Writing: CWG and their Conference

The Catholic Writers Conference Live is scheduled for August 4-6, 2010 at King of Prussia, PA.

If you're interested in attending, you can find more information and a registration form here:  http://catholicwritersconference.com/



This is a great chance to pitch your writing ideas as well as to listen to some great talks and meet/greet the powers that be in the Catholic publishing world. 

If you do go, make sure you stop in and say "hi" to Margot at Hillside Publications ... a fellow homeschooler (and my publisher!), she was instrumental in getting me involved at the Catholic Writers Guild and in getting my book, In His Image, the CWG Seal of Approval.
 

WooHoo .... In His Image gets approval ...

The Catholic Writer's Guild, a very cool group of writers, publishers and illustrators, has awarded my book, In His Image: Nurturing Creativity in the Heart of Your Home it's Seal of Approval. 

The CWG website elucidates what this means:

The CWG Seal of Approval is a kind of “gatekeeping” device for Catholic bookstore owners and readers. Simply put, it’s an endorsement that the book supports Catholic beliefs and values. We began the SoA after discussions with Catholic bookstore owners who said they often did not have time to fully evaluate books—and often didn’t stock books that came from unknown writers or smaller presses.

The SoA is not a critique of a work, but rather an assurance of its Catholicity--that neither the work nor its author go against the Mageristerial authority of the Catholic Church. In other words, we evaluate for faithfulness, not for writing style or quality.

The CWG is a great group of Catholic creative folks whose expertise and knowledge I very much respect.  If you're a writer (fiction, non-fiction, poetry), an artist or illustrator, or an editor or publisher and you are NOT a member yet, what's stopping you?  Go check out their website and join in the fun! 

And if you've haven't yet gotten a copy of my book, In His Image, please do -- it's gotten very good comments from those readers who have been gracious enough to share their thoughts with me ....

AMAZING resource for Catholic homeschoolers ...

... is just a subscription away.

The Spring 2010 issue is arriving in mailboxes as I write.  This issue includes a great unit study on learning about world geography with little kids (altho the unit would work with older siblings, too!) while the articles carry-through the theme of picture books and the wonder within childhood. 

Of special note, is a wonderful review of my book, In His Image.  Check it out and let me know what you think ... and if you haven't subscribed yet, what are you thinking?  mater-et-magistra is the ONLY Catholic homeschool magazine published and is well-worth the subscription price.   I write the quarterly column on handcrafts ... but there are always great articles with teaching tips, resource suggestions, and supportive stories to "educate the heart and the mind of the Catholic home".  There is always a pull-out unit study as well as reviews of wonderful books for young and old.

 

A New Daybook: Nurturing Creativity in the Heart of My Home

I started up a group over at Kind Conversations called Nurturing Creativity (which is also the subtitle of my book, In His Image).  We'll be sharing how we nurture creativity in our homes and helping each other along. 

One thing I started to day is a kind of "daybook" for creativity .... here's my NCDaybook for April 21st:

• on my needles I have an almost finished sweater for Knit Picks Independent Designer Program;  
• on the craft table I have some items I need to finish for my quarterly craft column in the summer issue of mater-et-magistra  
• on the kitchen counter I have bread rising for dinner tonight  (Fr. G is coming so we're having a feast of roast beast, homemade bread, brownies (chocolate and blondies), and great conversation)
• in the garden I have seeds just waiting for the warmth of the sun (and the much needed rain we're getting today) to burst into life; I have ground that needs tilling to plant some more seeds ; I have transplants from a fellow-homeschooler's garden that need nurturing to get them started in this Virginia clay 
• in the school-room I have plans for letting the three littles write/direct/produce their own version of St. George and the Dragon for Friday evening entertainment!

So what creative things are you working on today .....

 

 

Feast Day: Our Lady of Guadalupe

One year ago today, I put the final period on the page and sent my book, In His Image: Nurturing Creativity in the Heart of Your Home, off to my publisher, Hillside Education.  I placed the book and my writing of it under the patronage of Our Lady of Guadalupe and it has been well-received. 

Never hesitate to go to Our Lady for help in any situation ... as she told St. Juan Diego almost 500 years ago in Mexico, "I am your merciful mother ... [I will] remedy all their miseries, afflictions and sorrows"!

Review: Hunting for God, Fishing for the Lord

Occasionally, when I’m looking for a book to review I try to choose one that is outside my comfort-zone, that discusses a topic for which I’m, at best, vaguely familiar. Hunting for God, Fishing for the Lord: Encountering the Sacred in the Great Outdoors is just such a book – I don’t fish (either regular or fly-fishing) and I’ve never been hunting (either with a bow or a rifle). With a bit of skepticsm, I wanted to see how a parish priest could help me “encounter the sacred in the great outdoors”.

Superficially, Father Classen’s book, Hunting for God, Fishing for the Lord: Encountering the Sacred in the Great Outdoors, is a real “guy book”. As a matter of fact, I chose to review it because I thought one of my brothers, in-laws or friends might enjoy the book. I thought of my husband and how he loves the outdoors: especially camping and hiking. This book is full of hunting and fishing stories, including the trite “one that got away” stories, with lots of helpful suggestions of how to catch those trophies.

But that’s just superficially.

This is a great book about fully experiencing God’s creation by doing not just watching. This book, in fact, is almost a companion to the one I wrote on creativity: my In His Image: Nurturing Creativity in the Heart of Your Home stresses the need to imitate the creator by nurturing creativity in the heart of the home so that we can fully experience His love and care for us; Fr. Classen’s book stresses the need to exist actively in God’s creation to fully experience His love for us. Both books stress the need to DO as a way to BE, a way to exist, rather than just passively accepting God’s gift of creation.

Fr. Classen, Associate Pastor of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque parish in the St. Louis (Missouri) Diocese, has written not just a classic book on fishing and hunting. His book also helps to place the enthusiast in the spiritual realm by explaining the difference between the childish obsessive pursuit of the “trophy trout” and the child-like pursuit of nature and God’s creation. He shows throughout the book the importance of the child-like wonder and peace garnered by being in nature. He also pokes fun at his own obsessive pursuit that ruined his experiences; it wasn’t until he became child-like in his hunting pursuits that he was truly successful, both spiritually and literally.

There are many times throughout the book that Fr. Classen hits it dead-on. He shows that the need for our society to try to re-invent peace and calm through our own acts never works. The fishing father rather shows the better way: peace and calm for mind, body and soul by reveling in God’s creation, even on a pre-dawn hike to a deer stand in Missouri autumn or hip-deep in the rushing waters with the fly to beat all flies.

Although this book is, as I mentioned earlier, a “real guy’s book”, much can be gotten from this book if the reader is married to (or mother of) an outdoor enthusiast. Father does a great job of putting the hunting, the pursuit of the prey, the search for the ultimate lure or fly in their proper perspective – all is worthless without trust in God, without love of His creation, without discernment of God’s will. The writing is not just informative; it’s also written with a gift for the English language, a turn of phrase that says much more than the words.

I would definitely recommend this book for those guys out there who are either outdoor enthusiasts and/or those guys who are searching for the spiritual in their lives. It is a great read – and has many great hunting tips as well as tips on improving the reader’s prayer life and getting us all on the road to sanctity. I would also recommend it for the moms, spouses or sisters of nature enthusiasts, especially those who don’t really understand the desire of our men to go out and spend hours in a stand, waiting for the elusive buck.

* - * - *

This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Hunting for God, Fishing for the Lord: Encountering the Sacred in the Great Outdoors and to purchase your own copy of this soon-to-be outdoor enthusiasts' classic.

Classen, Rev. Joseph F. – Hunting for God, Fishing for the Lord: Encountering the Sacred in the Great Outdoors – Our Sunday Visitor (Huntington, IN) 2006. Paperback (220 pages). ISBN: 978-1-59276-217-0.

Hospitality: visit from a couple of wonderful ladies ...

... Dominican sisters in full regalia!

I'd LOVE to be able to say this basket is full of our bounty that we gave to our guest. No such luck as we haven't even planted our garden. No, the lovely sisters brought these sumptuous (and spicy!) fresh and ripe veggies to us. We had the squash and zucchini tonight stir-fried and the tomato with mozarella as a side. The orange pepper (below the bell pepper) is just called "HOT" ... we can't wait to try that one! There are also home-grown jalapenos and the yellow grape-like veggies are tomatoes that ripen yellow! YUMMY!

These are two of the sisters who have been praying for us for the past 14 months: praying that we would sell the house in Denver ... and praying that we would be able to buy a house here in Virginia ... and generally, well, just praying for us!

Only two of the Dominicans living in Northern Virginia were on the road today ... but they spent more than an hour chatting and borrowing books and teaching and learning from us all at once! They were on the way to their Motherhouse in Nashville -- a wonderful, blessed spot -- for their annual retreat and guess who is right on the route?

So we loaded them up with coffee, bagels/cream cheese, fresh cherries and books for the 10-hour drive across the mountains and into Tennessee. One of the books is a copy of my In His Image for another dear sister and fellow knitter, Sr. Thomas More -- altho I believe they'll delve into the prose on the road.

God bless these wonderful women and their cohorts ... and prayers for a safe and fruitful retreat and a safe drive back (with maybe another stop at Hilltop on their way back in?).

In His Image: available ...

In His Image: Nurturing Creativity in the Heart of Your Home now is able to be ordered direct from Amazon. Please, ignore the "ships in 1 to 2 months" as Margot has them to Amazon much faster than that.

If you'd like to comment about the book or have any questions, check out Nurturing Creativity and post there. I'll be happy to