On July 25, I had the great privilege and pleasure of visiting The Purple Cow bookstore in Tooele, Utah. I had heard great things about this bookstore that specializes in children’s and YA literature and I was not disappointed. Isa, the proprietress, was so gracious and friendly that I immediately felt like one of the family.
The Purple Cow may be a small store, but it has a big heart. Custom posters of cows dancing, fencing, racing, and, of course, reading, cover the walls. The bookcases are just the right height for young readers to browse titles with ease, and there is an extremely comfy couch if you feel inclined to read a little before you decide to buy.
The book club met in the open space at the back of the store. There were about seventeen people and we had a lively conversation about The Hourglass Door. A few people hadn’t finished it yet, so we were careful not to talk about too many details; no one wanted to spoil the story for anyone else. Instead we talked a lot about the process of writing, what it was like to get published, and even a bit about my job as an editor. I was happily surprised to see how many kids were writing their own stories. (One girl said she had even submitted her story to Shadow Mountain. Way to go!) The kids asked intelligent, thoughtful questions and afterwards we took lots of pictures, signed books, and visited with everyone in the group. It was a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend a Saturday afternoon. I can’t wait to go back in September for another signing. J
I like to think that I’m pretty good at keeping things in order. I love to use checklists and assigning events to the “Task” list in Outlook. I love the feeling of satisfaction I get when I check something off as “completed” and can move on to the next item.
But what I hate is when I have more to-do items than I can humanly do in one day. Summer is a busy season in publishing—ah, who am I kidding, every season is a busy season in the publishing world—because if we don’t have our Christmas books finished in July, they won’t be ready for the stores in time for Christmas sales. So even though it is a sweltering 100 degrees outside, inside my office I’m humming “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” and looking up facts about Santa to verify a detail mentioned in a new Christmas novel. It’s kind of strange.
This summer has seemed busier than usual and I find myself having to remind myself to breathe just to make it through the day. In an effort to juggle all that I have to do as an editor, an author, and a wife (not to mention trying to find a little me-time every day), I’ve been trying out some new ways of working. Including writing on the train.
Train-time used to be me-time. My commute to work is about thirty minutes and I used to take those thirty minutes and lose myself in a good book. I’d get an hour every day to read something I wanted to read. Not for work—just for me. But my deadline for The Golden Spiral is looming and I still have a lot of work to do on it. So I’ve been looking at that hour on the train not as reading time, but as writing time. My mom’s laptop is just the right size and has a decent battery lifespan. And so I’m embarking on a new adventure. I’m going to try to write on the train. I hope it works. Wish me luck.
Writers--at work?
First, I have to apologize for the long silence of my blog. I have tried to keep a fairly regular blogging schedule, but alas, as is often the case, life and time conspired to keep me away from the computer. But I hereby vow to do better from here on out. I promise. J
And so, to make good on that promise, I’d like to share the events from today, which involved a community party with some good friends, followed by a book signing at the local bookstore.
About a month or so ago, the West Jordan Deseret Book emailed me, wondering if I might like to participate in a summer party at the Jordan Landing Plaza. I said yes (of course—I hate to pass up an opportunity to blab about my book J) and asked if I could extend the invitation to my good friends and fellow authors Ally Condie and Becca Wilhite. We decided to have a Summer Beach theme, complete with leis, and for our presentation, we planned to write a book in twenty minutes. And of course—there would be treats—lemon bars and cookies.
I’ll be honest, I was a little worried that we might not have a very big crowd (the marketing was slim) but when we arrived at the store, there was already a crowd waiting for us outside under a canopy. The three of us dove in, encouraging the audience to participate with us in writing a book together. We ended up with the story of Ellie, who, in an effort to escape from her 13 older sisters, built a raft and sailed with her cat, Simon, from Washington to China, narrowing escaping certain death from a terrible storm, a shark attack (from 50 sharks!), and potential starvation when her food supply ran out. Happily, Ellie and Simon reached China safely and found the perfect hat—which was the goal all along. Not bad for twenty minutes, huh?
After our adventure with creativity, we had a drawing for some free books, and then the whole group headed over to Deseret Book for a book signing and some visiting. All in all, I think it was a total success. And the best part was that Becca (and her kids), Ally, and I all went to lunch afterwards. Honestly, it was WAY more fun that going to work today.
