It’s spring! Time of renewal and creativity everywhere. Then WHY am I in a ‘brain fog?
Well there are lots of reasons probably…from lack of sleep (!?), to allergies, to ‘it’s still cold in VA!’ to …who knows! I just read a fun newsletter piece about just this from Simone Kaplan… check her out at simone@picturebookpeople.com . Loved her honesty in admitting she has ‘brain fog’ too, so here I am joining her honesty.

And it’s good to admit it when it hits. Use it! Take a break and step back from your projects…writing, illustrating, personal, whatever! If you are having trouble being clear, focused, concise and creatively fresh, don’t try so hard! Step away from the project if possible…maybe for a few weeks or more, and take a new look later. We only want to send out OUR BEST always. You only get one chance to make a good first impression. You can also ruin a good reputation by passing on unfinished or inferior work. Sometimes a deadline requires a ‘finish’…then you have to gut it out. But a step back of a few hours…take a walk, work out in gym or garden… might make all the difference in clearing the brain fog and letting the creativity break through! When are we and our work ‘finished?’ Well probably when the book is published! or the conference talk given! or time has run OUT! But we hope to feel that it’s THE BEST we can do with the situation… the plot is tight, the characters are real and credible and YOURS ALONE, and you’ve added something evocative and provocative to the world. Big order…not really. It’s just breaking through ‘the fog’ and seeing the day and its unique promise! enjoy the possibilities!…..

Image from Priscilla Burris who keeps clear always!

It’s finally spring and so much seems to suddenly happen! or need doing! or change in some way!  Love it and hate it.. but it’s never boring and slow like winter can be.

Bologna was sort of the big start of it all.  Word from clients is that it was as wonderful as always. (I went in ’04…how time flies!)  Some changes were seen generally around the world.  Middle grade and realistic fiction is “hot.”  Lightly illustrated middle grade…often stand-alones again, and more contemporary in feel… are wanted.  Some lessening in YA paranormal/dystopian stories and more “fang-free fiction.”  (love that expression! contributed to John Adams, of Adams Lit.)   Lots of interest in traditional, beautifully illustrated picture books it appears. Yipee!

In PW I keep reading about the changes in patterns for the public’s way of buying and finding books. Less the library or book store help this past year, and more Amazon and from word of mouth.  However, in general, over a third of parents seem to feel their kids actually have a “stong attachment to print books.” (Feb 25th)  I do hope this is true.  We need both to balance various needs and uses.

The Common Core State Standards, which has turned more ‘non-fiction,’  is always a big influence on publishers of course as they and schools find ways to incorporate the new mandate. Should bring more work to the ‘realistic’ artists I’d think, and those who love research and history of all styles.  Writers and artists can help by offering games,  crafts and such into their sites perhaps.  Working out ways the schools can get links to their free downloads…. to take the information and interactiveness further.

I read a quote somewhere recently (I DO notice….)  but can’t place who said it….want to share as it is SO true always.  Publishers want “writing that sings – art that expands on words – stories that inform developmentally.”   THAT is the ‘common core.’

Priscilla Burris

I just had to share this information for those of you anywhere around Brooklyn NY next month.  I think this event and the BATTLE OF THE ARTISTS sounds SO fun and a great time for all. VERY clever of the bookstore…might be something to try in your area!  Sure there are LOADS of talented children’s book artists in Brooklyn which helps! (and my daughter’s family I might mention, which as NOTHING to do with this event!)

April 11, 2013

Greenlight Bookstore celebrates Children’s Book Week May 13-19

Week of school visits topped off with bookstore party with Brooklyn

authors & illustrators

Greenlight Bookstore is proud to participate in the nearly

100-year-old tradition of Children’s Book Week, May 13-19, with a

week-long celebration of the children’s authors and illustrators of

Brooklyn.  Five local elementary schools have partnered with

Greenlight to host authors presenting books to their students – one on

each day of the week – and the week will culminate with a multi-author

book party at Greenlight on May 18.

Established in 1919, Children's Book Week is the longest-running

national literacy initiative in the country. Every year, commemorative

events are held nationwide at schools, libraries, bookstores, homes —

wherever young readers and books connect.  Children's Book Week is

administered by the literacy organization Every Child A Reader, and

sponsored by The Children’s Book Council, the national nonprofit trade

association for children's book publishers.  Greenlight is

participating in Children’s Book Week for the first time this year.

“When we saw the incredible list of authors and illustrators who have

expressed willingness to participate in Children’s Book Week events in

our area, we just thought ‘We have to do something big!’” says

Greenlight Bookstore co-owner and events coordinator Jessica Stockton

Bagnulo. “There’s a tremendous amount of talent in Brooklyn, and we

got excited about bringing children’s book creators and readers

together. And this gives us a unique chance to partner with our local

schools, who bring books into students’ lives every day.”

The schools participating in Greenlight’s program of events include

both local Fort Greene schools and those in other Brooklyn

neighborhoods; some host author events regularly, while others rarely

have authors visit their students.  Greenlight worked with school

administrators to pair authors with the age groups and interests of

their students, and hopes the Children’s Book Week events will serve

as a model for bringing more authors to area schools in future.

For the Children’s Book Week Party on Saturday May 18, Greenlight will

offer 15% off on all children’s books all day long.  To highlight the

talents of multiple great children’s book illustrators, the store will

host two rounds of Artist Battles, at 11 AM and 3 PM.  Artists will

take turns creating drawings of subjects determined by the audience of

kids, showing off their different styles – the audience can pick their

favorites!  Afterward all illustrators will be available to sign books

and chat with young readers.  Greenlight will also offer bookmarks,

stickers, and other book-related giveaways to partygoers.

Participating authors include winners of the Ezra Jack Keats Award,

the New York Times Best Illustrated Award, ALA-ALSC Notables, the

Parents’ Choice Award, Newbery Honor Awards, Coretta Scott King Award

and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, as well as many New York Times

bestsellers.

Authors scheduled for school visits include Ambre Anderson

(Qualities), Michael Buckley (The Sisters Grimm, NERDS), Gilbert Ford

(12 Days of New York), Tad Hills (Duck & Goose, How Rocket Learned to

Read), Fiona Robinson (What Animals Really Like), Jacqueline Woodson

(Each Kindness), and Dan Yaccarino (Doug Unplugged).  Featured

illustrators for the bookstore party on May 18 include Selina Alko (B

is for Brooklyn), Sophie Blackall (Ivy & Bean, The Mighty Lalouche),

Melissa Guion (Baby Penguins Everywhere), Melissa Iwai (Hush, Little

Monster), Betsy Lewin (Click, Clack, Moo), George O’Connor (The

Olympians series), Sergio Ruzzier (Bear & Bee), and Paul O. Zelinsky

(Z is for Moose).

Greenlight Bookstore’s Children’s Book Week Schedule:

Monday May 13: Fiona Robinson and Jacqueline Woodson visit Arts and

Letters (Fort Greene)

Tuesday, May 14: Dan Yaccarino visits Greene Hill School (Fort Greene

/ Clinton Hill)

Wednesday, May 15: Michael Buckley and Ambre Anderson visit PS 11 /

Purvis J. Behan Elementary (Fort Greene)

Thursday, May 16: Tad Hills visits The Co-Op School’s Brevoort Place

Elementary School (Clinton Hill / Bedford Stuyvesant)

Friday, May 17: Gilbert Ford visits Leadership Prep Ocean Hill (East New York)

Saturday, May 18: Children’s Book Week party at Greenlight Bookstore!

11 AM Illustrator Art Battles:

Melissa Guion

Sergio Ruzzier

Sophie Blackall

Melissa Iwai **********husband Denis is wrote HUSH LITTLE MONSTER

3 PM Illustrator Art Battles:

Selina Alko

George O’Connor

Betsy Lewin

Paul O. Zelinsky

A book signing with all authors will follow each Battle.

For more information, contact:

Greenlight Bookstore

www.greenlightbookstore.com

Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, events coordinator / co-owner:

jessica@greenlightbookstore.com

(718) 246-0200

Children’s Book Week

www.bookweekonline.com/

Nicole Deming, communications manager:

nicole.deming@cbcbooks.org

Yesterday morning, Andrew Meyer, the operations manager for the First Book Marketplace, sent an email to the First Book staff sharing his thoughts about a young foreign service officer killed in Afghanistan while bringing books to children in need.

I was touched by Andrew’s email, and asked him if I could share it on the First Book blog.

Anne Smedinghoff (Photo from washingtonpost.com)

Many of you probably heard that six Americans were killed in a suicide attack in Afghanistan this past Saturday. It seems that we have something in common with at least one of them: Anne Smedinghoff, a 25-year-old foreign service officer from Chicago. Anne was killed while delivering textbooks to children at a school.

Certainly we’re far from the chaos of Afghanistan, but I can’t help but feel a kinship with this young woman. I know as well as anyone that this business — this business of doing good — can be extremely challenging: long hours, increasing demand, lower salaries, uncertain funding sources, etc.

But never forget that we are all doing our part to increase knowledge and level the playing field. We are contributing to a movement that will have an impact centuries from now.

I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on life since my wife’s passing back in September and I know that when my time comes I hope to be comforted by the fact that I’ve done my part to make the world just a little bit better.

The post Young Diplomat Killed While Bringing Books to Kids appeared first on First Book Blog.

The ‘CAT Artists’ are wishing you all a most springlike and sweet Easter Weekend….  ENJOY!

I’ve noticed that FUN is contagious!  One of my artists is a real wiz at doing constant and adorable ‘little ditties’…. little “moments” in a single image that tell a bigger story.  She can not stop herself…they jump out of her head at any time, and require her to draw them.  Or so she tells me!

Well I wish all of my artists did this…and it’s a wonderful promotional idea for all artists, thus my sharing this phenomena.  In fact, I was prompted because she has been offered a couple of book jobs lately (and other publishing interest as well) due to one or more of these ‘little ditties.’  And that pleases us no end!  The artist is Priscilla Burris and many of you know her…. if not through SCBWI, then through her blog and well, her ‘ditties!’  And yes, she is just like her loveable characters.  Priscilla hasn’t always done this, but in recent times she has been taken over it would seem….and it’s a good thing!  Think about it all…. let those characters and their stories OUT!  it’s spring…let them bloom.

Here’s some info about the Teen Author Boot Camp.  Shannon Hale will be delivering the keynote address! If you are interested in attending virtually, I have one registration to giveaway, so please fill out the Rafflecopter to enter!

Guest Post by Margie Jordan and Teen Author Boot Camp Info

There is a famous line from a movie that says, “I was always a band geek. I just never joined the band.” I could relate. When I was in high school I was a president of the dance team, a singer in the choir, a hang-out-with-my-boyfriend-until-mom-and-dad-forced-me-home kind of person. But in my heart, I was a writer. This is why I tell people all the time, “I was always a writer. I just always hated English.”

Because I was a closet writer, I didn’t have anyone to bounce ideas off of, no one to tell me when I stank, no one to teach me how to craft a really great story. My teachers were the millions of books I read (not in a closet—but hidden away when my friends were around). And I WISHED I could have had someone to talk to about my hidden obsession.

If this sounds like you…. Then I’m happy to say there is a solution.

The Teen Author Boot Camp, founded by the Utah-based group Writers Cubed and sponsored by Utah Valley University is one of only a few writing conferences nationwide geared solely for teenagers who have a love for the written word. For the first time ever, Writers Cubed is offering the conference to anyone who wants to attend through Live Stream.

Interested? Here are the deets!

When: Saturday, March 16, 2013

From: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (MST)

Where: Worldwide via the internet

Who: Teens, teachers, librarians, book lovers

Cost: $4.99 for the Live Broadcast; $9.99 for the All Pass

The keynote address by Newbery Winning Author Shannon Hale will be free for anyone to watch. It will be on March, 16th, 2013 at 9 a.m. MST. A subscription to the Live Broadcast costs $4.99 and includes the following:

9 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.—Writers Cubed: Welcome

9:15 a.m. to 9:55 a.m.—Keynote by Newbery Award winner Shannon Hale (Princess Academy)

10 a.m to 10:45 a.m.—Tyler Whitesides (Janitors) Class: Imagine and Create.

10:55 a.m. to 11:40 a.m.—Janette Rallison (My Fair Godmother) Class: Bad dialogue can kill a story.

12:50 a.m. to 1:35 p.m.—NYT bestseller Kiersten White (Paranormalcy) Class: Plot Like a Villain.

1:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.—J. Scott Savage (Farworld) Class: Finding Your Voice.

2:50 p.m. to 3:25 p.m.—Journey to Publication Panel: Agent Amy Jameson & authors Chad Morris, Tess Hilmo, J. Scott Savage, Cindy Bennett

3:35 p.m. to 4:20 p.m.—NYT bestseller Aprilynne Pike (Wings) Class: World-building is the invisible foundation to your book.

4:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.—Writers Cubed: Winner of the First Chapter Contest and closing remarks.

If you just can’t get enough of TABC, there is also an All Pass Subscription to the rest of the conference (including more than fifteen awesome presentations, including mine–haha). That only costs $9.99 and, as if it wasn’t a sweet enough deal already, you can watch the whole conference whenever you want for an entire year.

To register to watch Shannon Hale’s Keynote for free, visit www.teenauthorbootcamp.com and click on Livestream. It only takes a minute. While you’re there, check out the other presenters who will be teaching at the conference under the tab “Drill Sergeants.”

Stay tuned for details on how to win a subscription to the TABC Live Broadcast for FREE on this blog

Margie Jordan is a co-founder of Writers Cubed, a group of Utah writing activists who createdthe Teen Author Boot Camp in 2010. In her spare time, like when she isn’t writing, she is a Literacy specialist for her local school district. Please visit her website at www.writerscubed.com.

Giveaway!!!

Enter below for a chance to win a free subscription to the TABC Live Broadcast. (Value $4.99)  If you win, you can also upgrade to the All-Pass subscription, and  you will receive a $5 off coupon!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Yesterday, I saw a link to an article (source: Dear Author) that really got me thinking.  Brenna Clarke Gray, a teacher, wrote an article for Huffington Post calling for readers to stop apologizing for reading what they like. I love what she has to say on the matter:

You should not apologize for what you like to read. The person you are apologizing to can only fit into one of three categories:

1. He or she shares your joy.
2. He or she doesn’t give a good goddamn.
3. He or she thinks less of you for what you read in which case don’t apologize to that person because he or she is clearly a douchebag who doesn’t deserve your obeisance.

Number 1 requires no apology. Number 2 requires no apology. Number 3 neither requires nor deserves! an apology.

So what, then, do you do when someone you respect or even admire, mocks your choice of reading material?  The first time I really felt bad about what I read was in my 9th grade lit class.  We had a list of required reading for the semester, and in addition, we were to read additional books of our choice.  See that last bit?  Of our choice. At that time, I devoured Harlequins, fantasy, and sci-fi.  That’s it.  That’s pretty much all I read.  Back then, I read even more voraciously than I do now. I didn’t have a 60+ hour a week job, no puppies, no ponies, no responsibilities.  I lived for my mid-week trip to the local bookstores with my mom, where I would snap up the latest releases from my favorite authors.  I was looking forward to that class, because I loved to read, and I figured it would be an easy A.

Imagine my surprise when the teacher showed distain for my book selections.  She wrote condescending little notes at the top of my papers that I shouldn’t waste my time reading such tripe.  I was embarrassed.  Then I was pissed.  I read more books than 99% of the population, and this lady was going to make fun of what I read? I am a person who tries to avoid confrontations, and back when I was younger, I was so shy that I rarely spoke in class.  So after stewing about those nasty notes, I decided to alter my choice of reading material.  Good-bye, tame Harlequins, I would not be reading you for this class.  Hello, John Norman, you naughty creator of GOR.  You , I will read.  And Sharon Green?  Hello, Terrilian series and Jalav, Amazon Warrior series.  Yes, I will read you, too, because I know that the teacher will hate you all. (She did, but I still got an A)

I was fortunate that my mom encouraged my reading, and she didn’t really care what I read.  This made it even more puzzling that a stranger would feel the need to show disapproval of what I read.  I thought that the goal of the class was to encourage reading.  My bad.

Today, I don’t care what people think of my choice of books.  If they think that I am wasting my time reading about zombies or unicorns or fluffy pink bunnies, whatever.  Those are not the people I choose to spend my time or energy on.  I continually strive to make new connections with people who enjoy reading, without passing judgment, and those are the people I will try to form friendships with.

Has anybody ever made fun of what you read?  What did you do about it?

It’s impossible to choose a favorite thing in Jerusalem is so far, but right now I believe it may be the Bulgarian feta with hyssop and sun-dried tomatoes.

The skies at dusk are also spectacular — eerily Biblical, which I guess makes sense. The night before last, Max and I stood looking out at the Wailing Wall as the sun set. Above us roiling tufts of gray clouds swept over a pale but insistently glowing blue canvas. We had just come from the chaos of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where priests of various sects tried to pray more loudly than priests of other sects, pilgrims and holy persons kissed Christ’s grave and pressed foreheads, scarves, and full water bottles against it, and groups of tourists, including a lot of American Methodists from Alabama, milled around.

I’m here for the book fair, where Mark Sarvas, Boaz Cohen, and Naomi Alderman and I spoke yesterday about books, the Internet, and writing and creating art from a place of passion and authenticity.

Mark and I don’t see each other nearly often enough these days, and it’s been wonderful to roam the city and catch up. Boaz is smart and charming; it’s easy to see why his radio show and his blog are beloved here. And I adored Naomi, whose first novel, Disobedience, I praised on this site years ago and whose game-writing I’ve always wanted to know more about. She and I nerdily compared iPad apps and promised to meet up in New York to talk about being ex-

Max and I spent Monday in the Old City, which is so mind-blowing I’ve barely had time to start processing it, and had drinks dinner that night at Mona (yum) with the writer Menachem Kaiser, Israel Museum Director James Snyder, and some other fine people. Yesterday was all about book fair stuff, concluding with drinks at the National Library, and then Max, Mark, and I slipped off to dinner at Eucalyptus.

This morning Max and I head to Bethlehem for a few hours, and then we’ll meet up with Mark at Yad Vashem. Tomorrow we head to the Israel Museum for the new Herod exhibition, and then to the Mount of Olives and Garden of Gethsemane. Early Friday morning — a little after midnight — we head home. So far, thanks to jetlag, I’m averaging three-and-a-half hours’ sleep a night. But with so little time and so much to see, I doubt I’ll get a nap in.

GalleyCat referenced an interesting post by Arthur McMahon in which he expresses a bit of amazement at the fact that “Completing a novel didn’t change my perception of life like I expected it to.”

Some commenters at GalleyCat claimed they didn’t expect completing a novel would have any change, they write for themselves, not riches or fans or feedback, and all that.

But I totally understand what McMahon is getting at.

In his full post, available here, he writes that it’s a long-haul proposition. The completion of the first book is but a step towards the next one. And so forth.

It’s worth checking out and then examining your own opinions… Do you think that completing a book will change your life?

OH the question!  and topic of the panel I was part of at the Winter SCBWI Art Intensive on Feb. 1.  David Diaz moderated Jan Constantine, Author’s Guild, Brenda Bowen, now Lit (and art) rep at Sanford Greenburger Associates and myself in a series of questions about the reality of the biz we all love.  Of course being PART of the panel….I have no memory of what we actually said!!!!…so maybe you all who were there can write crits about us in ‘comments!’  LOL.

“Though a living cannot be made at art, art makes life worth living…. it brings LIFE to life.”  this is a quote from fine artist and illustrator John Sloan that I used in the panel.  He was actually talking about FINE ART here as he DID make most of his living with illustration, and so can you…it IS commercial.  But as we talked about it is quite hard in the children’s publishing market itself.  Possible…but hard, even when you are repped.  The assignments come oddly timed…one year you are turning down work, and the next twiddling your thumbs! (hopefully actually practicing practicing and growing.)  One really must diversify into various areas of the arts, and maybe have a ‘day job.’  Try to find one that is involved with art of course so it FEEDS you.  But financial insecurity can work actively against the ‘expression’ and good choices you DO need to make to make a career in this industry, like most industries!  It IS a business was an all over theme.

A couple of points that were mentioned was about Your First Impression… you only get one of those with publishers.  It’s a small market – long memories.  Another was that too high advances CAN actually hurt your career if the sales records aren’t good for the books…. not earning out.  Do consider this when negotiating.  Ask questions when reading contracts! Team playing is ever so important if you want to be part of an agency…what YOU do professionally does reflect on every other artist/writer in the group! Staying Fresh and updated with your samples is very important…work to make new and promote them often to AD’s and editors. Consistency of style is also VERY important. Be Brutally Honest with yourself when considering giving up your day job…have a five-year business plan of action.

I do hope we get some ‘comments’ as I’m curious about what ‘spoke’ to you all there too!  REMINDER:  order your THE BOOK from SCBWI….the guide to it ALL!  and I wrote/revised the Artist Guide part of it again.  Hope you find it helpful!

this visual of the ‘rep me’ is from my son and artist Jeremy Tugeau, and husband to rep Nicole Tugeau of Tugeau2….check her agency out as well!

A reader passed along this Tumblr account, dedicated to Lousy Book Covers. Now, obviously, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that, so yeah, maybe this one shouldn’t be included or that one isn’t that bad or whatever. But it’s at least a pretty humorous gaze through the results of ten minutes with Photoshop.

Also, while enjoying this one, I stumbled across a blog dedicated to Bad Book Covers.

Like record covers, some of these are so bad as to be almost cool.

Happily going over some notes I made while listening to the speakers at the conference… and want to share.  Didn’t make every speaker of course, but I’ll try to hit the ideas and quotes that spoke to me and I hope will speak to you! Highlights….

I’ll start with the most WONDERFUL opening talk from artist SHAUN TAN. at 8:35 Friday morning of the Artist Intensive.  What a way to wake up….truly the ‘WAY TUGEAU!”  It was about “Developing a Personal Style.”  His overall point was that your personal style needs to be free and encouraged to just ‘emerge.’  He talked about how drawing and painting at a very young gave him his ‘source of power,’  and how it was wonderful to work and not worry about how it was ‘received.’  He reminded all that ART is a distortion of reality…it’s NOT literal but more theatrical and manipulated.  How you do this grows into your style. It’s often good to let the viewer SEE this manipulation…be aware of the painting. The Deep Style that is or will become you is not so much how you draw or paint, but how you THINK.  That approach will change as the story and image changes, and your personal style can be ‘found’ at the intersection of where all the work meets.  (love that!)

You don’t choose a personality for yourself or a style really.  They evolve and happen from the interests of the day-to-day realities.  One way to teach yourself to know and appreciate others styles however is the age-old practice of copying master artists to LEARN from the effort…HOW and WHY it was done a certain way.  He likes to divide work into two parts…the ‘public’, known part, and the ‘private’ exploring, developing part.  Good to “think of yourself as a train station that ideas pass through.” (!)  Allow the dream to ‘bubble up’. The deep style just comes… it’s a conversation with yourself. “Swing with the current.”  Style often turns out to be ”what you do in an emergency” which he quoted from someone else…and isn’t that a truth!

Well that’s a touch of one talk I just HAD to share…wonderful.  Check out Shaun Tan’s work up…interesting talent and personality.

More tomorrow from others there at the WINTER SCBWI CONFERENCE 2013!

I am most honored to be part of the Friday Feb. 1st Artist Intensive for the SCBWI Winter Conference (Grand Hyatt 42nd) this coming weekend!  Our panel discussion is “WHEN DO I QUITE MY DAY JOB?” and I’m looking forward to the subject and opportunity to share the basics (and not so basic) to the business of being an Illustrator.  Brenda Bowen (editor, now Lit Agent, and writer) and Jan Constantine (general counsel for The Authors Guild) and I (20 year artist agent) will be moderated by David Diaz.

The SCBWI conferences are always so very inspirational and done so professionally and with such care for the market and those who participate in it, that it’s always a joy to be part of and/or attend.  I’ll also be one of the judges for the Art Show which is a wonderful part of these events.  Sat. and Sun are full of other talks and sessions for writers and illustrators (or both) and an almost overwhelming opportunity to get an ‘insiders’ look at the children’s book industry. And you meet and chat with so many interesting people!

If you are planning to be there, please make yourself known to me.  And if not this year, do try to attend in LA,CA (Aug.) or NYC (Feb) at some point…invaluable!  See you there!

(“CAT”artist Melissa Iwai’s got the right idea about books!)

We at the Café will spend the first day of the New Year chasing after naughty puppies, reading, feasting at the local Indian buffet, and counting our blessings.  I have much to be thankful for, including wonderful friends, a loving family, and all of my crazy critters.  I also wanted to thank everyone who drops by to read my posts.  Thank you and have a wonderful NEW YEAR!

from CAT artist Priscilla Burris with one of her so special visual moments……  we all wish you all many of these enjoyable, loveable, shared, cozy moments in your future!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL !

I’m not Mormon, but this video speaks to me.

Please open your heart to Christ – you won’t be disappointed.

Merry CHRISTmas everyone.

May God bless you and your family.

May your day be filled with joy and the comfort of family and friends.  I hope your morning is as joyful as mine.  Merry Christmas!!

How is your gift wrapping going?

As the  year winds down, and I look back at the incredible journey my writing has taken me on, I’ve taken time out to ponder some topics that have crossed my mind during 2012, as well as address some of my fears in regards to my writing. When I was first getting started back in [...]

There will be no visuals with today’s post.  There can be none that wouldn’t further break our collective hearts.  I brought my three children up in Ridgefield CT for 30 years…just a short drive from Newtown.  I know people there effected by this horror I’m sure, and I hope they know my pain and hope is with them.

We are lovers of children’s stories and books, and much of that involvement comes from a love for innocent, learning, growing children and their promised hope for the future.  It’s inconceivable that any evil comes to sweet children anywhere, but of course it does too often.  This was just an extreme event of random evil that just can’t be truly taken in.  My family just celebrated the birth of a new granddaughter, our 7th grand child in fact.  We were, and are still, feeling very very blessed at this blessed time of year.  Suddenly we also feel betrayed and helpless.  What can we really do to protect anyone…even ourselves.  Life doesn’t always make sense.  It’s not always joy and blessings or even quiet unmemorable moments!  How to grasp that and move on into life, but we do, and must.  This holiday season is a time of sincerely warm spirit and deep emotion…. and we need to still allow that story into our hearts, as this other horrific story has forced its way in.  We need to hold onto the story of  love, sharing, caregiving of family and the future’s hope for all. Particularly for those devastated families in Newtown. We need to hold onto our loved ones and feel the blessings of their being.  Just their being here with us.

Now, when they put this ornament on their trees every year, they can stop to think, “Let’s see. I got this ornament from some girl I used to work with. What was her name again?”

I’m all about making memories, ya’ll. HA!

At the beginning of November, I received an email from Firmoo, offering me a pair of glasses to review.  I was skeptical when I read the email; how could a pair of glasses priced under a hundred bucks be a quality pair of eyewear?  I have horrible vision; I am nearsighted, and my lenses resemble coke bottles.  The last pair that I purchased set me back several hundred dollars, most of that due to the cost of the lenses.  I wanted them ultra thin and ultra light.  While they were very expensive, I have enjoyed my old glasses for years, but it was time for another pair because my vision had changed, so the Firmoo email couldn’t have come at a better time.

Ordering the glasses was a breeze, and the only setback was trying to figure out my pupillary distance.  Dean and I kept missing each other because of our heavy work schedules, so I didn’t have anyone to help me measure the distance.  Finally the stars lined up and we were both home the same weekend!  After sending off my order form, I just had to wait for my new eyewear to be delivered.  But of course life got in the way of writing this review; we went on Thanksgiving vacation to Disney, we both were extremely ill when we got home, and I had so much to catch up on at work!  Then the puppies moved in, and finding a moment to do anything became a chore, but finally! here we are!

This is the pair that I choose – http://www.firmoo.com/eyeglasses-p-1955.html

I picked the purple pair, but I think it is sold out because I don’t see them on the page anymore.

When I received the glasses, I found that all of my fears were unfounded.  This is a nice pair of glasses!  The lenses are thin and light, and now that I have the correct prescription, I can see so much better!  I like that Firmoo included a cleaning cloth and a set of extra screws and nose pads, as well as a tiny screw driver.  The glasses were shipped in a sturdy hard case, so they arrived damage free.

Are you a little leery about purchasing a pair of glasses online? Don’t be! Firmoo has interactive tools to help you discover the perfect pair.  You can even upload your picture and try the frames on your virtual self.  Customer Satisfaction  is their goal, so if you have any problems with your order, just contact their customer service department and they will do their best to make things right for you.

Firmoo has a First Pair Free program.  You can receive a free pair of glasses!  All you pay is the shipping.  Here’s what they have to say about their First Pair Free program:

The old opinion that glasses are only necessities for people with vision problems has already gone. Glasses are increasingly becoming a fad and must-have accessories for celebs and fashionistas. Everyday we can spot millions of non prescription glasses wearers and we are constantly fascinated by many noted film stars’ signature non prescription glasses.They instantly upgrade your look of modern,sexy, vintage or geek by wearing different styles of frames.

Any hot glasses/sunglasses /goggles frames you want can be found on Firmoo, and all are available for both prescription lenses and non-prescription lenses. Are you desperate to have a new look? Now here is the chance, Firmoo has launched a First Pair Free Program to people worldwide. You will absolutely fall in love with the excellent quality, affordable prices, fashionable designs, fast delivery and the good service after trying them with paying shipping only! You even can get a refund/exchange if you are not satisfied with them. It’s totally Risk free, so why not have a try?

Click here (http://www.firmoo.com/free-glasses.html) to get your free glasses now!

I like my glasses so much that I am planning on purchasing another pair!

About Firmoo.co.

Firmoo (www.firmoo.com)is the most popular online eyeglasses store worldwide. Years of expertise in optical industry enable firmoo.com to offer varieties of prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses in a frugal way and to be the ultimate fashion events guide. We have always been committed ourselves to offering customers the best quality products at the most affordable prices, 85% – 90% lower than that in the brick-and-mortar optical stores. Moreover, all our glasses are free for first-time customers  (http://www.firmoo.com/free-glasses.html).Since the establishment of our company, we have served over 300,000+ customers and now we also have 500,000+ fans on facebook(http://www.facebook.com/FirmooGlasses), and have cooperated successfully with 10,000+ bloggers from all over the world.

No matter what the year seems to bring to us all, this time of year will bring LIGHT and HOPE and JOY to grab.  Thank your ‘higher power’ and rejoice!