How lucky am I to have met Sarah, a writer friend who lives in Iceland. We met online via a writer/illustrator discussion board and she recently indulged my request for photos of Iceland as it looks today. Thank you, thank you, Sarah!

Much of Iceland appears to be just how I remember it as a child. My family moved there when my father, a Chief Petty Officer, was stationed at the US Naval Air Station in Keflavik. We lived off base for quite a while which exposed to Icelandic lifestyle. I reveled in its landscape, people, sights, and sounds–even the smells. I loved the fresh loaves of bread from the marketplace. Hated goat’s milk and going to school in complete darkness.

These photos depict an Iceland that is indelibly stamped in my mind: Fields of green, low-lying plants, hardly any trees. Generally speaking, Iceland is green and Greenland is icy…

The charming buildings and streets of Rekjavik…

Stinky, dried fish hanging stakes, dotted the landscape for miles and miles. I plugged my nose for miles and miles on many a long car ride…

And, of course, the splendor of the aurora borealis, also called the northern lights…

These last photos were taken by photographer, Thor Marteinsson. I stumbled on his gallery in cyber space. This photographer uses absolutely no special effects in his photos. Aren’t they amazing? The aurora borealis is a natural, fantastical occurance–no special effect photography required.

The image above displays a canopy of northern lights over a geothermal vent.

The aurora borealis as it cascades down, soaking the sky with a myriad of colors. This is my favorite photo (so far) as it comes closest to my recollection.

If you think these photos fascinating, then just imagine being there, standing beneath a vast expanse of color, mixing and melding on a canvas of sky for as far as you can see. This experience changed my view of the world, sparking a life-long love and appreciation for color. I am attuned to color–not only in paintings–but in words, music, dance,…almost every facet of life.

View more aurora borealis photos at Thor’s website.

That’s right. Church Lady has a contest and a cool weekend of trivia questions about children’s book authors at A Bench Press blog. Church Lady will insist on the lowdown in this heavenly business of writing and publishing for children. Join the fun and meet authors, Gretchen Laskas on Friday, Elizabeth Bunce on Saturday and yours truly on Sunday. Yikes, I’m slightly behind in posting this but it’s not too late to join the contest today and tomorrow!

Oh yes, there will be prizes! Church Lady believes in prizes, too! For more info visit A Bench Press.

UPDATE 1: September 16th, my day of reckoning with Church Lady can be found here. There were some hilarious answers. I applaud all who tried to guess what kalo, ‘ulu and poi were. THANKS for playing!

UPDATE 2: The winners have been announced! Thanks to all who played–I loved all the anwers! However, there can only be one winner for Sunday and that is none other than Bill~Congrats, Bill~who answered Church Lady’s questions with all the cleverness and charm of a poet, as well as, displayed enviable guesstimation skills. He will recieve a signed copy of my book, The Sleeping Giant: A Tale From Kaua’i, as well as, a copy of my successful query letter.

On Monday, I hopped over to my local independent bookstore, Books, Inc., Alameda to see celebrated Newbery author, Jerry Spinelli. His latest title, LOVE, STARGIRL, was recently released and he’s doing a two week USA book tour by train. Like everyone else, I’d listen to his talk, buy a copy of his book, have him sign it and float away with a smile, right? No, not exactly.

Before leaving the house, I had a nudge to toss some extra items into my bag: an 8.5 x 11 poster and a copy of my picture book, THE SLEEPING GIANT: A Tale From Kaua’i. It seemed a little silly, but I did it anyway. I had met Jerry at the Highlight’s Writers Workshop in Chautauqua in 2005. Having just sold my picture book, I engaged in several conversations with Jerry and his wife, Eileen, regarding the art of writing–its challenges and rewards and the stuff in between.

On return from that trip, I added my favorite motivational quotes, including one of Jerry’s sayings, to a hand-decorated poster that I placed on my wall, next to my computer. I needed some positive reinforcement, for although I’d sold my story, I still had the monumental task of completing it. It was my first picture book and it had a looming deadline. Was I up to the challenge?

It’s ironic how everything we wish for can happen; albeit, all at the same time. Sure, I had a book contract, but I was also neck-deep in a rigorus dance program, plus I had family commitments, a soccer team to coach, freelance projects and something called “life.” Some days, I doubted myself and my work. Other days, I was so exhausted I couldn’t paint another stroke. The words on my poster pressed me to stay focused. So, I plugged away at the manuscript edits and worked faithfully on the illustrations. One page-spread at a time, I kept at it, until that glorious day when everything was done.

My daughter, Kai, and I (shown in the above photo with Jerry) waited in line for close to forty minutes. I rehearsed in my mind what I’d say (which was going to be smooth and professional, of course). However, when the time came to meet Jerry, I said something goofy and non-sensical as I held up my hand-made poster and pointed to his quote set in stone serif bold. I felt like a little kid pointing to a fingerpainting.

It took a few minutes for him to realize what was going on; and when I pulled out my picture book and reminded him of Chautauqua, his face lit up. He graciously accepted a copy of my book—a book that was eight years in the making. It was retold, revised, reincarnated a trillion times over—by me. What I learned in the process can be summed up by Jerry’s words: “Write what you care about.” My awkward attempt at “show and tell” didn’t matter. Jerry understood my visit.

Special thanks to Jennifer AKA Litericat on Verla Kay’s Blue Boards for publicizing Jerry’s appearance. Jennifer runs the Not Your Mother’s Book Club for teens in the SF Bay Area. Check out her NYMBC website for the next exciting event—she has a bunch of them coming up.

Momentum, as in skate-boarding downslope with your best buddies~your dog and your books.

I illustrated and designed this bookmark a few years ago. I like this Groucho Marx saying and thought it would “work” with these images. What do you think?

I am paying my respects to Ms. Madeleine L’Engle (1918-2007), who wrote one of my very favorite books as a child, A WRINKLE IN TIME. The book came to me when I was nine and I’d grown tired of reading and re-reading my robust collection of comic books. Though our teacher read us parts of A WRINKLE IN TIME, I wanted the book for myself. So, I borrowed it from the library, ever eager to visit Ms. L’Engle’s words again. Instead, I visited her worlds. And mine changed in the process. Thank you for your stories, Ms. L’Engle.

“It was only after it was written that I realized what some of it meant.” ~ Madeleine L’Engle, Referring to A WRINKLE IN TIME

What does your drawing say about YOU?

I took a personality test that had you draw something into an online program. Then it analyzes your drawing and you! The results were surprisingly accurate. I’ll skip the complete analysis, but here’s two interesting points:

– You are driven and ambitious and tend to make radical moves to reach your goals.
– You are a thoughtful and cautious person. You like to think about your method, seeking to pursue your goal in the most effective way.

Talk about contrasting points!

My favorite part of the “test” was the process. I decided to draw some redwood trees–albeit not very well since I used the mouse–but I kept at it. Once I got going, I was immediately transported into the middle of a redwood grove. Having visited an assortment of groves in Northern CA, from Muir Woods along the coast to Calavares Big Trees in the east, the visualization part was rather easy and enjoyable. I thought of their majestic presence. I imagined an outdoor cathedral made up of columns of redwood trees. Simply breathtaking.

Hint: The drawing program doesn’t capture loops and curves very well and there’s no erasing option. Have fun!