The Art of Living & Writing (Volume VIII, Issue 3)

Published: Sun, 06/05/22

Dear Readers,

Hi from Sacramento! I just spent three fun days there, giving a talk about Writing Stories from Family History at the National Genealogical Society's Conference, and then basking in the luxury of a free day to explore the city.

In Old Sacramento (see above), the original Gold Rush town is well preserved. It's a rather pleasant place to hang out, especially in balmy California weather. It reminded me of New Orleans with its riverfront setting, Spanish Colonial & Western frontier style buildings, street music bands and wooden boardwalks. There's also a Golden Gate bridge! More photos on my Instagram.

"Golden Gate," i.e. the Tower Bridge in Sacramento,

with the State Capitol's dome visible in the background

I am happy to share that I am offering a new online course! I had been noodling on the idea of a course on how to tackle the challenge of "doing something" with family letters, i.e. transforming those historic documents into a story that can be shared and understood by a wider audience. My talk at the NGS Conference focused on exactly that. As my head was already full of that topic, I came up with the course's syllabus on my 4-hour flight from Chicago to Sacramento.

A few days later, here is the course:

From Family Letter(s) to Fascinating Story

4-week course in writing family history

Begins July 10, 2022

Use coupon code SUBSCRIBER for a 10% discount at checkout!

Based on feedback, this course does not have a Facebook component (like my first two did) and runs entirely via my site on Teachable. So no more qualms about Facebook!

Now that my mind is on turning letters into stories, I keep seeing letters everywhere! The frequency illusion is at work.

Case in point: Before I left Sacramento, I was fortunate to see the magnificent Wayne Thiebaud Exhibit at the Crocker Art Museum, and what did I spot:

Office Still Life

Oil on canvas

Wayne Thiebaud, 1975

Doesn't it look like someone is about to pick up that pen to respond to one of those letters?

Please note that I do plan to run a series of blog posts on family letters in the run-up to this course, so if you have pictures of letters and/or a particular family letter project you want to share, please let me know. I'd love to feature them!

On another note, I am thrilled to announce that I have begun the production of my first children's book, Natalie and the Nazi Soldiers.

The manuscript has been on the back burner for way too long! It is the perfect writing project for me to push along while I still need to spare my right arm from too much typing now that the tendonitis seems to be on the way out, thank God.

Natalie and the Nazi Soldiers is geared towards young readers, ages 6-9, and it is based on my mother-in-law's experience as a hidden child in the French countryside during the Holocaust.

My mother-in-law, Natalie (second from right) at about ten years old.

This picture was taken in 1946 when life was already happier.

Right now my husband and I don't know who the other

children and the woman are, but we're working on finding out.

I just hired a book designer/art director, and we're busy selecting an illustrator. Target publication date is this fall. If you are interested in serving on the advance team, please do let me know! This would mean you will get an advance pdf copy of the illustrated book to provide feedback, and once the book is published, I would appreciate you posting a review on Amazon. I will set up a separate email list for the advance team to keep you posted on the book's progress. Of course, I will share larger milestones in this newsletter as well.

I'm sorry I am not sharing a recipe in this edition as I usually do, but due to my arm, my chopping and prepping in the kitchen have been limited.

Enjoy the beginning of summer (or whatever the season is in your neck of the woods), check out my new course, and write back if you want! I love hearing from you.

Greetings.

www.annettegendler.com