Back from Hiatus

Wow, so it's been a while since I last posted, mostly because I've been feeling completely drained from writing, but also because there's a new procrastination tool in my house: my portfolio! That's right, I've finally gotten around to it and started putting together a jewelry portfolio for all of my designs. (It probably doesn't hurt that I just upgraded to the new version of Photoshop and it's suh-weet!)

Here's a taste of my portfolio:

This one's called "Under the Sea."

And this one I've named "Lemon Drop."

And for some reason when I designed this one, the first thing that came to mind was "Groovy, Baby" so that's what I decided to call it.

So, there you have it, a hint of what my portfolio will be like. I've got 17 finished presentation slides and another half dozen or so designs that are still in the rough stages. I think the hardest part will be selecting which designs to include in my book, since I'll have to narrow it down to about 15.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane...

It's a... Literary Magazine!

That's right folks, today at "Get Your Read On" we officially introduced our new online literary magazine, Verbal Pyrotechnics, a magazine exclusively dedicated to showcasing teen literature.

There are tons of literary magazines out there, but almost all of them only print literature targeting adults. Sure, there are plenty of kid's magazines that print short fiction, poetry and non-fiction, but these magazines target the younger set. For teens, there are few venues that showcase short fiction, poetry and narrative non-fiction. That's where VP comes in. Our goal is to give teen authors a market to publish this type of work so that the world of teen literature isn't restricted to novels. Sure, novels are great, but those other forms of writing are important too.

Here's a sketch of a possible logo for Verbal Pyrotechnics.

We will be sending out a call for submissions very soon so check back again. If you have any magazine-related questions, you can email me (the Editor-in-Chief) at editor(at)verbalpyrotechnics(dot)com.

24-ish Hours and Counting

Pyro-crastination

Today I spent a good chunk of my afternoon putting together a make-shift website for Verbal Pyrotechnics, a new literary e-zine for teen literature, of which I am an editor. Ultimately I envision the site being much more hi-tech than the crude mock-up I've put together, but I think it's important to get some portion of a site up so that we can start soliciting submissions. The site is not officially up yet--still need to work out a last few details--but considering I knew next to nothing about html, this afternoon was well-spent.

Here's a screen-shot of my mock-up of the main page.

Danse Macabre

Sometimes different forms of art inspire each other. This painting, Danse Macabre, was inspired by an orchestral piece by that same name, composed by Camille Saint-Saens. The black and white swirly things are crocheted and knitted strips of yarn on a background of acrylic paint and glossy medium. The swirls are visual representations of different musical motifs in the piece.

Shaking Up My Brain Cells

Sometimes a good puzzle is just what I need to break out of a creative rut. This one is one of my favorites and is a graph theory classic. It reminds me never to make obvious assumptions.

Question: How do you get across all the bridges, if you only cross each bridge only once?

Check? No Check?

Cleaning out two whole book shelves and throwing out several dozen magazines... 3 and 1/2 hours

Finishing and mailing application to summer program... 1/2 hour

Finding a grant for Verbal Pyrotechnics...



...never ending.

OK, in all fairness, it was unreasonable of me to think I'd find a grant, write a proposal and be done with it all in one afternoon. One can always dream, though, right?

What's the Difference...

...between a "statement of purpose" and a "statement of expectations"? I'm supposed to include both in an application to a summer program but I can't see how these two things are any different from each other. Am I hallucinating or are these not the exact same thing?

Get Your Read On!

This is an event I'm helping to organize. I'll be doing my first public reading ever at this event!

The Great Writer

I find this song hilarious. Unfortunately, the video quality is less than great, but you can get the idea.

The Great Writer

Rabbit Rabbit

According to my second grade teacher, if you say "Rabbit Rabbit" first thing in the morning on the first day of the month, then good things will happen. And we all know that when your second grade teacher says something, you'd better scoop up those pearls of wisdom before they roll away. Because if teacher says it, it must be true.

So, raise your latte (or in my case, herbal tea) and let's toast the start of a great new month.

Rabbit Rabbit!