These won’t be my most beautiful pics, because they were taken from the plane and also because I’m jetlagged and frankly not putting my all into this post :o) — but here are some scenes from the last 2 days’ journey home. In reverse order, because I definitely don’t want to end with the cloudy,… Read more »
amsterdam
Street Art in Amsterdam
Rebecca Stead texted me this picture she took near a canal somewhere-or-other in Amsterdam (I have explained before about the sense of direction we both share) with the comment that it immediately struck her as a topless Graceling cover. Publishers: get on it.
Just a Few Amsterdam Scenes
Having trouble with your boat? No. No problem. Why? In Postcards from No Man’s Land,Aidan Chambers describes the buildings ofAmsterdam as looking like books on a bookshelf.Now I always see them that way. Reason #1 of 2 for spending some of myprecious free time in the Rijksmuseum: detail of The Love Letter, by Johannes Vermeer. #2 of… Read more »
A Traditional Dutch Dinner
My Dutch publisher took me to a traditional Dutch restaurant, and all they gave me was this stick to chew on. Just kidding :). There was a lot of food, and it was delicious. (Though you may find this post gross if you’re a vegetarian.) Bread with butter and a lard type spread that was… Read more »
Madrid Miscellany
¡Hola amigos! Here’s something I saw written on a wall inside a building today in Madrid: I have sometimes dreamt that when the Day of Judgement dawns and the great conquerors and lawyers and statesmen come to receive their rewards — their crowns, their laurels, their names carved indelibly upon imperishable marble — the Almighty… Read more »
Paris Fo Shizzle
Fire cover for the French YA edition, published by Hachette Jeunesse (click to enbiggen) ———–> Hi everyone! It’s my third country in a week and my third language adjustment. Luckily, I never managed to learn much Dutch, so my Dutch is not interfering with my mangled attempts at French the way my Italian is. Do… Read more »
Location: Amsterdam, Where Fire Is Called “Vlam”
My character Fire’s name seems to have created a challenge for almost all of my translations so far — for a bunch of reasons, but most often because the direct translation of the word “fire” tends to be masculine. The Italian word for “fire” is the masculine “fuoco.” The Italians kept Fire’s name as Fire… Read more »
