A Pivotal Summer

The spring ended with news of a Horn Book Honor award for Dreaming Up, my daughter turning eighteen and graduating from high school—so much to celebrate!

In June I traveled to Chicago for ALA. I signed books for both Readers to Eaters and Lee & Low and got a little face time with Spud John and Spud Stephanie as well as many colleagues from my in-house publishing days. I design books for NorthSouth and got the opportunity to meet the publisher and other staff who were attending ALA from Switzerland. What did they want to do in Chicago? Listen to jazz! It was fun go out to the Green Mill.

Another highlight of the summer was going to Outside Lands, an annual three-day music festival in Golden Gate Park. My husband and I found tickets for Friday-only so we could see Paul McCartney. There were thousands of people in attendance. Look how close I am to my favorite Beatle! He sang many hit Beatle tunes and EVERYONE sang along. Each song transported me to a different moment in my history.

I had a hard time focusing on my creative work this summer, or perhaps I should say my focus was almost completely on my best work ever—my daughter! I sewed, shopped, organized, and packed, while privately shedding many tears. I am such an anticipator, the upside of which is that when we finally said goodbye in Pittsburgh at Carnegie Mellon, a good amount of grieving was behind me. I am ready to fill my newly emptied nest with creative projects.

A Summer for the Books...

This summer was so busy for me, I don't know where to start. So I'll start with Chicago and ALA. This was only the second time a publisher has taken me to ALA ( the first was also in Chicago, but back in 1999) and I had such a fabulous time. I got to attend the YA Coffee Klatch where I speed dated with librarians, and then I headed over to where Christy Hale was signing books and also got to see John Coy. Here's the photographic proof of three potatoes in one spot at the same time:

Then I had to head over to the Macmillan Kids booth where I signed galleys of The Fallout for over an hour. ( The line was sooo long, which made me very happy.)

 Then I headed to Anderson's in Naperville where I was on a panel with Sara Zarr, Matthew Quick, and Marcus Sedgwick, among others, before heading to a dinner with a lot of fabulous librarians and other Macmillan authors like Francesca Lia Block, who is one of my YA heroes. A couple weeks later, I headed to Irving , Texas for a couple of library events. Texas librarians are the best and even had some awesome book refreshments:

 

 

Those were the fun things of the summer, because we also moved from Oregon to Minnesota. We had to take both cars, which meant I had to drive the entire way, although my husband was kind and took our yowling cat in his vehicle. I'm looking forward to hearing about all the others Spuds' summers...

Minnesota!

;
I am currently in the Twin Cities while my husband is on a job detail, and I have attended more cool book related things n the last couple of weeks than I have in the past few years. Last night at the Red Balloon in St. Paul, there was a signing event for Invisibility by David Levithan and Andrea Cremer. John was there as well, so we had two Spuds representing.
And then a couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be around for David's launch party for How Martha Saved her Family from Green Beans. (Such a fun read!)
I'm thrilled to be moving back to the area in August so that I can continue to be involved in such an exciting place for children's books.

A Spud Celebration

Copies of the new edition of TWO OLD POTATOES AND ME are now available and to celebrate Norton Stillman, the publisher of Nodin Press, and John Toren, the designer, and I went out for a celebratory lunch. That's Norton, who has been in the book business for fifty years, holding a copy of the book and John and me holding potatoes.

We were even able to include illustrator Carolyn Fisher's wonderful Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head portraits of me and her on the back cover of this edition.

Even though we have another snow storm on the way, it's just about potato planting time here.
Enjoy your spuds!

"If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that."
 

                                                                                              Stephen King

From Blog to Blog

early sketch for When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky

Julie Danielson, the woman behind the curtain at the blog: Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, just interviewed me here. She loves lots of pictures to narrate her interviews so there is lots to look at, just like picture books!

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast is one of my favorite blogs to follow. I hope you make it one of yours too!

Poem for the Living

My Aunt Cornelia has an unusual name, which has been changed to "Nini" by
her once young nieces and nephews, who found Cornelia too difficult to
pronounce, and to "Corey" by her old friends, who found Cornelia too formal
for their artsy California culture.  When she moved to New York about 25
years ago she returned to her given name, and it fits her perfectly.

She plays the piano, speaks French, and discusses quantum physics with
my son with ease.  She is an avid hiker, Sierra Club supporter, painter,
teacher and campaigner for environmental issues. She is also an adventurous
cook. Hint: Oxtail stew is in her recipe book. 

A renaissance woman, she has influenced my choices in art, travel, and
ethics.  Her paintings and sketches of German castles, Yosemite landmarks,
and abstracts fill my house and my thoughts.  But her most important gifts
to me are intangible: her respect for the rhythm of life, her celebration
of winter solitude, her love of the Romatic poets, and her wisdom during
difficult times - "It is what it is." 

She is 82 now, still observing life, still breathing, in and out, in and out.
 The sketchpads have been set aside, though.  The daily hikes have stopped.
It will not be long before the breathing stops and and the cancer that has
greedily invaded her brain returns her to the earth that she loves.

Friends stop by to serenade her, "You are my sunshine, my
only sunshine..."  They bring over her paintings to decorate the stark
nursing home walls.  They tell us, her nieces, what an important person
she has been, and still is, in their lives. They embrace us, because we are
connected to her.  Another gift to us.

Whatever we call her, Nini, Corey, or Cornelia, those of
us fortunate enough to know her, are graced by her presence. 
The earth is a better place because she has hiked its trails, weathered
its seasons, and loved its inhabitants.

Poem for the Living (by Theodora Kroeber)
When I am am dead
Cry for me a little,
Think of me sometimes
But not too much.
It is not good for you
Or your wife or your husband
Or your children
To allow your thoughts to dwell
Too long on the Dead.
Think of me now and again
As I was in life
At some moment
   it is pleasant to recall.
But not for long.
Leave me in peace
As I shall leave
   you, too, in peace.
While you live
Let your thoughts be with
the living.