Workshops and updates oh my!

I’ve just posted the rescheduled date for the Children’s Picture Book workshop as well as the date for our next reiteration of our popular Publishing 101 class. Also on tap: a Valentine’s themed tarot salon on February 12, featuring readings from myself and renowned urban shaman Mama Donna Henes.

As some of you might recall, the Children’s Picture Book workshop was originally to take place in December. But life, alas, had other plans. Between that and the holidays, I found myself out of my studio for almost a month. Fortunately, over the past week I’ve been able to get back into the creative swim. I suppose it shouldn’t be any surprise, but I’m always amazed by how exhausting and time-consuming grief is.

Currently underway is an iPhone app for the Goddess Inspiration Oracle (the free lite version is currently available on iTunes), a newly-hatched novel, and my long-developing follow up book to DOOMED QUEENS. To further stoke my creative fires, I’m also planning a short trip to Montreal to take in the Waterhouse exhibit before it closes. There’s a painting in it which figures very closely in my new novel. So how can I resist?

The good news is that there are still spaces available for the Children’s Picture Book workshop. So if you couldn’t make the original date, well, what are you waiting for? I’m excited to share all about my experiences as a book illustrator, designer, and all around publishing maven — a subject which is near and dear to my heart.

Learn more about these events and others here.

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The above photo is of the full version of the Goddess Inspiration Oracle. Doesn’t it look pretty? It should be available by the end of the month. Can’t wait? You can download the free lite version here now.

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Children’s Picture Book workshop update

The Children’s Picture Book workshop scheduled for this Saturday, December 12 has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. It will be rescheduled for mid-January.

More details to come soon!

On a related note, the gallery will be closed the weekend of December 11 and 12th.

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What the heck is NaNoWriMo? And is that why this blog has been quiet?

Answer #1. NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month, which lasts from November 1st through November 30th. Or, as they plug it on their wonderfully inspiring website, “30 days and nights of literary abandon!” (Yes, they include the exclamation point.) The idea behind NaNoWri is to write a novel — 50,000 words — in a month. Thousands of people join together in this collective writing marathon.

Answer #2: Yes — that’s why few blog posts this month. I’m using NaNoWriMo* to force me into writing the first draft of a novel which I’ve been mulling over. The only thing I can say right now about the novel is that it’s historical fiction, explores two separate time periods, and is mildly revisionist/feminist. Oh, it’s also not set in Venice, as The Lover’s Path was.

And yes, I am officially out of my mind, with everything else going on here. I already have another book underway, new iPhone apps in development, a gallery to run, and a daughter to raise.

But, as NaNoWriMo asks, if not now, when?

So new blog posts will be coming soon — December 1st is around the corner, which is when NaNoWriMo ends. After that, I’ll hopefully have a *very* rough draft of a novel that I can edit and expand as I see fit.

I hope you’ll wish me luck at reaching my 50,000 words! Right now, I’m up to about 33,000. Between holidays and travels and so on, this is going to be a squeaker of a finish. If I can get in 3,000 words a day, I should be able to do it. Since I’m of a decidedly non-athletic bent, this is as close to a marathon as I’ll probably ever get.

And, on a related note, I wish my U.S. readers a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I know that this has been a complex year for a lot of us, but there’s still much to be grateful for.

See you all at the finish line!

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*If any of you are also doing NaNoWriMo, please feel free to buddy with me. My user name is artandwords — you can also check my word count progress there!

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Publishing Monday: Last call for Publishing 101 workshop. And publishing links all around

This past week was caught up in readying for November 7 and 8th’s open studio, which was part of the Flatbush Artists Studio Tour. During this event, I had over 150 people visit — a great turnout — and sold some art, lots of books, and prints. I have lots of photos of this along with our Fairy Tale exhibit opening, which I’ll post as soon as I can get my camera and computer to cooperate.

But during these preparations, I neglected to give a shout out to the Publishing 101 workshop which I’m holding here at my studio-gallery next Saturday, November 14, 1 – 3 pm. The next Publishing 101 workshop won’t be held until Spring 2010, so last call. However, the good news is that spots are still available for this workshop, but they must be registered for by midnight,Wednesday November 11th.* Register here.

On a related publishing note, over the past few months I’ve started following a few new industry blogs that I think are particularly informative or helpful. No surprises here: My favorite blogs to peruse are about publishing.** With all the sky-is-falling hysteria surrounding e-books, iPhone apps, and the “demise” of print publishing, the move toward print on demand and beyond, these blogs are a bastion of common sense and, yes, even flashes of humor.

So check them out:

Intern Spills: The chronicles of a twenty-something use-to-be publishing intern. Filled with humor, pathos, and no-holds-barred accuracy about the biz. Love her recent takes on NaNoWriMo and the art of revising a novel.

Pimp My Novel: What happens to your book after it’s been acquired by a major publisher. Written by someone who works in the sales department of a publishing house.

Editorial Anonymous: Yes, I’ve mentioned this blog before. But they’re not afraid to answer the hard questions about children’s book publishing (even if sensitive feelings get hurt).

Nathan Bransford: A literary agent (and soon-to-be published author) from Curtis Brown blogs. His end-of-week industry wrap ups are valuable and incisive to anyone interested in how publishing really works.

Jacket Whys: Interested in book design? Here’s a blog devoted to critiques of YA and children’s book covers.

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* There are also spaces available for my Children’s Picture Book workshop on December 12, if you’re interested. Learn more or register.

** Well, aside from Mad Men blogs these days. I am not-so-secretly convinced we are all Don Draper deep down inside, but minus infidelity and excessive drinking and smoking — but that’s a subject for another post.

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Publishing Monday: How to make an iPhone app

With everything going on at the studio, it’s been some time since my last Publishing Monday post. Time to make amends for that!

No surprise: These days in the publishing world, the big subject is digital publishing, in a “sky is falling” hysterical way. Though I have a Kindle, I count myself firmly a fan of the pleasures of print publishing — it’s hard to imagine a book such as The Lover’s Path translated from paper and ink into pixels on a screen. Plus I simply like the tactile pleasures of curling up with a book on a rainy day.

Regardless, as anyone who reads this blog knows, I am excited by the opportunities offered by digital publishing, especially when it comes to iPhone app development. Though I’ve long been tempted by self-publishing for creative and business reasons, it was always that bugaboo of distribution which deterred me from seriously taking the plunge. Like most authors, I’d rather make books than hawk them. After all, who wants a garage full of books to sell? (And, living here in NYC, I don’t even have a garage anyway.)

But that’s the beauty of iPhone app development: Unlike traditional publishing, iPhone apps offer an easy distribution model for publishing entrepreneurs.

Here’s a simple diagram to sum it up:

‘Nuff said.

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