The writing style, particularly in the childhood years, is lyrical and rich with physical details. – Jendi Reiter, Winning Writers
So pleased to have placed in the North Street Book competition. My book received an honorable mention in the Creative Nonfiction category. Many thanks to Winning Writers for their support of great stories and great writers.
The Long Hot Walk has been selected to be a finalist in the North Street Book Prize, presented by Winning Writers. Winning Writers is an online, one-stop-shop for all things writers and writing. The site was voted one of the best 101 sites for writers by Writer’s Digest. Getting the nod from such a peer institution is both humbling and thrilling. Winners will be announced February 15th.
The new 2016 calendars are ready with a unique work of art produced in 2015 for every month. Calendars measure 4.5 x 5.25 and come in a self-standing jewel box. These little beauties are just $10 with free shipping. What a great way to keep track of your schedule and support original art!
There I was at my desk toiling away on something or other when I received the call. “Deborah, I’m pleased to tell you that you are a finalist for the Nancy Pearl Award.” I wasn’t sure I’d heard her. Who was this, really? After some assurance, it was confirmed that the little book that could had actually placed in the top five of the Memoir category for the prestigious prize. I am beyond thrilled to be considered among so many talented writers. The awards dinner is on July 18th, smack dab in the middle of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association’s conference. Can’t wait to meet and greet the best and brightest in the field. You can find the book in digital or hard copy form on Amazon or buy from Etsy (hard copy only).
It’s raining in the Paramount Hotel in downtown Seattle. Six paintings from the Rainy Ladies series were commissioned and now hang in the hallways on the 2nd and 4th floors. The hotel was searching for water-related original art and the umbrella paintings filled the bill. If you find yourself in need of accommodations, check out this fine local supporter of home-grown art.
I’m happy to have a painting of mine make the cover of Stone Voices art and literary magazine! The publication features a wide variety of artists and they did an amazing spread on my work. I wasn’t expecting to make the cover and I was stunned when I opened the package! I urge you to check out the site and see some of the great work from the publisher Shanti Arts.
When I was eight-years-old my mother appeared at my classroom door and we began our walk. We walked for days across the wide open New Mexico desert, straddling a cracked and crumbling Route 66 with no water or food. The journey would lead to an eclectic cast of saints and sinners tucked into a Catholic boarding house for Navaho women in the fading jewel of Gallup, New Mexico. It would lead to steely mental institutions, literally, pants-on-fire, and a murdered rooster (strictly self-defense, I swear!).
This work has been a labor of love and at times a bumpy self-examination. I wrote it in an effort to share my story and to illuminate the countless families navigating the turbulent waters of mental illness and homelessness. Every time I have a reading or speak about this book, I am approached by another good soul with a sibling, child or parent suffering the paralyzing symptoms of schizophrenia. I was luckier than many. My mother was defiant and loving in the face of her illness and I wouldn’t be here were it not so.
The following is the first of excerpts to be posted in the coming days. You can find retailers for the book at Goodreads.com or buy the book at Amazon.com.
The Long Hot Walk
After walking all day, we had dinner in a run-down diner and found a trailer park that had a makeshift launderette in a drab little cinder block room. It consisted of three washers and dryers and a couple of molded plastic chairs that were scuffed and ready for the landfill.
I sat on the stairs out in the growing darkness, smelling detergent and residue from the dryers as it mingled with the frying of various trailer park dinners.
A chill crept up across the desert as stars winked on. It gets cold in the desert at night. You wouldn’t think so in the baking oven heat of the day.
My feet were sore and I was so tired that I imagined myself to be an overcooked noodle as I slumped my ribs over my knees. I took a look at my shoes, black numbers, open on the top with buckles on the sides. Mary Jane’s. They were shoes made of dirt now. I couldn’t even see my socks through the top strappy part, just dust. I attempted to wipe some of it off and clean them with my thumb and a bit of spit, but it just seemed to rearrange the dirt, so I gave it up.
No one came to do their laundry that night, which was good because we looked pretty suspicious, hanging around with no clothes to wash and no money with which to wash them.
After awhile, sleep got the best of me and I curled up on the washing machines. I’d wake throughout the night, fluorescent lights painting everything with a green tinge, including Ma. She was always awake, sitting up straight in that hard chair, lips working, as if reading an invisible book or magazine. Now and then she’d laugh, her eyes glassy and unfocused. I’d turn over and go back to sleep.
I woke up in the morning, stiff and cold. She was still in the chair. She looked up at me and said, “Well, good morning.”
Hey guys and dolls. Save the date for our sweet, sweet Holiday Art Party at the super cool Piranha Shop gallery in the shadow of the mighty Seahawks Stadium. There’ll be food stuffs and music and wine by Welcome Road Winery. I’m doing my part by painting my heinie off and Brooke Belman will have brand-spankin, amazeballs photos for your viewing enjoyment. Invite all your pals and don’t you dare miss it!
24 x 24, Acrylic, pastel, brass tacks and gold leaf on wood panel
Linus Art Gallery in the US Southern California region is hosting its annual abstract juried competition. I’ve been fortunate to be among the exhibiting artists in this stunning show. Check out this beautiful gallery and the amazing work in this year’s competition.
24 x 24, Acrylic, pastel and gold leaf on canvas
I’m please to announce I’ve been awarded Best Painting in Still Point Gallery‘s Earth Water Fire Air: Our World in Abstract. There’s some great work in the show and I’m honored to be part of it.
Still Point Art Gallery is a production of Shanti Arts Publishing, promoters and champions of artists and writers around the globe.