Stop

It’s a quiet, rainy Fall morning at Casa del Lobos.

I love this weather, this time of year. Life is busy but good–full of people I love, activities I enjoy, events I believe in. My only concern is that it’s a bit too full, too hectic. I feel like I’m missing moments and instead am being pulled along by the strong current. Soon I will need to stop, to have a series of quiet, rainy days full of small moments of kids and husband and writing, to enjoy meals and play and watching the leaves fall.

In the meantime, there are books and writers and artists and fashion and varenyky/pierogis and coffee. Always coffee.

In a few minutes, I need to make phone calls and figure out details for the book signing on Saturday, October 23. I haven’t mentioned it yet, but there will be free pierogis and a fabulous vorozhka/fortuneteller doing complimentary tarot readings. If you’re in the Chicago area, come to Lincoln Square and stop by the Book Cellar, 7-9pm. There will be quite a party if the facebook responses can be trusted.

We’re starting to put other cities on the tour schedule, finalizing details with book stores. It’s all rather surreal, this business of sharing my book, The Silence of Trees, with the world.

I had dinner with some friends last night (or rather some fiends *wink*), and the conversation turned to The Silence of Trees. I felt shy.

I rarely feel shy, but finally sharing this book has made me feel vulnerable. Maybe it will be like that with every book? Maybe not. I guess I’ll just have to keep writing and publishing to find out. (I’ll keep you posted.)

It’s interesting because I made my peace with being a “public” person when I began actively engaging people and communities online, back around the time of the Amazon ABNA contest. I grew up with a father in the Illinois Senate, a very public personality, so this is not new to me. I know this blog is online and available to people. However none of that has made me feel as exposed as the reality of my book published and out in the world.

There’s thunder now, and lightning. At 8:42 am! I missed Chicago thunderstorms when we lived in Germany. I always feel like they help to clear my head.

Much of my time over the last few weeks has been filled with literary business: the book launch and also the Induction Ceremony for the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. I need to write more about that; it deserves its own post. In the meantime, mark the date: Saturday, November 20, 2010. I invite you to join me at Northeastern Illinois University. Drinks, hors d’œuvre, and desserts are included in the $45 ticket price ($35 for students).

I’ll follow up with a more detailed post. It’s going to be a fantastic event, and I hope that you can come out and celebrate Chicago’s literary history with me! (I’m going to be wearing a fabulous new hat!)

That’s a good beginning to the update. There so much more to write: Cabaret, wine with writers, cocktails & conversations with the cast, Amanda Palmer, and Neil Gaiman, creative collaboration…

Until then, enjoy the rain if you have it.
xxo

Published by Valya

Valya Dudycz Lupescu has been making magic with food and words for more than 20 years, incorporating folklore from her Ukrainian heritage with practices that honor the Earth. She’s a writer, content developer, instructor, and mother of three teenagers. Valya is the author of MOTHER CHRISTMAS, THE SILENCE OF TREES, and the founding editor of CONCLAVE: A Journal of Character. Along with Stephen H. Segal, she is the co-author of FORKING GOOD: An Unofficial Cookbook for Fans of The Good Place and GEEK PARENTING: What Joffrey, Jor-El, Maleficent, and the McFlys Teach Us about Raising a Family (Quirk Books), and co-founder of the Wyrd Words storytelling laboratory. Valya earned her MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her poetry and prose have been published in anthologies and magazines that include, The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Kenyon Review, Culture, Gargoyle Magazine, Gone Lawn, Strange Horizons, Mythic Delirium. You can find her on Twitter @valya and on Mastodon.social @valya

One thought on “Stop”

  1. Scotti Cohn says:

    Great post, Valya! I love that you’re having a vorozhka at your book launch! Wish I could make it, but I’ll be there in spirit (pun intended).

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