BookLust

20 Random Things

Thought I'd try something a little different. Scully, Iliana and Danielle have all taken part in the meme "Name 20 Random Things About You", and although I wasn't tagged (snifff...) I thought I'd take part anyway. I don't usually do these 'list' sort of things (I just would not have the patience to fill out the '100 things about me'), but I figured I could think of 20 things about me that I haven't mentioned before on my blog. So here goes nothin':

1. I do not own a car and never will.
2. Save for my small gold wedding band, I have no interest in jewelry whatsoever; I don't even wear a watch anymore.
3. My eyes are hazel green.
4. When I was 16, I damaged my left knee in a tobogganing accident, and am now paying the price for that stupid day; I have to see an orthopaedic surgeon in December.
5. I have a funny-shaped nose that looks even funnier in profile when I smile.
6. Although I love winter, I dislike most winter sports such as hockey, skating, skiiing and most especially tobogganing.
7. It has been suggested to me by more than one person that I should have breast reduction surgery. None of these people were my husband.
8. I have a very loud laugh, and not everyone appreciates it; it has been suggested to me on a few occasions that I learn to laugh more like a lady.
9. When I was a child I was bitterly shy, and would only speak to adults when they first spoke to me.
10. My father still likes to remind me of this silly note some smart-alec kid wrote on one of my gradeschool workbooks many years ago: Patricia is in grade three, but her nose is in grade six.
11. I have a family relative who was murdered, and another who went to jail for murder.
12. I have never had a manicure or a pedicure, but I keep saying one day that I will.
13. I stopped wearing high heels in my mid 20's.
14. I was once hired to paint three fibreglass moose for a large Toronto Outdoor Art Show.
15. I am not ashamed to admit that I love the music of Noel Coward, Gilbert and Sullivan, Arlo Guthrie, Dean Martin, Hank Williams, Roger Miller, Blossom Dearie and Queen.
16. Nor am I ashamed to admit that I hate Rap, Hip Hop, Punk and Heavy Metal.
17. I have to admit that I really don't find tattoos attractive on anyone.
18. Clockwork Orange is still one of my favourite films, though there's plenty of others on the list, including Strictly Ballroom, which really rocks my world whenever I see it.
19. I'm 5'2", and yes, I wish I were taller.
20. When I was 19, I posed nude for an artist friend, and she sold that drawing of me for $150 to some lady who lives in Stratford, Ontario.

Cover Me With Love 10

Deee-lish.

Drunk on Posy

Without a doubt, the cartoonist I most admire, adore and aspire to emulate is Posy Simmonds. No other cartoonist I know of can draw and write like this sharp, clever, gifted lady. It still boggles my mind that she is not more well-known in North America. I'm sorry, but as far as I'm concerned, she is heads and tails above all the other graphic novelists out there right now. Perhaps once her latest graphic novel is published, she'll get the recognition and accolades that she so rightly deserves. Her latest GN will be called Tamara Drewe, a story based on Hardy's Far From The Madding Crowd, and will come out in 2006. If you can't wait to read it in book form, you can read the serialized version in the Guardian online. Now why the hell can't any of our Canadian newspapers do something clever like this?

Oh, and here's a pretty good interview with Posy, done in 2003, also in the Guardian online.

Her talent makes me want to weep. Posy, I can't say it enough. I adore you.

The Last Rumination

Here's a close-up of an illustration I did for the October/November issue of Ruminator Magazine. For a full-sized version, go here. It's an illustration for a funny, quirky short story, written by the author Jack Pendarvis.

Sadly, this will be the last issue of Ruminator Magazine. If you're interested, here's their closing letter. It's the same old story I've heard so many times: lack of cash. Such a shame. It's an amazing magazine, full of great content, and it just stinks that it's folding. We need more magazines like this, and less of those damn useless vacuous women's mags selling us crap that we really don't need and telling us how inadquate we all are in our appearance and lifestyles. But I digress.

It's a great honour to have an illustration in the final issue, and if you can, I urge you to buy a copy of their final issue to show support for a magazine that was intelligent, challenging, witty and utterly original.

The Book That Launched A Hundred Black Glasses

As well the crisp cool weather and cosey sweaters, you know what else I love about Fall? Book launches!

In spite of my nasty head cold, the husband and I headed out last night to this fabulous club called Revival, which apparently used to be a Baptist church and Polish community hall. Last night was the Fall launch for a wide variety of new authors from the much revered Coach House Books, a small but very strong press in Toronto which nutures the literary careers of many talented authors.

We were there mainly to see Howard Akler, the boyfriend of one of my husband's co-workers. Howard has just published his first novel, The City Man, and he did a wonderful reading. In fact, all the authors last night gave very energetic, entertaining readings of their works. It was a great evening, good nibblies to eat, good music, and I even saw the very talented Canadian author of the amazing book Martin Sloane, Mr. Michael Redhill, but I didn't have the nerve to talk to him.

But I have to ask: what the heck is it with book launches and skinny guys with black messy hair and thick black glasses? Like flies to honey, they come out in droves to these events.

I Got Posted 2

If you see The National Post today, check out the Issues & Ideas spread in the first section of the paper; I've got another illustration in there. This time I only had an hour and a half to get it done! I like the stress of the tight deadline, but I must confess that the subject matter was completely out of my comfort zone. Suicide bombers are not my forte.

BiblioQueria 12

I had a great long Thanksgiving weekend, except that I came home with a nasty head cold, and I also came home to some more annoying problems with Typepad. Hopefully this mess will be resolved soon. For the moment it takes forever to sign on and add posts. But enough griping about that.

At the end of our Thanksgiving visit in Burlington, my brother very kindly drove us back to Toronto, armed with all of his packing boxes which he had used when he just recently moved into his fabulous new house. All those boxes will come in mighty handy as we start packing away all of our books for the big move in January.

So I have started to try and weed out my collection, which of course is taking longer than expected, because it's not so easy for me to part with books. During this weeding process, I encountered what I like to call the double-booking condundrum. I have extra copies of books. Now I suppose that situation is not that interesting, but what I enjoy is trying to figure out why I have extra copies of books.

This is what I have discovered so far:

I have two copies of Bruno Bettleheim's The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. Why? I can recall purchasing one copy years ago at McMaster University Bookstore, because I thought the subject was fascinating. And then a few years later someone else gave me a copy (can't remember who) as a gift, and I certainly wasn't going to tell that person that I already had a copy.

I have two copies of Martha Cooley's The Archivist. Why? Well, it is one of my most favourite novels, but is that reason enough to own two copies of the same book? Ah ha! You see, it's not exactly the same book! Both copies have two different cover designs, and when I first bought the book, I bought the edition with the glasses and catolguing card on the cover. Not a bad cover, certainly good enough to get my attention. Then another day I was in a used bookstore and I saw the other edition with all the delightful old books piled one on top of another, and I just had to have it!

Finally, I have two copies of Kevin Smokler's Bookmark Now: Writing in Unreaderly Times. I haven't even read the book yet, and I have two copies. How did I do that? It was one of those bibliomania moments, when I forgot that I had already purchased a copy of the book, then went and bought another copy, just a month or so later!! Twit. I'm willing to bet that as I continue to go through my piles of books that I will find a few more double-booked conundrums like this.

UPDATE:
I found another double-book conundrum! It's a book about the life of Johann Gutenberg. Why did I purchase two copies? Because the bookcovers and the titles were totally different! How was I to know? Ok, so it was written by the same author, but sheesh, how sneaky is that? One is entitled Gutenberg: How One Man Remade the World with Words and the other is The Gutenberg Revolution: The story of a genius and an invention that changed the world, both written by John Man. Well, really, Mr. Man, wasn't one title good enough? Of course if I had had some sense, I would have checked the guts of the book, but hey, what's so bad about having extra copies of the life of the great Gutenberg, anyway? I'm sure he would have been pleased.

And so my question to you is...

Have you ever double-booked? Did you do it knowingly like me with The Archivist, or have you actually bought extra copies of books you already had, but had completely forgotten about?

A Public Service Announcement

Just a heads up that I've been updating my portfolio site; some new additions to my cartoons and illustration page, and I've changed the children's books page a bit, and have now created a subject link on the main page called comic strips where you will now find Tart as well as my ongoing series, Art Imitating Lit. I will also be updating the Tart page very soon so that each story will be archived, and thus easier to access. And yes, I promise new Tart stories very soon!!

And in order to hopefully get new clients (think mortgage in near future) I've recently signed up with theispot portfolio site and childrensillustrators.com. So art directors out there, can you see me? I'm the one waving my hand madly!!

Next on the to do list: postcards!! (finally!!)

TGIF Illustration 10!

This week's subject for Illustration Friday is float.

Here's an old illo that fits the bill!

Floaty float float!

Holy Crap. part 2

I also had to deal with some business stuff on Monday, which thankfully got resolved. But I will have to backtrack a bit with this story in order to discuss (in very general terms) what happened yesterday and last week.

Now originally I swore I wasn't going to post this information until I had a definite yes, but I've been holding out on this story since February, and quite frankly, I'm sick of it sitting inside my head. And besides, I've told enough friends so that it's 'out there' anyway.

Ok...

In February I received an email from an assistant literary agent who after reading my blog, expressed some interest in my writing, and inquired if I had any creative projects going at the moment. As fate would have it, I was just finishing off a submission concept for a small humorous gift book. I was in the middle of looking for possible agents, when this lady landed in my lap, so to speak. I sent her my submission, and long story short, the agency decided to take it on. HOLY CRAP!!!

Then the real work began, having to write up a very detailed marketing plan which involved describing the book concept clearly, who the target market was, who was my competition and why my concept was better, and so on and so on. Finally in early July, the book submission was ready to be sent out to prospective publishers. Well jeez louise if this process don't take a goddam long time! And it doesn't help that I am a very impatient person, especially when it has anything to do with my creative projects.

Eventually the first rejection came in, saying it wasn't 'the right fit' for them. Then last week I received my second rejection, these publishers saying that it 'wasn't smart enough'. Now that comment stung, because my whole goal with this project was to create something smart and sassy. Crap. And then on the same day that I received that rejection, I was told by my agent contact that she was going to another agency and wouldn't be working with me and my book anymore. Not knowing anything about this business, I thought that I was experiencing my 'Sideways' moment, like when Miles gets the heave-ho from his agent (sorry if I've spoiled the movie for you, but really, you should have seen this one by now; it's awesome). That happened on Friday, and boy was that a shitty day. But I got some really good advice from some other writers, phoned the agency on Monday, and it's all good. I still have an agent. The book is now with another publisher, and the agonizing process continues.

I thought I would share this experience on my blog because I find the whole publishing industry to be a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Any inisghts that I gain about this gut-wrenching, confusing business will be posted here from time to time. But I would rather not reveal what my book is about, because I'm still superstitious about releasing the creative energy of the project out too soon. I know that sounds very new-agey, but that's the best way that I can describe my fears (of which I have plenty, especially now that I have acquired a mortgage). I also don't want to mention the name of the agency until I have a juicy little book deal in my sweaty hands.

One thing that I do know about this business is that having an agent does not guarantee that a book will get published. One certainly has a better fighting chance, I think, with the bigger publishers, but there are so many, many reasons why some books get published and others don't, and not all of those reasons are necessary logical, in my humble opinion. So my book may never get accepted by a publisher. What I will do at that point, (besides cry and get drunk) I don't know. For now I'm trying to enjoy, and learn from this experience.

Oh, and regarding that cartoon, no one has ever said those words to me, but don't you think it might happen from time to time? Or am I being just a tad too cynical?