Making A Physical Book
Do you like to read a physical book, or do you prefer an ebook or audiobook?
Every book you can touch has gone through the printing and binding process. Though ebooks and audiobooks have a time and place, there is no substitute for the feel of a real book. It’s sensory: you can smell the ink, feel the paper as you turn pages, it’s beautiful to look at and easier on the eyes that a computer screen, you can hear the pages turn, and the book close. The cover might be hard and cloth-covered, or soft. It might have a jacket with flaps the tell about the story, the author, and the illustrator (if there is one). You can put a bookmark in it to hold your place, then set it on your side table or bookshelf and pick up again later. You can share it with others.
There’s a lot that goes into this process. I’ve been talking with Corinne DeAlmeida who’s been guiding me through it for my upcoming book, Emeline ~ The Journey. She works for Maple Press in York, Pennsylvania and has been very helpful in sending me samples of books, papers, and cloth for me to choose from. And, she has answered all of my questions, if not immediately, within a day or two. There are so many details to consider!
I love getting to know people and am thankful for Corinne DeAlmeida, one of my “people angels”.
Let’s Meet Corinne DeAlmeida, Sales Representative with Maple Press
This was from my awesome preschool. I had the best teacher, and she remains a family friend to this day! Here the class was painting characters that matched letters of the alphabet (P for Piglet!). I loved doing all the creative activities there, and I remember feeling very proud of my painting that day. (Of course, my teacher was the one to draw Piglet, but I still felt proud!)
I enjoyed school as a child with my favorite subjects being art and math. My high school art teacher had a huge impact on my life because she taught me how to observe: how to pay attention and really see things, and how to develop creative solutions. That has been so helpful as an adult because it’s allowed me to be flexible and adapt to challenges as they arise.
We played a lot of card games growing up. It was anything particularly exciting, but the simplicity allowed us fit in a game any evening we wanted. My family is also very fun-loving and makes a lot of jokes - it turns out card games are the perfect opportunity to make jokes!
What was something I feared as a kid? Oh goodness, SPIDERS! I was afraid of spiders well into my 20s. I ended up in a bug identification group where a lot of entomology information was shared. It definitely helped me understand the role spiders play, and the good they do for us! I still don't like it when spiders end up crawling on me, but now-a-days I just relocate them outside.
Family traditions? Every year on Christmas Eve, my family gets pizza and Chinese food. This originally started in my dad's family when he was a child. He had 4 other brothers and sisters, and his mother decided that doing this allowed everyone to get something that they wanted (without her having to spend the whole day in the kitchen!). It is really fun to keep something like this going for so long, and as our family has grown with spouses and children, everyone still gets to eat what they want.
I love the smell of sweet grass! There is a local folk festival in my hometown that always had the smell of sweet grass all throughout. This particular festival is very special because it has turned into a big, annual reunion for all the friends and family that attend. I became a festival volunteer as soon as I was able to, and have continued to volunteer every year since! I started bringing my husband along while we were still dating, and now he’s joined the big “fest family” as a volunteer too.
The biggest day in my life was definitely my wedding day! We were surrounded by almost all of our family friends (including our puppy!). The most vivid memory I have from that day is when my husband made our entrance into the reception - he came in playing saxophone, and I came in with a light up hula hoop. All of our guests were up on the feet and dancing and cheering with us! There were so many special parts of that day - my husband and I created most of the decorations ourselves, so to see everything final tied together after all of the planning was very rewarding. And of course, the biggest affect it has was officially making us husband and wife!
The furthest I’ve ever been from home was when I traveled to Jamaica for my brother's wedding. It was beautiful! There was so much we had to fit into a 3-day trip, but we were all together as a huge extended family during a time when it was difficult to get everyone together at one event. It also helped that none of us had our cell phones, so we really had a chance to unplug and enjoy each other's company!
Make Paper Airplanes ~ Have fun!
I came upon this website and wanted to share it with you. There’s lots of ways to make paper airplanes. Get your family and friends together and make some. Which one do you like best? I’d love to see a picture of it. (Foldnfly.com)
Author Update
Here’s another illustration from my upcoming book, Emeline ~ The Journey. I love it!
And, I’m working with Corinne to select the materials and colors for the hardcover and softcover books. I want them to be really special!
And, here’s Claudia’s sketch for you to color. (click image and print)
GALLERY
I didn’t receive any submissions this month, but here’s a picture of my husband and our dog doing what they do a lot. :)