Irene Latham's Blog, page 183

CELEBRATE FAMILY

Hip hip hooray for two books hitting the shelves TODAY, one of which I read and loved, and one I can't wait to read, because I know I will love!

First, SPLIT by Swati Avasthi.



Swati is not only my studio sib (we have the same agent), but she is also my classmate in Class of 2k10. And this book is POWERFUL. I was fortunate enough to win a signed ARC from Jame Richards, and I was riveted. Swati takes heavy subject matter (domestic violence) and shows all sides of it. I loved Jace and how his ...

THE BEST PART OF BEING A WRITER

One question you're bound to get asked at a school visit is, "What's the best part of being a writer?"

And you know, it's a tough question. Because there are many best parts. Like the personal satisfaction of getting a scene just right. Or discovering new things about yourself through your characters. Or creating characters you care about so deeply, they actually affect your daily life and how you interact with others.

Then there's this: Connecting with other humans on their own unique jou...

MY $120 MISTAKE

I've made lots of mistakes in my life, and I swear it's made me a better, stronger, wiser (sometimes poor-er) person. And this one I've got to share.

See, I'm super excited about my trip to Charlottesville, Virginia, later this month (March 19-21), for Virginia Festival of the Book, where I'll be on a panel called Terrific Kids' Novels Adults Will Love Too , with fellow authors Kathy Erskine, Fran Cannon Slayton, Sara Lewis Holmes and Sue Corbett.

But. I'm NOT so excited about the nine hour d...

IN PRAISE OF PIZITZ

I had an amazing school visit yesterday -- at Pizitz Middle School in Vestavia, Alabama.



Yep, those kids were great! And the teachers -- what a pleasure. Big thanks to Ann Knight and the whole Author Visit Committee for bringing me flowers and ordering cake with that sweet,delicious frosting I can't get enough of and giving me a few minutes of blessed quiet after three back-to-back presentations... how did you know I needed that??



And to Principal David Miles, seriously, wanna travel with me...

GROWING PATTERNS BY SARAH CAMPBELL

If you don't yet know Sarah Campbell and her work, you are missing out! She's amazing. And I'm not the only one who thinks so -- her first book WOLFSNAIL was awarded the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award.


And now she's back with another picture book she wrote about Fibonacci numbers in nature. Sarah and her husband Richard also get credit for the stunning photographs that accompany the text. It's a gorgeous book!

Here to tell you more about it is Sarah herself. We shot this little clip at ...

CELEBRATE NEW BOOKS ON THE BLOCK

It's MARCH! Can you believe it?? I am so ready for spring. And the air may still be nippy, but the redbuds are thisclose to popping. Which means the daffodils aren't far behind. And while I've got two school visits this week and a stack of ARCs to read, I am most excited about this week's new releases.

Big big BIG congratulations to the following authors whose books hit the shelves today and tomorrow:


TAGGED by Tenner and 2k10 classmate Mara Purnhagen. This is the only one on this post th...

SO MANY CANDLES

... and I am so very grateful for every single one!

Yep, it's my birthday, and I was planning this fabulous post, but then I woke up this morning and I had a poem in my brain, this poem, the one below. So, since it's Poetry Friday, I give it to, with gratitude and love. Always ALWAYS love. More poems at Roundup.






i carry your heart with me
by e. e. Cummings

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is y...

MAMA, I WISH YOU COULD COME WITH ME EVERY TIME

Gosh, there is just no way a blog post is going to do the Fairhope/Mobile/Jackson Tour justice. I mean, it was awesome! And I am CERTAIN my mother's presence had everything to do with it. (Also, all her sweet cousins! Who knew I had relatives in Fairhope?!) Magic, I tell you. And here she is, all bursting with maternal pride when we spied LEAVING GEE'S BEND at the Books-A-Million in Daphne.



And here we are getting all clever at Page & Palette in Fairhope. Emily is Awesome, and we ha...

HOLY GROUND

So I'm back at home, having slept soundly in my very own bed, after a wonderful FABULOUS few days of book events I was so very fortunate to share with my mama. More on this tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I want to share with you a little something special. Yesterday, while driving from Mobile to Jackson, MS, I listened to THE WORLD ACCORDING TO MR. ROGERS. And it was emotional for me, in a big way, which came as something of a surprise. See, I remember watching the program as a child, but I didn't k...

FASTER THAN A SPEEDING TURTLE

Before I get to my review of Billy Collins' visit, let me share with you a few pics from the past few days:

at Springville Road Regional Library



...where Youth Department manager Grace Slaughter has installed a gorgeous and informative quilt collection (yes, I got her for Stitching Our Stories!)



at Leeds Jane Culbreth Library, where they are raffling off this quilt to help raise funds for a new building!



at University of Montevallo, with the Shelby County Poetry Players, who were a-MAZ-ing!



Okay, ...