My Frederick Douglass photo in a textbook

I got a great surprise in the mail today - a new textbook from Enslow Publishing on Frederick Douglass, featuring a photo I took of his gravestone during one of my Rochester visits. (He's buried in Rochester's Mount Hope Cemetery, alongside both Anna Murray Douglass and Helen Pitts Douglass.) It's part of their Americans: The Spirit of a Nation series. Here's a lousy iPhone picture of my name in the center of the illustrations credits...
















I'd posted the photo set on Flickr last year and Enslow got in touch to see if they could use it - I was happy to oblige, and happier still to see the finished result. Lots of great archival photos including a rare one of Douglass in 1850, and the one I love of Helen and Frederick during their marriage. (Despite the caption, it's actually Eva standing next to him; Helen's the one looking across the table all goggle-eyed.)

So I believe this means that I am now published in a second book (Knowing Pains being the first.) Getting ever closer to that elusive goal of being in a book I actually write from cover to cover.

Knowing Pains on View from the Bay

Yesterday Molly Rosen, editor of Knowing Pains, and two fellow contributors, Esther Gulli and Liz Becker, appeared on local talk show View from the Bay to talk about the anthology. Esther was kind enough to call out my essay on my lifelong passion for Neil Finn's music as one of her favorites, which has earned her a big drink on my account. Here's a link to the clip if you're interested!

Literary parents at Joaquin Miller Elementary

Our recent school book fair featured a JM mom/author, Jamie Woolf, talking about her new book "Mom-in-Chief." It addresses real quandaries and covers everything that smart career-oriented women need to know in order to fulfill their parenting potential and navigate challenges with skill and grace, and brings the number of books by current JM parents to four, by my count.

There's Knowing Pains, of course, edited by 1st grade mom Molly Rosen. There's "Using Our Words: Moms and Dads on Raising Kids in the Modern Neighborhood," published in 2006 by Berkeley's Neighborhood Parents Network and edited by mom Lysa Hale.

And in the not-self-published, not-anthology category, there's The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green, by JM dad Josh Braff, which came out in 2005. I FINALLY got around to buying and reading it last weekend, four years late, and am so glad I did. It's one of those books that doesn't have a hugely dramatic story arc, but offers up compelling characters to spare. I found myself really wishing I could meet the fictional dad so I could kick him in the shins, just once, before fading back into the human dimension. (With a short stop in Austen-land to hug Lizzie Bennett.)

My kids have had some really phenomenal writing instruction during their time at JM, from the kindergarten teacher who got each child to write and illustrate 5 books to the 5th grade teacher who is teaching them to write a long and detailed research report on colonial life, complete with footnotes. So maybe it's something in the water on Ascot Drive?!

Knowing Pains clip from Today Show

Here's the clip from this morning's Knowing Pains moment on the Today Show in case you missed it - great segment!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

My feet will be on national TV

On Friday, Jan 23, Knowing Pains will be featured on the Today Show. This anthology, to which I contributed an essay about the rejuvenating effects of rock fan-dom, is a grassroots fundraiser for breast cancer research and access to care. All of the contributors waived their royalties and everything else from photography to illustrations and PR has been donated by people eager to support the cause. (Besides my essay, I contributed my feet to the photo on the cover of the book.)100% of the books' profits go Breast Cancer Action.

So it's pretty exciting to think that after Friday the demand for KP will jump (no, not to Oprah-like dimensions, but still) and all that $$ will flow in BCAction's coffers. I have no idea what time the segment is on - editor Molly Rosen will appear along with two NYC-based contributors, Amy Smith and Cari Shane Parven.

Back here in the Bay Area, I'm scheduled for two readings in the next few weeks: Thurs. Jan 29th at a private event in Oakland and Thurs. Feb 12 at Books Inc. in Laurel Village. Hope to see some Finn fans and 40-somethings and breast cancer haters there!

Buying Local This Holiday Season

I have an essay in the Chron today inspired by my summer visit to Amherst MA, where everyone proudly and publicly supports local farmers. Now that it's Christmas shopping season, keeping your money in your own community isn't just altruistic: it's the smart thing to do.

Speaking of that, tomorrow night (Thurs Dec 4) is the annual Montclair Holiday Stroll from 6-9. If you're in Oakland, come on out to support the local merchants in Montclair Village, ride the holiday train, and take your kids door to door for wintery treats (it's almost like Halloween, in that sense.) I'll be stationed at A Great Good Place for Books along with other Knowing Pains contributors, signing books and talking about how fast Christmas is barreling down the pike towards us. Hope to see you there!

Nice coverage of the Knowing Pains reading

Robin Schoettler Fox, who writes the blog 93words ("short, true, and sometimes about you") was in the audience at last Thursday's reading for Knowing Pains and has a post about it, featuring a very nice picture of my dear friend Maria Hjelm. She wrote:

Don't let the cover-hype age you out.

These are new voices worth hearing.

Thanks Robin!

So many authors, so little time

We're about halfway through San Francisco's annual "Litquake" festival and I am spoiled by choice. This is such a literary town; you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a memoirist. So when I took a look at the Litquake schedule I was a bit overwhelmed.

Given other activities this week I am sort of limited to what's going on this weekend. So far I'm trying to hit Elizabeth Bennet Lives: Fabulous Femmes of Fiction on Friday night, because what that pertains to Jane Austen do I NOT love? Then on Saturday is the legendary Litcrawl from 6-9:30, with tons of choices scattered throughout the Mission in three distinct phases. I'm thinking about the panel on Finding Spirit in Everyday Life at Forest Books for Phase 1 at 6 pm- would love to go to Writing on Empty but it's scheduled at the same time. (The Knowing Pains writers and the Writing on Empty writers will be presenting together next month, on Thurs Nov. 13th at the Lafayette Library.)

The second phase at 7:30 is a harder choice: the San Francisco Writer's Collective aka the Grotto is presenting at the Elbo Room, and one of the presenters is Janis Cooke Newman whose historical fiction I love. But at the same time at Bruno's is Black and White and Read All Over: The Best of the San Francisco Chronicle, including my very favorite SFChron contributor, Bad Reporter Don Asmussen. I'd even hit the Literary Mama session, if I could only divide myself into three.

Did I mention that Jewell Parker Rhodes, who wrote "Douglass' Women," about Anna Murray Douglass and Ottilie Assing (the two women in Frederick Douglass' life prior to Helen) is speaking in Alameda on Saturday at 4 pm?

Photos from Knowing Pains reading at Great Good Place for Books

Last Friday night - and even though our event started just minutes after the presidential debate ended - we had a standing room only crowd at Great Good Place for Books in Montclair, for "Knowing Pains: Women on Love, Sex and Work in our 40s." It was a great way to kick off what will likely be three months of public readings of the book, a fundraiser for Breast Cancer Action (www.bca.org.)

The event definitely pulled in a home-town crowd; if I'd blacked out and woken up there, my first reaction would have been to think I was at our school PTA meeting. It was so nice to see friends from my old neighborhood who made the trek through the Caldecott Tunnel to come out in support too.

I wasn't a bit nervous about reading "Fanning the Flames of Youth" which did, after all, have its first appearance in a writing group I was in. I've read it aloud plenty of times. But sitting in the same chair at GGP in which I've watched so many of my own favorite authors sit had a sobering effect, and I found myself seized with massive dry mouth...until I got to the first laugh line. After that I relaxed and had a blast. We sold out of the books completely and had audience members ordering additional copies - great to see at a truly beloved neighborhood bookstore where they're going to need all the local support they can get during the tough economic times ahead.

Thanks to Debbie Bonzell, soon to be known as Knowing Pains' personal paparazzo, for the photos.

























Liz Becker, me, Molly Rosen signing after the reading

Knowing Pains Reading Tomorrow Night in Montclair

Along with editor Molly Rosen and fellow contributor Liz Becker, I'll be at Great Good Place for Books in the Montclair neighborhood (yeah, that's my 'hood) tomorrow evening at 7pm to read from "Knowing Pains." This is our first public reading of the anthology and I'm really excited to see who turns out...if you're reading this in the Bay Area I do hope you'll join us!

Pictures from the Knowing Pains launch

Thanks to Debbie Bonzell for sharing some shots from Saturday night's Knowing Pains launch party...I was too jacked up on the dark chocolate treats at the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Factory to hold the camera steady...

Jill McCleary (illustrator, ) Esther Gulli, Maria Hjelm and I (all essayists)

Supportive husbands Ken Frank and Andrew Kho. The sign behind them makes it plausible that they were there under false assumptions.

It appears that Maureen Frank (stylist) and I both got the red dress memo. Since she dresses people for a living I feel particularly smug for being in the know.

The Knowing Pains Juggernaut continues

For a self-published book that doesn't officially launch until October 1, I'm proud to say that Knowing Pains is already making waves. A launch press release hit the wires today and the editor, Molly Rosen, has been doing press interviews left and right. In the meantime we finally have a promo item - a slick bookmark - to hand out, and I've already given away my whole stash.

Last Saturday night there was a party at the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Factory in Berkeley to celebrate the book's launch and give a chance for the contributors to mix and mingle. I'll post some pics later, but for now I'll just recommend the factory tour and Scharffen Berger's cafe, Cafe Cacao, to anyone looking for a cool outing. I'm definitely taking the kids back for the factory tour...and not just because there were plates of 80%, 70%, and 65% dark chocolate squares circulating throughout the lecture component of the tour. Though that was nice too.

Knowing Pains Update

The anthology "Knowing Pains: Women on Love, Sex and Work in our 40s" hasn't even officially launched yet, but it's making quite an impact. This book, in which essayists (like me) ponder the nuances of midlife, is a fundraiser for Breast Cancer Action (BCA.org) - 100% of net profits are going to the organization, which funds breast cancer research and access to care. And the margins are big for a book, simply because everyone involved donated their time and talents, from the contributors to the photographer to the graphic designers.

The brains behind the operation, Molly Rosen, decided from the get-go that self-publishing and word of mouth advertising would be the best way to make sure that the funds go to BCA. She was wise enough to involve a group of "connector" women, the ones who seem to know everyone in the community (virtual or IRL.) You know the model - I'll tell two friends, and they'll tell two friends, and they'll tell two friends...I've done my part via Facebook, LinkedIn, my giving circle, a couple of retail outlets near me like Who's Your Betty, and the ones whose opinions I'm REALLY interested in: the Neil Finn fan community, aka Frenz. I still have to hit up college and grad school networks. Normally I'd feel a bit queasy about the self-promotion but since it's for cancer research I'm a bit bolder.

The result? Since early September, without a penny spent on advertising, Molly estimates that we've gotten in front of at least 30,000 people, and perhaps twice that. Our ranking in Amazon reflects it - Knowing Pains is now the #2 book in the Breast Cancer category, and #3,755 overall in books - up from #145,000 or something like that just a week ago. Our goal is to donate $50,000 to BCA and it looks like we're on our way. This weekend is the big launch celebration at the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Factory in Berkeley, because really, how can you negotiate this decade without chocolate?

Now I'm looking forward to the next stage of promotion: readings. Next week, along with other contributors, I'll be reading at Great Good Place for Books in Montclair, where I'm normally sitting in the audience for author events, and we have events scheduled in Oct and Nov as well. Check out the Events section at www.knowingpains.com for more details - and please, let your two friends know about this worthy cause, and ask them to pass it on!

Knowing Pains Anthology has launched

I have an essay called "Fanning the Flames" in a new anthology called Knowing Pains: Women on Love, Sex and Work in our 40s. Here's the jacket blurb:

Have you ever wondered how other women survived their 40s? You'll get an earful in Knowing Pains, an honest, humorous, thoughtful and diverse collection of essays by real women who aren't afraid to tell their age and tell it like it is. Sex, marriage, love, divorce, motherhood, singlehood, passion, obsession. Nothing is off-limits to this startlingly fresh group of new female voices that Molly Rosen has brought together to swap stories and compare notes on the desires, influences and events that have impacted and shaped their midlives. Collectively, they form a true picture of how real women not only survive their 40s, but thrive with dignity, courage and laughter.

The book was a labor of love fueled almost entirely by volunteer efforts, from the essays, illustrations by Jill McCleary and right down to the cover photograph. And 100% of net proceeds from the book will go to Breast Cancer Action (www.bcaction.org) to fund research and access to care. The book is available now through Amazon and should be in local bookstores soon as well.

My essay probably falls into the obsession category, though I sort of hope not. It's about how my 26+ years as a fan of musician Neil Finn has always connected me to the thoughts and passions of my younger self, no matter how old the outer shell has grown, and how helpful that sort of obsession (be it for musicians, road bikes, travel, books...) can be. I'll have a chance to read in person at the following venues over the next few months - hope to see some of you there!

• Friday, Sept. 26 at Great Good Place for Books, Oakland 7 pm
• Tuesday, Oct. 14 at Simayof Mansion, San Francisco (AICI Chapter event - entry fee)
• Thursday, Nov. 13 at the Lafayette Library 7:30 pm

The glamorous life of a model

So I wrapped up my fashion modeling career about 120 minutes after it started today.

It was all for a good cause: the anthology "Knowing Pains: Old Enough to Know Better, Young Enough to Do Something About It," being compiled by my friend Molly Rosen. Aside from essayists contemplating the meaning of being 40-something, 100% of the book's profits will go to fund breast cancer research and access to care. It was an honor to be invited to share an essay, and then to participate in this cover photo shoot. (My essay is on how having a passion for a hobby can keep us young and obviate the need for plastic surgery or eye lifts. My passion? Really? You have to ask? Following the music of a certain antipodean musician.)

So we were in the photog studio of Holly Stewart, a great space in the Mission with lots of sun and a friendly dog. Two very sweet young ladies from the Ford Modeling Agency were there, along with stylist Maureen French and a big fat pile of fancy shoes. Jette, Nina and I spent about 90 minutes laying on our backs on a pile of blankets, wearing fancy shoes and pointing our toes and crossing our legs and uncrossing them and moving the left one down no not that far down now swivel to the left so we can see your heel...you get the idea. When we finally got to sit up again, all the blood rushed from our brains back into our legs. Dang. Here's a photo of me losing my mental edge, as it happened.

What won't I do to promote my writing?

I am off to the city for my first and very likely last photo shoot as a leg model. I've contributed an essay to an anthology of women writing about life in their 40s (so I had to extrapolate forward, in that I'm still 27.) Anyway the cover will feature some feminine legs in kicky shoes and aside from the two professional 20-something models on the shoot, they wanted one regular person. So yes, mine will be the varicose-veined legs scarred from hours walking through the Oakland Hills with the dog, reaching out to the plus sized and/or over 40 readers.

Sigh.

The argument that finally won me over to participate? "If it's really bad, you could probably write an essay about it." Gets me every time.