In a few weeks, I will be in Italy, my favorite place in the world.  I had the extreme fortune of interning at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice six years ago. With southern Italian blood running through my veins, a year and a half of Italian language study under my belt, and a wealth of curiosity and excitement in my heart, I set off... and had one of the best summers of my life. I lived in Venice but saw Verona, Ravenna, Florence, Rome, Naples, Pompeii and Sorrento. I spoke to Italians in their own language day in and day out. I ate like a queen and came home trimmer because of the quality of their food and the hot walks in the Italian sun. And I promptly began dreaming (both asleep and awake) of my return for the next six years.

Now that it is nearly upon me, I can hardly contain my excitement. And you know me when I get excited - I hit the library and bookstore hard. Here's what will keep me busy over the next month as I prepare and then travel:

• Invisible Cities - Italo Calvino
• La Bella Figura - Beppe Severgnini
• The City of Falling Angels - John Berendt (re-read)
• The Wings of the Dove - Henry James
• The Aspern Papers - Henry James (re-read)
• History of My Life - Giacomo Casanova
• As the Romans Do - Alan Epstein
• La Bella Lingua - Dianne Hales

Got any other suggestions for me? I'm primarily interested in Venice and Rome.

Farewell Nora Ephron

The lovely Nora Ephron passed away. Coincidentally, I was reading one of her books when it happened: I Remember Nothing.  I first found Nora through a used bookstore, where I picked up I Feel Bad About My Neck for $1. I really enjoyed it, and I was about halfway through I Remember Nothing when I learned that she had passed away.

If you were online that day, you probably saw the outpouring of tributes and love people had for Nora. She is best known for writing iconic romantic comedies like "When Harry Met Sally" and "Sleepless in Seattle."  Her books are short, fun and worth reading.  I recommend you give them a shot.  (You might also watch her Charlie Rose interview.)  It was very sad to finish I Remember Nothing today, after her passing, since she ends it by talking about aging, going to the funerals of friends, anticipating her own mortality, and even concluding with the following short chapters: "What I Won't Miss" and "What I Will Miss."

“Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope that you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women.”

*Note: Austin readers should not miss "I'll Have What She's Having - A Nora Ephron Tribute Bash" at BookWoman in July.

The Writer Moderates, Take 3

I am so pleased with the outcome of our latest BookWoman panel on Mental Health. There was a great turnout and the discussion was very helpful. Our panelists were:

Polly Ross Hughes, an award-winning journalist who has done extensive work on mental health issues and has just started her own publishing company.

Andrea Ball, an award-winning journalist who currently writes on philanthropy for the Austin American-Statesman.

Holly Hollan, the author of Soaring & Crashing, My Bipolar Adventures.

Diana Kern, the founder of EXPECT RECOVERY!

I am so thankful to all of them for participating, as well as to Susan Post of BookWoman for providing the venue and support, and all of the people who came out.

Little Writing Tidbits

New York Times: H.P. Lowers Bar for Printing Glossy Color Magazines

I found this article very interesting. It made me wonder if this could be somewhere to take Della Donna in the future. I love the idea of laying out and printing a physical magazine, but I prefer to keep DD free and accessible to everyone, as it currently is.

Also, I think NaPoWriMo is genius! (More feasible than NaNoWriMo, for me at least.) I am a few days behind since I just found it but I have already started writing some poems.

Finally, I am also taking part in ProBlogger's free course, "31 Days to Build a Better Blog." It is really convenient, since one email comes to my inbox each day.

The Writer is Still Alive... I Promise

It is frightening for me to realize that I haven't posted here in over a month. With the American economy being what it is, there have been many changes in organizational structure and workload at my company right now. That accounts for some of my absence. Aside from that... well, I haven't been doing much on the freelancing side. The Good Life magazine has gone out of business, to my dismay. I am still writing for Nü Magazine, though, and doing some other things. I also released a new issue of Della Donna not too long ago.

My independent writing focus has been drawn back to my novel. I haven't worked on it since November, but I am thinking about it and mulling it over. I took a look at my NaNoWriMo work last night and was surprised to find that it really yielded some important scenes. Even though I didn't complete the novel in November, that challenge had great results.

Here are the links to my recent work, in case anyone is interested:

Abstractions and Normality
The Throwbak Kid

The Writer's Update

• I am currently working on my third feature article for The Good Life magazine.
  
• Nü Magazine just ran some of my articles: "Multimedia Artistry: Celine Bellon" and "DJ Simple Simon: Prepmode."
  
• Upcoming pieces will soon be available at Nü Magazine and The Feminist Review.
  
• The Winter Issue of Della Donna will be out shortly!

Happy holidays!

The Writer Moderates, Take 2

Left to Right: April Boland, Cynthia Juniper, Mary James, Michelle Mock.

A few weeks ago BookWoman hosted us once again to hold a panel on sexual violence. The panel featured Cynthia Juniper, author of Principles of Recovery from Abuse, Mary James, author of Destiny and the Magic of LaGrimas Creek, and Michelle Mock, a survivor of sexual assault. The discussion was fantastic, in my opinion, and addressed many important subjects for survivors as well as the general public. The best part was being able to meet and offer resources to victims who came out to learn and share insight. Thanks again to Susan Post, the manager of BookWoman, the panelists, and everyone who came out to promote healing.

The panel went so well, in fact, that I accepted the opportunity to write another piece for The Good Life, this time on child abuse. I am so thankful for yet another chance to speak out and hopefully make a dent in an enormous problem.

NaNoWriMo Update

I have written 11,371 words this month. It is way short of the mark but it is 11,000+ words I didn't have before, so I am staying positive. I am traveling right now so have severely neglected the novel but I hope to get some work in at some point this week.

I have some exciting news to share :)

• My special report on sexual violence has been published in this month's issue of The Good Life Magazine. If you live in Austin or surrounding counties, you can get a free copy at most stores and restaurants. If not, you can still read it online!
  
  
• To celebrate this release, I am moderating another panel at BookWoman. It will take place this Friday at 7:00 pm and feature several important women - authors, activists and survivors who will share their insight into this terrible problem. The event is free so I hope that (once again) those of you in Austin will stop by, and/or share the info with your friends.
  
  Time: Friday, November 7, 2008 @ 7:00 p.m.
  Location: BookWoman
  Title of Event: "No More Shame" - A Panel on Sexual Violence
  
  Join authors Cynthia Juniper and Mary James, sexual assault survivor Michelle Mock and local writer April Boland to discuss a widespread problem facing women (and men) all over the world. Free copies of The Good Life Magazine (containing a feature story on sexual violence in Austin) will be available.
  

The Fall Issue of Della Donna is now out, just in time for Halloween!

An Update on the Writer

The special report has been submitted. I am very proud of the work I've done and glad that it's nearly finished. Now there will be back and forth editing and tying up of loose ends, but come November it will hit the stands all over Austin. I really hope that it will make a different for someone. That is the whole purpose, after all.

In the meantime, here are the last few articles I've written for Nü Magazine. I forgot to announce them when they came out, and I have been a little slow in updating my website.

• Lounge To... The Green
  
• Nü Presents James Diaz

My editor over there, Oscar Valdes, is so talented with layout and design, in addition to being a great guy.

Finally, the other big thing I have going on is organizing my second panel at BookWoman. It will coincide with the publication of my piece on sexual violence, so that is the topic. If you are an Austin-based author who has written on the subject (in a memoir or otherwise), and you would like to participate, let me know! We'd love to have you.

Till next time friends :)

The clock ticks as the deadline approaches... Can she do it folks? She will, or will die trying ;)

I just received word that an article I wrote has been accepted for publication in The Lipstick Pages. I'm looking forward to that, and will link to it when it's up.

In other news... well, there is no other news. I have been hunched over my desk for days and will continue to be until my Good Life feature is complete. Stay tuned and I promise I will have something for you soon.

The Writer Moderates

The Voices of Addiction event was fantastic - so much so that the manager of BookWoman has asked me to return and coordinate a series of them. Thank you to everyone who came and helped make it a success!

I was extremely impressed with the panelists and would love to do what I can to plug them and their work.

Carol Ann Conway is the author of Born into the Enemy Camp.

Jacquelyn Covington is the author of Who? An Addict Like Me who works with Street Works in Nashville, TN to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and to provide services to those infected.

B. Gayle Boles is a psychologist and children's book author with a very inspiring blog called "A Courageous Life is an Adventure." (She has also published in Della Donna :)

Come One, Come All

I am happy to announce to those of you in the Austin area that I have put together a special event at BookWoman that is coming up next weekend. Here is the information:

BookWoman
5501 N. Lamar Blvd. #A-105
Austin, TX 78751
Tel: 512-472-2785

www.ebookwoman.com

SUNDAY, July 20, 4pm
:: Panel Discussion :: Voices of Addiction :: Jacqueline Covington, Carol Conway, B. Gayle Boyes - moderated by April Boland ::

This presentation will focus on the harmful effects of addiction on women, both directly and indirectly. Two of the panelists are published authors on the subject along with a long-time substance abuse counselor who works for the Texas Dept. of State Health Services.

Jacquelyn Ann Covington is the author of Who? An Addict Like Me! in which she shares her true story of the journey down the hopeless path of addiction, and the remarkable Magdalene organization that helped her find her way back -- truly a travelogue of the trip to hell and back. She also is heavily involved in StreetWorks, an organization in Nashville that deals with the prevention and counseling of those affected by HIV/AIDS.

Carol Ann Conway has done extensive marketing and public speaking on behalf of women. Her seminars for "Women in Transition" reached out to affluent women who found themselves divorced with children after a lifetime of wedlock. She is also the author of the memoir, "Born into the Enemy Camp."

B. Gayle Boles has been a psychotherapist for close to thirty years, having spent the last twenty years working in substance abuse counseling in private treatment centers and adult prisons, and at the Texas Youth Commission. She now works for the Texas Department of State Health Services. She has recently written a fantasy novel for 8-12 year olds entitled "Dodging Sheila," and she is currently working on a mystery novel.

April D. Boland is a writer and editor originally from New York City. Her work has been published in the Austin American-Statesman, the Feminist Review and various magazines and journals. She recently wrote a special report for the Good Life Magazine on domestic violence n Austin, and she is currently working on a second one about sexual violence. She is also the founder and editor-in-chief of Della Donna, a webzine for women.

Just a Snippet

I will write more soon, I promise :) But in the mean time, here is a new piece I wrote about Austin photographer Jo Ann Santangelo.

Some "yay"-worthy news and updates:

• The current issue of Dovetail Journal contains an article I wrote entitled "Darkness and Light." Though the journal focuses on interfaith couples that are Jewish and Christian, I wrote about my personal experiences being in a relationship that is (culturally) Hindu-Christian. Unfortunately, you need a subscription to access the piece, but I thought I would mention it in case anyone subscribes.
  
  
• An editor at Alive Magazine contacted me about publishing a travel piece I wrote. Pretty excited on that one, and will post a link when it's out (August issue).
  

I have a brand new piece out at Nü Magazine about my friend and talented artist, Kate Payne.

Dang, I miss posting. Yes, I said "dang."

I met with the fabulous editor of the Good Life Magazine the other night and we nailed down my next assignment. It will be a special report on sexual violence, focusing on rape, incest and molestation. (Not exactly a light summery topic, is it?) It will be similar to the domestic violence piece in many areas, including its scope (immediately Austin, but growing incrementally) and my methods. I anticipate that it will be much more difficult, especially when you get into the abuse of children.

The topic was my idea. Part of me wonders what I could have been thinking, while the other says, "You like to complain about the horrible things in the world. You have sisters who have to grow up in it. Do something about it."

So I will.

Wish me luck... prayers, even.

So It Goes

• I am currently writing a profile of Herman Hesse for Swiss Made Magazine. I believe this will be published in the Fall issue, but don't quote me on that.
  
  
• I am interviewing Kate Payne, a fellow Austin WriterGrrl and great friend, for Nü Magazine, as she is a talented artist and poet.
  
  
• Tomorrow evening I will meet with the editor of the Good Life Magazine concerning a new special report. He has already approved my topic, but I won't disclose any information until the assignment is in hand.

All in all, things are going well, if busy. I am nothing if not overcommitted. It seems to be a trend.

I wrote another piece for Swiss Made Magazine, this time on the artist Alberto Giacometti. It is coming out in the June issue. For those of you who were kind enough to get a free subscription to see my last piece, make sure you keep an eye out for it.