a working studio

Even though the studio is not completely set up (note the empty book tower in the back), work cannot wait for my perfectionist aspirations. Work has begun on the third Ling and Ting book (right now titled "Twice as Silly!") and, just like when I was working on the last book, my "assistant" is ever devoted:

her rabbit might make a cameo in the book

But I'm excited! I think it's going to be a fun follow up to Ling and Ting Share a Birthday (which comes out in September!!).

the maintenance year

travelers on our own journey!

So, this is the time of year when publishing world is all abuzz with their national conferences and award ceremonies--none of which I will be attending. As I read my friends' and colleagues' facebook feeds and twitter streams, I do feel slight twinges of envy. However, the emotion I feel in spades is anxiety. I wonder if somehow my work, my books, are being forgotten, left behind--that all I have tried to build is fading away.

But truly, my biggest fear is not that I've been unable to promote or network. My biggest fear is that I will never be able to do my best work again. For creating a book--at least for me-- is a very selfish  endeavor. It needs great chunks of alone time--thinking time, goofing time, as well as writing time.  It also needs very focused brain power.  All of which has been in short supply since Rain Dragon's arrival. Which is why my plans for novel #3 have remained just that--plans. No drafts, no outlines, no sketches.  My ambitions have been forced to take a backseat as the most I could manage this past year was keeping afloat!

I read somewhere that working moms should shift their attitude towards their careers for the year (s?) after their baby's birth. Instead of trying to achieve ambitious promotions, they should, instead, look at this time as "maintenance."

Even though I know I would've cringed at those words last year, I now embrace them.  It's much more comforting to chalk up this past year to maintenance instead of facing the possibility that I've peaked. 

 And if it was a maintenance year, then that also gives me the power  to decide that it's is over. We're now moved into the new house, I've hired a babysitter to help out and the studio is almost in a working state. Hope springs eternal, and hopefully this spring (er, summer) I can start everything anew. Cross your fingers for me!

adventures with babies at book events

Considering  our  event in PA, I've been pretty nervous about my schedule. I've been sifting through the calendar trying to figure out what must be canceled, what could be rearranged and what must be borne. Because Rain Dragon seemed to have reached her limit.

And the bookclub meeting for the FCB was an event that we'd have to get though, I decided. Not only did I really want to meet the readers of Starry River of the Sky, the event was a "friendraiser" for the FCB--to help build awareness of their program of bringing in authors to visit low-income schools, a program I feel very strongly about.  So, off we went.

It was not a fortuitous start, however, because as soon as we arrived Rain Dragon had a magnificent pooptastic diaper causing us to have to wipe her whole body down and discard her clothes. We had forgotten to replace the spare outfit in the diaper bag (used it in PA!) and were forced to bring her to the event naked:

Rain Dragon is embarrassed that now everyone knows she had a big poopie diaper

Fortunately, the Super-Librarian Christian Porter lived close by and grabbed an outfit for us:

Yay!

Because it was time for the book club meeting! Even though they had warned me it was 75 people, I had thought it would be 25 kids at a table with their parents in the back. Instead it was full room, beautifully adorned with a theme of purple and stars--just like the book:

Unfortunately, that meant my little show and tell of small sketches was rather a dud (should've brought the powerpoint presentation!) but my ol' reliable draw-along of a tiger didn't fail me:

And all this time, how was Rain Dragon doing? She was actually very quiet and content. It helped that the Park School Library is a really amazing space:

looking at fish

playing around--she's learned to crawl!

After my drawing demonstration, it was time for book group discussions. The FCB helped start the groups going with some prompts:

aren't these great questions?

And after the discussions, it was Q&A with yours truly. However, by this time Rain Dragon wanted to see what everyone was talking about and insisted on being a prominent observer:

I had to hold her the whole time I answered questions, but she was very good & quiet while I did so. It was only when I tried to pass her off to the Sasquatch when she protested!

This continued even during the signing:

I want to sign, too!

 But, all things considering, it was a great event. It helped that everyone was so patient and understanding--it renewed my hope for my future events.  But most of all, I loved seeing and meeting all the readers of Starry River of the Sky! Thank you, FCB, for sponsoring! Thank you, Librarian Christian Porter, for  Rain Dragon's emergency outfit!Thank you, Park School, for hosting! Thank you, readers, for coming!

and Rain Dragon says, "Thank you for the balloon!"

last leg

view from the backseat

Up to this point,  while going on mini-tour with Rain Dragon had not been flawless, it had been manageable. So, the Sasquatch and I were fooled into thinking that the last non-local stop on the schedule, Haverford PA would be fine.

But a 6 hour drive, teething and perhaps the start of separation anxiety were soon to humble us.  Because at when we arrived at the charming Children's Book World Bookstore:

Rain Dragon let us know very quickly she did not want to be there:

Not another book event!

Stop signing!

but as they say, the show must go on. And it did, even though many lovely readers had to wait

thanks so much for coming!!

and patiently bear a wailing baby to get a signed book:

This photo from an attendee pretty much sums up the event: a lovely reader, me (completely harried) , Rain Dragon (screaming) and Sasquatch (smiling in disbelief at his hysterical baby). Who said being an author was glamorous?

Eeks! I feel like I owe the readers of PA an apology or at least a do-over with a calm baby.  She usually is a really happy baby. See, this is her only the night before:

in less the 24 hours I will be miserable

Sigh. I think I might have to rethink my school visit schedule in the spring.

on my desk monday

I'm hard at work on the illustrations for the second Ling & Ting book!

Just like the art process I did for Starry River of the Sky, I enlarged my small thumbnail sketch:

transferred the basic foundation of it onto watercolor paper and redrew it, tightening and adding details:

I have to do this to every drawing before I get to paint and it is rather a long process...which has only been made longer with the "help" of my new assistant:

But we'll get it done...hopefully!

the second day

After a successful first day in CT, the Sasquatch and I were feeling confident about the next day's event. Rain Dragon, however, was a bit apprehensive.

"There's not really another event, is there?"

But, I was more excited then nervous because the event was at  RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT. I had never been to this bookstore before, but many of my fellow author and illustrators had raved to me about what a great store it was:

And it was very nice. They offered me a free book for coming and I was like a kid in a candy store:

Rain Dragon was less excited. 

I coveted the gorgeous East of the Sun and West of the Moon book illustrated by Kay Nielson; it is a reprinting of the original book that I remember poring over at the library when I was a teenager (and consequently, one of the books that inspired me to write and illustrate Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and Starry River of the Sky!) but it was more than double the price of a hardcover picturebook and I thought that seemed greedy.

So, instead, I chose this book  Apple by Nikki McClure:

I really loved the woodcuts, the design, and the use of black, white and red. But I have to admit, I chose it because the girl in it looks a little Asian...and kind of how I picture Rain Dragon will look when she get s a little older:

and it inspires me to do board books!

But enough shopping! I was there to do an event! There was a full house!

But I did my interactive reading and drawing again and it all went smoothly, well, at least for me.

I am really enjoying doing the interactive readings and think I'm going to start offering them as part of my school visit curriculum soon!

Because by the time I was finishing the signing, Rain Dragon had had enough and was making her  decision known.

"No more!"

Good thing it was time to go!

mini tour with a mini person

So, the Sasquatch and I packed up Rain Dragon and the car (it's cliche but it's completely true--babies, at least their stuff, take up a lot of room!) and started driving. We were going on tour for Starry River of the Sky!

Okay, it was just a mini-teensy-tour. There was a warm-up event in Providence, RI at Books on the Square which went wonderfully (alas, I have no photos!), but the main bulk of the tour was the two day stint in CT. The first day was sponsored by the lovely Elm Street Books, who brought me into two schools as well as the New Canaan Library.

back to work!

It was the first time I had presented to a school since having Rain Dragon and they were kind enough to let me bring her along.

She is thinking, "How long is this going to take?"

For each presentation, I did the interactive read-aloud activity, where I had the audience help me act out one of the stories from Starry River of the Sky. Unfortunately, I didn't bring enough stickers with me and I can't remember if I told the teachers that they could easily order more (for free). But it was still great fun!

The archer is shooting down the six suns!

Well, great fun for me and the students. Rain Dragon was a bit bored.

"No, really, how long is this going to take?"

After the interactive reading,  I did a draw-along--where I taught the audience how to draw a tiger and the wang symbol, both important features in Starry River of the Sky!

drawing tigers!

I was so glad the presentations went really well and  I think everyone was excited to read the book. Except for Rain Dragon, of course. She didn't find any of it very interesting.

"Fine, if you're going to take that long..."

I think she's going to be my toughest audience.

multitasking

After NYC, the booklaunch and the online book party, there was still work to do! Wonderful readers from all over had ordered books from Porter Square Books, so Rain Dragon and I (with good friend Libby) returned to sign them. All 110 of them.

Needless to say, after the first 50, Rain Dragon got a little antsy in the stroller and I was soon signing with her in my lap. I was absolutely thrilled to be signing the books and so grateful to everyone who ordered, but it was a tricky juggling act.

I realize that this is symbolic of my life from now on. As I look ahead to the new house, new events and new books (hopefully), I can already see the complications. When I wrote Starry River of the Sky, it was a consuming process and it was purposefully so. I wanted to create a book to the best of my ability, dedicating all my time, focus and passion into it.

I don't know if I can do that now, yet, I worry that the quality of my work will suffer as a result. I've gotten used to focusing on one project at a time. But, I guess I will just have to learn to multitask.

And, of course, I wouldn't want it any other way...but would welcome any tips or suggestions on how!

on my desk monday

 I'm finally answering my reader mail! I haven't answered since Rain Dragon was born so it's been piling up..and the only way I've been able to get to it is bit by bit when she is asleep. Grateful for baby monitors!

kidlitcon or Rain Dragon in NYC

Last week was quite a whirlwind! Right before my book store book launch and the online book party,   Rain Dragon, Sasquatch & I went to NYC so that I could speak at the 2012 kidlitcon.

Even though it was a very quick in-and-out trip, I think Rain Dragon had a very full experience! Her first train ride:

taxi ride:

and visit to a publisher!

Everyone at Little, Brown (the publisher of Starry River of the Sky) loved her and she loved them right back.

So much so that I was even able to record an excerpt reading for them (and my online booklaunch):


But I was really there to speak at the kidlitcon, a lovely gathering of children's literature bloggers (you can read a full write-up on the whole kidlitcon HERE).  They really were lovely! It felt like a lifetime ago since I did any public speaking and I felt rather rusty. However, the audience was so friendly I found myself slowly hitting my stride again. And they were also very patient and tolerant of Rain Dragon's little, um, "additions" to my speech.

Because by the time I finished, so was she:

day in my life

My publisher asked me if I would participate in their "Day in the Life..." photo feature they do for their LB School social media site via twitter. I agreed and had a fun day with Rain Dragon and Sasquatch documenting our Saturday. The feature went up yesterday (@lbschool, #Lbdayinthelife) and I think they will be putting up an album with an advanced reading copy giveaway on their Facebook Page. But for those who missed it, here it is (with some extra photos that didn't make the cut):

Follow a day in the life of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon author Grace Lin at @lbschool! #Lbdayinthelife 

It's a rare morning that I wake up before Rain Dragon

Leaving Rain Dragon with Papa while I go to an early morning yoga class.

I eat my yogurt while Rain Dragon eats her hand.

Book shopping for Rain Dragon!

She likes this one!

She likes it at home, too.

Starting work on the next Ling and Ting book while Rain Dragon naps.

She's awake! Playtime!

Too much fun! Maybe time for another nap?

The sun is setting.

Shh! Rain Dragon's asleep. Bedtime for her, work time for me!