petals of wisdom

May 7, 2009 ~ jama ~ 22 Comments

      Art by my niece, Julia, who is now 9.


"Every child is born a naturalist. His eyes are, by nature, open to the glories of the stars, the beauty of the flowers, and the mystery of life." ~ R. Search

"It is at the edge of a petal that love waits." ~ William Carlos Williams

"I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." ~ Claude Monet

"In the hope of reaching the moon men fail to see the flowers that blossom at their feet." ~ Albert Schweitzer

     by my nephew, Jared, when he was 8

Have a lovely, fragrant day!!

chicken butts and other fine things

May 6, 2009July 26, 2011 ~ jama ~ 6 Comments

Maha Addasi and me (we both have very nice butts).

This past Sunday, I threw caution to the wind, grabbed my umbrella, and drove over to the Reston Regional Library to check out the Mid-Atlantic SCBWI New Member Welcome & Regional Get-together.

There were two very good reasons for going: writer pal, Maha Addasi (The White Nights of Ramadan), was going to be on the panel, and I was told there’d be cake.

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soup of the day: a recipe 4 robbery by marybeth kelsey!

April 28, 2009 ~ jama ~ 12 Comments

photo by EssjayNZ

HONK HONK!!

Have you heard the good news?

Marybeth Kelsey’s second middle grade novel, A Recipe 4 Robbery (Greenwillow, 2009), is officially out today! WooHoo!!

     A RECIPE 4 ROBBERY by Marybeth Kelsey (Greenwillow, 2009),
     Fiction for ages 8-12, 288 pp.

I don’t know about you, but a book with the word, "recipe" in the title sounds awfully good to me. Actually, I just read the first eight chapters at the publisher’s website, and it looks like Marybeth has cooked up a fun, fast paced mystery caper with just the right ingredients to satisfy readers 8 – 12.

        Cukes everywhere are doin’ the Marybeth happy dance!
        (photo by sujuzspace)

First, there’s ten-year-old Lindy Lou Phillips, who’s sworn off vegetables for the annual Bloomsberry Cucumber Festival. That includes dressing up like one (her mom’s a carrot, and her dad and brother are beets), as well as eating them. But alas and alack, a plate full of gross, slimy, disgusting stewed cucumbers prepared by the dotty Mrs. Unger is forced upon her, and she is obligated to try them.

Add to the mix, Lindy’s best friend, Margaret; know-it-all, Gus Kinnard (who’s definitely not her boyfriend!); a desire to go to band camp, and a messy run-in with snotty Cucumber Festival Princess, Angel Grimstone (strawberry shortcake is involved).

Next, slip in a key ingredient: the discovery of a valuable stolen locket in the cucumber sludge! Knowing full well there’s no way Mrs. Unger, aka, Granny Goose, could be guilty, the three friends set out to find who could have framed her and why. Could it be flamboyant François, the French chef? Or Leonard, the Grimstone’s sullen gardener?

A hefty reward looms on the horizon, as the trio adopts a strategy laid out by the NSCCB (Not-So-Clueless-Crimebusters). The narrative moves along at a brisk pace, and readers will be captivated by Lindy’s authentic voice and humor from the outset. Sprinkle in a mischievous, shiny-object-loving goose named Pickles, a little jealousy, corn dogs, lemonade, and french fries, and you’ve got a delicious, suspenseful read.

A Recipe 4 Robbery has already received a glowing review from Kirkus, who called it "top-notch summer reading." Sweet words, indeed, especially on the heels of Kelsey’s highly acclaimed first novel, Tracking Daddy Down (2008), which received a starred review from School Library Journal, and was named to the New York Public Library’s 2008 list of Top 100 Books for Reading and Sharing.

      How about a big flap of applause for Marybeth?
      (photo by ruth_gord)

Now, please join me in congratulating Marybeth on another fabulous book (vegetarians will be especially pleased with today’s soup). Though cucumbers are involved, they are of the coolest variety — no sludge, slime, or goop to interfere with your celebratory slurping!

Today’s Special: Goosey Gumbo (served with mini cheese breadsticks).

And, to top off the meal, have some strawberry shortcake:

photo source: Betty Crocker Recipes

A Recipe 4 Robbery can be purchased at your local indie or fave online bookseller. Click here to read some sample chapters from the book.

     "Well, what are you waiting for?!"
     (photo by phekda5000)

Don’t forget to check out Marybeth’s website or Live Journal blog for more about her and her books!

To see more Soup of the Day posts, click here.

a dose of dylan

April 27, 2009 ~ jama ~ 6 Comments

"A poem is a naked person. Some people say that I am a poet." ~ Bob Dylan

So, I simply can’t celebrate National Poetry Month without mentioning my man.

Found this very cool piece in Vanity Fair by Duff McDonald, called "Inside Dylan’s Brain" (click through to lopez2k95’s photostream, "all sizes," to see full size version of graphic).

By cataloguing some of Dylan’s themes, musical preferences, quips, quotes and other bits and pieces from his Theme Time Radio Hour show on XM Satellite radio, McDonald has given us a glimpse into the mind of the Pulitzer Prize winning song and dance man.

I like that Dylan’s given advice on "How to Walk Like a Runway Model," and "How to Give Yourself Dreadlocks." He’s played George Jones more than any other artist; he’s mentioned Shakespeare, Poe, Joyce, Cummings, Yeats, Plath. He’s pontificated on Women’s Names, Shoes, Thanksgiving Leftovers and Spring Cleaning. And you gotta love a man who makes his own barbecue sauce and meatballs, and shares his recipe for Figgy Pudding. Fascinating stuff!

Read the entire list at Vanity Fair.

I also listened to "Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie" again, and found it very moving, still relevant in these turbulent, uncertain times. This poem is the only one Dylan has ever read in public (April 12, 1963 at New York Town Hall); it’s a tribute to the man who probably had the strongest influence on his music, and speaks to the crucial role the poet/songwriter/artist has in society. Eric Clapton said this about Dylan:

He’s a poet. Basically he’s a poet. He does not trust his voice. He doesn’t trust his guitar playing. He doesn’t think he’s good at anything, except writing—and even then he has self-doubts. Have you heard that thing he wrote about Woody Guthrie? That to me is the sum of his life’s work so far. Whatever happens, that is it. That sums it up.

You can find the poem in its entirety here.