The Silver Lining

Recently, Adam went through the medicine cabinet and took inventory of all the vitamins he and I have. Some were really old, from two roommates ago! Others were more recent. We came across Nature Made Stress B-Complex vitamins. They also have vitamin C and Zinc. Everytime I take them, I notice a huge difference in my temperment and outlook. Can they really be helping to take the stress away? I feel relaxed right now and content, so I guess so. :)

Usually, when I go on vitamins, I forget to take them after a couple of days, or the taste turns me off. But I plan to keep taking these, and to go back on Biotin as well.

I'm so excited! I finished running Adventures of Bra Girl through my weekly group with Joyce Sweeney, and am working in suggestions from another critique group over the next week. A third group, who has already seen this in twenty page segments, offered to critique the full for me. I can't wait to bring the polished version of Bra Girl to a Writing Intensive on June 6, with Nicole Kasprzak (G.P. Putnam's Sons), Michael Stearns (Firebrand Literary), and Nancy Springer. I'll also print up the first page, hoping it will get chosen for a critique in the Middle Grade Track with Andrea Tompa (Candlewick Press), Michael Stearns, and Bruce Hale, on June 7th.

I've made some fairly large changes to the beginning of Bra Girl, thanks to a local retreat and feedback from the first pages at the Poconos Retreat. I had already made many of the changes by the time the first page was read in the Poconos. I made a few more after, and was thrilled that two editors praised my voice (and gave examples of lines they loved). That was extremely helpful, because I had cut one of them, and immediately worked it back in. I should be able to submit Adventures of Bra Girl by the end of June!

Besides writing, revising, and critiquing, I've been busy attending signings. On May 8, I went to a signing for three talented authors from my group with Joyce. It was Debbie Reed Fischer's first reading and signing for her debut novel, Braless in Wonderland. She did a great job! There was only one question she didn't answer--in front of everyone, her son asked how much she weighed! Debbie just smiled, and handled it like a pro. Dorian Cirrone read from Prom Kings and Drama Queens, and Gaby Triana read part of The Temptress Four. They're all great books, if you're looking for some fun new YA to read! Both Debbie and Gaby are on LJ, so you can shout out congratulations for their new books: debbierfischer gabytriana

On Saturday, I was thrilled to attend a signing for How To Be Bad. Sarah Mlynowski, E. Lockhart, and Lauren Myracle each read a scene from the POV of the character they wrote. They were down to earth and funny (especially when Sarah had to read a pee scene over the microphone at Barnes & Noble), and shared their experiences with us. I was almost in tears listening to Lauren's story...I'm really glad she hung in there and kept writing, no matter what others said, because her books are enjoyed by so many people.

I haven't had a chance to read How To Be Bad yet, but after hearing parts of it, I can't wait to dig in!

I haven't been tagged but saw this on my friend Barbara O' Connor's terrific blog and it looked like fun so I'm doin' it. ;-)

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player’s blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What were you doing ten years ago?

Homeschooling three rambunctious boys who liked to read, think up Imagination games (and tell me to be quiet so I didn't interrupt their daydreams) and play Hide n'Seek with their friends through the house. Wasn't I a nice Mom?

My first book, BREAKAWAY, was just coming out and I was nervously biting my fingernails.

Doing revisions on ENCHANTED RUNNER for my editor.

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

1. Go to Los Lunas Middle School to talk to the kids in the Book Club about the process of book publishing.
2. Grocery shopping (found some great sales at Albertsons).
3. Talk my son through a school final crisis. Not on the "to do" list but it happened.
4. Make spaghetti for dinner.
5. Wash my hair. Seriously.

What are some snacks you enjoy?

Chocolate chip cookie dough.
Donuts, especially chocolate frosted ones with sprinkles
Chips/Salsa

What would you do if you were a billionaire?

Hire a maid
Travel to Egypt. Hit every European country.
Lounge on the beach for a couple of weeks
Buy any book I want
I'd definitely donate to several charities as well as medical research for cancer. That stuff scares me.
Give my mom (who only has a small social security check every month) enough money so she'll quit worrying
Take my whole family (my brothers and sisters, and their kids, too) on a big, splurgy vacation

What are three of your bad habits?

Fretting/Nagging ;-(
Eating too many sweets
Not having enough confidence in myself

What are five places where you have lived?

San Francisco, California
Concord, California
Provo, Utah
Ponca City, Oklahoma
Albuquerque, New Mexico

What are five jobs you have had?

Saleswoman at a clock store (grandfather clocks and imported clocks from Europe)
Piano Teacher
Kelly Girl
Office clerk for a CPA
Seminary teacher

What six people do you want to tag?

sarah_create
susanwrites
stacy_dekeyser
lisa_schroeder
selimsa803</div>

Here's a new segment that I'll revisit every once in a while, or perhaps never. It's called: I Mean, Seriously.

And without any ado.

I hate when movie sequels come out with a different cast. I never could get past the new kids in National Lampoon's European Vacation. And don't get me started on Grease 2. So you'd think I'd be psyched about the new Indiana Jones film with Harrison Ford revisiting his title character. And I love Harrison Ford.

But I mean, seriously. 

They guy is 65 years old. It's been over 26 years since Raiders came out. I just can't help thinking the film should be called one of these:


Indiana Jones and the Curse of Erectile Dysfunction

Indiana Jones and the Quest for the Lost Reading Glasses

Indiana Jones and the Mysterious Workings of the Cable Remote

Indiana Jones and the Attack of Shiftless Youth on Skateboards

Indiana Jones and the Mythical Treasure of Social Security

Indiana Jones and the Impending Prostate Exam

Indiana Jones and the Cult of the AARP 

Indiana Jones and the Midnight Run to Canada for Cheap Pharmaceuticals


Anyone else have a good one?

Look what I won from azang!









(errrr..ummm...please ignore the junk in the background and the fact that I haven't brushed my hair this morning...but hey! I'm dressed to the nines!)

Thank you Angela!

So much for the gummy spiders. The candy store called me and said their distributor won't stock the candy until September.

Does anyone have any ideas for a candy that isn't chocolate? One candy store owner told me that some people have been using the gummy octopus instead of spiders. But I'm like, kids know the difference between octopus and spiders. The only gummy stuff I've found is bears, fish, ocean animals, and Swedish fish.

Now I know what to stock up on this Halloween!

2nd in a series of posts on eating better and cooking more.

Have you seen those shows where the host goes into someone's pantry and throws out all their Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and Fruit Loops and forces them to make tofu steak and steamed vegetables for dinner?

I've noticed people often go overboard when they get the itch for change, whether it's because they are trying to lose weight, they had some sort of health crisis, or they saw a documentary on some scary aspect of the food industry.

In my experience, going overboard only works for a little while. You might consider it to cleanse your system or something, but over the long-term, consider the baby step.

For example, three years ago I didn't drink much, maybe 2-3 glasses of juice a day and maybe a little water at bedtime. I never liked water growing up. I wanted to drink more, and I could have just gone straight to dropping juice forever and trying to drink eight glasses of water a day, but I bet that wouldn't have worked. So over a three-year period I made the following changes:
1. Stopped drinking juice that had additional sweeteners, and limited juice to 2 glasses a day. Otherwise, drank herb tea with honey.
2. Limited juice to 1 glass a day.
3. Started sweetening tea with just a smidge of juice instead of honey.
4. Cut sweetener out of tea altogether and tried to drink at least 2 cups a day.
5. Tried to drink 4 cups of unsweetened tea or water a day, and the only juices now allowed are not-from-concentrate organic orange or grapefruit juice, or high antioxidant juices like pomegranate, which I try to drink less than 4 times a week.

As you can see I'm still not up to the ideal half-my-body-weight-in-water. But I am drinking more water, less juice, and I stick to it. I might lapse back to stage 4 some days but I am definitely not going to suddenly go back to stage 1 because it was so gradual.

You can try this with anything you know you're doing wrong in your diet. What can you do that is just ONE STEP better? Like, say you're living on McDonalds. You could try stocking your kitchen with easy food like microwave meals that contain one little vegetable, some organic hot dogs, whatever is just a smidge better. And when you get used to that, just go one step farther. Commit to eating a piece of fruit with your meal, or go for only natural convenience food, or make macaroni and cheese and add peas or something.

How do you know when to move on? I usually just know because I start to feel like the latest change has become routine and I'm itching to eat just a little better again.

We finally heard from our granddaughter who is teaching in China. All of the volunteers in her area are safe. She's in Changsha, to the east of the earthquake area. She said her students noticed that everything in the classroom was swaying. They didn't know what had happened at first. I cannot imagine what those poor people are going through. My prayers are with them and those heroes who are rushing to their aid.

This week has started out of focus. I'm a very scheduled person, I guess because of all those years I was a teacher. When extra things come up now, it takes me awhile to get back in the normal routine. Monday, which is usually a writing day, was spent at our district retired teachers meeting. It was interesting, and the food was delicious, but now I must get back in the groove and write.

E-mailed one magazine submission this morning. Then worked on my mg wip. I'm stuck on this chapter. Will get it though. I'm still working on a synopsis for my YA story that I hope to mail later this month or in June. Why is the synopsis so hard to write? At least for me it is. Remind self: never give up. 

I'm reading some awesome books. Will talk about them later.

Have a great week everyone.

Happy reading and writing.

childings commented yesterday about weaning herself off of junk food, learning to cook (in vain) and whether I had any cookbooks or recipes to recommend. I've been meaning for awhile to make a general post with tips on eating and cooking, as she is not the first person to ask, so today is the day.

Cooking and eating, mind you, are sort of like writing a novel. There are people who talk about wanting to be writers and write, but who like to talk about it more than do it, or who seem to think it should be easy. Also, the same method won't work for everyone. I can only speak from personal experience.

--Cookbooks. If you're trying to motivate yourself to cook, cookbooks are a good way to have things sitting on your shelf that you can stare at and think, "I should make something out of that sometime." I only use cookbooks when I already know what I want and I just need a more specific recipe or some advice on technique. If you're just starting out, I recommend getting a few general cookbooks with notes on technique like Joy of Cooking and maybe How to Cook Everything or something.

Then, I say, subscribe yourself to some magazines!

One of the reason I became a great cook in a very short period of time is because the health food store where I work stocks the following cooking magazines: Cooking Light, Eating Well, Fine Cooking, Cook's Illustrated, Saveur, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Vegetarian Times, Taste of Italia, as well as some nutrition/wellness magazines with more recipes, and two free handout magazines that contain recipes every month. Sometimes the store is DEAD and I am watching the register so nearly every month I read nine cooking magazines.

Cooking magazines are more fun than cookbooks, I find. They have lots of flashy full-color spreads and fun articles and tips. You can stick them in your bathroom. Don't feel you have to necessarily cook with them, just read them and see if you don't soon see a recipe that makes you think, "Ooh, I want to try that". Even if you just cook a few recipes from them every month, do read the articles on cooking technique, and look over recipes that sound interesting even if you know you'll never make them. What did they use? Lemon? Paprika? What was the technique? Did they marinade? Did they brown? You'll start to absorb this stuff into your subconscious eventually.

Also, if you have no sense of how to cook with the seasons, this way you'll start to pick up on what foods are in season when.

If you just get one, I like Cooking Light--it has a LOT of recipes in it, and they're very practical for just about anybody. Fine Cooking is probably next best for a general magazine. After that, they all sort of serve different needs. Saveur is fancy but fun to read, Vegetarian Times is good if you're vegetarian (I know, shock!) and has good suggestions for anyone who wants to eat less meat, Cook's Illustrated takes recipes and explains in detail the best method for making it and what doesn't work, which can be very interesting.

This got long so I'm breaking it into separate posts for separate tips.

Congratulations to dragonegg on her book "Maiden of the Wolf" in tltrent's Hallowmere series!

Love love love my Mac, but their mice are not cleaner-friendly. Actually, you aren't supposed to take them apart at all, but those little rollers get linty, of course. There's a website that tells you how to break it apart, step by step, to clean, and I did it once without any trouble. Not this time. Got the eensy weensy magnetic scroller ball pins cleaned. Got everything put back the way it was. However, now it doesn't scroll at all. Frustrating.

But I'm immediately cheered up when I get a whiff of these babies. Mmmmm. They're scenting the whole house. Lilacs hold such sweet memories for me. My lilac bushes started as sticks, years ago, from my grandma's and my parents' bushes. Now that I think about it, the same could be said for most of my perennials: the bleeding heart, the peonies, the lilies, the hosta, the iris....

http://author2author.blogspot.com/2008/05/authors-in-person.html

Tip of the Day: if you want to feel revived and refreshed about writing, try going to a conference.

This past week, I was at a conference for my library job. The bonus perk was that many authors I admire were also speaking at the conference, including Tamora Pierce, Judy Schachner, Cynthia Lord, Pete Hautman, John Green, Hank Green, and Maureen Johnson. I blogged a little about the conference on my personal blog here, but I wanted to share some of my favorite words of wisdom from the speakers.

• “If you need to send a message call Western union, [don’t write a book].” Tamora Pierce
• When Tamora Pierce was asked at what stage during the writing process she thinks about the theme of her novel, her response was: “when I’m preparing for speeches.”
• “Be persistent,” Judy Schachner, picture book author. “Or what I like to call: keep ramming head into brick wall.” Her response when asked about the publication process of books.
• As I mentioned on my other blog, Cynthia Lord’s advice on writing and publishing: 1.) don’t let your inner-editor into the first draft of a novel and 2.) don’t give up on your publication journey.
• Pete Hautman said most of his book ideas result when he realizes how two unconnected ideas he has on characters and/or larger issues fit together as one book.
• John Green spoke at length on the importance of using technology to reach your readers in new ways, such as his online Nerdfighter community and Brotherhood 2.0 blogs. He also stated that teens today want to feel connected to the author at all times.
• Hank Green added that one of his favorite things about their online community is that teens feel they can make a difference. “If you tell them they can change the world, they believe it and then they will do something about it.”
• Maureen Johnson said when asked why she likes to write for teens that it’s because teens are a lot more open at that age and you can be more creative in books.

There’s was tons more, but those were my favorite comments. There’s nothing like hearing an author speak in person that can both get you excited about writing and also feeling inferior, since all of them are incredibly smart and dedicated to the craft of writing and to their readers. But it was an amazing time, and I’m so glad I got the opportunity to hear some of them speak.

--Emily, Miss Awaiting an Agent

So, I'm having coffee with a close, non-writing friend and she asks that question . . .

"How's the writing going?"

Knowing from experience that her eyes won't glaze over (yes, she's great like that!)  I launch into the latest news . . .  telling her how I finished a major revision to Guardian over the winter and completed the first draft of a new project near and dear to my heart . . .  and about how I'd started a couple of new picture books but had to put them aside when it was time to open the campground . . . I told her how Guardian was back "out there" . . .

"But no sales yet, huh?"

"No," I say.  "But I feel like I'm getting closer.  It just takes time.  I switched gears you know . . . PB's to middle grade."

My friend shook her head, commenting on how long the process takes.  "I would have given up months ago.  How do you stay so interested?"

I shrugged.  "For the love of the words . . . " I said.  "I've put my writing tools away, tried to move on to other hobbies and interests, but things like perfect opening sentences, character flaws and interesting twists keep rolling around in my head until I can't stand it anymore and I'm starting another project."

It wasn't until later that I realized it was much, much, more than that.  As sappy as these may sound, these are the specific things I love about the process:


I love twisting and shaping a new idea into something unique that I can call my own

I love the research, learning something new.  Sometimes I immerse myself so deeply in my subject that I'm dreaming about it at night.

I love how we start with a blank page.

I love holding the crisp, clean pages of a first draft, whether it be a two page picture book, or a 150 page middle grade novel. I will admit to having been caught stroking my cover page lovingly. 

I love the sense of accomplishment when on the third revision, I hit my hand to my head because I've figured out the little missing piece that's kept my manuscript from feeling perfect.

I love collaborating with my critiquers.  Every single one of you is a godsend to me.  You know who you are.

I love doing school visits and signing books; talking to children about my writing journey and the lessons I've learned. 

I love hearing how families use The Grumpies in their daily routine.  My favorite story:  One family tells me, their son greets Dad at the door every night and insists Daddy leave his grumpies on the doorstep.

I love my family, for their support and faith in me.  I couldn't do this without them.

 

Since I'm not going to be doing any Teaser Tuesdays for a while I thought I'd try something new around here. Every Tuesdays I will post one memory question and hope people will all chime in with their answers.

This week's memory challenge - your first car.

I turned 16 in 1974 but I didn't get my driver's license at 16 like so many other kids did. For one thing, I only lived a couple of blocks from the high school so walking was easy. For another thing I was a girl who dated guys who usually had cars. But the main reason I didn't get my license right away was because there was no car for me to drive. My mom worked for a car dealership and drove a company car which I wasn't allowed to drive. Eventually a friend of hers allowed me to borrow his car for the test and I got my license when I turned 17. Which meant, of course, I wanted a car. I was going to be a senior and I had visions of upping my coolness factor for at least my last year of high school.

I had a job at a local burger joint but would have to borrow the money for a car from my grandmother, which, according to her, gave her a vote in the car I bought.

My way cool aunt had a car for sale and boy did I want to buy it - a blue 1965 Mustang that looked something like this: 



I refused to admit that I was too short for the car and that I would be looking out through the section of the steering wheel instead of over the top of it. I sat in that car and imagined pulling into the parking lot at Mt. Diablo High School (after driving around a while "to be seen" of course) and suddenly being someone who mattered at school.

Alas my grandmother and my mother consorted to keep my coolness down in the freezer section and insisted, instead, that I buy this, a 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger.



Sigh. Granted, in later years when drag racing at the Fremont raceway was a part of our life, that car might have made me a little more popular. But as a fairly invisible senior in high school, it didn't help a bit. And when I married my first husband, the only thing insisted was that I sell that car ASAP.

So what was your first car and how did it come into your life?


 

I just wanted to say THANK YOU to those who read the first three chapters MEAUH for me! You girls ROCK! :)

After 3 hours of homework and more stress and frustration than any 13 YO (okay, fine, any 13 YO's mother) should have to endure, I've decided if both of my kids make it through high school, I'm sending them to Grandma's for the weekend and *I'M* the one having a keggar. Mark your calendars. June, 2015.

My director at work complains about his almost two year old who takes her poopy diaper off and walks around showing people.

I'm telling you, I'll take that over algebra and science write-ups any day.

 It's time for the second course in our Asian Pacific American Heritage Month potluck!

Last week, Lisa Yee ( lisayee) tempted us with her won ton appetizers, but she wouldn't share Colin Firth. This has left me hungrier than ever. How about you?

I've been a Lensey Namioka fan since the early 90's, when I read the first book in her Yang family series for middle grade readers, Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear (Yearling,1994). I found the story of 9-year-old Yingtao, the only one of four siblings who is not musically inclined, warm and captivating, and it provided something relatively rare in books featuring Asian characters back then -- humor. 

     

I was ecstatic when Lensey followed up with three more books spotlighting Yingtao's sisters, Yingmei and Yinglang, and his older brother, Yingwu. Each sibling, with his/her respective personal, social, and cultural challenges, is lovingly depicted in Lensey's engaging and refreshingly simple prose.

Lensey's most recent book is a young adult novel called Mismatch (Delacorte, 2006), which I devoured over the weekend. Fifteen-year-old Sue Hua, a Chinese American girl whose family moves from culturally diverse Seattle to a mostly white suburb, falls for Andy Suzuki, who plays violin in the school orchestra. They are seen as an ideal couple since they are both Asian, but this is just one of many misconceptions that are examined and dispelled in the course of the novel.



Sue's grandmother has painful memories of the Japanese occupation of China during WWII. Andy's father harbors resentment over ill treatment he received on a visit to Beijing. What I found especially enlightening about this story is that it moves beyond familial disapproval of Sue and Andy's relationship, to questions of personal identity and reverse prejudice. When Sue and Andy go to Japan on a school orchestra trip, questions of ethnicity are deepened as they interact with their host families.  

Lensey herself was born in Beijing, and could not speak English when her family moved to the U.S. at age nine, so she knows well the problems of cultural assimilation. She attended Radcliffe and UC Berkeley, and majored in mathematics, but decided she liked writing better. After marrying Isaac Namioka, a fellow mathematician, she visited Japan and became interested in the culture (she has written a series of samurai adventure mysteries set in 16th century Japan).

Mismatch beautifully weaves together Lensey's wisdom and understanding of both Japanese and Chinese mores. The intercultural and intergenerational dynamics make for a fascinating and often surprising read.

I was nervous emailing Lensey, since I've admired her for so long, but discovered she is the generous, unassuming person I hoped she would be. She was busy packing for a trip to Europe, but took the time to send a favorite childhood recipe. She says, "The amounts of the ingredients are all approximate, since my mother didn't have a recipe, and I just learned from watching her make the dish."

I made this Sunday night, and found it to be easy, light, healthy and delish. Since tastes differ, I advise adding the soy sauce gradually until desired saltiness is achieved.

CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD



2 cups cooked chicken meat (can be boiled or microwaved), torn into shreds, about 1/4-inch thick
1/4 cup (or less) soy sauce
3 T sesame oil
2 stalks scallions, cut into slivers about 1 inch long
slivers of celery and cucumber, 1 inch long (optional)

Mix together all ingredients and serve cold.

                              

For more about Lensey and her books, visit her website. There is also a nice feature about her at papertigers.org.
 

Monday was an up and down kind of day.

BOO
- Adam was sick.
- I was feeling really depressed and discouraged about you-know-what.
- Someone broke into my car. Almost a year to the day of it getting broken in last year.
- Now I have to shell out $$ to get the window fixed again. >:(
- I went to Barnes & Noble to use my giftcard to buy THE PATRON SAINT OF BUTTERFLIES and they didn't have it.

YAY
- I booked a nice work-from-home freelance gig for Tuesday.
- I got a package from zenosidal full of Aidan goodness. There were school pictures, handwriting, progress sheets, a Mother's Day card made by him (best Mother's Day gift EVER) and an interview paper about me for Mother's Day. It said the following:

What is Mom's name? Ronni
How old is Mom? 43
How tall is Mom? Smaller than Daddy
How much does Mom weigh? 50 lbs.
What is Mom's favorite food? Everything and spinach
What is Mom's favorite drink? Fruit punch
What is Mom's favorite color? Pink
What is Mom's favorite television show? The Power Puff Girls
What is Mom's favorite thing to do around the house? Bake
What is Mom's favorite thing to say? Everything
My mom is the best because... She loves me.

(The last sentence made me cry).

- Adam and I got a package from Adam's mom and dad that included cool things such as brandy snifters, cheese, and chocolate-covered sunflower seeds.
Adam: They're trying to turn us into alcoholics!
- There was nothing in the car that interested the thieves, so nothing got taken out of it. Although I can't imagine why they broke in to begin with. I guess to rifle through the glove compartment. I'm glad to have disappointed them.
- Got new books out of the library. Only 15 more days until I can take out more than five items at a time.
- Adam got me some Garrett Popcorn. OK, I know I know, I normally don't like popcorn, but this, ladies and gentlemen, is no ordinary popcorn. If *I* am eating it, you know it's good. I like the CaramelCrisp. Mmm. *pops some in mouth*
- I took a bath with a bath bomb. :)
- Gossip Girl. HOLY CRAP!
- This list is longer than the BOO list.

Cut for .... ( The Weekend with Rosa! )

And on a more introspective note...

( Read more... )

I need to go to bed. I'm getting tired. So, 'til next time.

I have a new habit for the drive home from work - I keep the radio off and let the silence wrap itself around me. In the past I would use the drive home as a time to sing, decidedly off-key, to try and restore the energy that is sucked out of me with the dayjob. But now I find the silence makes a good transition from a crowded time to a quiet time to what I hope will be a writing time.

I've thought of B on and off throughout my day. He has a twang in his voice at times. I don't know where it comes from yet I know it belongs to him. He argued with someone and he is homeless again and I don't know why. I don't know what will happen when I sit down to write.

A few hours later I have 200 words or maybe less. One scene that contradicts everything else I've said so far. One new character. One lost character. Three index cards of notes.

Plot still MIA.

I stand at the window and watch the birds feed, count the number of new poppies that have bloomed and wonder what Mr. Mac would say if he saw this yard. I should try for another scene, or at least another sentence or two or three but instead I reach for the camera hoping to catch sight of the woodpecker that has begun to visit the giant Yucca next door.

I listen for B. but all I hear is the sound of squabbling birds.

Hubby says dinner is ready.

Not a moment too soon.

The Bronze Dragon Codex postcards are now available! They are gorgeous! If you ever require a postcard, please visit Earthly Charms. They are very easy to work with, prompt, and produce a wonderful finished product!

If you would like a postcard, please comment with your email (appropriately disguised so bots can't find it) and I'll email you to get your address.