Author: Erin

Idaho Author Shares Love for Africa

ErinLeave a comment

“I was a woman near my 48th birthday in the middle of a love affair with the land and with the self I met in Africa,” says author Jeannine Antoniou.

And she shares that love in Throwing the Bones:  African Encounters. Katherine Jones of the Idaho Statesman called Throwing the Bones, “Part memoir, part poetry, part biography.”

And reviewer Eric Wallace said, “Throwing the Bones is a kaleidoscopic collection of  anecdotes, impressions and observations, a beautiful mosaic of images, thoughtful ideas, and, ultimately, wisdom. The setting is southern Africa. The time: from the last decades of the 20th century to the present. Antoniou takes us on a contemplative journey to many places—places where tourists rarely venture. She gives us meaningful glimpses into the lives of ordinary people…”

According to Jeannine’s website: “A portion of the proceeds in the sale of the book is donated to the Greg Carr Foundation and his project in Mozambique, in the restoration of Gorongosa National Park or Small Village Foundation.”

Jeannine is also available to speak at service organizations, schools, and book clubs throughout the Northwest.

Falling for Wilbur: My year in flight

Erin2 Comments

If someone had told me a year ago that the bulk of my 2013 reading-life would be spent with rocket engineers, astronauts, and flight pioneers, I would have said, “You’re nuts.”

But that is exactly what happened after a long visit to the Kennedy Space Center during late November of 2012. Wandering through the Rocket Garden, I realized how little I knew about the space program. Even basic facts like the timeline from Mercury to Apollo were a mystery, all jumbled in my brain. It scared me a little, this void, and I decided to fill these holes in my knowledge— something I’ll probably spend the rest of my life trying to do.

I started with A Ball, a Dog, and a Monkey (1957–The Space Race Begins) which led to Wernher Von Braun and the Nazi engineers who came to the United States after WWII. One book snowballed into another and I ended up with a five-book reading plan, a solid—and very readable foundation—for anyone interested in space or just simply American history:

A Ball, a Dog, and a Monkey: 1957–The Space Race Begins by Michael D’Antonio – Describes the early days of America’s space obsession complete with exploding rockets and Florida hijinks.

Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe – A tour de force which will leave you completely in awe of Chuck Yeager.

A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin – An amazing, detailed portrait of the Apollo program and all its astronauts.

Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War by Michael Neufeld – A balanced biography of the rocket pioneer from his roots in Germany to his success with the Saturn V.

Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut by Mike Mullane – Combines fraternity-boy humor with a poet’s sensibilities. Very readable and entertaining.

But it was two earlier flight pioneers who truly captured my heart and imagination. During the same trip in which I encountered the Kennedy Space Center, I also visited Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. There I explored Wright Brothers National Memorial and realized the gaps in my knowledge were worse than I imagined. I spent the next month with James Tobin’s To Conquer The Air—the perfect blend of literary journalism, where research and gorgeous writing fuse into a flawless readable mix: nonfiction that reads like fiction (when I grow up I want to write just like Mr. Tobin!). I cheered when Wilbur soared in the glider and wept when he died.

But the Wright Brothers aren’t finished with me yet—Wilbur and Orville by Fred Howard sits next to my bed. And after reading it, I’m sure I’ll find other gaps to fill, books to explore, and history to uncover. As the saying goes, “So many books so little time.” And I can’t think of a better way to organize my schedule.

Monday Markets: From Filipino fiction to travel writing

ErinLeave a comment

Filipino Fiction For Young Adults: “Open Call For Submissions–Science Fiction: Filipino Fiction For Young Adults – Editors Dean Francis Alfar (publisher of the Philippine Speculative Fiction anthologies) and Kenneth Yu (publisher of Philippine Genre Stories), and co-editors for Horror: Filipino Fiction For Young Adults, announce an open call for short fiction submissions for Science Fiction: Filipino Fiction for Young Adults.”

Till Death Do Us Part: “Burnt Offerings Books is planning on publishing a series of monthly anthologies in 2014. The tentative title and theme of the anthology will be Till Death Do Us Part.”

Thirteen Press Anthologies (scroll down to Feb. 6 entry) – Accepting submissions for three anthologies – War, Wildwood, and Pyromania.

Dark Heart Volume Two: “With the theme of ‘Mirrors and Tears’ writers (both new and established) are invited to write a short story from 1,000-10,000 words for this anthology. The theme is open to interpretation and we look forward to reading a diverse range of YA tales.”

The Best Women’s Travel Writing: “Women writers, please send us your best stories about travel throughout the world for our annual series, The Best Women’s Travel Writing. We’re looking for the full range of experience: adventurous, mystical, funny, poignant, cuisine-related, cross-cultural, transformational, funny, illuminating, frightening, or grim-as well as solo travel and travel with friends, partners, and families.”

 

 

 

Spring Writing Workshops in Ann Arbor

ErinLeave a comment

Breaking news from 826michigan:

The non-profit group is once again hosting their spring workshop series for adults, “How To Write Like I Do.”

“First up, on Saturday, March 15, is “The Object Story” with Ben Stroud, author of Byzantium: Stories. A story needs meaningful conflict, and one way to provide that is through an object — some physical thing given to a character, that a character strives toward, or that characters fight over.We’ll look at two classic “Object Stories” and examine how the physical object itself shapes the story.  Then we’ll come up with our own objects and use them to build the beginnings of a story.  How to Write Like I Do workshops are $25 for one writer, or $40 for two, and include coffee, pastries, good conversation, and craft talk.”

Get all the details here.

Monday Markets: Finding a home for your story

ErinLeave a comment

Gotta a short story in need of a home? Then check out these directories of listings:

Writing Career – “Writing career help for freelance writers: call for submissions, editorial staff changes, writing opportunities, and writing advice.”

Duotrope – “Duotrope is an established, award-winning writers’ resource, and we’re here to help you spend less time submitting so you can focus on writing.”

NewPages – “Calls for writing, art, and photography from literary magazines, publishers, writing conferences, and more.”

CLMP Directory – “A searchable database of Council of Literary Magazines and Presses.”

The Grinder – “The grinder is a submission tracker and market database for writers of fiction.”

Literary Magazines – “Listings of literary magazines and journals.”

Poets & Writers – “Connect your poems, stories, essays, and reviews to the right audiences by researching over eight hundred literary magazines in our database.” Also visit the classified section for calls for submission.

And if you write short stories for teens, don’t forget about the markets listed on the right-hand column of this blog.

 

Domain Mapping My Way to Sherlock Holmes: A blog and website merger

ErinLeave a comment

My 12-year-old nephew Max made an astute observation last summer.* “Aunt Erin,” he said, “you and Uncle Keith are very 20th century.” I’m paraphrasing a bit because, in addition to be being stuck in the 1900s, I also have a dreadful memory.

But he was so right. Texting? Tweeting? Facebooking? They don’t interest me much. Instead, hand me a Jane Austen novel and settle me into a comfy chair with decent lighting and I’m good to go.

So considering my 20th century, even 19th century, preferences, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that when I needed to domain-map my website to my blog, I immediately thought of an actual, fold-out map. I saw the streets, complete with cobblestones and rolling hills, winding their way from my old website to its new home.

It took only a few minutes for my mind to drift from fold-out maps to maps in fiction. My favorite literary cartography has to be the Sherlock Holmes Atlas, found in Great Cases of Sherlock Holmes, my preferred rainy day reading. Illustrated by Julian Wolff, Editor Emeritus of the Baker Street Irregulars, the maps expand “outward from his quarters at 221b Baker Street to the entire earth…” Does it get much better than that?

All this to say that I’ve merged my website with my blog… Word Crushes has become Erin Fanning: Author & Researcher. The blogging portion of the site will remain essentially the same—short stories for teens along with an increased emphasis on other writing chatter and the occasional essay—but now I can update my own  information along with my blog. It just made sense to do it all at the same time.

That is, if this 19th / 20th century person can concentrate on domain-mapping and not end up in a cozy chair reading Sherlock Holmes and following his adventures through mapping of a very different kind.

 

 

 

 

*Certainly not the first time Max has made wise, older-than-his-years comments. His observations, which I occasionally jot down in my journal, deserve a blog of their own.

Start the week with Magic Monday

ErinLeave a comment

Start your week with Magic Monday Weekly Tips. It’s a free email newsletter with “one short, actionable, magic tip that you can implement right away every Monday. You’ll also get updates to new book marketing blogposts in the same email.”

You can find it here and while you’re at it check out the rest of the site, home to the Write Life Magazine and other goodies.

Identity Novels: Books for kids who don’t fit in the box

ErinLeave a comment

An agent once described The Power of Two by Lori Sawicki as “‘a quiet, literary book that was beautifully written.” And I couldn’t agree more but I would add that the thoughtful tale will stay with you long after the last word is read.

So I was absolutely thrilled to discover that Lori has developed her own publishing house–Identity Novels–and started her new enterprise with The Power of Two, a book that I feel privileged to have read in one of its pre-publication drafts.

I first became friends with Lori while networking at a SCBWI-MI Conference in Ann Arbor. From there, we became critique partners, reading each others’ work and providing feedback.  And with that insight, I can guarantee readers will gobble up The Power of Two and wait impatiently for Lori to publish more of her novels.

So check out her website and spread the word: there’s a new publisher “for kids who don’t fit in the box.”