Irene Latham's Blog, page 165

WHY I LOVE DOG STORIES

When I think about what relationships matter most in childhood, I think about:

1. family, as in parents, siblings and grandparents

2. pets

3. friends

These are the primary relationships that set the stage for all other relationships in a person's life. It is through loving - and losing- these people and animals that we first learn about love.

Which is why I was really excited when I heard about Bobbie Pyron's A DOG'S WAY HOME.

It is definitely a love story between a girl and her dog (or a dog and her girl). But don't be afraid to put this book into the non-dog lover's hand as well. It's really about a girl learning to fit into a new life, and it's got that Appalachian flair I particularly enjoy. Give it to your readers who like books by Kerry Madden, Kathryn Erskine and Deborah Wiles.

Here's the first two chapters to whet your appetite.


My homeschooler and I are also on a dog kick. We just completed CALL OF THE WILD by Jack London and we're currently listening to DOG SONG by Gary Paulsen. Next up is DOGSLED DREAMS by Terry Lynn Johnson.

If you have a dog book recommendation, I'd love to hear about it! And for more book talks, don't forget to visit Kelly at the Lemme Library for Book Talk Tuesday.

MY SON HAS A DRINKING PROBLEM

Happy Birthday, sweet boy! Can't believe you are SEVENTEEN today. We are SO LUCKY to know and love you. Now go clean out your car. :)

FIVE FOR FRIDAY

1. I finished copyedits for DON'T FEED THE BOY. Although "finished" is not quite the right word -- yesterday I stewed for HOURS over one little word and first thing this morning sent my dear editor another tiny tweak. (It's a word in the very first sentence, so pretty darn important.)

2. After two weeks of reconstruction, the inspector comes TODAY to sign off on repair work required after Formosan termites made a meal of our home. I cannot tell you what a relief this will be. The workers have been great, but it's still PEOPLE IN MY HOUSE. All day. Looking forward to some quiet!

3. Ruby had her spay surgery this week and tomorrow I will take her to The Dog Whisperer Pat who will keep her until October 1. We've got a big trip to North Dakota later this month, and Ruby needs a little help with socialization and learning not to jump. Pat is just the gal to whip that sweet girl into line!

4. I got a new van. I pretty much drove the wheels off the last van -- nearly 200,000 miles! So now we're enjoying that new car smell and I'm obsessing over every speck and smudge. This, too, shall pass.

5. It's Poetry Friday today, so don't forget to visit Katie at Secrets and Sharing Soda. And if you happen to have written any poetry inspired by storms (recent or otherwise), please send 'em to me for consideration for publication in or April 2012 "Storm" issue of Birmingham Arts Journal. Deadline is December 31.


Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

IN WHICH BOOKS ARE LIKE CANDLES

Please see my post on Print Books vs. Digital Books over at Smack Dab in the Middle!

GUESS WHO CAME TO DINNER

PAPA !!!

Yep, all the way from North Dakota, via his hometown of Port St. Joe, Florida. (Drive much??) We're so glad he's here!!


... and here he is with some other good-looking fellas I love very much.


We've some adventures planned for tomorrow... stay tuned!

COPYEDITS, OH HOW I LOVE THEE

So, copyedits.

I love this stage of the publishing process. It's polishing time, agonize-over-just-the-right-verb time. Now is the time to make these words not just sing, but belt it out, baby! (That's Billie Holiday, by the way.)

It's also humbling. I mean, how many times have I been over this manuscript, and there are still three incidents of the word "go" in that paragraph??

Also, I get a kick out my dear editor's comments, esp. this one: "Really?" Translation: what you just wrote is pretty much impossible, but if you can prove it to me, I'm with you. :)

So think of me with furrowed brow, a thesaurus ever-open on the internet screen. Good stuff!

WELCOME TO POETRY FRIDAY ROUNDUP!

Dear Fellow Word Lovers,

Happy last Friday of August!

I guess I've had "roundup" on my mind this week... I've been working a horse-inspired quilt. And while I've been working, I've been thinking about poetry.

More specifically, I've been asking: What is the poem's object? What is it supposed to do?

This week, to the hum of the sewing machine, I came to this conclusion:

The poem's object is to BURST.


As Walt Whitman said in his poem "Beat, Drums! Beat!"

"Through the windows--through doors--burst like a ruthless force"

complete poem found here

This bursting is really just a variation on something I've written here before, about the poem "exploding the moment."

And it's sort of the same thing my friend Joan Broerman reported that Laurie Halse Anderson said in her keynote at SCBWI LA earlier this summer.


So: Burst. Explode. Disturb.

Anyone else noticing a theme here?? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic in comments. And don't forget to add your link below. Happy Poetry Friday, all!

GET HAPPY WITH SIDEWALK CHALK!

Yet another reason I love ODE magazine: The promote joy an optimism with days like today!


So join me, won't you? Get out your chalk and draw some rainbows and stuff. Anyone who sends me pictures, I've got a little something happy to send to YOU. xo

HELLO, HURRICANE IRENE

It's not everyday one gets named a hurricane.
HOWEVER: I must confess: it's not my first time.

See, there was another Hurricane Irene, back in October, 1999.

Here are the headlines my sister and I collected:


One of my favorite memories of that experience was my Grandma Dykes who told me in her precious voice that it was a "sweet hurricane," and how could it NOT be, with my name?

That's the kind of loving I've been fortunate to have my entire life. Is there any more important gift we can give one another??

So. Here's hoping the 2011 Hurricane Irene is also a sweet one. Thinking about all those on the trajectory... stay safe!

THE 700 CLUB!

Welcome to my 700th blog post! Who knew back in 2005 when I started this blog that six years later I'd still feel compelled to share in this way?!

A quick look at my stats shows that my activity here has been somewhat mercurial: in 2007 I only posted 18 times. Then, the very next year, I sent a whopping 222 notes out into the cyberworld.

My topics of interest have remained pretty consistent: life, love, books, writing.

My most-visited post is one from my 2009-10 series of Author ABCs: Z is for ZZZZZ. Not for the content, but for the jeweled "z" image!

One of my favorite posts I ever wrote was from last year: Dear Julius Lester, in which I talk about the challenges of writing a book across cultures, and how Julius Lester provided an open door for my heart.

This blog actually started out as "Daytips for Writers," but I soon realized a post a day was too ambitious for my lifestyle. Also, I quickly realized I wanted to talk about things other than writing.

Like, choosing one little word as a focal point each year. I've actually been talking with my mother about a quilting project that will incorporate all my "one little words" as the years pass. Look for a post on this in the not-too-distant future!

Meanwhile, to celebrate being a member of the 700 CLUB, I thought it might be fun to show you some pictures of things in my house that I have 700 of. While I am not a hoarder, I am sentimental. And I have a hobby or two. See for yourself:

BOOKS! (even after I donated about 3000 last summer)

NATURE ITEMS (I'm a poet, okay? Lovelovelove walks on the beach, in the woods, down the street, by the pond...)

PICTURES (such a SUCKER for photographs, both framed and in scrapbooks. Love to surround myself with those I love, in all their different incarnations)

and FABRIC! (of course)

So, dear friends, that's my 700. Thanks for sticking with me. And now I'd love to know what YOU have 700 of in your house. Spill!