Here I am with the awesome, smart, funny and cute young lady that I mentor at Westminster Neighborhood Ministries after school program ~ Brianna Hazel! We have fun playing cards, Sorry and just talking. She never needs any of my help with homework. 🙂 Lucky me! I try to go once a week to see her (I’m not always successful with my schedule). WNM is builing a new facility soon, as well. I definately get more out of it than Brianna does.
I’m so excited about the cover for my YA novel, THE FIELD coming out this Fall! It’s exactly how I envisioned it thanks to my son, Alex Katsaropoulos, who designed it. I hope that it’s intriguing and makes you want to read the book.
Here’s a quote from Laurie Gray, author of MAYBE I WILL (Luminis Books 3/15/2013) and SUMMER SANCTUARY (Luminis Books 5/2010) ~ “The idea behind THE FIELD is a brilliant blend of soccer, science and fiction. True-to-life characters, contemporaty environmental issues, and engaging metaphysical principals skirt the edges of science fiction and magical realism in this modern coming-of-age novel.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Alex is a talented artist and musician. Check out his website for Air Tight to listen to music he’s written, performed and recorded. It’s amazing! And I’m not just saying that because he’s my son. I’ve listened to it thousands of times (and I do mean thousands of times) as he created it in my basement, and if it wasn’t fantastic, I think I would have gone crazy. You can download it from iTunes, too. He’s working on a promotional deal with an agent as I write this post.
Alex’s art has been exhibited in the Evan Lurie Gallery in Carmel and at SoHo Cafe & Gallery. He’s studying music business at Columbia College Chicago which is such an incredible place for creative minds. I want to enroll!! The really sad thing, though, is how many people tell us that our children should study something in college that they can use to get a ‘real job.’ What does that even mean? A job in a cubicle? Or something that person understands? I imagine that they would tell me that I could never write a book or start my own publishing company. I’m glad we don’t listen to them. 🙂
Last weekend my husband and I went on a hike through Eagle Creek park on the Eagle Creek reservior. It had warmed up considerably and melted all the snow we’d gotten over the holidays, so it was very muddy and wet. There was actually standing water on some of the trails and it was drizzily outside. Not many other hikers were out, but there were a few runners and we saw several deer.
This stream was quietly serene and beautiful.
The raindrops gathered prettily on the branches.
This little waterfall made lovely music.
And these gentle deer watched us curiously while they foraged for food.
Here’s a story from last summer.
Guess what I found in the compost pile? Ernie The Dog! I was in the kitchen getting dinner ready and I heard a quiet ‘woof’. I didn’t see Ernie anywhere, but then I heard the ‘woof’ again. I checked outside and this is what I found.
Ernie loves corn-on-the-cob. We had eaten Indiana sweet corn for dinner that night and put the cobs in the compost pile. Hungering after this delectible treat, Ernie jumped into the compost pile, but then he couldn’t get out! Silly dog. 🙂
My son and daughter are graduating from high school this year. I find myself being very excited for them and perhaps even a little jealous. They will be attending college in downtown Chicago – right across from Grant Park and Navy Pier with a view of Lake Michigan. One thing that I never did was live in the city after college. I guess I can live a little vicariously through my children. They are following creative pursuits -music management and comtemporary music, and photography and graphic design. They are both very talented artists. The interesting thing is how many people want to tear their dreams down before they’ve even started or tell them that they can’t ‘make a living’ as an artist or to be ‘realistic’. Is it that these people have thwarted dreams of their own? I even know of a young lady who dreams of being a baker whose mother told her that she can either major in business or education, not culinary arts. Why would you want to subject your child to life in a cubicle? And last time I checked, teaching jobs were pretty hard to come by. I find that very sad. I told her to take cooking classes as electives and learn about the business of owning her own bakery!
I’m not a very nostalgic person, and while I am sad that my children will be leaving home soon and will miss them and all of their friends and all the positive energy that they bring, I am really so excited for the adventure they are about to embark on. Frankly, I’m also a little excited about the adventures that I am about to embark on, because, now its gonna be all about me! 🙂
| “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~ Howard Thurman
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| “Find your passion and then you will have found your purpose.” ~ Bishop T.D. Jakes |
While Indiana is consumed with the March Madness of the college basketball tournament – go IU Hoosiers!, another March madness is quietly taking place…80 degree temperatures! 🙂
Friday night we ventured downtown to see the Hoosier Hospitality we’ve been hearing about at the Super Bowl Village in downtown Indianapolis. The weather has been perfect – 50’s and above and no snow. Downtown Indy is perfect for this event because everything is within walking distance including the stadium. It was PACKED, but everyone was in good spirits and having fun. We saw the much talked about zip-line and many street performers. The areas around the concert stage for LMFAO was too crowded to get awaywhere near, but we had fun just people watching. Its nice for the rest of the world to see what a great city Indianapolis is! These pics were taken with my iPhone, so the quality isn’t great, but you get the idea.
Sunday night I’ll be watching the game and rooting for Eli Manning and the Giants to beat the Patriots!
I had to share the next episode in the Winnetka, IL coincidence saga. At the Indy Author’s Fair I talked with Margaret McMullan, winner of the National Author Award. We had met before and I went to a workshop where she talked about her novels. One of her novels for adults, “In My Mother’s House”, really intrigued me, so I got it and started to read. It turns out that the family in the book moves to Winnetka, IL!! That really got my attention. Why all these Winnetka references? Stay tuned to as the story unfolds….
I’m one of those people who find meaning in even the smallest things, so when ‘coincidences’ happen I take notice. I believe that coincidences are really the universe giving us little nudges or responding to our thoughts and desires. Several serendipidous coincidences happened to me just recently. In October, I attended the Tennessee Association of School Librarians (TASL) conference in Memphis, TN. The keynote speaker was Margaret Peterson Haddix, a highly regarded and prolific YA author. In her speech she mentioned that she used Conner Prairie as inspiration for her first novel, “Running Out of Time” (see post under ‘Conner Prairie’ 10/14/2011). I live right across the river and about two miles away from Conner Prairie. The really interesting coincidence is this -while I was at the confernce I purchased Ms. Haddix’s novel “Found” and discovered that one of her characters is from Winnetka, IL, which is the town where I grew up and is fictionalized in “Indian Summer”! So what made me pick that particular novel? Is there going to be some connection between me and Margaret Peterson Haddix? (I hope so!) Her books are mostly in the science fiction genre, which is the direction that I find that my writing going. (My science background is appearing more and more in my writing, but that’s a subject for another post).
Then last week I suddenly thought of my son’s first grade teacher for no particular reason. She just popped into my head while I was at the drugstore. I hadn’t seen or talked to her in over 10 years. A few days later while I was shopping at Costco, who do you think I ran into? Mrs. Tobias, former first grade teacher! We chatted for a few minutes and she was stunned to learn that my son is now a senior and applying to colleges. I have to wonder why I thought of her and ran into her.
The third synchronicity was that I called some friends of ours to get together for a night out and then I saw our friend Celia at the church Bazaar (shopping again!). She said that she had just mentioned to her husband that they should get together with us – she hadn’t gotten my message yet. ~ Que the theme from The Twighlight Zone!
So what do these synchronisities mean? Haven’t you ever had the phone ring and you know who it is before you answer or even more spooky, been thinking about a friend and have them call? Do our thoughts somehow communicate with one another remotely or telepathically? I’m exploring these ideas in “The Field”. I believe that we are all connected. I’d love to hear about ‘coincidences’ that have happened to you!
We had a party teen party at our house for Halloween and everyone dressed up – even the dog! Hope your Halloween was Spooktacular!
