For The Love of Words...

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Chicago is all about festivals, and one of my favorites is the Printers Row Lit Fest. It’s called Printers Row because this area used to be the printing center in the Midwest—two blocks between Congress Parkway and Polk Street. Now the print buildings are loft apartments, whose streets host the Lit Fest, formerly known as Printers Row Book Fair. Since I’ve been going to the fest, it has grown in size and changed to accommodate families with young children.

The Printers Row Lit Fest is this Saturday and Sunday, June 9-10, beginning at 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. There are booths setup along the streets for large and small bookstores, authors’ tents, workshops, entertainment and food. I remember the first time I went, I couldn’t get enough of the resale books, postage stamps, old posters, and the smell of books. Old pages from books smelling up the booths at second-hand stores—rare bookstores—and some wine tasting along the way. It’s just a sample of what I experienced and why I return each year.

If you happen to be in the Chicago area this weekend, I suggest you go to the Lit Fest. You will either fall in love all over again with books or start reading again. Maybe I’ll see you there!

Saturday’s Schedule

Sunday’s Schedule

Literature and Wine,

Bea

BOOO!!!! BOOOO!!!!

It’s a cold, rainy and WINDY day in Chicago, so I thought I’d post a few games for those who are bored at work or home.

http://www.freegaming.de/onlinegames/Adventure-|-Action-Games/Halloween-Broom.html

http://www.freegaming.de/onlinegames/Adventure-%7C-Action-Games/Halloween-Chion-2.html

Stay dry and warm.

Pumpkin spice latte and fleece socks,

Bea

Ich Lerne Deutsch! (I learn German)

Herzliche Gruesse,

Ich bin Bea Sempere und ich bin aus Chicago. Chicago ist nicht die Hauptstadt von Illinois. Wie heisst du?

Translation:

Heartfelt Greetings,

I am Bea Sempere and I am from Chicago. Chicago is not the capital city of Illinois. How are you called?

Since the beginning of September, I have been learning German from meinem Liebsten (my Love). We are working from a textbook and two workbooks, but it’s difficult not being in an environment where German is the primary language. I want to learn German so I can a) communicate with mein Liebster’s parents and brother, and b) in case we wind up living in Germany for a year or two. It will give me a head start before taking an extensive German course out there.

It’s tough learning a language at this stage in my life, and German isn’t an easy language to learn. English was derived from the Germanic language, yet much of what is utilized in German, isn’t in English. Unlike a Spanish translation, German doesn’t translate well into English—at least not word for word. There are many English words and phrases that don’t exist in German, and different grammatical rules.  

All nouns have an article: (die) feminine, (der) masculine and (das) neutral. Not only do I have to learn the nouns, I need to learn the article forms…and on top of that…the article changes with the noun depending on the object. Nouns are capitalized, too. Wie heisst die Biologielehrerin? How is the biology teacher called? The ending is “in”, which indicates that the biology teacher is female. That’s why the article is “die”. If the biology teacher is male, it would be der Biologielehrer. My brain does flips when I have to say and write out a number. Germans start with the second number first, such as 43 (my age). Ich bin dreiundvierzig Jahre alt. I am 43 years old.

I’m actually enjoying the challenge until mein Liebster starts talking fast. Like all languages, he blends his words together as opposed to annunciating each one, so I’ll be using Wie bitte? Excuse me? plenty of times.

Do you speak a second language?

Bratwurst and beer,

Bea

Now I Know!

Back in the day when learning words and telling time were all I needed to do, I remember my grandmother teaching me how to read from the Dick and Jane books. They were vintage books used to teach children to read from the ‘30s into the ‘70s, and are still sold today. There was a lot of repetition in them, such as “Look. Look Up. Look Up at the sky”, so it was easy for children to learn words and sentences. I also remember the colorful illustrations in these books.

Then many, many years passed before I had any desire to read again. When I started back, I went through a phase where I would only read Sidney Sheldon books. At the time, I had no idea how much this man accomplished with international praise for his scripts, movies, plays and novels, let alone that he was from Chicago. He thought of his writing success as a miracle. “I was born in Chicago during the Depression and both my parents were third grade drop-outs," he recalled. "My father never read a book in his life and I was the only one in the family to complete high school." His books were mostly crime fiction and thrillers. He was the only author I’d read, and that was the last time I ever stuck to only one writer. Unfortunately, Mr. Sheldon passed away in 2007, but left behind a legacy of words.

I then ventured out and started reading Mary Higgins Clark and Victoria Holt, and both of these women wrote suspense with a romantic flare. I’ll admit that I didn’t know what genre any of these writers wrote until now. I always thought they were romance novels with an ingredient of suspense. After these female authors, I started reading Sandra Brown, who also writes suspense.

I find all of this interesting because for a few years I didn’t read many women authors (this in no way suggests that women authors aren’t great writers). Since my early favorites, I’ve gone on to read many authors of both gender and all different genres. After finding out that all of my favorite writers, who got me back into reading, were suspense and thriller writers, it now makes sense that I have written a psychological suspense thriller. 

Genres are and will always be foreign to me. Each category has its definition, but some of these definitions blend in with others, such as thrillers and suspense. I believe they both go hand in hand. How can you have a thriller without suspense, and how can suspense not be thrilling? Since I’m not one who has done extensive research in genre categorization, I’ll have to leave it up to the experts.

What’s your favorite genre, or who is your favorite author? Has it changed since your earlier days of reading?

Revisions and Tea,

Bea

Literacy—Read, Write and Think!

This past summer I went to Open Books for a volunteer orientation. Open Books is all about promoting literacy in Chicago and elsewhere. They work hard, utilizing volunteers, to make young and old literate through social events, programs and field trips.

This is taken from The New York Times article by Jessica Reaves. It is estimated that about 23% of American adults do not have basic reading skills—they are unable to read directions (medications), look for employment or take care of their finances. Chicago’s illiteracy suffers with “53% of adults having low or limited literacy skills”. The numbers might not be exact  but the fact is this city and country should not have a problem with illiteracy.

Since I’m unemployed I decided to do some volunteer work, and what better place to volunteer at than with books. Today I woke up early, got ready and drove to the Open Books warehouse. It has definitely been a long time since I woke that early and had to look presentable. LOL! Anyways, when I walked into the place it was full of boxes of books donated by people. The guys working there set me up on a computer to scan the books for resale. It’s amazing how many people donate, and what is even more amazing are the books people buy. There were old 60's and 70's cook books, travel books and 80's workout books. Do you remember Susan Powter? “Stop the Insanity!” I guess this catchphrase can be used for illiteracy. 

I enjoyed my volunteer work and wanted to share my experience with you, continue volunteering and hopefully I can pay it forward. Aside from the bookstore on Institute Place, they resell books on different websites—Amazon being one of them. (The bookstore is setup so cute. The picture of the fireplace on this post is from the store.) On Amazon, the books are sold under used. So if you are ever browsing for a book, click on used and search for Open Books to help fund literacy.

My next topic has nothing to do with literacy and everything to do with winning.

Did you watch the Bears vs. Green Bay game? The outcome of this game really makes me mad because a) I don’t like Green Bay and b) the Bears could have won the game if offense knew how to block and catch, and Devin Hester learned how to keep his temper in check. *rant over*

Have a great day!

Weathered Work

I stopped in at my blog and noticed I hadn’t posted since Saturday! It isn’t that I’m ignoring my blog—it’s just that my unemployed days are not empty. I wake early to go through my email job notices (apply or not), and then work on a combination of my poetry e-book, website, homework or my novel revisions.

Like the title of my post, my weathered (tough, windswept, worn) work has coincided with Chicago weather. As soon as I think it’s okay to head outside, the clouds roll in and the rain comes down. Every time I think I have the formatting perfected with my e-book, I view it and something is off kilter.

This week I’m working on my poetry e-book for publication within the next week or two. I can’t begin to explain how crazy tough it is to create a book. Not only did I have to choose the poems and edit them, but I want it appealing so I changed formatting and added pictures. I’m hoping these additives will help readers interpret my poems and keep on reading. Of course, not all my formatting converted properly, which forced me to remove some of it. I’m not complaining about creating it—having fun—although decision making and formatting is taking more time than anticipated.

My poetry e-book, Sipping a Mix of Verse, will be available on Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook and Smashwords. I want it accessible to everyone, not just those who own a kindle or nook (because I don’t have one). Poetry isn’t a high reading genre; however, I hope my poetry will convert some non-poetry readers into enjoying the beauty of it. I think some people find poetry intimidating—mainly due to interpretation—but readers can enjoy poetry without worrying about what the author means. Take it for how it affects them individually.

What have you been up to? I’d like to live vicariously through you.

To Meet a Friend Among Words

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I am so excited to go to the 2011 Printers Row Lit Fest. It is one of my favorite Chicago Fests and every year it gets bigger and bigger. The fest has discount, Indie, chain, and rare bookstores that line the curbs and the center of the streets. Since I’ve been going there, they’ve increased it to suit the whole family. If you click on the above link, you can get a calendar for Saturday and Sunday’s events.

What is even more exciting to me is meeting an online buddy of mine for the first time at the Lit Fest. In 2007, I met Barb on a writing forum we both belonged to. Of course we had alias’s, but over the course of time, Barb and I continued to talk—mostly outside of the writing forum. On the forum, we didn’t interact much, which is strange that we became friends. She is the one person who seems to enjoy the same types of books as I do.

Barb and I have sent each other emails for holidays, words of encouragement, condolences,  to say "Hi", BUT we’ve never met. This isn’t a one-way relationship; we support each other in life and writing. I can’t begin to explain how excited I am to meet her among one of the loves of our lives—books. We have so much catching up to do that I’m guessing we will wind up missing many of the booths.

There’s one important thing I want to point out, and that’s loyalty. Even though I’ve never met Barb, and even though we’ve only spoke through words (never heard her voice), she has been there for me as a writer and as a friend. That is HUGE in my life. She’s been a supporter of my writing for years, and I can’t begin to tell you how important support is to a writer. I have many people in my life that I love, but to them, my writing isn’t important, and I’m not saying it in a mean way—it just isn’t. We all have important things to us in our lives that aren’t to others. Such is life. And it’s especially nice to have a writer friend support you

Barb is a great writer. She puts much thought and emotion into what she wants to share with others, and you can see it in her writing.

So I’m ecstatic to meet Barb, and hear about her life, her love of books and her writing.

A Toast to Friendship! When you find true friends, near or far, hold onto them—they’re a rarity.

I Need You!

How is everyone doing? Are you sick of this rain…if you live in Chicago? I can’t wait to see the sun. 

First things first, I’m selling my condo. In the side bar, you’ll find a link with a description and pictures for my “Condo for Sale”. If you know of anyone looking for a condo on the south side of Chicago, please forward the link. It’s within walking distance to the train, which is appealing as we watch the price of gas rise.

Secondly, I’m planning on self-publishing a book of poems but I’ve run into a brick wall. I’m having trouble coming up with a book title. My poems aren’t about one specific subject; death, writing, seasons, dreams, religion, life, and more. I’d like a title embracing many topics. Please let me know if something comes to mind.

Thanks for any help you can give me with the above.

Lost? Need to find your way?

I was contacted by GPSmyCity.com to provide my blog readers with a quiz and winning prizes. They have recently developed an iPhone application for Chicago, so I thought I’d connect with them to sponsor this ‘quiz contest’. GPSmyCity created the quiz, and will provide the prizes.

Here’s how it works: ANYONE can take this quiz. Those with the most correct quiz answers will win three free city iPhone applications to ANY city of their choice. The applications were developed by GPSmycity.com.

Here’s how to play: Get out a piece of paper, write down your answers and email them to: quiz@gpsmycity.com, and they will contact you if you are a winner. Good Luck!

1) Chicago is known under several names. How isn't it called?

a) the Windy City

b) the City of Big Shoulders

c) the City of Lights

2) Chicago’s downtown area is known as____.The nickname refers to the area encircled by the elevated train tracks.

a) the Loop

b) the Hook

c) the Ellipse

3) Chicago is the birthplace among others of McDonalds, the chewing gum giant Wrigley’s and the cell phone giant Motorola. What sport has been invented here:

a) 16-inch softball

b) baseball

c) squash

4) At the time of its completion in 1974 the Willis Tower was the tallest building in the world, surpassing the World Trade Center towers in New York, and it held this rank for nearly 25 years. How many states are visible from its roof?

a) 3

b) 4

c) 5

5) Chicago is the third largest city in United States, its metropolitan area, commonly named "Chicagoland," being the 27th most populous metropolitan area in the world. What American cities are more populous than Chicago?

a) New York and Houston

b) Los Angeles and New York

c) Philadelphia and New York

6) Chicago is home to the largest population of ____ in the world, except Warsaw:

a) Poles

b) Czechs

c) Serbs

7) In 1900, Chicago successfully completed a massive and highly innovative engineering project. Since then the Chicago River is the only river in the world that:

a) flows North in the Northern Hemisphere

b) flows backward

c) the only river in the world that flows both northwards and southwards across the line

of the Equator

8) Each year, the Chicago River is dyed green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. St. Patrick is the patron saint of what country?

a) Ireland

b) Scotland

c) Poland

9) The Art Institute of Chicago has one of the largest and most extensive collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings in the world. Which of these painters was not an impressionist?

a) Monet

b) Cezanne

c) Dali

10) The University of Chicago is the site of the world's first:

a) atomic reaction

b) unmanned flight

c) extraterrestrial encounter

Childhood Transformations

Early, early this morning (Chicago’s morning), my mom and I were talking on Yahoo Messenger and she happened to tell me that an old neighbor of ours had a picture taken on the red carpet with Scarlett Johansson at the Oscars. Since I don’t watch those award shows, I did a search and lo and behold, there he was arm-in-arm with her. The site also had a link to Jane Fonda’s blog and his picture was there too.

And you know what? It made me feel old. Looking at the picture of Joe Machota, or Jo Jo as we use to call him, which he hated, doesn’t even look like the Joe I remember. When he was young, he resembled Danny Pintauro from “Who’s the Boss?” but Joe was cuter. I remember squeezing his cheeks because he was so adorable…on his face, people! Who would have thought blond hair Jo Jo would now be a Hollywood agent? It got me thinking about childhood and children in general. When you look at children, they’re just children and the future isn’t visible—grown up jobs or fame for that matter. Now I look at Joe’s picture and think about the years that have passed since childhood.  There are a few people from high school I knew who are successful in Hollywood, but Joe was young and lived across the street from us. I was the same age as his sister, Jolie. In time, they moved and our lives went their separate ways. Now I’ll be watching my niece and nephews and little cousins closely to try and see what grown up job lives inside them.

But I miss childhood. We lived on a dead-end street, so the park was right next door and there was a huge field to play softball, baseball, etc. Back then, we actually played outside, getting dirty for hours. As we got older, my mom had us try out for a play in the summer, where I was usually in the chorus. It kept us occupied and out of trouble. I was horrible at acting and I hated it, but my mom put us in plays in grammar school and then made me do something in high school. She said I wasn’t going to just sit around and do nothing. So I joined the plays in high school until my *ahem* attitude got in the way. In my second year, the theater director pulled me out of class and told me that if they let me in the play, it will be a test on my attitude, and if I’m not, don’t bother trying out again. Oh yeah, good times.

Thinking back on childhood, even though at the time I didn’t know it, I actually had a great time. No worries. No toys to get in the way. No keep up with the Joneses. It was pure fun and adventure—kids running up and down the streets, or riding bikes, or playing in front yards.

What do you miss most about childhood?

P.S. And cereal. I really loved eating cereal...but not in the same room with my brother. He always sounded like a train. Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries was my favorite.

A Quickie and a Query!

Yesterday I completed my second revision of my novel AND I also wrote an alternative ending—then sent it off to my editor. I will be sending it to some beta readers to get some more eyes and feedback.

The next step is querying agents. I’ve gone back and forth about whether or not I want to go through traditional publishing or self-publish. I decided I will ‘try’ the traditional route first and if that doesn’t work out then I’ll self-publish. If I self-publish, all control is in my hands, which includes finding someone to do the cover art, binding the book, distribution (won’t be in stores), sales, and marketing and publicity. If I go the traditional route, I need to get an agent (receives 15%), the agent finds a publisher and they do the cover art, distribution to stores, but I’ll mainly be responsible for marketing and publicity. The publishing world that existed when John Irving and Stephen King started their writing careers is long gone.

Since I am going to attempt traditional publishing I need to get an agent first, which means I need to write a great query letter. A query letter is a letter that pitches your book idea. Agents receive hundreds of queries a day, so they don’t have time to shuffle through words to find out what my book is about. I’ve been doing some research about querying, such as  writers with similar books, who their agents are and how to write one. Hopefully, I can start practicing now and get some drafts done.

That’s it for now folks! What’s going on in your part of the world? I hope my family and friends dug themselves out from the Chicago snowstorm.