Irene Latham's Blog, page 185

MANY THINGS HAPPENED IN FLINT, AND HERE ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS

1. Scraping ice off my windshield in the morning and wearing my boots and seeing the snow piled up on the sides of the road. (And it was an "unseasonably warm" weekend for Flint!)

2. Listening to the quilters sing. Gets me every time.

3. Cutting squares for my charm quilt out of donated clothing at the quilt workshop.

4. Getting to know artist Lonnie Holley a bit better (and him saying I sounded like Homer Simpson when I ran about a zillion redlights as we tried to keep up with the carava...

FIVE FAVORITE FICTIONAL PLACES

So I'm back in Birmingham after my big weekend promoting LEAVING GEE'S BEND in conjunction with the opening of the Gee's Bend quilt exhibit at Flint Institute of Arts.

I'm tired, yes. But more than that, I'm inspired. I mean, Flint is pure awesomeness! The people are so warm and welcoming -- I swear it was just like being in Alabama. And the museum staff, particularly the Education Department... can I just say I felt so very special and well taken care of? Monique and Jana, y'all are th...

FROGGY AND ME

Still in Flint, having a wonderful time.

But I HAD to share this. Because, you know, it's not everyday one gets to share space with Froggy. And he is ever so cute and funny and green...

AND NOW FOR THE PICTURES

Have I mentioned before that I have a brother who is an amazing photographer?

Yes. So when I knew I had a book to bring into the world, I called him, texted him, emailed him and pretty much begged him to unleash his brilliance at one of the launch events.

And he did! Unfortunately I don't know how to snag pics for display here from his fancy PROFESSIONAL set-up. But. You can see the whole she-bang as a a slideshow, click here.

For my most favorite photo, click here.

And now I'm off to Flint...

LESSONS LEARNED AT BOOK LAUNCH

After two amazing launch events here in Birmingham, I am happy to share the following tidbits:

1. A full room with a podium and no microphone and the quilters sharing the stage = no nerves at all.

2. A full room with a raised stage and hot lights and no one but a wired-up me on the stage = hello nerves!

3. Nerves settle down as soon as you get the slides rolling.

4. Yet without the help of Awesome Teen Librarian, slides do not roll. Grr.

5. People you didn't personally invite and haven'...

CELEBRATE UNEXPECTED GIFTS

Big congrats to the wonderfully gifted Jen Nadol, whose debut novel THE MARK comes out today!

To celebrate, Jen is hosting an online "launch party" at her blog - from Jan 19-Feb 4 with daily book-related posts and ten days of giveaways including gift cards, books and swag. And as you may recall from my review of her ARC, I loved journeying with main character Cass as she dealt with her unexpected gift.

And speaking of unexpected gifts: guess who showed up at my It's a Book Birthday Party eve...

STITCHING OUR STORIES: SARAH C. CAMPBELL

In all the blogosphere, one of my most favorite places to visit is Sarah C. Campbell's blog.

Sarah is one of those inspiring people whose creativity cannot be contained by one medium. In her books Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator (Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book) and the forthcoming Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature (March 2010), Sarah writes AND photographs (husband Richard also contributes).


But that's not all: Sarah also stitches quilts and other handmade items. In fact, I st...

CELEBRATE POST 500!

According to my trusty dashboard, this, my friends, is my 500th post. Wow, who knew introverted me had that much to say?

To celebrate, here's some little tidbits about 500:

1. 2 bags of M&Ms equals 500 calories.

2. To burn those 500 calories, you'd have to ice skate at 9 mph. For an hour. Don't have a frozen pond or ice rink nearby? Try these other 500 calorie busters.

3. There's a magazine you've probably heard of called Fortune 500. I don't really know what that means. (500 what?) I ju...

LEAVING GEE'S BEND BOOK LAUNCH PICS

Big thanks to my husband Paul for taking these pics AND video AND wrangling our sons while I spoke and signed and hugged... THE BEST, I tell you.

First up, the sign Lori and Katie from North Shelby Library got printed:



Next, here's me and the family before the event. The boys were funny, btw. And sweet. I wasn't sure how they'd hold up. But several people told me how polite they were and how proud they said they were of their mama. :)



Now me with my left-handedness making me look VERY seri...

CELEBRATING UNQUIET AND UMBRELLAS

Big congrats to fellow Tenner Anna Jarzab on today's release of her debut book, ALL UNQUIET THINGS!! I am so looking forward to reading... I mean, check out this cover:



Now let me tell you about the most recent ARC I've had the pleasure of reading -- The RED UMBRELLA by Christina Gonzalez. It's a powerful historical story about family and home that's based on Operation Pedro Pan. I'm telling you, you will be drawn into Lucia's story and that red umbrella will stick with you! Oh, and check...