Dear Readers,
The Jewish High Holidays and the fall festival of Sukkot are behind us, and so are the warm days
of summer. I began drafting this newsletter this past weekend when thunderstorms were chasing each other all day long, and it was dark even in during the day. That rainy mood goes well with my new essay Jewish Encounters in a Non-Jewish Land. It just appeared in Sasson
Magazine, a brand new e-zine created by Rivka Levy, whose unique memoir Secret Diary of Jewish Housewife I mentioned in my last Reading List.
Looking at a window at Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland
That essay recounts some of the odd
coincidences on our trip to Scotland in the summer of 2015. It conjures the rainy, grey and wind torn days in the Scottish highlands, the wet streets of Edinburgh and the suddenly wide open bays of the Isle of Skye. Reading it again put me in the mood for Scotch, softly colored tartan, and bagpipes. How can one instrument be so wonderful and so annoying at the same time? Wow, I hadn't thought of bagpipes in a while! This is what happens when you start writing--things pop up you never consciously would have thought of.
To continue with the rain
theme, I have found that the Ups and Downs of the Author's Life (see this recent blog post) take the form of everything else in life: When it rains, it pours. Within two days at the beginning of October, I had two fun book events; I also received my first royalty check (not too shabby!), and Jumping Over Shadows was named a finalist for the
2017 Book of the Year Award by the Chicago Writers Association. I celebrated by hosting a book giveaway on my blog and Facebook Page. Then of course I had to package all that and mail it off, but sending gifts to readers was
fun.
The prize nomination sent me into another publicity frenzy as you gotta capitalize on an opportunity like that, and my local newspaper is about to publish another little interview with me. Other irons are in the fire, and we shall see what transpires. My book in Hong Kong
I'm continuing my photo series of "My Book Abroad" -- this one was taken by my very good friend from Hong Kong, who was actually visiting me this past weekend.
In celebration of the book being at the Frankfurt Book Fair (also this past weekend, phew--a lot is going on!), I featured another picture of my book in Germany on my blog, and more specifically in Görlitz. What a fun coincidence that I should receive a reader photo from Görlitz, a city that is actually mentioned in the book. While the Jewish New Year officially began almost a month ago, I feel like it truly begins now when all the holidays are behind me, and I can settle into more of a routine. And luckily, 2017 still has a good chunk of time left to accomplish a few things.
Wishing you good luck in all your projects, |
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