Memorial Day. In the strictest sense, it’s a day to honor those in the military who died in service to our country. After visiting the Christina-Taylor Green memorial park in Tucson Arizona for hike #17 of our 52 Hike Challenge, I would like to broaden that definition.
Christina-Taylor’s life was book-ended by tragedy. She was born on 9-11-2001, the date of the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers. The signage at the park states that “From a very early age she was aware of the significance of her birth date, which in turn inspired her interest in politics.” She was a lively, creative child who loved to dance, sing, and take part in sports. Her butterfly drawings and paintings were memorable.
The plaque goes on to say, “Sadly, Christina-Tayor Green was taken from her family on January, 2011 in Tucson Arizona.”
On that day, 9-year-old Christina-Taylor went with a family friend to see US Representative Gabrielle Giffords speak at a shopping center in Tucson. Christina was one of six people killed as a gunman fired into the crowd in an attempt to assassinate Representative Giffords.
The Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Park was dedicated in 2017 and is located close to the Green’s home and where Christiana and her brother used to play. As we wandered through this tribute, references to the butterflies she loved so much were seen in the murals, butterfly garden, and a large sculpture modeled after one of her last paintings.
The park is next to the Tucson Loop Trail, 137 miles of biking and pedestrian paths that connect the wider Tucson area. After visiting the memorial, I walked quietly along the Loop for a mile or so and back, trying to make sense of the tragedies that framed Christina’s life. I could not. I cling to the message of hope on one of the park’s beautiful mosaics. “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”
Walkers, joggers and cyclists were making good use of the Loop trail, enjoying the cool desert morning as they passed by Christina’s park. I wondered if they were aware of this quiet stop along the trail, or of the child it memorializes.
Life goes on for some. For others, we are left with a memory.
Threads of Thought
Debra VanDeventer is the author of two books: Out of the Crayon Box: Thoughts on Teaching, Retirement, and Life and Until Italy: A Traveler’s Memoir available HERE.
Did you know that May is a month to celebrate sewing? Me-Made May was launched in 2010 on the blog So Zo, What Do You Know? and has been gathering attention every year since.
It began as a personal sewing challenge encouraging makers and sewists to set aside the month of May to get creative by styling and wearing their handmade garments. Over the years, it has grown into many things for many people.
This year, I’m thinking of the sewing/writing connection as I work on my Me-Made May projects. Here are some things both of these creative endeavors have in common.
Start with an inspiration.
Any creative work begins with a spark of inspiration. Using the book the Curated Closet as a reference, this year I’m focused on creating a few pieces in simple lines and neutral colors that could mix and match. A look through Pinterest provided inspiration for my latest creations.
Plan your work
Gather your thoughts, your words, your fabric, your thread. Lay out the pattern. This is the raw material you will need for your your writing or sewing project.
Rough Draft
Author Anne Lamott calls the first draft of a writing project a “shitty first draft.” When sewing, you might call it ragged seams, or this doesn’t fit, or not the look I was going for. At any rate, you have to get the work started, put something down that you can work with. Get your seat in your seat and get to work. Keep your seam-ripper (and delete key) handy for this stage!
Editing/Finishing Touches
Try the work on for size. Too long? Cut it down, eliminate extra words, take in a seam here and there. Need more detail? Work on your descriptions, add a unique or unexpected element– a button or a plot twist. Keep making adjustments until you are satisfied that the work is the best you can bring forth.
Completion/Publishing
Your project is complete! Celebrate the feeling of success that “occurs in the privacy of the soul…before exposure to a single opinion” (Rick Rubin). Now, get your work out there. Hit the publish button. Wear your new sewing project out to lunch with friends! Over lunch, talk about the weather, or how the family is doing, or I don’t know… other things like “by the way, I have a new book out.” Just to keep the conversation going. That’s what authors do….
( For Me-Made May 2024 I ended up making two versions of the Emerson pant and short pattern from True Bias)
Threads of Thought
“Sewing our own clothing is just one of many paths we can take each day to bring that creativity into our daily lives. We connect with others when we wear what we’ve made, expressing who we are and sharing what we’ve created.” Sarai Mitnick from Seamwork
Writing, sewing, cooking, painting, knitting, scrapbooking, woodworking…whatever your thing, enjoy your creative life!
Read more from Debra! Out of the Crayon Box: Thoughts on Teaching, Retirement, and Life and her new release Until Italy: A Traveler’s Memoir are available HERE!
An old rotary phone sits in the phone booth at the edge of the trail
My husband, Ed and I are taking part in the 52 Hike Challenge, one hike each week during 2024. Because I’m a writer/sewist I’m documenting each hike in words and fabric. Each hike “earns” a fabric triangle that I’ll stitch into a quilt.
So far, we’re on track. We’ve logged in 16 hikes from January to April–mostly local parks and trails, taking advantage of the cooler temps here in Arizona. As brutally hot weather approaches, we’ll need to head to the mountains, or woodlands. As casual hikers, we aren’t concerned about speed or miles (though the official rules state the “hikes” must be at least one mile outdoors.) We try to seek new places and invite friends and family along. And I always find a story…
On a recent hike, we met friends David and Suzanne in Green Valley, Arizona to hike the nature trail in Madera Canyon. After a beautiful hike, we stopped for lunch, then visited Desert Meadows Park, a veritable oasis in the desert. We hiked down the trail at the edge of the park, and there it was. A white stucco structure, just big enough for a person or two to stand in. A phone booth. In the desert.
A white stucco phone booth on the edge of the trail.
According to the sign, the owner/builder of this unique structure was inspired by the wind phone in the novel The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina, the story about a real phone booth in a rural town in Japan that was decimated by the 2011 tsunami. The disconnected rotary telephone allows grieving family members to “speak” to loved ones who have passed on.
Stepping inside the unique space, we commented on the simplicity of the architecture and the amount of care an effort that had gone into it. A simple, black rotary phone was in the window. The sign below it read: “speak from the heart to be heard.”
Suddenly, I asked to be alone for a moment. A strange feeling came over me as I stared at the old, disconnected phone. I picked up the receiver and dialed the letters that spelled a name. I spoke from the heart, whispering words to my father who’d been gone for 24 years.
A blue antique insulator and a wire disappears into the sky.
Outside the booth, a telephone wire winds around an antique glass insulator, then floats into the air. I imagined my words taking flight. Or maybe it wasn’t my imagination.
The wind phone is a treasure offering a quiet respite, an unexpected moment of reflection as I journeyed down the path on hike # 16.
And the quilt is taking shape. It’s not stitched together yet, but I wanted to lay it out and see how it might look..16 triangles, 16 hikes, 16 stories.
16 triangles. 16/52 hikes
Threads of Thought
“Walking is not, can never be, just about burning calories or counting steps. It’s and ancient act, evolved over millions of years and is deeply integral to our sense of belonging, both physically and psychologically.” (Antonia Malchik, A Walking Life)
Find out more about how and why we began the 2024 52 Hike Challenge HERE
Read More from Debra! Out of the Crayon Box: Thoughts on Teaching, Retirement and Life was recently featured at the 2024 Tucson Festival of Books, and her newest title Until Italy: A Traveler’s Memoir was released only a few weeks ago!
It’s here! I’ve published my second book Until Italy: a Traveler’s Memoir! A long journey to be sure…nearly two years in the making. (Learn more about my indie-author path to publishing here .)
It’s exciting! I check my sales report daily (ok, maybe twice…or that one day it was every hour or so…) and I rejoice when a book finds its way to you. My heart skips a beat when one of my readers leaves a review on Amazon and I know that my work has made an impression. Yet I know from experience the initial rush will pass. Life returns to normal.
So… What does success mean to me? What does success mean to any writer? This is what I’ve been thinking about all week. I turned to my author “friends” for inspiration and here’s what I found:
Writing is the Best Part
From Anne Lamott (Bird by Bird) :
“Publication is not all that it is cracked up to be. But writing is. That thing you had to force yourself to do–the actual act of writing–turns out to be the best part….The act of writing turns out to be its own reward.“
Quiet Glory
From Elizabeth Gilbert (Big Magic):
“There is a quiet glory in merely making things and then sharing those things with an open heart on no expectations.“
Pure Joy
From Stephen King (On Writing):
I have written because it fulfilled me. I did it for the buzz. I did it for the pure joy of the thing. And if you can do it for the joy, you can do it forever.“
Success Occurs in the Privacy of the Soul
And from Rick Rubin (The Creative Act) comes the definition of success that rings truest for me:
“How shall we measure success? It isn’t popularity, money, or critical esteem. Success occurs in the privacy of the soul. It comes in the moment you decide to release the work, before exposure to a single opinion. When you’ve done all you can to bring out the work’s greatest potential. When you’re pleased and ready to let go.“
Have I been successful? Having done all I can to bring out this book’s greatest potential, I’ve let it go. I feel pleased, successful, where it matters. In the privacy of my soul.
What’s next for this author? Again I turn to Rubin’s words: “Once the work meets your highest standards, you sign off on it, let it go, and begin the next chapter of your life’s work–whatever that may be.“
Another book in the works? We’ll see. For now, I’m going to bask in the glimmer of this one for a few more days.
INTRODUCING!
Until Italy: a Traveler’s Memoir is the story of an ordinary woman transformed by an extraordinary country. A fun, quick read, perfect for a cozy evening at home, a beach read, or tucked into a travel bag for your next adventure!
Good News! You may soon hold a copy of my new book in your hands! My story is going from my imagination to words sent out into the world! Ever wonder how that happens? There are many ways to publish. As a proud indie (independently published) author, I’m in charge of all aspects of publishing my book. It’s exciting, but can be daunting at the same time.
In this post, I share my experience as an indie author who is about to publish her second book. Here is my Pathway to Publishing:
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Editing
After the last sentence of a rough manuscript has been typed (Anne Lamott calls this the “shitty first draft”), the real work begins. Editing.
Stephen King says “2 drafts and a polish.” Draft one is a closed door; the author goes over the manuscript by her- or himself. Draft 2 is an open door; the manuscript goes out to others to see for the first time. This is where being a part of a writing community pays off. I am fortunate to have a group of close friends who are talented writers. We spend time together, going over each other’s work. Considering the feedback, I edit my manuscript. This process (developmental editing) takes time, but is crucial to creating a well thought out and cohesive manuscript. (By the way Stephen, I’d be happy with 2 drafts…my manuscript has had many, many more…)
The “polish” then is the line editing. Grammar, spelling, punctuation, spacing. No stone is left unturned. Again, my writing friends come to my rescue. One of my critique group friends is an excellent line editor. Her work is invaluable to me. Back to the manuscript I go.
The Book Takes Shape
So, at the time of this writing, my manuscript is ready. Now on to formatting: This is the nuts and bolts of the book…sort of like building a house. Here is where I consider the size of the book, font style and size, line spacing, chapter headings, margins, buff or white paper, placement of page numbers. eBooks have their own format. There are tutorials and templates out there, but for me (she who has limited tech skills), I trust this to a professional. I contract it out. My formatter takes my manuscript and cover ideas and gets them ready to submit to KDP/ Amazon.
A Book by its Cover
And speaking of cover…this step is crucial. The cover is the face of the book–it’s first impression. It holds the power to make a reader stop and pick up the book, or walk on by. Colors, images, text all play a part. I’m a visual person and love designing my own covers. I start with a stock photo (purchased on Shutterstock). Then, with the help of my formatter, or programs like Coverjig, I play with the text to create the look I’m going for.
And don’t forget about the back. Back cover blurbs are the book’s second chance to grab a reader. Notice the next time you are browsing in a bookstore. Don’t you look at the cover first, then flip it over to see what the book is about? Yep, that’s intentional. There is an exact art to writing a back cover blurb…part word smithing, part psychology. The goal is to draw the reader in without revealing too much.
Upload
Almost there. Now, the book needs an ISBN (international standard book number). That little number on the back cover uniquely identifies the book. Amazon and other publishers will assign one for free, but then they technically own this number which may limit who you can sell to. This time around I am purchasing my own ISBN through Bowker.
Once the formatting is in order, I upload the book to Amazon. If everything meets their standards, I will order an author’s proof copy. It’s an exciting day when this arrives on my doorstep. This is when the book becomes real for me and I can see it as the reader will experience it. If everything looks good, I go back to my Amazon author’s account, press PUBLISH and…(drumroll please) the book is released into the world!
It seems like this should be the end of the story…but there’s one more thing. Amazon has an estimated 32 million published titles. Publishing a book is like dropping a tiny pebble onto a beach covered in 32 million tiny pebbles. No one will ever notice my book…unless I tell people about it and show them where to find it. Now I need to…
Market the Book
There I said it. For any author, but especially indie authors marketing is critical. There are many ways to do this: word of mouth, friends and family, social media, blogs and newsletters, book signings. I like to think of this as another outlet for creativity. Each book has its own personality, and it’s up to me to find a way to connect to its audience.
So there you have it. A long process, yes. Why do I do it? Well, why does a painter paint or an actor act or a quilter quilt? It’s a way of expressing myself, of creating something that didn’t exist before, and maybe, just maybe I will connect with someone who will relate to my story.
“When you make it real, it can gloriously travel to all sorts of places. Even a seemingly tiny story can deeply affect other people” -SARK
So, Watch this space…Book #2 is coming soon! I can’t wait to share it with you!
Threads of Thought
You play an important part in this process! Readers can help authors by purchasing their books, writing a review on Amazon, attending local author book signings, liking or commenting on a social media or blog post. Even a friendly “hey, I loved your book” goes a long way!
I’ve learned a lot since publishing my first book three years ago, but this debut book will always be close to my heart. The story of my transition from teaching to writing sets the stage for book #2. It’s not too late to get your copy here! http://amazon.com/author/debravandeventer
