It’s always sunny in California
Sep 27th
Let me just start off by saying: I love my family.
My amazing sister and her amazing boyfriend recently paid me a visit in LA, hailing all the way from the East Coast!
Here is an amazing photo tribute (Part 1):
Early on in the vacation, my sister proves that she cannot be weened off of caffeine, even though she is claims to be “relaxing.” (In her defense: She is a college student).
All hopped on coffee, we headed to the Hermosa Beach Pier.
And it wasn’t long before we started to shop! (Notice that my boyfriend is hugging not me, but his football)…
*First person to accurately guess what the writing on my shirt says, gets a $10 Starbucks gift card! [submit your answers to: natalieingerauthor@gmail.com]
Then, it was time to play on the beach. (Here, my sister [Adrienne] and her boyfriend [Justin] look decievingly like real Californians!)
And in the normal SoCal fashion, we continued to play on the beach until sunset. (No, this photo has not been enhanced. Sunset on the West Coast is ACTUALLY this awesome!)
Oh yeah, and somehow, in between it all, we also made time to meet some newborn kitties and Sponge Bob.
In short: It was just another average day in sunny California!
“If you’re a bird; I’m a bird.” (Be the first to name the movie that this quote is from and I will send you a FREE copy of my book: Gingerbread Masks!) [submit answers to: natalieingerauthor@gmail.com].
Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 2!
Sneak Peak: The critics speak
Sep 24th
This is how I feel right now! Check out what the critics are saying about Gingerbread Masks:
“Hannah and Ivan are easy to relate to, and I found myself
reminiscing about my own college escapades. College is a time for exploration and
finding yourself; and this book is a glimpse into the lives of a few students as they navigate
those tricky waters. I’d recommend it for any girl who recently graduated or who is still
in college.”
The full book review will be published on Friday, October 1, at http://www.spillingbuckets.com/. So stay tuned!
Illustrations are like doughnuts
Sep 23rd
(Squeal)! I am SO excited to share this with you all. My children’s book, Katrina’s Christmas (which will be available this holiday season) is hot off the press (as I write this).
Whenever I say the words: “Hot off the press” I can’t help but be transported back to the Krispy Kreme doughnut factory’s FRESH GLAZED doughnut conveyer belt; watching the piping hot, freshly-glazed doughnuts spin down the doughnut shoot and across the store window. Does anyone else have that memory? Please tell me it’s normal.
Anyway, the fact that my little book is experiencing a similar birth to those Krispy Kreme doughnuts–makes me feel like a wide-eyed little kid again.
It makes me want to reflect on the process. To relive the magic of making the book.
And this is a great way to share it with you.
Let’s travel back to June, when I first started working with my illustrator, Helen Luzgin. It was then that the first-ever sketch of my character, Katrina Gretchinga, was composed. This sketch brought her to life like only my own imagination ever could.
And soon, this image of Katrina evolved into the Katrina we all know and love today.
Then, we had to conceptualize the world she lived in. What would her house look like? (I like this because it reminds me of what Hanzel and Gretel’s house would look like).
And with a little more love and fleshing-out, Katrina’s house became a work in progress:
Until finally, one day, it got sent down the FRESH GLAZED conveyer belt and emerged as the magestic beauty it is today.
Hopefully, when kids read my book this Christmas, they’ll feel like I felt while watching those Krispy Kreme doughnuts snake their way down the factory conveyer belt–getting an inch closer to me with each passing second. I want them to feel excited. I want their lips to pucker. I want them to stand in line at the store and salivate at the thought of bringing the book home with them.
Because that’s what good books (and good doughnuts) do to me.
Thoughts on Writing
Sep 20th
Any writer will tell you that on any given day, writing is different. Writing feels different. It comes out different. It reads different, sounds different, even acts different.
Writing morphs into whatever you are that day. So writing is never boring. Writing is like life itself–constantly changing and growing and evolving–just as you do from day to day; year to year.
When you wake up in the morning, your writing wakes up. And if you press the snooze button, your writing takes a snooze.
Writing is like a pet that you have to tend after. A horse that you need to lead to water, to see if it will drink.
Writing is like a mirror that you have to look into every day, because if you don’t, you might go out into the world with your shirt on backward or your hair undone.
This is the life of a writer.
Never mundane, never old, never lacking in any way.
As long as you can learn to embrace it, in its constant unpredictability.