Linda K. Sienkiewicz's Blog, page 15

Kerrytown BookFest Returns!

More than just books!

Ann Arbor’s fabulous book fest Kerrytown finally returns after three years! It’s in a new location at Washtenaw Community College, but it looks to be bigger, brighter, and better than ever, and weather won’t be a worry. The festival will be able to make use of the college’s theater and various rooms as well for the special events.

And what a line up! Check it out:Acclaimed romance writer Beverly JenkinsMaster of sidewalk chalk art David ZinnAuthor Wade RouseAu...

Blankets of joy, hope, and resilience

The amazing work of Ian Tadashi Moore

I met Ian Tadashi Moore through the Michigan branch of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and his wildly imaginative work enchanted me. I was even more amazed to learn that not only was he an illustrator and writer, but also a musician, and that each of his books has an accompanying audiobook.

Ian has launched a new Kickstarter to produce a series of blankets with lush illustrations from his books. They are made in the US with...

Rising Sun Roll and new tricks

Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

The implication is that old dogs (and old people) learn less well than the young, and that old folks are set in their ways. It’s one of the oldest proverbial sayings in the language. The earliest example of it in print is in John Fitzherbert’s The Boke of Husbandry, 1534:

…and he [a shepherd] muste teche his dogge to barke whan he wolde haue hym, to ronne whan he wold haue hym, and to leue ronning whan he wolde haue hym; or els he is not ...

The King of Outsider Art

Howard Finster:

Leave it to Pinterest to start me on an unexpected journey.

I use the site to pair interesting images with inspirational quotes for my Facebook Author Page. The quirky portrait, above, caught my eye, with cloud-like faces making the top half of the mans’ head, and lettering decorating the bottom half. I’d never seen anything quite like it. However the post had no indication of the artist’s name or a link– one thing I abhor about some Pinterest posts.

Who done it? ...

The Sun Bird Crest Legend of Chengdu

 The sun and immortal bird

People often ask me about the unusual symbol on my necklace that my husband bought for me when working in Chengdu, China.

The symbol is the official city logo, inspired by the Golden Sun Bird, an ancient relic unearthed in 2001 from the Jinsha Site. The four birds in the symbol represent the four seasons, while the 12 inner rays stand for the 12 months of the year, and the encapsulating ring shows the endless cycle of both.

The Golden Sun Bird has a beaut...

The Note: a new historical mystery about women’s lives

When I learned my friend and author Allison Maruska wrote a new novella, a “historical mystery,” I immediately emailed her with questions. The Note sounds like a fascinating read, one about secrets and plot twists, and women’s lives. I’m there for it!

Historical Mystery

Is historical mystery something new for you? 

Writing mysteries is my happy place. Even my books that aren’t specifically mysteries have mysterious elements to them, and I love using those elements to weave in a good...

Bad intentions or just clumsy? Fido knows

Oops

Looks like your dog understands you more than you think. The results of a recent study explains why my pup Cowboy quits the game when I fake a throw one too many times.

Researchers used a unwilling-unable paradigm to study 96 dogs of various breeds and ages and discovered that dogs may be able to actually understand humans’ intentions.

This paradigm measures whether an animal is sensitive to human intentions. In this case, they examined whether the dog could tell if the human ...

Poetry Anthology to Support Ukraine

Sunflowers

By Christine Rhein

I grow them every summer,
keep the pictures

on my phone — petals
of brilliant yellow,

skies, royal blue — nothing
like gray winter,

gray tanks, headline news.
The whole world

has pictures, explosions
we hold in our palms,

villagers walking us
into farm fields

full of shrapnel. Let it not be
useless to tend

the tractors, to talk of seeds
...

Positive Writing Goals in 3 Easy Steps

I republish this post every couple of years because, frankly, most writers can use a kick in the pants sometimes. This one, however, is painless. It’s motivating, and it will work to cement definable, positive writing goals.

I credit the exercise to author and writing coach Cheri Caddick!

First step:

Fold a piece of lined paper in half. On the left half, write a list of what stalls you when it comes to writing. For myself, I wrote:

Avoidance- I put off even getting started. I m...

Sneaker Squandering

My new Adidas Marimekko-designed athletic shoesMy biggest indulgence: buying athletic shoes.

Some women hoard high heels. Some women have closets full of boots, heels, flats and pumps. Leona “Queen of Mean” Helmsley had 250 of the same Ferragamo shoes. I’m not that bad, but whenever UPS or FedEx brings a box to the door, the husband laughs and asks me, “More shoes?”

My indulgence is based on my biggest fear: that the athletic shoe that makes my feet happiest will be discontinued.

...