Donna Ball's Blog, page 7

I love to talke about books!Thanks to everyone at Fiction...

I love to talke about books!Thanks to everyone at Fiction Addiction in Greenville South Carolina for an absolutely fabulous luncheon event on Oct 16.  We were treated like royalty from beginning to end, and the gourmet lunch at the Lazy Goat was exquisite.  I loved meeting all the readers who took the trouble to come out, and wish you all many happy reading days with the Ladybug Farm books!

Signing books and listening to stories in GreenvilleFiction Addiction hosts these Book Your Lunch regularly through the year, and they have an exciting list of upcoming guest authors.  I highly recommend checking it out if you're in the area!

Special Release Day Offer

To celebrate the release of LOVE LETTERS FROM LADYBUG FARM-- and to help you get that early Christmas shopping done!-- today only, the first five people who order four or more autographed copies of either RECIPES FROM LADYBUG FARM or LOVE LETTERS FROM LADYBUG FARM (or mix and match!) directly from me will get a complete autographed set of the Ladybug novels (A YEAR ON LADYBUG FARM, AT HOME ON LADYBUG FARM and LOVE LETTERS FROM LADYBUG FARM) free! (regular shipping rates apply) You must e-mail me at DonnaABall@aol.com for a special order form.

Remember, I only have five free sets of the books, so hurry!

New website and new book out now!

Welcome to my new website! I hope you like the redesign.

During October I'll be blogging over at Ladybug Farm Charms to celebrate the release of Love Letters from Ladybug Farm, the third book in the Ladybug Farm series, so be sure to visit me there. I'll also be doing some local events for the book, which you can find out about on my News and Appearances page.

As always, I love to hear from my readers, so please email me at donnaaball at aol dot com any time!

Baby werewolves!

Okay, they're not really werewolves, but they were so cute I couldn't resist:

Welcome Back!

Welcome to the newly redesigned Ladybug Farm blog.  We've been dark most of the year as I worked on new treats for readers, but now I'm counting down to the October 5 release of Book Three in the Ladybug Farm series, Love Letters from Ladybug Farm .  

 A year has passed since we saw the ladies last, and there have been a few changes around the house.   For one thing, Ladybug Farm is famous!-- and the old house is being featured in a regional style magazine, which leads to all sorts of interesting developments.  For another, Bridget has taken Lori's advice from  At Home on Ladybug Farm and has started a blog called-- you guessed it-- Ladybug Farm Charms.  

Bridget's blog revolves around what she does best, cooking, so be prepared to get hungry as you read.  In fact, her fictional recipes inspired me to put together a real   collection of the most requested recipes from the Ladybug books, Recipes from Ladybug Farm.  Over the next few months I''ll be featuring recipes from the book on this blog, and if you have tried one of the recipes and like it, let me know here (please don't tell me about the ones you hate!).  I know there are some great cooks who read this blog, and if you have made improvements to Bridget's recipes, I'd love to know that too!

Announcements

I know this blog has been silent for awhile, and this is why. I have just finished writing Book Three in the Ladybug Farm Series, which will be out in October. And may I say-- what a gorgeous cover! Once again the folks in the Art Department at Berkley Books have outdone themselves for the sake of Ladybug Farm.


So that's Announcement Number One. Announcement Number Two is that I will be closing this blog for at least the time being (although I will leave current posts up through the summer). As Bridget discovers in LOVE LETTERS FROM LADYBUG FARM, keeping up with a blog is time consuming and often takes your attention away from other things (in my case, writing books!). Also, I have discovered that my readers prefer to stay in touch with me through e-mail , which is easy enough to do if you click "contact us" on my web site. I always answer e-mails from Ladybug Farm readers! I will continue to send out my quarterly newsletter via e-mail, and of course if you have ever e-mailed me about Ladybug Farm, you remain on my list for e-mail notification about upcoming books, personal appearances etc.

If you don't already receive my newsletter and you would like to do so, you can sign up here. Just put "newsletter" in the comment box, and remember that you will have to set your e-mail service to allow group mailings, and to receive e-mail from me.

If you'd like to keep up with what's going on in my (very limited) view of the world of books and writers, check in with me at A Writer Reads, my other occasional blog.

Meantime, be sure to visit my web site often for updates on what I'm working on now and excerpts from upcoming books . And keep in touch!

And the Winner is....

All of your blog comments since October 6 were printed out, folded and placed in a box. The completely random drawing produced the name

LTK

Congratulations! Please e-mail me your mailing address by clicking on contact us on my web site .

Thanks to all of you who followed the making of this journal and who were so faithful about posting comments. It was so much fun I just might do it again!

Meantime, however, I have another Ladybug book to write. I'll keep you updated on its progress, and I hope you'll continue to stay in touch.

Making a Book: Ta-Dah!

Here it is: the finished product!

The pages of our ladybug journal are sewn with waxed linen thread in a chain stitch that's visible on the spine. You can cover the spine with paper, book cloth or leather, but with coptic stitching, most people leave the spine visible, as I have chosen to do. The journal is closed with a sliding ladybug bead on a ribbon. The next step is to add all the decorative touches. Do you think we have enough ladybugs? :)

To open the journal, you simply slide the bead to the end of the ribbon and flip the ribbon over the top and around the spine like this.


Your ladybug journal has deckle-edged pages which are torn by hand for an uneven look. In fact, much of the charm of home-made books is that they are uneven in many ways! The outside of the signature page is decorated with the leaf and ladybugs that show through the window on the front cover.
The last step is to sign my work! Good luck to everyone who entered the drawing to win this journal. I've really enjoyed working on it, and it's been so much fun hearing from you this past month. Remember every time you post a comment, it counts as another entry. The drawing will be held at 3:00 p.m. on October 31, so you still have a few days to get your comments in. The winner will be announced on this blog on Sunday November 1. See you then!

Making a Book Step 4

Our ladybug journal consists of eight sections, or folios, of stacked folded paper. These decorative end covers make the book stronger when it's sewn, and also look pretty when the book is put together.
Now that I have designed the covers and the pages of the book, it's time to punch the holes for sewing. First I measure and mark the sewing stations on both covers and each of the folios (ARGH. Measuring again!), then I use a medium-bore punch for the covers, and a specially designed cradle and a paper awl for the folios.
Making a book is a lot like writing a book: there's an awful lot of planning and prep work to be done before you get to the "good part", but if you skimp on these steps, the whole thing falls apart at the end.

Next step: sewing!

For details on the drawing for this journal that's coming on Nov. 1, see this post.

Making a Book Step 3

I'm still working on the covers of our give-away ladybug journal. These are the inside of the front (L) and back (R) covers. After much debate, I decided to go with a cut-out on the front cover just like the one on my original journal. This requires a lot of careful cutting and measuring, and then a lot of inventive decoration to cover up the mistakes!

What an absorbing way to spend a cold rainy day.

Remember, the drawing for the completed journal will be held Nov. 1, and all you have to do to enter the contest is post a comment by clicking "comment" below. Be sure to choose "name/url" on the "Choose Your Identity" option so I will know who you are. Every post you make counts as an entry. The winner will be announced on this blog November 1.