Cocktail Party – Author! Author!
Friday night, I went to the Author! Author! party with Carla McClafferty, my author friend. We chatted with local radio celebrity, Ann Nichols, host of KUAR’s Art Scene show.
Arkansas author, Carla McClafferty, and KUAR radio “Art Scene” host, Ann Nichols.
Of course, they had good food.
Author! Author! Cocktail party at the AR Literary Festival.
Arkansas author Erica Taylor was accompanied to the party by her husband, Middleweight boxer Jermain Taylor. Here’s his plate.
Middleweight boxer Jermain Taylor’s plate at the Author! Author! Cocktail party, AR Literary Festival.
If you read my first blog post about the Arkansas Literary Festival, you know that I featured 71-year old Catherine Coutler’s legs. Here, I am confessing that I wrote about her; Carla, Catherine and I also tried to outdo each other by telling horror stories about author visits.
Arkansas author, Darcy Patti son talking with Catherine Coulter.
Catherine also talked about the process of working with co-writer J.T. Ellison on her new Brit in the FBI series. Like James Patterson and Clive Cussler, Catherine is looking to establish several ongoing series by using cowriters. She said that she firmly believes in paying a co-writer well; of course, being an instant NY Times bestseller is also an incentive for a co-writer. Catherine is usually a panster, writing with no outline. For this series, though, she and J.T. sat down and planned out the next 90 or so scenes and the story has pretty much stayed on track. It is possible to learn a new writing strategy, even after 70 books.
Would you be interested in co-writing with a NY Time best-selling author? Why or why not?
Speed Dating for Authors
For me, the second day of the Arkansas Literary Festival kicked off on Saturday with a Treasure Hunt at the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library, a gorgeous new facility dedicated to children’s literature and children.
We describe the Treasure Hunt as “speed-dating for authors.” Kids go from station to station, looking for clues, and of course, there is a treasure (snack and small gift) at the end. In the past, the speed dating has had ten minutes at each station, and then a bell rings to move kids to the next station. This time, kids were just set free to complete the treasure hunt at his/her own speed.
For authors, this didn’t work well and I hope we’ll go back to ten minute sessions next year. For example, one boy who was the right age for my ABAYOMI book breezed through, totally focused on gathering clues and getting the prize at the end. He was probably the first to finish in record time–but he saw none of the books and talked to no authors. If the setup had allowed ten minutes per station, he might have been pulled into a couple of great books that were unfamiliar to him.
Still–it was a great morning with kids, and I was so busy, I took no pictures.
Short Stories
I wanted to attend at least one session on Saturday and chose to go see David Jauss, author and writing teacher. He teaches at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Vermont College and is the author of one of the most amazing books on how-to-write: On Writing Fiction: Rethinking Conventional Wisdom About the Craft. His essay on point-of-view is unconventional, but brilliant. I used his ideas as the basis of a 3-post discussion of POV in The One and Only Ivan, winner of the 2013 Newbery. I had never met Jauss and wanted to hear him.
Jauss and author Cary Holladay were talking about short stories and both read interesting selections. Then, the moderator asked, “How do you know when a story is done?”
For Holladay, she intuitively knows when a story is done, because it wraps up something and just feels done. Jauss posed an interesting question. At first, he quipped, “A story is done when you die.”
But he went on to point out that some writers feel a published story should be archived at the moment of publication as an expression of where the writer was at that point of his/her career. However, Jauss feels its his duty to improve his stories each time it may be published. One short story has seen print about seven times in various journals or anthologies and each time, he tweaks it.
Where do you stand? After a story is published, would you tweak it again when it is republished?
Arkansas Author, David Jauss talking about his story story collection, Glossolalia
Abayomi, the Brazilian Puma
For my author session about ABAYOMI, THE BRAZILIAN PUMA: The True Story of an Orphaned Cub, I was at the Witt Stephens Nature Center. Situated right on the Arkansas River, just a block east of the Main Library for the Central Arkansas Library System and a block west of the Clinton Presidential Library, it’s a jewel of a place that is dedicated to the wildlife in the state.
Arkansas author, Darcy Pattison discussing her new book, Abayomi, the Brazilian Puma.
My last session was about self-publishing. As a hybrid author, I now have lots of sources and information for those just starting the indie process. Here’s my handout for the session. IndiePublishing-2014LitFestival.
I saw a tiny slice of the festival this year, which featured over 85 authors. Still, it was an intensive and fun two days and i am already looking forward to next year’s festival.
This weekend is the Arkansas Literary Festival, and I’m busy and having a blast.
The day started at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion, where First Lady Ginger Beebe hosted Literacy on the Lawn for the sixth year in a row. Mrs. Beebe extends invitations to schools in the state to bring classes to the Mansion for Arkansas authors to read to them. After a Mansion session, they go to the Clinton Presidential Library across town; this year, they met with the amazing Kadir Nelson for a session about his books. That’s the bare facts. Here’s the behind the scenes story.
The Arkansas Literacy Festival Started for Me with the Literacy on the Lawn at the Governor’s Mansion
When I arrived at the Governor’s Mansion, I was met by Mrs. Beebe. Because of laws limiting a governor’s term to eight years, this is the last year for Mrs. Beebe to host the Literacy on the Lawn and there was a touch of sadness, and perhaps, she was more relaxed this year, too. Wearing a bright pink dress and white blouse, she chatted about past years. After a cup of coffee, she directed me to my station. I was to expect two classes of third-graders about 30 minutes apart.
A first-time author wondered if these were souvenir cups that we could take home. No. They were just here for early morning refreshments to get the day started right.
Meeting Erica Taylor
Erica Taylor, Arkansas author, who read her books at the Literacy on the Lawn.
Before the kids arrived, I chatted with another presenter, Erica Taylor, Arkansas author of
Figler: My Imaginary Friend. Erica was cheerful and we chatted about books and life. She played college basketball for Louisiana Tech University and was drafted for the WNBA by the Washington Mystics (she’s the tall one in the photo!). She told about trying out for the Olympic team at the age of 16 and not making it; however, at the trials, she met her future husband, Jermain Taylor, who became in 2005, the Undisputed Middleweight Boxing Champion. Mother of three, Erica now writes and is a dance mom, shepherding her daughter through many dance competitions.
Reading to Kids: I Always Learn Something New from my Readers
The sessions with kids went well. Students from Lynch Drive Elementary School in the North Little Rock School District were attentive and asked great questions about Laysan albatrosses and Brazilian pumas. For me, the most interesting thing was that third graders didn’t seem to understand how the world of nature is interconnected, in other words, what an ecosystem truly is. We talked about why we might want to save the orphaned puma and many were surprised that scientists wanted to return it to the wild, where it might potentially harm someone.
In Brazil, I explained that ticks carry Brazilian spotted fever, a lethal disease similar to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and which is on the increase nationwide. The host for the ticks are capybaras, the largest rodent in the world. The predator for capybaras is the puma (also known as cougar, Florida panther, mountain lion, etc.). By encouraging puma populations, you defeat the Brazilian spotted fever. These connections were difficult for the kids to understand. Perhaps this means I need to write a book explaining ecosystems?
Learning to Revise a Sex Scene
California author, Catherine Coulter teaching us how to write better sex scenes.
I had a two hour break and had planned to actually attend a session at the Literary Festival. I chose Catherine Coulter’s “Kill ‘em Clean” session because she was talking about writing and I thought it could be interesting. In honor of this decision, I am listening to the Audible version of
The Final Cut (A Brit in the FBI), which is co-written with J.T. Ellison. At
71 years old, Catherine was a knockout, wearing high heels and wearing an ankle bracelet. Her session was a knock-out, too, because it’s the first time I’ve ever had a teacher read an awful love scene and then talk the participants through a revision of the love scene. Yes, I learned how to revise a sex scene. But I have no clue when I will use this new-found skill!
At 71 years old, Catherine Coulter still wears a knee-length skirt, high heels, and an ankle bracelet for her presentation. Wow!
Of course, Catherine covered much more in her session (Read the classic
Strunk and White for a quick overview of what Catherine covered), but she will forever stand out in my mind because she’s the first writing teacher I’ve had who tackled–in public–revising a sex scene.
Luncheon at the Governor’s Mansion
I returned to the Governor’s Mansion where the festivities had died down and kids were boarding buses to return to their schools. Traditionally, Mrs. Beebe hosts a thank-you luncheon for the docents who gave tours of the Mansion to the students, and to the authors who read to the students. Kadir Nelson joined us from the Clinton Presidential Libary.
We dined on Cobb Salad.
Cobb salad with vinaigrette dressing was served for the luncheon after the Literacy on the Lawn.
Desert included an Arkansas-shaped sugar cookie and mixed berries.
Coffee and dessert on the Governor’s Mansion china: a sugar-cookie in the shape of Arkansas and mixed berries.
A Note: Why, you might ask has this post included so many pictures, especially photos of food? This week, I read a fascinating post from the Buffer App folks that summarized scientific studies of what works on Pinterest and what doesn’t. The most repinned photos were of food, especially when combined with a recipe, and of certain colors (No blues!). No recipes here, just great pics of a beautifully laid table, interesting decorations and tasty food. Notice that I snuck in some photos of my newest picture book, Abayomi, the Brazilian Puma, while I was at it. Look at the my Pinterest board on the Arkansas Literary Festival; I’ll add to it tonight after the Author! Author! cocktail party and tomorrow, after my sessions.
Mrs. Ginger Beebe, First Lady of Arkansas tells a story about bees.
During the luncheon, Mrs. Beebe told us a story of bees. It seems that the Mansion’s pergola has been invaded by a swarm of bees, which have been there a couple years. But this spring, over a two week period
three swarms of bees left the pergola to take off and find a new home. That means the bee colony was very healthy with three queen bees emerging rapidly and taking off with each swarm. They decided it was time to get the bees out of the pergola, partly because it was damaging the structure, and partly because the Mansion committee had recently installed two hives of bees on the other side of the grounds.
Animated, Mrs. Beebe told us, “The bees in the hive are Italian banded bees, but the ones in the pergola are mutt bees. Mike (the AR-governor) asked, ‘Do we have to import bees from Italy?’”
The pergola was slowly being dismantled because as each board was removed, it revealed massive honeycombs which had to be cut out and taken to the Mansion kitchen for processing. “They haven’t even found the bee colony yet,” Mrs. Beebe said.
And here we thought that the First Lady only knew about Republicans and Democrats.
Mrs. Beebe telling a story about bees.
And the somber-faced Kadir Nelson actually smiled and laughed at Mrs. Beebe’s stories!
Kadir Nelson enjoyed Mrs. Beebe’s stories about bees on the grounds of the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion. She’s a great hostess!
Instead, she painted a lively scene of grandchildren playing king and queen from the balconies, bee colonies providing entertainment, and a certain sadness as her time at the mansion comes to a close. Mrs. Beebe, we appreciate all you’ve done for literacy in the state. Thank you for hosting authors and kids and books and connecting them in such a gracious and welcoming manner.
The Festival is far from done! There’s the cocktail party tonight, where I’ll take more food pictures for the sake of Pinterest. And, three sessions tomorrow. I’ll post!
The Arkansas Literary Festival takes place in Little Rock this weekend, April 3-6. This celebration of books and authors is presented each spring in Little Rock by Arkansas Literacy Councils, Inc. Proceeds benefit adult literacy programs, and the general public is warmly invited to celebrate literacy through admission-free sessions with authors, musicians, spoken word performers, and costumed characters. Attending this year's festival is Gigi Durham, author of the forthcoming The Lolita Effect, and novelist Tito Perdue, author of Fields of Asphodel and Lee.
Today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Each year, on Rosh Hashanah mankind is judged and entered into the “book of life,” but the judgment is not final. We have ten days of atonement before Yom Kippur when the judgment is sealed. Below is a myth about atonement from The Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism by Howard Schwartz. Perhaps the example of Rabbi Abraham will inspire you. To read last year’s excerpt from The Tree of Souls click here.
A Vision at the Wailing Wall
In those days Rabbi Abraham Berukhim was known for performing the Midnight Vigil. He rose every night at midnight and walked through the streets of Safed, crying out, “Arise, for the Shekhinah is in exile, and our holy house is devoured by fire, and Israel faces great danger.” He longed, more than anything else, to bring the Shekhinah out of exile.
Now Rabbi Abraham was a follower of Rabbi Isaac Luria, known as the Ari. The Ari had great mystical powers. By looking at a man’s forehead he could read the history of his soul. He could overhear the angels and he knew the language of the birds. He could point out a stone in a wall and reveal whose soul was trapped in it. So too was he able to divine the future, and he always knew from the first day of Rosh ha-Shanah who among his disciples was destined to live or die. This knowledge he rarely disclosed, but once, when he learned there was a way to avert the decree, he made an exception. Summoning Rabbi Abraham Berukhim, he said: “Know, Rabbi Abraham, that a heavenly voice has gone forth to announce that this will be your last year among us—unless you do what is necessary to change the decree.” (more…)
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