“Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed… Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonder,” Henry David Thoreau. Heirloom pink poppy seeds sprouted this week indoors. I am prepared to expect blossoms this July. Much depends on what happens between now and then. And so it is with the seeds of ideas. As a book development editor, my greatest joy is derived from seeing the seed of an idea germinate and grow into published manuscript. Cultivating the soil, weeding, and tending the plants are tasks for gardening good ideas. Having the proper tools on hand, integrated pest management systems, and sufficient discipline and dedication are important factors in the bounty of one’s garden qua bookshelf. Climate, soil, and weather variables can’t be controlled; nor can the contemporary marketplace of ideas and books. Springing forth on Tuesday, April 9th from Palgrave-Macmillan is Cathryn Prince’s Death in the Baltic: The World War II Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff. Outstanding reviews and pre-order sales put her new title at #35 for Books/History/Europe/Poland on Amazon this morning. We wish her the best on her new book launch. Since it’s spring and National Poetry Month, please enjoy Mary Oliver’s “Why I Wake Early,” in her own voice. “In happiness, in kindness.” Finally, this Saturday morning we send out congratulations to Deborah Allison of Integrative Holistic Wellness of Ithaca whose name was drawn from new…
Journalist Cathryn Prince signs book contract with Palgrave Macmillan. Stalin’s Last Torpedo by Cathryn J. Prince—the little known story of history’s largest maritime disaster—is under contract with Palgrave Macmillan. Prince plans to write it largely through the perspective of the surviving eyewitnesses. At the end of World War Two, Soviet torpedoes sank the Wilhelm Gustloff—a cruise liner turned escape ship—sending roughly 9,000 German refugees to… [Read More]
Filed Under: Palgrave Macmillan
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The question is, what can’t Media Bistro do? Welcome to the first post of our Media Bistro series! If you’ve not yet explored this multi-faceted journalism and social media resource, then now is the time to CHECK IT OUT! With everything from Morning Media News Feeds, to Twitter Resources, to a lengthy list of online writing courses, Media Bistro is the ultimate resource for writers,… [Read More]
Filed Under: Boot Camp courses, Laurel Touby, Media Bistro, Social Media, writing courses, writing resources
An endless loop of images, sounds, and events play in the theatre of my horrified mind. Specific details brand themselves red hot into memory. The hour, the day, the week, the month, the year, the decade before it happened replay backward and forward as my mind searches for clues to the mystery of my lover’s suicide two years ago. As a reader, I rode a… [Read More]
This is the second “Featured Local Bookstores” post that has focused on a bookstore located in downtown Ithaca’s Dewitt Mall. Until 2006, The Bookery and Buffalo Street Books used to be known as Bookery I and Bookery II. Now, however, it is the only bookery in town that offers “an extensive selection of used and rare books, available in our store and online at thebookery.com…. [Read More]
Filed Under: antiquarian, Buffalo Street Books, collector, For the Love of Books, going local, Ithaca, The Bookery
It’s tough to keep track of activity on the Twitterverse sometimes. This is how Twitter, or social media in general, draws you in and sucks away your time. The drawback of live streaming, immediately accessible social and media platforms is just that: it’s 24 hours, it’s always on. Inevitably, logging off Twitter means checking out from social media and missing out on conversation points, interesting… [Read More]