Need a new calendar

T. the publicist rocks. I need a new calendar - I use an academic calendar on my desk, and it only goes through July! And yet, the world goes beyond July!

In other news, I find I am happiest when writing in Palatino 14. Then I change the document to Times New Roman 12 in order to submit to people other than myself.

Don't forget - if you're in Atlanta, come to Creative Writing and Yoga this Sunday at 1 at Nirvana Yoga/Grant Park! We will not use calendars. Or computer typefaces. We will, however, do forward bends, as well as heart-opening asanas, and write some startlingly good descriptions of mundane things.

Debut!

It's official - the "April 30 debut of local memoirist" - (me) at A Cappella Books in Little Five Points!

A reading, a signing, and my own real-live books, here in Atlanta.

Y'all please come.

The Monkey Owl is back

The barred owl is back, and I'm glad. We call him (or her, I guess only a specialist in bird calls might know how to differentiate by sound) the "monkey owl" because the cry sounds like crazed monkeys in the jungle.

We love it. Hoo haw haw haw in the dark of night.

The chicken-people still have their chickens: I hear the rooster, too, but not, thank g-d, in the middle of the night. There is more about the mysterious rooster (but not the owls) in my book!

Currently listening...

... to this on my iPod (without the video), Cat Power's cover of "New York, New York."

Also got some Bird and the Bee going on, and some more Neko Case.

And a lot of radio essays. Because I like them.

AWPooped

M. and I are back from another AWP conference, this one in Chicago. Okay, I thought the city would be piled high with snow, but no! Instead, a snow-sculpting competition in Millennium Park! Some people in shorts, even! I am now a Chicago fan, but I wear a parka. Here is the "Bean," legitimately called the Cloud Gate. This is an arty-smarty photo of the bean taken by me. Not a clear representation of the Bean itself.

Yes, we went to AWP seminars; my faves being an energetic and fun panel about writing essays for radio, and another about reading as a writer led by two favorite former teachers, who packed the room and had attendees leaning in from the hallway. Navigating the bookfair required a sherpa, but I'm delighted to have seen new friends from Grub Street and the Kenyon Review.

Thanks to C. and R. for tips on things to see and do in Chicago. The rest of this post has the potential to devolve into a shout-out. Friends, consider yourselves shouted out.

And now, enough talking about writing, let's get writing!

Library Thing!

Invisible Sisters is on Library Thing! Amazing - I didn't even know about Library Thing until yesterday. I like to say Library Thing.

Which leads me to the "whatness of a thing," which is from James Joyce, "Portrait of the Artist as A Young Man." See what I get for having a post-graduate degree? Portrait of the author as a woman who didn't know about Library Thing.

Writing is a Physical Act, part two

Downloading old stuff from my neglected camera, I found this photo.

This is the Invisible Sisters ms in its last pass as 8 /12 x 11 printer pages, experiencing a reorganization of chapters. Does 16 work better as part of 8? What about that section in 4 that should really be with that other section in 7?

MVV was right - she always is - and the only way for me to visualize it was this.

That's my hallway, from the front door to the end of the 1st floor. Those are not single pages, they are chapters and chunks of chapters.

Be a Part of Public Art Feb 7. Got a phone?

This is an ongoing interactive photographic art project founded by (entirely run by) my friend Beth.

The Oracle at Wi-Fi (I named it! I'm not as a clever as Beth, though) combines cellular phone technology, digital photography, and the ancient techniques of Soothsaying. (Hence the name, Oracle at Wi-Fi.)

Make a call. See your fortune. Be in a gallery, maybe.

Beth also took my book jacket photo. She used a regular camera that time.


(Photo from msnbc.com. But the Oracle is way better than a Ouija board, and I like Ouija boards.)

If you miss this month, be a part of the Oracle @ Wi-Fi on the 7th of every month!

Our favorite reference books

I realized this morning that one of my all-time favorite reference books, on the shelf behind my desk (except when it's on my desk, held open with a coffee cup, or a chunk of marble that I use for holding down books, or a Bugs Bunny clip that I can't throw away) is the "Penguin Roget's College Thesaurus in Dictionary Form."


782 pages of paperback delciousness, in alpha order, with definitions.

Musical Interlude

While I am spinning plates (bonus points for the reference, y'all) here's a musical interlude. Turns out that this song was the #1 hit on the VERY DAY that I was born.

I just learned that today, but I've been fascinated with this song for years and years. What does that tell you?

This bizarre piece of info courtesy of MB, with whom I've been friends since the dawn of time.