I am taking a teaching position in Florence Oregon. I start Monday. I think I will have many beautiful things to paint and write about. We went up last weekend to find housing,(still looking), and spent Sunday morning on the beach. It was lovely. I can't wait to paint it. Since I am working half days next week, if I get a sunny one I may paint during the afternoons.

Taking Orders on My New Book

For those of you who haven't heard, I am frantically trying to get "Signing Upside Down" published. I am taking prepaid pre-orders to get through the final stages and wanted it out by the fifteenth. Anyone who wants to get a hold of the book please help with production and prepay. We are selling copies for $13. (they will be more once it is actually printed so you are getting a deal). Order one or 12 (Christmas is coming it is a great stocking stuffer-smile). The book was complete two years ago and it is time to get it out there. We are really close to having enough to have it printed, and I am getting really excited. I have two library's and several teachers patiently waiting for it's arrival. If you are interested in helping please e-mail me directly or add a comment here with a way to contact you and I will get you the information. Thank you!-Kassy

writing meetings, classes, and such

I am a sucker for writing classes and meetings. The more activities I can participate in about writing the more invested I am in my writing. How many times do you really want to show up and say you haven't worked on anything? I can't last very long without buckling down and working. I am taking two writing classes right now. One at the Sheridan Library taught by one of my writing buddies Maggie King. Even her title is fun Catching Fireflies Writing Class-capturing the bright and shiny memories of your life on paper. She is giving us a chapter a week of prompts and activities to help us write our life stories. (This class is free and you can just show up-7pm on Thursday nights for the next ten Thursdays.) The other class I am taking is:Writing with Technology done by the Oregon Writing Project. Just who is sponsoring it is enough information. If you have not taken a writing class by the OWP, you are shamefully unaware. This class is especially fun because I know so many of the people attending it is like an OWP reunion. We are having a blast. As for my WIT writing group meetings this is the e-mail I sent to them tonight:"If you missed tonight's meeting you missed homemade biscuits and jam, and a writing marathon. I have seven pages of writing, whew!It was really fun!
The next meeting is October 24th (Sunday at 6:30). The meeting place has moved to Penny's house. She has graciously agreed to host us. Please let me know if you need directions.
Next month is National Novel Writing Month. www.nanowrimo.org has great resources for adult writers and classrooms. Free stuff and downloadable workbooks. There are a few of us working on YA novels (young adult) this is a good resource. There is also the novel in a month challenge. Anyone wanna race? This would be for a first draft not a completed draft. But I do have a copy of the weekend novelist if we want to work with prompts.
Have fun writing this month see you the 24th.-Kassy" I love to go to my writing meetings and talk about what I am going to do. It gets me more fired up about actually doing it. SO I have two goals this month. To finish three more dragon pictures (okay they are being commissioned so I have to finish them anyway but it is a good goal-smile) and to get the out line ready for my YA novel because I want to do the challenge in November with the NANOWRIMO. Any one want to join me?

Writing Contest

The writing contest in Portland that Dan and I attended this weekend, has a readers choice division and we need your votes. As you read the pieces keep in mind the prompts were:
character: delivery person
dialog: what you need is a nice...
action: climbing a tree
prop: sunscreen

all four prompts had to be in our pieces.
You can vote for us at-www.sledgehammercontest.com
Dans piece is called,"Master"
mine is called,"To squash a fairy"Thanks-Kassy

This was a great event, if we hadn't double booked ourselves to be at the shrewsbury fair and at the contest we would have liked it more. They gave us clues to a scavenger hunt through Portland to find our prompts and then we had 36 hours to turn in our completed story. We were driving back and forth between Portland and kings valley, but we had fun.
The Tuesday we read our storys at the Blackbird wine and cheese bar in Portland. Dan was amazing, and friends present said I didn't talk too fast.

Jessy's Picture

My youngest daughter has been away at camp, so I this picture for her. I spent today at the McMinnville Saturday market selling dragons. Tomorrow we are going to try Milwaukee's Sunday Artisans Market. We are dropping Lyndsey off at camp in that direction, so thought while we were there we might as well try their market. Thursday is the start of the State Fair, so I should be making dragons, but I am enjoying illustrating more this week.

Wow Time flies!

It is really funny that I set up this blog to make me accountable for my writing and illustrating, but when I am working the hardest I don't have the time to catch up the blog. It has been a busy month. I worked for Salem's Academic Adventures Camp. It was really fun. I worked with a great group of teachers and I really admire the director. The month went quickly. I was teaching art, so I got to be creative everyday, and most days I drew, painted, or created something. At night, when I wasn't planing lessons I made dragons for the Silverton festival. Unfortunately we were robbed at the festival and lost any profit we would have made. We did make some great trades! After camp ended I drove to my mothers house for vacation. I painted my nieces and nephews faces, glittered the cousins, and visited, I even spent a weekend in Utah visiting with my fathers side of the family. I had a really good vacation. The highlight for my children was my mother taking them to Lagoon the local amusement park. Only my oldest remembers ever being at an amusement park. So it was fun to experience their first roller coasters with them. The highlight for me was visiting with everyone and having time to sit and catch up. Now that I am home I am job hunting, painting, and creating dragons. Most of my children are at OMSI camp this week, so I have a lot of time on my hands. I have applied for 74 jobs so far and I have my first interview on Monday. Cross your fingers. Next Thursday, I start working at my artisans booth at the state fair in Salem. I have never done this before, and I am very nervous. If you go to the fair stop by. I will be peddling my book, dragons, and illustrations. (I am hoping to make the rent). The new picture posted is the first of my new custom order prints. I am doing custom fantasy pictures of peoples children. They pay a little and get to keep the original and I retain the rights to sell the prints. I think this will help me have more variety in my characters. Tonight I am working on a new painting of my youngest daughter, as a surprise for her.

Writing: I signed up last week to do the Sledgehammer Writing Event in Portland. It should be interesting. They give us clues and send us on a scavenger hunt through the city to find our prompts, then we have 36 hours to write something using the prompts. Anyone want to join in?

Printing and Distrubution

I have added a column on the left about printing my books. I am still researching distribution issues with self publishing. I publish through a wonderful woman in Newberg for the copies I sell myself. To sell online I currently use Amazon's create a space, but that leaves me doing every bit of the advertising unless I want them to hold the ISBN. I own my own ISBN for Sleeping in Dragon Wings and don't want to give it up. I have only sold two books through Amazon and both were people I know. Mostly I peddle my own books at local events. I have them in the local library and at bookstores in McMinnville. Distribution is definitely the difficult part of self publishing. Any Ideas?