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The adult coloring book fad shows no signs of slowing down as pixel-addled adults seek solace in old fashioned hand-eye coordination. And Dark Horse is getting in on the act with a new line that debuts this fall. A previously announced Chuck Pahlaniuk coloring book will be joined by Avatar: The Last Airbender and Serenity will each get a coloring book with 45 pages of new artwork and thick paper that will stand up to the most punishing crayons.

We started off May with one of our best shows, Texas Frightmare Weekend in Dallas, Fort Worth. One of my all time favorite Horror Conventions, Frightmare did not disappoint. Sales were a little down from last year, but still above average.

2 Weeks later, we were off on our 2 week long trip to the Midwest. Denver Comic Con and Phoenix Comicon. Driving through Utah to Colorado was beautiful trip. I love to show rather than tell, so here are a bunch of photos from the road:

And our table and booth Setups at both shows:

At Phoenix Comicon I got to work on quite a bit of commissions. These were drawings of some of the TV actors that were guests at the show. Summer Glau as River Tam from Serenity, Lexa Doig from Andromeda , Alyson Hannigan as Willow from Buffy, Katee Sackhoff as Sarbuck from Battlestar Galectica, Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase from Buffy and Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow from The Flash:

The post May Shows Recap appeared first on Diana Levin Art.

“Dip your serenity in serendipity and let the surprise be your prize” – Anonymous This will be the fourth year that I shall choose a word to focus on for the coming year, and once again I invite my blog … Continue reading →

Two posts about fear and worry in the past few weeks? Yeah, you bet. Because I’ve been skiing for the past few weeks, and that always reactivates all the fear cells in my body and makes me think about my safety in ways I don’t normally have to in my everyday life.

I like the ground. I like dirt. I love to run and hike and backpack–all at my own bodily speed.

But when you’re at the mercy of gravity and two slick planks speeding over slippery snow, that’s not normal. Even Olympic downhill racers will tell you so.

The problem is, I love it. Love leaving my southwest desert town where it’s already in the mid-80s (sorry, east-coasters) and going to the mountains where it’s still winter. Love being out in the snowy wilderness with husband and dogs, cross-country skiing for hours at a time while our year-old black Labrador, Moose, rolls in every snowbank he can find and the older Lab, Bear, trots along beside us hoping he won’t have to run too much because really, this is fun and all, but isn’t it time for a nap?

So to reconcile those two things, I’ve had to adopt the Worry About That Tomorrow schedule.

It’s something I read about years ago, and thought was ridiculous–until I tried it.

The idea is to schedule your worry. Decide, “Okay, at 3:00 PM every Thursday, I’m going to sit down for an hour and really cut loose. Remind myself of everything I’ve been afraid of all week–maybe even keep a list of worries for just that reason–and then sit down and go through each of them and really feel the fear. No shame, no holds barred. Steep in it. Go.”

Sure, some weeks by the time Thursday afternoon came around I was already over the anxiety I’d felt about something on Monday. But there were also times when I really looked forward to giving myself permission to flip out if I wanted to. It feels good to be your own best friend and say, “Okay, let’s hear it. Tell me everything.”

Once I got used to putting off fear until a specific day of the week, I learned to extend it for weeks at a time. And eventually to months. Here’s what I’m talking about:

It was the beginning of summer. Sweltering hot (see March temperature above and add 30 degrees to it). I was reading Outside Magazine and came across an article about outdoor summer adventures in Iceland.

Ice-land. YESSSSS.

Luckily, I have the kind of husband who, when I send him an e-mail asking, “Want to go to Iceland in a few weeks?” writes back succinctly, “Sure.”

So I started planning and reserving, and put together an awesome adventure trip. One that included staying on an Icelandic horse farm for a week, then kayaking in the North Atlantic, then backpacking on this very remote, rugged, isolated spot of land.

And to do all that, we’d have to (1) ride on big horses, (2) ride in small boats, and (3) ride in small planes. All of which have a history of activating my fear cells.

But I really wanted to do it. Really wanted the adventure, all those experiences, and especially really wanted to get the heck out of the hell temperatures we were experiencing.

So I just scheduled my fears. Picked a date on the calendar that was a few days after our trip was over, and made myself the solemn promise that I would completely freak out then about all of the dangers I had to face.

And I’m telling you, it worked.

Every time my heart started to beat a little faster during the trip, I’d remind myself, “Not now. Later.” And because I was so used to keeping my promise about fully feeling the fear at scheduled times, I knew that promise was real. So I immediately settled down.

We did crazy things for those two and a half weeks. Scary, dangerous things that I didn’t even know we’d be doing when I planned the trip. And I was completely serene about all of them.

And ever since then, because of that, I know I can flip the switch on and off. That was a really important experiment for me. And it’s a skill I’ve taught friends and family, and a lot of them have had similar successes.  It’s doable, people, I promise you. You can put your fears under your own control. I urge you to try the experiment for yourself.

I’ve also learned to apply it to my writing life. I always have dual reactions when a new book of mine comes out. On the one hand, I’m all, “Look! I made this for you! I hope you all read it and love it!” But there’s an equally strong part of me that says, “No! Don’t read that! It’s full of my feelings and opinions! It’s too personal! Look away!”

It reminds me of a friend of mine whose little 3-year-old boy stood with her in the checkout lane at a grocery store, and had his hands down the front of his pants. The customer behind him kept looking at him and smiling, and finally the little boy blurted out, “Stop looking at me!”

Sorry, little dude, but if you’re going to stand in public with your hands down your pants, people are going to look.

That’s right, launching a new book is like standing around with your hands down your pants. You heard it here first.

I definitely had that reaction to my new book THE GOOD LIE coming out last month. I’d been sitting on it for a while, but then when that Woody Allen-Dylan Farrow controversy broke in January of this year, I knew I had some of my own feelings and opinions about the topic that I wanted to share. So I released the book, but definitely felt both “Read it!” and “Don’t read it!” at the same time.

So as with all of my books, I’ve had to pick a date in the future–four months seems about right–when I’m allowed to worry about it. On June 5 I will sit down and have a whole long session about it. But until then, nope, sorry, it’s all just perfectly fine.

Which makes this seem like a good spot to include this button you can push to enter to win a free signed copy of the book later next month. Go ahead. I’m not afraid. How can I be? It’s not even close to June 5 yet.

But I’m telling you, on that day, whew. Look out.

Good luck with your own experiments. Feel free to report back.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Good Lie

by Robin Brande

Giveaway ends April 25, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Sandra, originally uploaded by crystal driedger.

I bought a moleskin shortly after I spied my friend Amanda's at a market I was working last summer. It's been such a treasure. It's exactly the right size and weight (can be carried with me at all times for creative moments that come out of the blue), is flexible and so so soft!

No matter what situation I'm in and no matter how hectic my schedule, if I find the time to sketch during my day it brings me great peace. While this is not always the case with client work, where there is always pressure to create something better and more lively, sketching for myself has been a very effective way to test different styles and techniques and an even better way to just clear my head of nonesense.

I like to go back into my sketchbook months afterwards and add colour to the cross hatching I first did with my pen in front of the tv. For some reason I don't like just sitting and watching tv... I enjoy doing something creative while I do this. Perhaps it lessens the guilt factor of being a movie nutt.

* Just a reminder: There's only 6 days left until I draw for those two free calendars and secret prize...

Title: Big Mama
Written by: Tony Crunk
Illustrated by: Margot Apple
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Ages: 3-7
ISBN: 9780374406349

Big Mama is the type of grandma every little boy and girl would like to have. Billy Boyd doesn’t have a mom or dad anymore, so Big Mama, and his papa take care of him.

Big Mama’s house is wonderful, too. She lets the kids play whatever fun games they want, and oftentimes, she plays along with them.

“If you are playing Time Travel
you can talk backward to her, in intergalactic code,
and she never says, “You children stop acting so silly.”
Usually she starts talking backward, too.

If you need something, like a paperclip
Or a piece of string or a pop-bottle top,
Big Mama has it in her housecoat pocket.”

Every day with Big Mama is an adventure! She has such a fun, loving way about her. Kids will love the journey Big Mama takes them on, if only to get some ice cream!

The illustrations are whimsical, and each page invites readers to share in the love, which Big Mama has to share! This book invites readers on an emotional journey, which is sure to be enjoyed. Big Mama is big fun, and a great read, too!

******************************

Reviewed by Sylvia C. Hall