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In honor of the day, I was lucky enough to be able to write a guest column for the Washington Post's "On Faith" feature. I argue that we should teach our children about Charles Darwin, and give the twelve reasons why.
About five minutes before I found out the column was up, I happened to look in the mirror. For some reason, I have a black eye. Honestly. I have no idea how it happened. Maybe it's predictive of the future. I sure hope not. Anyway, here's the link to the column. It's called A DOZEN REASONS TO CELEBRATE DARWIN.
I hope you enjoy it. Spread it around. Hey, I've already got one black eye.
***Meeting Laini Taylor and Jim Di Bartolo's Clementine Pie, who is not only adorable, but you heard it here first: a genius. I have NEVER seen a three and a half month old baby with such personality and obvious smarts. (O.K., a few, but that's how I could recognize it!) Not only are Laini and Jim incredibly talented at books (LIPS TOUCH is an out of the world work of art!) and art and babies, they are so NICE! I loved meeting them and hope to see all three of them again soon.
***Listening to Rita Williams-Garcia read all three characters in JUMPED. She WAS Leticia and Trina and Dominique. I fell in love with Rita immediately, by the way, and this is my very public admission of that. Rita, lunch sometime, soon? Do you do lunch? Seriously. I'm smitten.
***When a boy asked David Small what his relationship with his brother is now. I can't relate this without crying, so I'm glad you can't see me. David hadn't talked to his brother since his brother left the house. But he showed him Stitches before it was published and the book healed their relationship. "I have my brother back," he said. "We talk to each other all the time. We tell each other our secrets." Stitches is a book from David's heart, and it shows on every page, in every line. I loved meeting Sarah Stewart, his wife and amazing author. There was lots of hugging.
****Sitting at the same table as Phillip Hoose at the NBA gala. Phillip brought his wife and also Claudette Colvin! I was nervous, but Phillip literally could not sit still. He was jumping up and down constantly. I looked at him and I KNEW his book was going to win and I was glad. (O.K., I'm human, I was disappointed when I didn't win, but....) He cared and cares so much, it was moving to see. A real joy.
All of this is to say, once again, what great people children's book people are.
Another highlight:
Meeting two of the judges, Nancy Werlin and Coe Booth. In what other world would the judges and judgee hug each other immediately?! (I told you there was lots of hugging.) Here, I'll prove it:
That's me, Laini Taylor, and Coe Booth.
As long as I'm at photos, did you know there was a red carpet? ! It was so cool. We got our pictures taken just like movie stars. But really like book stars, which is better, right? I don't love this photo of Jon and me, but it gives you an idea of the red carpet moment:
As long as I'm at photos, did you know there was a red carpet? ! It was so cool. We got our pictures taken just like movie stars. But really like book stars, which is better, right? I don't love this photo of Jon and me, but it gives you an idea of the red carpet moment:
Also on the red carpet I got interviewed by Lynn Neary of NPR and also by Galleycat.com. Check out the video here.
Here's a photo from that evening I like better, and it kind of says it all:
That's my agent Ken, me and, and my editor, Laura. Don't we look happy?
**** Another highlight, as a good-bye for now, one that I think sums it all up. When I was not named the winner, the first thing I did after not crying and yes smiling at Phillip, was to text my two sons: "I'm O.K." Benjamin wrote back, "I love you," and other wonderful things. Aaron, who lives near Cipriani where the event was held, wrote, "As well you should be. I've been lurking outside and I saw someone ditching right after dinner--with a copy of CHARLES AND EMMA tucked under his arm."
Have a great weekend everyone! I'm going to try to sleep.
I wonder if either of those things will actually happen today.
Stay tuned.
Have you ever seen five such happy authors? (If you did, it was probably last year's photo of the NBA finalists in Young People's Literature.) Rocco Staino, of SLJ, took this photo at yesterday's teen press conference, which he also wrote about today. It's a great article. Thank you, Rocco! That's Phillip Hoose, Laini Taylor, me, Rita Williams-Garcia, and David Small. We were (are!) actually that happy. Rocco also took this photo of me with a student named Marjana Chodhury, whom he quotes in his article. Marjana and I had a wonderful talk as I signed her book.
Monday night at Books of Wonder was wonderful, too. Here I think my agent might be trying to hold me upright (jet lag was setting in....):
Last night, at the New School, was the medal ceremony, where each of the 20 finalists received a gorgeous medal and a plaque and even a present (as if we needed anything more!) . The medal is really heavy and I think I might wear it every day for the rest of my life. The plaque is beautiful, with a gorgeous description of Charles and Emma on it. The National Book Foundation really does things so well. I am very, very grateful. And impressed. Then we went to an auditorium and each finalist read from her/his book for five minutes. Guess who had to go first? Yes! But I was glad to do it, because it meant that I could sit back and enjoy all of the others without being nervous. I prepared my reading from chapter 26--I actually crossed out paragraphs in my book and read an excerpt that way. I think it went well.
But I have to tell you: what an uplifting experience it was to sit there and listen to the nineteen other authors. Reading after reading was just beautiful; such an impressive group of people. And all of them were so poised and happy and -- it was a great evening for books in America! One of my family members said to me afterward that he thought the Young People's Literature category was the strongest. I can't judge it, but I will say this: each of the other books in this category are knock-outs and they all deserve to win. And all of the other authors are great people and so no matter who wins, it will be the correct decision. I can't imagine how hard it is for the judges because the books are so very different from each other. But, hey, that's not my job today. Today my job is to get to the ceremony on time, with my hair done, my dress zipped up, and my wonderful husband by my side.
But I have to tell you: what an uplifting experience it was to sit there and listen to the nineteen other authors. Reading after reading was just beautiful; such an impressive group of people. And all of them were so poised and happy and -- it was a great evening for books in America! One of my family members said to me afterward that he thought the Young People's Literature category was the strongest. I can't judge it, but I will say this: each of the other books in this category are knock-outs and they all deserve to win. And all of the other authors are great people and so no matter who wins, it will be the correct decision. I can't imagine how hard it is for the judges because the books are so very different from each other. But, hey, that's not my job today. Today my job is to get to the ceremony on time, with my hair done, my dress zipped up, and my wonderful husband by my side.
I met this dinosaur last Friday at the Kids' Science Center. He (I think he's a he) speaks Japanese, of course. Over the course of the week I learned a few Japanese phrases, but they mostly had to do with saying thank you. I don't think this guy says thank you. I went to the Science Center to watch my friends Peter and Rosemary Grant talk to kids about their work, an event which affirmed two things for me: the Grants are fantastic and kids really can learn about anything if presented in the right away. I'm stating the obvious, but I don't think that everyone agrees, so I say it as often as possible. To prove my point: after the Grants gave their talk about evolution in action, there was time for questions. And boy were there questions, insightful questions, including, "what was the longest a finch has lived on Daphne Major?" (Daphne is the island in the Galapagos the Grants do most of their work on.) The answer? Sixteen years. And, "What happened to the big beaked finches after a rainy season?" Did I mention these were elementary school kids? The Grants demonstrated what happened with seeds and pliers they had brought (and donated to the museum). Or rather they had the children demonstrate (I apologize for my so-so photos from this event):
After a rainy season there a lots of little seeds. What do you think happened when the child with the big-beaked pliers tried to "eat" little seeds?
Of course there were also the personal questions, such as, "How old were you when you got married?" Better than, how old are you now?! (I was struck by how much kids are alike everywhere--even with the language barrier it was supremely easy to pick out the class clown, the jock, the girl who knows all the answers, and the boy who thinks he does, but doesn't...)
Afterward, Peter and Rosemary were besieged by kids wanting autographs, which they graciously gave.
Watching Rosemary interact with the children I thought back to her lecture a few nights earlier in which she shared her personal history. Born in 1936 in England, Rosemary grew up during World War II, and she spoke poignantly about a lesson she learned at a very young age. She had so much hatred for the German bombers who threatened the safety of her and her family. But at the same time she met a German POW who was working on the road near their home. He showed her a photograph of his child, who was just about her age, and so she realized that while she hated German bombs she could not hate this man. They became friends. That kind of complex thinking added to her growing knowledge of the natural world (she and other mother took long walks in the country, and her mother named all the plants and trees, animals and insects they saw) and she grew up to be a brilliant and driven young woman, eager to make her way into the academic world. But when she told her headmistress at boarding school that she wanted to go to University of Edinburgh, the headmistress told her that was ridiculous. Rosemary had two brothers, why should she work? Rosemary was determined, however, and made plans to take the entrance exam. Then a few days before she was due to take it, she came down with the mumps and was bedridden. The headmistress stood at the foot of her bed and proclaimed it was "God's will." I can see Rosemary's bright smile as she tells this story! Rosemary got better, graduated, took a correspondence course, and passed the exam the following year. At breakfast one morning this past week I told her I was impressed by that story, and asked her what gave her that kind of determination. She looked at me, again with that brilliant smile, and said, "I was really angry!"
Since everything was Japanese, the Grants had an interpreter with them at all times. This woman also did simultaneous translation at the big events. I got to spend time with her in the car to and from the Science Center. I asked her where she learned her English and she said in America. I asked her where, and she said had been an exchange student in Pennsylvania. "Where in Pennsylvania?" I asked her.
Since everything was Japanese, the Grants had an interpreter with them at all times. This woman also did simultaneous translation at the big events. I got to spend time with her in the car to and from the Science Center. I asked her where she learned her English and she said in America. I asked her where, and she said had been an exchange student in Pennsylvania. "Where in Pennsylvania?" I asked her.
And the answer, of course? "Outside Allentown, PA." "Where?" "I lived with a family in Wescoesville and went to Emmaus High.) Of course she did. Here she is looking up a word on her pocket translation machine. 
Mohiko also gave me a recipe for okonomiyaki, which I hope to make soon. We had it our last night in Kyoto and it was delicious. Speaking of food, the trip was really, all about the food. Herewith two parting shots: 
Yes, pickles on a stick. Yummm!
Green-tea custard-filled pastry. Well, come on, I had to try it!
Green-tea custard-filled pastry. Well, come on, I had to try it!
We traveled to Japan last Saturday, arriving on Sunday, losing a day when we crossed over the international date line. We hope to get that day back on the way home. (I get myself into a mathematical tizzy if I think about this too much. What if we moved to Japan and never came back? What if we kept going in one direction, back home, would we gain day after day until we became immortal? Where does that day go? Aaron, help!)
I knew right away that this was going to be a different kind of trip than we had ever taken when we were given an invitation to the first class lounge at the airport. Dorothy, we were not in economy schlep land any more. I enjoyed every second of it knowing that this might be a once-in-a-lifetime event. I even loved the flight--well who wouldn't ? We were flown business class, where the seats are roomier than most studio apartments in New York City. The food was fantastic (it was a Japanese airline)--a four course Japanese meal served my flight attendants who were more gracious and nicer than anyone I had ever met. It prepared me well for what was to come. At one point I turned to Jon and said, "Hmmm we're in business class. What can they possibly have in first class that we don't have?" I wish I could give you his complete answer, but suffice it to say it did not include rock 'n roll, but did include the other two. Since I write books for kids I'm gong to leave it at that.
But enough of our little luxuries, let me get to the reason for our visit. We came to help honor and celebrate Peter and Rosemary Grant, who were two of the four Kyoto Prize Laureates. Peter and Rosemary are the scientists Jonathan profiled in THE BEAK OF THE FINCH. They have followed in Darwin's footsteps, watching what evolution in action in Darwin's finches in the Galapagos Islands. It is the first time a couple has been honored by the Kyoto Prize, and we are thrilled for them. The other two laureates are: composer, conductor, and modern music legend Pierre Boulez and Dr. Isamu Akasaki, the developer of blue light LEDs. Here is a photo I took of the poster that is all over the city; this one in the subway near our hotel.
And while I'm at it, here's a photo of the subway we've been riding. Dorothy, we are not in NYC any more. Aside from Jon and me, and Ravi, Peter and Rosemary's son-in-law, these good folks are from the Kyoto Prize festivities that are held in April in San Diego, CA, in April.
We got a tour on Monday of Kyocera, the ceramics company founded by Kazuo Inamori, whose foundation, the Inamori Foundation sponsors the prize. We also got a tour of the foundation offices. Here is a link to the foundation. I was fascinated by it all, and especially by how beautiful ceramic computer parts and 
the like can be.
the like can be.And even photovoltaic cells.
(I just spent too much time looking for an old New Yorker cartoon that was the end of the date in which the woman is saying, "I will always treasure what you told me about photovoltaic cells." If anyone can find it, please let me know. It appeared during the time Jon was wooing me with science...)
Monday evening was a welcome banquet hosted by the mayor of Kyoto and the Inamori Foundation. Also there was a real, live Princess, Princess Takamado Hisako, who seems lovely and has written at least two children's books! I don't really need to tell you about the meal after you look at the menu except to say every bite was fantastic, though I must admit I didn't eat the sea urchin. (If you click on the picture it gets bigger and you can read the writing.)
There was also beautiful, haunting music played by a woman on a long instrument whose name I don't know. You can see her in the program. It was so beautiful--but that is when my jet lag caught up with me and I began to doze. Or it could have been all that food (thought the portions were small.)
Tuesday night were the fancy festivities, black tie and all. We were not supposed to take photos at the ceremony (though I did bet Jon to take one when there were children performing--it brought tears to everyone's eyes). Below, then, is Jon's surreptitious photo of Peter and Rosemary watching the little girls sing. For official photos and a recounting of the ceremony, please go directly to the Inamori Foundation web site. It is worth the look! When you see the photos, believe me, it was every bit as lavish as it looks. Though we were sitting at desks with headphones to hear the simultaneous translation.
Tuesday night were the fancy festivities, black tie and all. We were not supposed to take photos at the ceremony (though I did bet Jon to take one when there were children performing--it brought tears to everyone's eyes). Below, then, is Jon's surreptitious photo of Peter and Rosemary watching the little girls sing. For official photos and a recounting of the ceremony, please go directly to the Inamori Foundation web site. It is worth the look! When you see the photos, believe me, it was every bit as lavish as it looks. Though we were sitting at desks with headphones to hear the simultaneous translation.
Let me end this portion of my recounting of my adventures with a shot of food from the banquet this night. It was French food, including a portion of beef that was supposedly fantastic, but I don't eat meat so I'll have to take Jon's word for it. But I will leave you with this image, and my next post will be more about Peter and Rosemary, including some wonderful inspirational moments from their lectures on Wednesday. This afternoon I am going to accompany them to a school (or maybe to the science center?) where they will speak to children. I invited myself!
Good night to you all; here it is November 13. Looking nice so far. O.K, a parting shot:
I have neglected my flowers, but it rained, and so they are still alive. I honestly don't want it to rain on my blog, though.
So here is a quick lick and a promise to write more soon before we head off to Kyoto on Saturday. Oh, yes, Kyoto, which might just explain why I've been too busy to blog, but in fact, it does not! First of all, we're going to KYOTO to help celebrate Peter and Rosemary Grant, who are being awarded the Kyoto Prize. They are an amazing couple, and they deserve this and so much more. Husband Jonathan wrote about them in his wonderful book (I can say that, right?) The Beak of the Finch. Here is a photo of Peter and Rosemary.
They are terrific people and amazing scientist and I can't wait to help them celebrate.
But before that I need to revise a book, give a talk tomorrow in Brooklyn at the NYC Library Services Conference and you know, do more work, shop for last minute things and pack.
But before I go, I wanted to put up these photos from a couple of weeks ago--a great time at Bank Street with Lisa Von Drasek (librarian extraordinaire) and her kids. Here's Lisa (left) making me and Jackie Kelly (Calpurnia Tate author!) laugh:
And here's our editor, Laura Godwin, claiming that it was a fluke that both our covers have silhouettes on them. 
Well even if it was a fluke, what a great fluke... for, as we've been called, the Darwin Darlings. I swear, not by me. First, anyway. Laura is a genius. And funny.
Well even if it was a fluke, what a great fluke... for, as we've been called, the Darwin Darlings. I swear, not by me. First, anyway. Laura is a genius. And funny.Now my blog no longer suffers from neglect (not a quick lick and a promise after all) but my other work does. Not to mention the packing. And shoes. I need comfortable shoes I can wear with a suit (I bought a suit). But that's not your problem. Or is it?
MY VISIT TO RIF, THE MOTHER CHURCH OF LITERACY
Ashley Gilleland, the producer, me, and Maria Salvadore, who
interviewed me with great questions and whose smile never left her face!
interviewed me with great questions and whose smile never left her face!
Marfe Ferguson Delano is my good friend, and a great author, and she is showing me a great time here in the DC area. This afternoon we took a lovely walk along the Potomac and tonight she cooked a delicious dinner. Tomorrow I speak at the Children's Book Guild and also get to talk with people at RIF. If we're up early enough (not looking great at the moment), we'll go for another walk. Speaking of which, I have to go now. To bed. Sorry if there are typos.
Don't ask me about Horatio's Drive. I have no idea.
Enjoy!
My Granola:
4 cups old fashioned (rolled) oats
2 ½-3 cups of nuts: sliced almonds, chopped walnuts, pecans and whatever else you love.
¼ tsp salt
½ cup or less Canola oil
½ cup or more honey
1-2 tsp almond extract (or vanilla, but try the almond, it will knock your socks off)
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup golden raisins
OR approximately 2 cups of any dried fruit. I usually use a mixture of raisins (black and golden) and cranberries, and then I love apricots in it, too, so I cut up apricots to about the same size as the raisins. I recently used a whole variety of dried fruit and it was delicious. Definitely play around with this.
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 250°F or 275º. Line a large shallow baking pan with foil and oil foil. (I use a roasting pan, which is deep, and it works fine, makes it easier to stir)
Toss together oats, nuts, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together oil and honey (I usually put the honey in the microwave just to thin it out first) and vanilla, then stir into oat mixture until well coated. Spread mixture in baking pan and bake, stirring often—maybe every ten minutes, until golden brown, about an hour.. Stir in cranberries and raisins, then cool completely in pan on a rack. If you like clumps, you can put paper towels on the granola while it’s cooling, though sometimes you get clumps anyway.
Eat and ENJOY!
Especially after I came to my computer and refreshed the National Book Foundation web site and saw that Charles and Emma is still there! It didn't disappear in the night. It wasn't a dream. O.K. Maybe that oatmeal is still edible.
It is! Now if I can just eat it without wrecking the computer, all will be well. Husband Jonathan is not home, or he would certainly separate me and my oatmeal or me and my computer. But I'm going to live dangerously.
Did I mention that the book of my heart, Charles and Emma, is a National Book Award Finalist? Do you think Applecare would have a problem with spilled oatmeal in light of that?
O.K., I am pushing the oatmeal farther away from the keyboard, Jon.
Much of this has seemed surreal, and even more surreal because Jon wasn't here for the news*, but he was having a great honor of his own. The Beak of the Finch was read by all the incoming freshmen at Brown, and so he was up in Providence giving a talk and being feted. I'm so happy that his father was able to be there, and I am also happy that he is going to come home and help me celebrate. Because the book is for him, has always been.
O.K. How cool is it that three of the books in the Literature for Young People category are nonfiction? ! Yes! For more on nonfiction for kids, and wise words from the amazing author and my friend Tanya Lee Stone, please go to her post on I.N.K. today. Thank you.
I understand there is some controversy (when isn't there?) about the choice of Stitches by David Small as a finalist. I haven't read the book, but I sure want to. The controversy is that it was published as an adult book, but the publisher entered it into the Young People's category. Does that bother you? Does that bother me? Seriously, nothing bothers me right now (not even spilled oatmeal and a messed up microwave), so I can't really be trusted here. However as the author of a book that is being read by kids and adults, I think it's not a huge deal. I like the idea of crossover books, going in both directions. Some folks are saying that Stitches knocked off some other deserving books written for kids. I'm sure that is true, and that's sad. There were a number of books I thought I'd see on the list that aren't there. (Including friends'.) But of course each of the books knocked off others, so...is it really such a crime that a book that was published for adults got nominated in this category? I don't know. What do you think?
*Back to me. (Enough about me, what do YOU think about me?) Apparently I was supposed to hear this news on Tuesday. The NBF people call the authors a day ahead of time. The authors are not allowed to tell anyone, not even their publishers or agents. But Harold Augenbraum from the NBF could not find me! He couldn't find my phone number. He tried Jon at his office, but wasn't sure that he had the right number because Jon's voice mail is a robot and doesn't say his name. And he DID send me an e-mail, but of all things, it went into my SPAM folder. I should have known Tuesday morning, but instead I found out when Tanya (see above) called me on my cell (I was at a writers group!) and she was screaming. Considering her book, Almost Astronauts, was surely a contender, and is fantastic, and was a Horn Book honor, Tanya goes down in my book as a friend forever and a true mensch. The first message on my voice mail at home was from Laurie Halse Anderson, also screaming. Her book Wintergirls is one of the most amazing books I've ever read, well, all of her books are, including the two nominated for the NBA, Speak and Chains. But I'm not telling you something you don't already know. She better give me dress (gown) advice. And fast.
Anyway, it's probably a good thing I didn't know ahead of time. I am not really known as someone who can keep her mouth shut. But I would have. Honest. It would not have been easy. Because how could I not have called my amazing editors Laura Godwin and Noa Wheeler? How could I not have called my agent and good friend Ken Wright? Gmail usually is so good about putting the right things in the spam folder. I think Gmail might be an evil genius.
Before I close (Deborah Sloan says, "keep your blogs short." I'm not doing so well this morning, am I?) I want to say thank you to all the people who called, e-mailed, facebooked, twittered (@dheiligman) to say congratulations. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It's been an amazing ride, and as one of my dear friends said, everything else is gravy, delicious gravy, but gravy. This right here, this moment, is such an honor. And congratulations to all of the other finalists. Man, are we gonna PARTY!
O.K. my oatmeal is finished. The sun is coming up. I gotta go clean up the microwave.
(and also speechless)
More soon.
I would like to add that this is a great resource for parents as well as teachers. Next time your child expresses an interest learning more about rockets or butterflies or digestion or water or Diwali or Darwin or ballet or experimenting or snow or (you get the idea) , search the database and see what award-winning, well-written, fun book you can find to help your child learn. Yes, folks, there's nothing like a book.
Please go check out the I.N.K. THINK TANK and report any kinks back to me. We are new at this, but there are 22 of us working hard to make it work well.
And if you like it, please pass it on! Please pass it on... Did I mention you should pass it on?
I can't stand to watch the video. Can someone watch it for me, please?
Hey--it's not done until those hardcover copies arrive in your writing room. When it's just a ream of paper, it's FIXABLE. And, Laurie said, "You have all the tools in your tool box to fix it." Yeah, I thought, maybe YOU do. But I'm a beginner when it comes to novels. "Same tools," she said. And she's so smart I listened to her. You do use many of the same tools, or at least tools that help you accomplish virtually the same task.
Fiction and non-fiction are the same and different. I think of it this way: With non-fiction you have a slab of marble, and you carve it out until you find your story, just the way sculptors carve out a statue. With fiction, you have a lump of clay. It's yours to create from beginning to end. In both cases you're creating a story, but in one case you can't make anything up, and in the other case you have to make everything up. Historical fiction is a great blend of the two, and I might just try that next.
Maybe you think of it differently, and I'd love to hear how you do think of it if you write both fiction and non-fiction. In any case, when you revise you look at pretty much the same elements when it comes to story telling: pacing, suspense, plot, arc, character, voice.
I was worried about pace, and Laurie said that she has started to realize that when you look at the scenes you've written, you should think about tight angle and wide angle. Some scenes need to be tight angle, a detailed, close-up view. Others need the quick panorama shot, pulled way back. Sometimes, in revision, you realize you need to take something you wrote close up, in five pages, and revise it to be a wide angle scene--down to one paragraph. Or you see that something you skimmed over needs to be slowed way down and written about in loving detail.
I thought about this a lot as I read Sherman Alexi's brilliant The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I don't want to be a spoiler, but there was one thing he did in a wide angle that surprised me and if I ever have the good fortune to meet him, I'm going to ask him if it was tight angle in an earlier draft. It works really, really well as it is, but I'm curious.
At first when Laurie said this to me I thought, well, how will I know? But then I realized that I did just this kind of thing in Charles and Emma. There are whole years that I take care of in a paragraph, and particular days or moments that I write about in as tight an angle as possible. Again, not to spoil anything, but there's one crucial event in their lives that I wrote as minute-to-minute as I could get it. Fortunately I had letters back and forth between Charles and Emma that allowed me to do that. With non-fiction the temptation is to write about many things in a detailed, tight angle account if you have the sources. And maybe that's what a first draft looks like. But when you revise you have to look at the whole book, the storytelling and ask yourself, does each scene lead inevitably to the next. That's true, of course, for fiction, too.
I look forward to getting the novel back from my agent, getting his comments, and digging in for another revision. Another truth about writing and revision: time away helps. Let it cool down, approach it with a fresh eye. A book that I go back to every year or so that really helps me understand this process is called Writing on Both Sides of the Brain: Breakthrough Techniques for People Who Write by Henriette Klauser.
Good luck with your revisions. Sharpen your tools.
It's also National Talk Like A Pirate Day, apparently. So as my cousin Neil said,
"Shana Tova....aaarrrrrrgh!"
"Shana Tova....aaarrrrrrgh!"
But the other reason for this post is to give you the link for the mosaic artist's web site. Karen Silton: www.mosaicmorphosis.com
And she also does doggie jewelry: www.karensilton.com
You probably think I'm going to go cook now. But instead I'm going to have lunch with a friend, and then think about the menu. If there's time before squash. Golly, I sure hope no one who is coming to dinner reads this post.
And she also does doggie jewelry: www.karensilton.com
You probably think I'm going to go cook now. But instead I'm going to have lunch with a friend, and then think about the menu. If there's time before squash. Golly, I sure hope no one who is coming to dinner reads this post.
It's called "Emma & Charles Darwin." If you click on it, you can see it even better. It's made of Handmade Ceramic, Laserprint & Transfer Image, Porcelain, Gold & Mexican Smalti Glass Beads.
I wish I could see it in person, because the print (and this image here) just blows me away. It's currently in a juried art show at Cile Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina. If anyone lives near Charlotte, please go and see it in person for me!
I asked Karen how she made it, and here's what she wrote:
I made this piece using handmade and sculpted clay pieces--the outside embossed ceramic green frame, the angel, the curtain and window frame, and the dove. Emma, Charles and the words are also made of clay and I used a process whereby a digital image can be laser printed and transferred via a decal onto clay pieces and then kiln fired so they're "baked in" to the surface. I then cut the pieces up and reassembled them to make them look more congruent with the mosaic process. I've also included a variety of classic mosaic materials such as Italian and Mexican "smalti"--both gold and iridescent which are made of glass and those are cut with a special kind of mosaic nippers into various shapes and sizes like the triangle shapes for the shark's teeth and the gold pieces representing water from the angel's handmade "glass bead" watering can. After all the pieces are cut and attached to a 1/2" plywood board, then I used several colors of handmixed grout to fill in the areas between the pieces. It's a very time consuming process involving many many hours. You have to be kind of obsessed about mosaics to do this kind of work! Since I was inspired by their story it was really a fun challenge.
Thank you, Karen, for putting all of that hard work into this beautiful piece. "Opposite but not opposed." I love it.
The festival was fantastic! I hadn't been to this one since the very first year and I was thrilled by how well organized it was and how many people attended. I barely had time to sit down, which is just how you want it to be. Some highlights:
Seeing other great children's book authors and friends, including:
Margery Cuyler
Kay Winters
Meeting new friends:
Matthew Trueman
Tony Abbott
Margery Cuyler
Kay Winters
Meeting new friends:
Matthew Trueman
Tony Abbott
But I didn't have that much time to mingle with the other authors and illustratrators because kids and their grown-ups kept coming by to say hello. Which was the whole idea! I talked about CHARLES AND EMMA all day, much to my great pleasure. And I was able to tell everyone about the great new Booklist list--Top Ten Youth Romance Books. Wow.
Then I had the wonderful surprise of staring into a face I had last scene when I was in high school myself. My old next-door neighbor Tammy came to say hello with her two sons. And when I read Cool Dog, School Dog in the tent, another old friend, Cindy, sat there with husband and her little boy, Julian, whose smile lit up the whole plaza.
Next time I will remember to bring my camera. But I hope that someone who was taking photos will send me some so I can post them. Allison?
Yesterday I rested (did I mention that I carried about four tons of books to display on Saturday?)--and I also ran five miles, cooked cardoons for the first time, and visited with my sons. Sunday is so often Sonday. I love it! (My poor husband was working--he has to turn in a "final" draft of his book today. I think he slept about three hours last night.) Final is in quotes because...well, because a book is never done until you hold that hardcover copy in your hand. And then, still....
What about the ketchup? Last night son number 1 and I pried husband away from work for a little while to grab some dinner in the neighborhood. We sat outside, and at the table behind us was a family with two little girls. My husband remarked how cute the little ones were, so I turned around and made friends with Izzy (as I later found out was her name--after, after disaster...). Izzy, it turns out, could have been named Impy, and her mother should be named Distracted. Izzy decided that playing with my hair was the thing to do. Which I let her do, because 1. It felt nice (except when she started hitting) and 2.I'm a sucker for little kids. I think you can put two and two together when I tell you that she had french fries. With ketchup.
I've always wanted red hair. But not that way.
When I got home and had to take my second shower of the day, I started to get a little steamed. (I guess I have a slow fuse when it comes to adorable, if undisciplined, children.) Why did that mother not control her child? But then I remembered one of my favorite Charles Darwin stories.
I tell it in C & E. The Darwins, who always chose function over looks when buying furniture, had just gotten a new sofa. Lenny was jumping up and down on it. Charles walked into the room and told his son, "You know that is against the rules." Lenny said, "Well, then you better leave the room." And so he did.
I bet Charles would have gotten ketchup in his hair, too.
If it was good enough for Charles Darwin, it is good enough for me.
But I do think he would have been horribly frustrated with what has happened to medicine and medical care over the years since he has been gone--he died in 1997. It was already going in that direction, much to his dismay.
Let me tell you about my daddy.
Nathan Heiligman was a doctor. He made house calls. He took phone calls during dinner. (This is the reason I never became a doctor. The side of the calls that I heard, right next to the table, went something like this, "Is there blood in her stools? Puss? What color is his urine? Is the sore seeping?")
My father started out as a doctor who treated T.B., and when that was cured (so we thought) he went on to treat other lung ailments, to campaign against smoking (I was the most brainwashed anti-smoking kid in Allentown!), and to teach nurses. But he also delivered babies (he delivered my sister!--Mom's first marriage), and treated people for everything from the common cold to end-stage emphysema.
My father barely raised his rates in the years he was married to my mother. (I know this from some arguments I overheard.) And Daddy was clamoring for what he called socialized medicine from the time I was a teenager. (This was the 70's.) He saw the road ahead: that rich people would get good medical care and poor people wouldn't. As someone who grew up dirt poor, first in Russia, and then in Lehighton, Pennsylvania, and only went to college and medical school because of the kindness of relatives, my father felt strongly that everyone should be able to get the health care he or she needed. He was passionate about it. He spent more time in his later years volunteering, or working for very little pay, than seeing private patients, whom he charged little anyway. He worked in a venereal disease clinic; he worked in the state mental hospital; he served on the board of public health. He fought to have flouride put in our town's water (and did not succeed--he was up against some misguided people). But whatever he did, wherever he went, he treated sick people. Whether they could pay or not. And he never stopped being a doctor.
I was with him one time when he saved someone's life--nothing too dramatic, just a woman chocking on a hard candy. It was not the only time he did something like that. And you couldn't walk anywhere in Allentown (as my husband came to find out) with Nate without being stopped every few steps by someone who would thank him. "You treated my sister for T.B." "You were so kind to my mother." "Thank you, Doc, remember me?" (Usually he did not!) "You delivered me! This is my son."
Dad kept practicing long after many people would have stopped. When I was in college and he was in his 70's, and had vision in only one eye, he would go out on the middle of the night to see a patient in a nursing home. I know, because I refused to let him go alone. He ended up quitting medicine only because the cost of his malpractice insurance was higher than his income. Much higher.
We need more doctors like my Dad. But we need a health care system that allows there to be more doctors like him.
I wish both he and my mother could have been here to see Barak Obama elected. They would have been thrilled. And I will be thrilled if congress helps Obama get our health care system fixed.
In honor of and in memory of my father, Nathan Heiligman, I wish our President Godspeed.
And I know Nate would say, Amen.
