishing business. Rock stars, movie stars, politicians, you name it, have all employed this insidious practice. Every single troll on every single website you go to is probably being paid by some political organization to be there.

The practice of sock puppeting has become so common that there is even a Wiki How explaining how to hire and pay people to post fake comments in the forums of your own website.

The Salon.com article says this practice is most common with authors who are just starting out in their careers, and I can attest that there was a time at the beginning of my career way back in 2000 when I was totally tempted. The only reviews I ever got back then were on Amazon, and this one particular lunatic kept writing that my books glorified smoking.

(OMG, I still get so angry when I think of this. My dad, a smoker, died of throat cancer at age 53, when I was just 26, leaving my mom an unemployed widow with 3 kids. Obviously that scarred me for life, as it would anyone – she was only about two years older than I am now when he died! There is NO WAY I would ever write anything that glorifies smoking. I have never smoked and get an automatic migraine when people around me start smoking).

But some people can’t help being idiots. I wanted to go on Amazon and post this beneath the person’s review:

Dear Crazed Lunatic, Meg Cabot does NOT glorify smoking in The Princess Diaries. This book is about a girl who becomes a princess and doesn’t like it. SHE DOES NOT SMOKE. Her GRANDMOTHER smokes, but the heroine frowns upon it and mentions MANY TIMES that it is bad. Only an idiot such as yourself would you ever think that this book glorifies smoking. Signed, Not Meg Cabot

But nothing good ever comes from doing things like this, so I trained myself to stay off Amazon (except to buy DVDs of Will Ferrell movies).

And I was proven right to do so when, in 2004, a glitch in Amazon Canada’s software revealed the true identities of all the anonymous reviewers there, many of whom turned out to be the books’ OWN AUTHORS!

Yes, it turned out many authors had not been able to resist the impulse (as I had) and had sock puppeted themselves (or whatever the term is). (Click here to read the amusing NY Times article about the incident).

I wish I had known this was going on at the time because I would have RUSHED to Amazon Canada before they fixed the glitch in order to find out who had reviewed his/her own books and also to find out what they had said in response to their bad reviews. I can just picture it:

By Nathaniel Hawthorne: PsYchO2001, I’m so sorry you found “The Scarlett Letter” such a “crushing bore” and feel so angry that the author “crammed so much symbolism into it.” Need I remind you that it is considered a modern classic by most mature adults? Perhaps you’d be more comfortable reading an “action novel” such as Melville’s insipid fish tale, “Moby Dick.”

By Charlotte Bronte: HotMama, I understand you might have been a bit disappointed when you learned “after all those interminably long pages” that what Mr. Rochester had hidden in his attic was not “a vampire or anything else remotely cool”. But would it have hurt you to have employed a “Spoiler Alert” in your review? Now EVERYONE knows what’s in the attic at Thornfield Hall. Try using a little common courtesy next time.

By Emily Bronte: MrsRPatzz18: U r wrong. Wuthering Heights is NOT “the wurst bk eva” and I believe that Heathcliff is every bit as “hottttt” as Edward Cullen, if not more so! U, madam, r the byotch, not me!

Click here to view the embedded video.

3) Speaking of reviews, this one is legitimate: I enjoyed The Encyclopedia of Me by Karen Rivers, coming out September 1. It’s told in an encyclopedia format, which is fun and different, and is about an 8th grade girl dealing with the stresses of family, boys, and friendship. For a librarian’s thoughts on it (and librarians we KNOW can’t be bought), go here.

Speaking of libraries, the Cuyahoga Public Library gave me this (not the unicorn, the little book) as a gift after I spoke there:

When you open it up, this is what’s inside:

Yeah! You got that right! Post-its! Is that the coolest thing or what? AND IT IS MINE. I GOT IT FROM THE LIBRARY.

Go here and you can see my discussion at the library mentioned above.

4) Apparently a bunch of people went on NPR and voted for their top 100 teen books and here is what they came up with.

This list is fun though I’m confused by it. I assume they’re the top 100 books read by teens and not about teens. One problem I’ve always had is a tendency to overanalyze things too much (in case you didn’t notice). It is a problem that has been remarked upon by many, don’t worry, and I continue to be treated for it. I always flunk multiple choice tests because I think I’m being tricked and NONE of the answers are right (this is why I can’t pass the Florida State written driving exam).

But I’m happy some of my favorites made it on there, and would like to thank everyone who nominated and voted for books by me.

5) I know it’s cool to rave about the gymnastics and swimming on the Olympics (and all I have to say about Gabby Douglas “Hairgate” is, to misquote The Princess Diaries movie, “Hair? Flying through the air? I prefer to talk about flying through the air”) but to me it’s all about the equestrian events because the one thing I always wanted was a horse (but I was never enthusiastic enough about one to want to clean stables).

So just picture me on the back of this horse winning the gold for the USA (and turn off the sound if you’re an impressionable child or at work because the musical accompaniment is very naughty, but funny):

Click here to view the embedded video.

6) What are you doing for Labor Day weekend? 

I’m going to Decatur, GA!

The Decatur Book Festival
 in Decatur, GA, to be exact, on Saturday, September 1.

You’ll find me at 10AM, at the First Baptist Decatur Sanctuary Stage. 

Go here

for more info. Book signing to follow after my presentation.

Some people are complaining that my signing is much too early in the morning, but I actually chose it because at 10AM it is unlikely to be crowded yet or 9 million degrees outside, and afterwards we can all go have martinis for lunch.

Click here to view the embedded video.

You see? I’m always thinking of you.

There will be tons of other authors there (such as but not limited to the US Poet Laureate, Shannon Hale, Tess “Rizolli and Isles” Gerritsen, Michael Connelly, and Kathy “Bones” and Kerry Reichs). Click on the link above to see more. Guarantee you won’t regret it.

Here are some of the books I’ll be promoting in Decatur (but pretty much all of my books will be available):

Size 12 and Ready to Rock

Still available for a special sales price of $7.99 everywhere ebooks are sold, as well as the first three ebooks in the series for only $4.99.

Then there’s …

Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction, the anthology to which I contributed (with lots of other great authors like Richelle Mead, Lisa McMann, Laini Taylor, Matt de la Pena, Malinda Lo, and Michael Grant). This comes out August 28, just in time for Labor Day Weekend!

And of course . . .

The Abandon series!

Finally, we had an Underworld trailer contest! All the entries were amazingly creative . . . in fact, it was extremely hard to pick a winner because each entry was so strong and creative in its own way. I had such a hard time choosing, I had to ask for help deciding. We managed to narrow it down to these five finalists:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In the end, we chose based on creativity, originality, tone (of the book, not the video . . . we loved all the videos, but we felt we had to pick one that matched the tone of the book, which is a paranormal romance, most closely), and most of all, the one that summed up the theme of the book (romantic longing) best.

We all felt it was TheMFunky who deserved the prize (an iPad) for her creativity and originality with the paper cut-outs (which looked super hard to do, especially with the growing leaves and fluttering Fury wings!), while also getting the tone (and the theme) of the book right!

Thanks and congratulations to TheMFunky (who is herself an aspiring YA writer)!

Hope everyone has a great rest of their summer, look out for bugs (and Honey Boo Boo) and I’ll see (some of) you at the Decatur Book Festival!

More later.

Much love,

Meg

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My inbox just received this boo-ti-ful image. It’s the painting for the Chinese cover of Leviathan. The artist is Li Tao. (Li is the surname, and the artist is male, just so you know.)

Click here for the bigness, because the bigness is bigger.

Needless to say, I love this cover image. It has a wonderfully exuberant forward motion to it, not unlike this Chinese propaganda poster. Or this one! (I mean, it’s just dying to be remixed into a poster, IF THAT SHOULD OCCUR TO ANYONE.) I also really love the styling of the Leviathan overhead, and the Hapsberg seal. So much heraldry!

Can’t wait to see the final version with text and my name in Chinese on it. (Just to be clear, this is the simplified Chinese version, for the mainland.)

Dr. Barlow portrait from The Manual of Aeronautics coming soon!

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In my rural, working class youth, I somehow got the impression that "debutantes" were rich girls (rather than women) who got dressed up in not very attractive gowns and went to a bizarre elaborate dance where they were assigned a rich male dancing partner. Said dance was some kind of rite of passage, like an over-the-top prom before proms became over the top. I do not know what magazines I was reading or television shows I was watching, but my information must have come from those sources. I thought of debutantes as being very passive people, that a debutante ball was something that was somehow done to them or for them.

I totally understand now that I had and have no idea how the rich live. I'm just offering up this information to explain why the word "debutante" doesn't have a lot of positive connotations for me.

Now we come to Diary of a Literary Debutante, a column at Salon that is going to follow the experiences of a writer, known as Yuko Mishima for the time being, as her first book gets closer to publication. "With each installment, I’ll share some lesson — often hard or humiliatingly learned — about my weaving, stumbling path toward (I hope) eventual publication."  I'm in. I'll be reading.

Here's the disturbing debutante thing, though. Mishima spent many years working on her manuscript and "...finally finished it. I sent the manuscript to agents. I chose an agent, and she submitted it...the six agents I sent the manuscript to were the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh people besides me who had ever read the book in its entirety..." As some of those making comments pointed out--Six agents? She submitted to only six agents and was able to choose an agent because more than one of that small pool was interested? This is not the average writer's experience. It is the experience of a narrow group of writers, just as debutante balls are the experience of a narrow group of girls

The book may not be an average book, which would explain how easily that portion of the publication process went for Mishima. As I said, I'm in. I'll follow the column. Depending on how the column goes, I'll give the book a shot. But I have to say, right now this part of the author's story, does, indeed, make it sound like a debutante's tale.

Editing Note: The title of this post was changed from the embarrassing I'm Always Leering Of Anyone Called A "Debutante" to I'm Always Leery Of Anyone Called A "Debutante". I am quite humiliated for having made such a big copy error, though not for the first time. And, I fear, not for the last.

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You have to look close to see strawberries...

I'd say that I knocked a lot off of the to-do list today!  The biggest hurdle was what used to be an undefined field beneath the cauliflower wave.  Now, it has been planted and is full of strawberries ready to be picked (although no one will be able to see them unless they're up close).

The field "before"

The field "after"

Other things that were done were little touch-ups here and there, including the chef's shoes - he's now wearing creepers (a nod to my husband, Smitty).

Anything after this will be minimal changes - I'm thinkin' more contrast on the columns, maybe on some viney pieces as well...then it's varnish time!

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