Before I get to the pictures, just wanted to announce a couple pieces of lovely news. (1) Bitterblue is a #1 bestseller in Sweden. A big thank you to my wonderful Swedish readers, and also to the folks at my Swedish publisher, Semic, who’ve put so much talent and effort into the book! As my… Read more »
awards
I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got
Every New Year, I try to post something about my resolutions. Realistic resolutions designed to bring me peace and keep me centered; never resolutions that are self-limiting or self-punishing. This year, I resolve to continue on my current path of trying to walk through life with my eyes, mind, heart, and arms open. Or, as… Read more »
Just Sharing Some Beauty Via Edna St. Vincent Millay
Bitterblue is one of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2012. I am overwhelmed with blessings. So, yesterday, while I was doing some financial organizing, I stumbled across two poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Possibly this highlights the key problem I have with my financial organizing, but anyway :). I just had to share them…. Read more »
Pictures of a Book Being Made
To make up for my recent lack of posting — and to celebrate Bitterblue being named a New York Times Book Review Notable Children’s Book of 2012 — this post will be about something :). Disclaimer: All the photos in this post are of my own work and are owned by me. If you use… Read more »
Links for a Sunday
As we move nervously toward election Tuesday, I’ve got no juice for the post I would like to write. Chances are, a lot of you have no juice to read it, so maybe it’s for the best. Here’s what I do have: a beautiful photo of the recent Hunter’s Moon rising above the Alps. And,… Read more »
A Tale of Border-Crossing Mail
Over the weekend I visited the NAIBA conference in Arlington, VA, to accept an award for Bitterblue along with Ian Schoenherr. Ian is the fellow responsible for the beautiful illustrations and decorations in Bitterblue: the chapter and part openings, the title page, the endpapers, the maps, the bridges, etc. Ian and I had some trouble… Read more »
More Randutiae (Extra-Random Edition)
I’m proud to report that Bitterblue is a New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Book of the Year, along with Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (for fiction), Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo (for nonfiction), I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes and illustrated by Bryan… Read more »
O HAI
Hi everyone. I still exist. Apparently I am taking a small blog break! I didn’t see it coming or I would’ve announced it. But I’ve been doing some more travel, I’ve been having work meetings, I’ve been recuperating, I’ve been working on various categories of things, and somehow haven’t been feeling bloggy. I think a… Read more »
Randutiae and Housekeeping for a Thursday
A few people have asked me for my reaction to the Wall Street Journal article by Meghan Cox Gurdon called “Darkness Too Visible.” (Here’s the subhead: “Contemporary fiction for teens is rife with explicit abuse, violence and depravity. Why is this considered a good idea?”) So, here’s my reaction: Seriously? That old complaint again? I… Read more »
In Which I Can’t Even Come up with a Subject Line
I’m a tad bit disappointed with my new outside stick-on-the-window thermometer. Its little suction cups work excellently and it has a cute picture of a bird on a thistle, but it’s been telling me all weekend that the outside temperature is 122°F (50°C). This is not helpful. I had a big, ambitious post planned for… Read more »
