A.C.E. Bauer's Blog, page 7
April 5, 2012
Educator Appreciation Week: Author Days
I will be giving a talk and signing books on Wednesday April 18 at 1 p.m. at the Barnes and Noble in North Haven, Connecticut, along with author Amanda Marrone. We'll be talking about how we combine realism with the supernatural to create fiction. It's part of Educator Appreciation Week when K-12 educators using an Educator Discount Card will get a 25% discount on books, toys, games and classroom materials, and a 10% discount on movies and music. Educators can enter a raffle for a chance to win a NOOK Tablet or $500 gift card.
The line up for the other Author Days is also quite impressive. On Tuesday April 17, author/illustrators Deborah Freedman and Nancy Elizabeth Wallace are scheduled to appear, and on Thursday April 19, authors Leslie Bulion and Leslie Connor.
Stop by and say hello!
The line up for the other Author Days is also quite impressive. On Tuesday April 17, author/illustrators Deborah Freedman and Nancy Elizabeth Wallace are scheduled to appear, and on Thursday April 19, authors Leslie Bulion and Leslie Connor.
Stop by and say hello!
April 3, 2012
Friends make the world go around: a book party
Here's what you need to know about Amy.
Twenty eight years ago, when rumor went around that Woody Allen planned to show up for a screening of his new movie, Broadway Danny Rose, she asked me to go with her.
"Sure," I said.
She turned to her boyfriend's roommate. "How about you?"
He said, "Sure."
And then she told us, "Oops. I forgot. I'm supposed to be somewhere tonight. Why don't you go without me?"
Lying is not Amy's strong suit. Neither of us believed her, but we knew she meant well. So, standing there awkwardly, I asked, "Uh. You want to go?"
He seemed equally awkward. "Sure," he replied.
I know I've had more disastrous dates, but this one was memorable. It was a cold February night, the rumor was false, and we searched for the screening site, going from one university building to another, in vain. We finally decided on an arts flick, Born in Flames. Let's just say that a feminist movie about the lives of prostitutes isn't exactly conducive to romance. He did get points though for not making fun of it afterwards, and we warmed up over ice cream. Somehow our sense of humor meshed, and we agreed to see each other again. We have been together, ever since.
"I knew it'd work out," Amy told me.
A lot of things have happened since then. Amy and I worked side by side, for years. We attended each other's weddings. She came to the rescue when I needed help during one of my pregnancies. She stayed with us when her newborn needed to be kept safe from the flu coursing through her house. We've celebrated holidays and marked milestones.
So when No Castles Here was published, Amy told me, "I'm throwing you a party!" And what a party---friends, great food, good cheer. We had such a good time, that when Come Fall came out, she threw me another one. "We do this again for the next one, too," she said. So, on Sunday, we celebrated Gil Marsh: we laughed and schmoozed, ate awesome food and had a grand time, the way good friends know how.
I hugged Amy more than once.
"You've got to publish another book," she said. "These parties are so much fun!"
No arguing with that.
Thank you Amy, Steve, and all those who came. It was a blast!
Twenty eight years ago, when rumor went around that Woody Allen planned to show up for a screening of his new movie, Broadway Danny Rose, she asked me to go with her.
"Sure," I said.
She turned to her boyfriend's roommate. "How about you?"
He said, "Sure."
And then she told us, "Oops. I forgot. I'm supposed to be somewhere tonight. Why don't you go without me?"
Lying is not Amy's strong suit. Neither of us believed her, but we knew she meant well. So, standing there awkwardly, I asked, "Uh. You want to go?"
He seemed equally awkward. "Sure," he replied.
I know I've had more disastrous dates, but this one was memorable. It was a cold February night, the rumor was false, and we searched for the screening site, going from one university building to another, in vain. We finally decided on an arts flick, Born in Flames. Let's just say that a feminist movie about the lives of prostitutes isn't exactly conducive to romance. He did get points though for not making fun of it afterwards, and we warmed up over ice cream. Somehow our sense of humor meshed, and we agreed to see each other again. We have been together, ever since.
"I knew it'd work out," Amy told me.
A lot of things have happened since then. Amy and I worked side by side, for years. We attended each other's weddings. She came to the rescue when I needed help during one of my pregnancies. She stayed with us when her newborn needed to be kept safe from the flu coursing through her house. We've celebrated holidays and marked milestones.
So when No Castles Here was published, Amy told me, "I'm throwing you a party!" And what a party---friends, great food, good cheer. We had such a good time, that when Come Fall came out, she threw me another one. "We do this again for the next one, too," she said. So, on Sunday, we celebrated Gil Marsh: we laughed and schmoozed, ate awesome food and had a grand time, the way good friends know how.
I hugged Amy more than once.
"You've got to publish another book," she said. "These parties are so much fun!"
No arguing with that.
Thank you Amy, Steve, and all those who came. It was a blast!
April 2, 2012
March 30, 2012
Kids doing promotion
Kids from the Hudson City Junior and Senior High School created a 32-second video for the Hudson Children's Book Festival.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
Congratulations to those who pulled it together.
P.S. I'll be at the festival, too. On May 5th.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
Congratulations to those who pulled it together.
P.S. I'll be at the festival, too. On May 5th.
March 16, 2012
Perspicacious
Growing up, I was told that I should read many books because it would improve my vocabulary.
I did read a lot, but it wasn’t to improve my vocabulary: I loved stories, and still do. Yet, it is also true that as a result, my vocabulary grew and is now quite large. The problem, I have found, is that though I may know what a whole lot of words mean, and even use those words appropriately in sentences, I have no idea how they are pronounced.
Take perspicacious—a word that is used to great effect in Goliath by Scott Westerfeld. It’s one of these wonderful words with two internal alliterations, one hard and one soft, and all those beautiful vowels. It so enchanted me, I decided I had to make it part of my day-to-day vocabulary.
So, when beloved said something particularly clever I told her, “That’s so pers... perspee... perspick... perspuh...”
Fortunately, she had read the book, too. “Thanks,” she said.
Flustered, I asked, “How do you pronounce the word?”
“Hm. Pares... purse... ”
Long pause.
“Insightful.”
That, too.
I did read a lot, but it wasn’t to improve my vocabulary: I loved stories, and still do. Yet, it is also true that as a result, my vocabulary grew and is now quite large. The problem, I have found, is that though I may know what a whole lot of words mean, and even use those words appropriately in sentences, I have no idea how they are pronounced.
Take perspicacious—a word that is used to great effect in Goliath by Scott Westerfeld. It’s one of these wonderful words with two internal alliterations, one hard and one soft, and all those beautiful vowels. It so enchanted me, I decided I had to make it part of my day-to-day vocabulary.So, when beloved said something particularly clever I told her, “That’s so pers... perspee... perspick... perspuh...”
Fortunately, she had read the book, too. “Thanks,” she said.
Flustered, I asked, “How do you pronounce the word?”
“Hm. Pares... purse... ”
Long pause.
“Insightful.”
That, too.
March 14, 2012
Fun at the Alphabet Garden
Last Saturday I had the opportunity to do a fun reading at the Alphabet Garden Bookstore in Cheshire, Connecticut. I read two chapters from Gil Marsh, the crowd had some great questions for me about the book and my writing process, and we all got to eat some tarte au sucre (sugar pie).
Thank you to Karlene Rearick and Renee Geiger of the Alphabet Garden for helping me make the event such a success!
March 9, 2012
Saturday at the Alphabet Garden
This Saturday March 10 at 11:30 a.m. I'll be at the Alphabet Garden Bookstore to read from Gil Marsh, talk about the book, and answer questions folks might have. We'll have tarte au sucre ("sugar pie"), a Quebec favorite, maple cookies and maybe some lemonade. (Sorry. I couldn't manage poutine.) Come by and say hello!
March 4, 2012
Article and video
Today’s New Haven Register features an article about Gil Marsh, and says some nice things both about the book and me.
As a special bonus, the online article embeds a YouTube video review of the book from CapsLock179 who also says some pretty impressive things.
Thank you both!
[The direct link to the video is here, if your browser doesn't support Flash.]
March 2, 2012
Writer's block, and how to deal with it
I was recently contacted by Shaun Smith, a novelist and journalist in Toronto, who asked me to contribute to a column called "Fiction Craft" on the website Open Book Ontario. His question to me was: "What methods do you use to get the story moving forward again when the writing stalls?"
You can read my answer here, along with Shaun Smith's and fellow-authors' Heather Birrell, Julie Cross, Megan Crewe, Ursula Poznanski, Tess Fragoulis, Jill Williamson, Hilary Davidson, R.J. Harlick and C.C. Benison.
You can read my answer here, along with Shaun Smith's and fellow-authors' Heather Birrell, Julie Cross, Megan Crewe, Ursula Poznanski, Tess Fragoulis, Jill Williamson, Hilary Davidson, R.J. Harlick and C.C. Benison.
February 29, 2012
And the winners are. . .
Congratulations to Goodreads members Gtano and Ayana who have each won a copy of Gil Marsh. Signed copies have been sent and should be arriving in your mailboxes soon.
And thanks to everyone who signed up for the giveaway. It was fun.
