Well, the virtual book tour continues. A guest post about realism and believability of characters is up at Illusions of Intimacy. Take a look, if you'd like to see what I have to say about portraying autistic characters (and what it takes to make them believable in a world that has a lot of misconceptions about autism).
According to the book tour schedule, Kea's Flight was supposed to be featured on A Mother's Touch on May 11th, and Butterfly Feet on May 6th. Darlyn and Books is supposed to feature it today. As of the time I write this, none of those three sites have actually posted anything about our book, and no one has contacted me or the tour organizer to explain why. But it may just be that the book was long and we didn't give them very much time to read it. We'll see.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Another review
Glorious Books didn't think Kea's Flight was that glorious. Oh well. I guess everyone gets some bad reviews sometimes.
Nobody has reviewed it on Amazon yet either. Wonder why. I'm hoping it's because the people who bought it on Amazon aren't done reading it yet, and not because they hated it.
Nobody has reviewed it on Amazon yet either. Wonder why. I'm hoping it's because the people who bought it on Amazon aren't done reading it yet, and not because they hated it.
Monday, May 09, 2011
Why would anyone buy a Kindle case?
It all started when John and I invited Mom and Dad over, so that we could make them lunch and give Mom chocolates for Mothers' Day. Well, Mom, being the wonderful mom that she is, gave me an even better present: an early birthday Kindle 3G.
After much rejoicing about how great this was, I started addressing the logistical details. I finally had a Kindle, and now I had to start looking for accessories, like a carrying case.
You know what? Carrying cases designed for the Kindle are expensive. 20 to 30 dollars or more, for an object that can't be any harder to make than a binder or planner that you'd buy for $5 in the stationery section. I was sure I could find cheaper ones online, but I didn't want to wait for it to ship.
So I went to the thrift store and got a small vinyl-bound case for $1.60. It was designed to hold a little pad of paper and some accessories such as pens and business cards-- not a Kindle. But it was the right size, and I knew it would be easy to modify.
First I cut off the piece of elastic that went vertically across it:
I was hoping I could use that elastic to modify it, but alas, it wasn't long enough for what I needed. So I went to my sewing kit and cut some pieces of the elastic I had there:
With a needle and some black embroidery floss, it took mere moments to sew the elastic in place:
and voila, I had a Kindle case:
Narrower elastic would have been better, and not gotten so close to encroaching on the text... but that would have required spending more money, and my goal was to be as stingy as possible today. If I had been willing to loosen my purse strings for better elastic, I could still have had this Kindle case for under $5.
Thus ends your daily lesson on the pointlessness of spending too much. I don't intend to turn this blog into some sort of Thrifty Tips Advice Column, but sometimes I just have to comment about products that gouge you for big sums of money when they can be imitated for next to nothing.
After much rejoicing about how great this was, I started addressing the logistical details. I finally had a Kindle, and now I had to start looking for accessories, like a carrying case.
You know what? Carrying cases designed for the Kindle are expensive. 20 to 30 dollars or more, for an object that can't be any harder to make than a binder or planner that you'd buy for $5 in the stationery section. I was sure I could find cheaper ones online, but I didn't want to wait for it to ship.
So I went to the thrift store and got a small vinyl-bound case for $1.60. It was designed to hold a little pad of paper and some accessories such as pens and business cards-- not a Kindle. But it was the right size, and I knew it would be easy to modify.
First I cut off the piece of elastic that went vertically across it:
I was hoping I could use that elastic to modify it, but alas, it wasn't long enough for what I needed. So I went to my sewing kit and cut some pieces of the elastic I had there:
With a needle and some black embroidery floss, it took mere moments to sew the elastic in place:
and voila, I had a Kindle case:
Narrower elastic would have been better, and not gotten so close to encroaching on the text... but that would have required spending more money, and my goal was to be as stingy as possible today. If I had been willing to loosen my purse strings for better elastic, I could still have had this Kindle case for under $5.
Thus ends your daily lesson on the pointlessness of spending too much. I don't intend to turn this blog into some sort of Thrifty Tips Advice Column, but sometimes I just have to comment about products that gouge you for big sums of money when they can be imitated for next to nothing.
Interview and giveaway
Australian Bookshelf has interviewed me about Kea's Flight and is offering a free copy to fans of the blog.
Jewelry time!
Alexandrite is wonderful, and I'm not just saying that because it's my birthstone. Here are three neat things about it:
1. It can look very different colors in different lighting. The range of the color change depends on the stone, but the best alexandrite stones can go all the way from green to red when the light dims.
2. It's one of the most durable gemstones out there. Its hardness (resistance to scratching) is near diamond, and its toughness (resistance to cracking) is better than diamond. This makes it a very good stone for rings.
3. It is extraordinarily rare. The best mines of alexandrite are all used up already. Good natural stones are hard to find, and a large, high-quality natural alexandrite with a good range of color change is one of the most expensive gems you can buy.
My usual sources for jewelry supplies didn't sell alexandrite-- not even lab grown, just "simulated." So it was really cool when I found some little tiny ones on Etsy for $8: a set of seven 2-3mm natural cat's eye cabochons.
The stones are varied, and have have a small but nice range of color change. The pictures in the listing showed them all looking dark blue with no flash and then looking pink with flash... obviously in normal lighting the color change is subtler, a range including brownish-green, gray-green, sea-green and deep blue-green (it varies depending on the individual stone, too). Better yet, they're cat's eye stones, which means there's a nice glowy stripe visible across the stone sometimes.
I decided to make some jewelry. After much practice making rings, here's the one I like best:
The pictures aren't all that faithful to the color. In real life, the stone on that ring appears brownish-gray-green in bright artificial light, and blue-green in bright natural light, with some range in between. The four stones I haven't made into jewelry yet range from green to blue-green in natural light, and green to dark blackish-blue in artificial light.
Then there are two that I decided to make into earrings, which change from deep blue-green to a brownish-blue that's almost black. This is how they look in photos:
The earrings are for my mother-in-law, and I think I'll wear the ring often. It's a new design that I hadn't used before. My previous rings have all been very delicate and easily bent out of shape, but this one has held up to several days of everyday life, including some work in the stockroom at Target.
1. It can look very different colors in different lighting. The range of the color change depends on the stone, but the best alexandrite stones can go all the way from green to red when the light dims.
2. It's one of the most durable gemstones out there. Its hardness (resistance to scratching) is near diamond, and its toughness (resistance to cracking) is better than diamond. This makes it a very good stone for rings.
3. It is extraordinarily rare. The best mines of alexandrite are all used up already. Good natural stones are hard to find, and a large, high-quality natural alexandrite with a good range of color change is one of the most expensive gems you can buy.
My usual sources for jewelry supplies didn't sell alexandrite-- not even lab grown, just "simulated." So it was really cool when I found some little tiny ones on Etsy for $8: a set of seven 2-3mm natural cat's eye cabochons.
The stones are varied, and have have a small but nice range of color change. The pictures in the listing showed them all looking dark blue with no flash and then looking pink with flash... obviously in normal lighting the color change is subtler, a range including brownish-green, gray-green, sea-green and deep blue-green (it varies depending on the individual stone, too). Better yet, they're cat's eye stones, which means there's a nice glowy stripe visible across the stone sometimes.
I decided to make some jewelry. After much practice making rings, here's the one I like best:
The pictures aren't all that faithful to the color. In real life, the stone on that ring appears brownish-gray-green in bright artificial light, and blue-green in bright natural light, with some range in between. The four stones I haven't made into jewelry yet range from green to blue-green in natural light, and green to dark blackish-blue in artificial light.
Then there are two that I decided to make into earrings, which change from deep blue-green to a brownish-blue that's almost black. This is how they look in photos:
The earrings are for my mother-in-law, and I think I'll wear the ring often. It's a new design that I hadn't used before. My previous rings have all been very delicate and easily bent out of shape, but this one has held up to several days of everyday life, including some work in the stockroom at Target.
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Reviews and Interviews
The Autism Conference went quite well! We met many interesting people and had a lot of great conversations.
Also, our Virtual Book Tour is getting off to a good start. A very enthusiastic review is up at Crack a Spine Book Reviews today. We also did a lengthy author interview there, in case you're interested.
Also, our Virtual Book Tour is getting off to a good start. A very enthusiastic review is up at Crack a Spine Book Reviews today. We also did a lengthy author interview there, in case you're interested.
Monday, May 02, 2011
AUSM Conference Times
Here is the schedule for Friday at the AUSM conference. The times in bold are when John and I will be in the book room signing stuff. We're really looking forward to it!
2011 Minnesota Autism Conference: Designing Futures for Autism
Schedule for Friday, May 6
Registration: 7:30 - 8:30
Keynote: 8:30-10:30
Break: 10:30-11:00
General Address: 11:00-12:00
Lunch & Local Author Event: 12:00 - 1:00
Breakouts I: 1:00-2:00
Break & Local Author Event: 2:00-2:30
Breakouts II & III: 2:30 - 4:45
2011 Minnesota Autism Conference: Designing Futures for Autism
Schedule for Friday, May 6
Registration: 7:30 - 8:30
Keynote: 8:30-10:30
Break: 10:30-11:00
General Address: 11:00-12:00
Lunch & Local Author Event: 12:00 - 1:00
Breakouts I: 1:00-2:00
Break & Local Author Event: 2:00-2:30
Breakouts II & III: 2:30 - 4:45
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