And the Winner Is....

I am so very honored and excited to share some fantastic news. I attended the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Summer Conference in August, which has truly been the highlight of my year for four years now.  It's a time to meet up with my beloved writer friends, make new friends, share stories and nuggets of gold, meet the awe inspiring publishers, editors and agents that help make this kidlit machine run so beautifully, and a time to learn more about this amazing craft of writing and the business side of being an author.

This year I submitted my manuscript, STARRY KALAHARI, for a consultation and I WON the MOST PROMISING PICTURE BOOK AWARD!!!! Words honestly can not explain how blessed and honored I feel.  The fact that this is the very first year for the award is truly an award all within itself.

SQUEEEEEE!

P.S. A HUGE congratulations to the winner of the 2012 Sue Alexander Award, Kat Yeh!!!

Pieces of Our Heart

Today I found broken pieces of memories. Although they weren’t my memories, it hurt to see them broken, just the same. My mother collected shot glasses for years, like the years of her life that were collected, one by one. They were precious to her. Whenever she went somewhere special, she would grab a memory off the shelf and add it to her batch or memories on the wall. Many days would pass, even months as they sat in that place, unnoticed and overlooked. But when a glace would bring attention to these memories, she would let them flood her mind; Dallas, Atlanta, Arizona, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite... Those memories, her memories, were left in my care. And today, those memories were shattered.

I dug through the clutter in my garage, clearing out trash and making sense of the rest. I grabbed a box and as I saw my mother’s memories in a pile, shattered like the years of her life, my heart shattered too. I froze and wondered, “Had they all broken? Had her memories been lost forever?” Then I took a breath and in a moment I saw. A few scattered memories were saved in the impact...

The Meteor Crater – Yes, I remember our trip; laughing, walking, sharing life. Knott’s Berry Farm – Right, that was when I was 8 months pregnant; loving, admiring, asking everything. New Orleans – Of course, I remember her sharing pictures; friends, growing, learning new things.

Memories lost and memories saved. Love lost and love forever embedded in my heart. What a beautiful opportunity to remember. What an amazing moment to realize how important it is to cherish our memories, and those of the people we love. Likewise, I realize how rare and precious those memories are. Especially the ones that never shatter; the ones that never leave us; the ones we call pieces of our heart.

(photo by Afton at www.flickr.com)

Surprise After Sunset

Our family encountered a stunning surprise this past Sunday. The five of us went on a nature walk in the Bolsa Chica Wetlands the other day, just before sunset. We enjoyed time together and I took some pictures of the kids with the beautiful Pacific Ocean sunset as the backdrop. We were amazed at the clarity and admired how well we could see Catalina Island. The island's main strip was so visible it looked as thought we could bound over the ocean and land on the island's shore. My husband and I stood with the kids and enjoyed the breathtaking view of the entire island framed by our personal California sunset.

As the sunset wrapped up it’s finale, we began our walk home. That was when we noticed the mountains to the east, directly in front of us. They appeared to have a slight halo as a strange glow hovered over them. This glow began to settle behind the mountain and we realized that the light was not a reflection of the sunset. The faint orange light slowly transformed into a brightly burning fiery blaze. The children cried out, “It’s fire!” We agreed that it must be a fire that was now creeping towards us over the mountain.

Soon the fire began to spread so quickly that it instantaneously arched over the top of the mountain with a bright yellow core and a hovering deep red silhouette. We watched intently as the inferno began to rise hundred's of feet into the air. Our excitement elevated as our concern deepened. At one heart stopping moment, the fire began to explode into a ball which lifted gently and slowly into the air. We were astonishment as we noticed our fire was floating and now hovering above the distant mountain. In that moment, we realized we had just witnessed our first magnificent moonrise.