DJ Geribo's Art Apart Newsletter
Summer 2019
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Welcome!

The Final Dog Days of Summer


Where oh where did summer go? As usual, it flew by. As I've mentioned before, although these are the longest days of the year, they do seem to contain the fewest hours.  

But now we are into my favorite season, Autumn. Reading over my Spring issue, the days were filled as I predicted; getting together with friends and family and getting involved in outdoor activities, as well as with yard work and household projects.  Golf is now my sport of choice and Jim and I got out several times a week. It is always encouraging to see the improvement over time, also. Just like writing and painting, my two favorite activities, anything you work at will improve over time.  

It was Earl Nightingale who said, "Spend one hour a day in your given field of interest and in three years you will be at the top of your field. In five years you'll be a national authority. And in seven years you'll be one of the best people in the world at what you do." 

Whether or not this is completely true, wouldn't it be better to put the time into becoming the best you can be in your area of interest than to not put the time in and in three, five, or seven years, not be any farther along because you didn't put any time at all into improvement? 

Having said that and absolutely believing it, I still have not set a schedule for myself to improve my writing and painting. Although at the beginning of the summer I was painting with my friend, a death in the family and other unforeseen events rendered her unavailable for most of the summer months. Therefore, I also put painting on hold. Although I tried several times to work on my writing, I never did get fully back into it. I was inspired by an article by David Baldacci from an older issue of Writers' Digest where he said, in other words, that you need to get your head into writing mode. If too much time passes by, you will no longer be in your writing place and it will take time to get back there. I understand completely what he is talking about. When I think back to other books I've written and where I'm at now, I know I've strayed too far and it will take a huge commitment on my part to get back to my writing place.

The good news is, my friend and I are back to painting regularly and I have a couple of ideas for us to put a show together. Since I have to be my own advocate for completing my writing projects, I've had enough nightmares  to push me back into my writing place and I'm looking forward to completing at least one book by the end of 2019!

   
                                             
 (photos of some of the flowers on my property, plus a beautiful Monarch)                              
 
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Writings & Musings

It's Not You, It's Them

 

I just heard a wonderful quote that made such perfect sense to me that I had to dedicate this article to it. The quote is from one of my writing heros, Joyce Carol Oates. She is part of an online class I'm considering signing up for called "Masterclass" where you can learn some of the wisdom of several of the big hitters in the world of literature.

The quote is: "The great enemy of writing isn't your own lack of talent - it's being interrupted by other people. Constant interruptions are the destruction of the imagination." 

And then, coincidentally, I found another interesting quote in, of all places, a local newspaper that gives daily horoscopes. Now, I usually only pick this paper up once or twice a week and I like it because it has a mini crossword puzzle. But a couple of days ago, and maybe two days after I heard the quote from JC Oates, this was my horoscope: "When deeply focused work is at stake, distraction is costly. You've gotten so used to putting up with interruptions that you've come to think of them as normal. How can you protect yourself and get the peace you so deserve?" 



Link to DJ Geribo's Blog




Now, you may have read about the enormous life interruption I had when we decided to get a new puppy. He is now almost two years old (!) and the interruptions aren't as often or as demanding as they once were. 

When I discussed the JC Oates quote with my husband, Jim, he just didn't get it. You have a studio, he said. Just go up there and write. I thought it would be a better idea if one day every other week I rented a room in a motel where I could stay overnight and  just write "without interruption". He did not agree. 

What I tried to explain is that although I'm upstairs in my studio above the garage and yes, away from the pets and other distractions, I still need to use the bathroom, get something to eat or drink, and often when I come down, one of our older dogs or our young dog has peed and now I need to clean it up. In other words, I really feel like I need to get away from the house to find time to focus on writing without interruption.

Whenever I am impressed about the number of books a male author has written, I have to step back and think about the woman who is doing the laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc., etc. The men are able to write 'without interruption'. Women authors just don't have that freedom.  

I recently came up with an idea that I shared with my friend who has a gallery in a tourist town nearby. The theme is "Best Friends" and I wrote a list of suggestions for who or what someone may consider a best friend. So the artists who participate will all paint what Best Friend means to each of us. I'm working on a painting of my favorite dog, a Pomeranian who passed away a couple of years ago. She was so sweet and so special and absolutely my best friend. This is one of the other paintings of her that I'm working on (almost complete). The show, I hope, will take place at his gallery sometime in late Spring, 2020. 

To see some of my animal portrait work, visit my animal portrait website.

I just finished this painting of a loon and am quite pleased with it. I happened upon a group of Loons one day while walking in Wolfeboro, NH around Lake Winnipesaukee and was able to get a variety of photos. I loved this pose and knew this would be the first I would paint. 

To see more of my artwork, go to my Gallery .
My Books
Marketing for Self-Publishers

 Although writing my novels is the goal, marketing and promoting them is also high on my list. I have written about marketing in past newsletters but it doesn't hurt to revisit that topic, particularly if I have more fuel to add.

For example, I recently participated in a workshop called "Promoting and Marketing for the Self-Publisher". 

A woman who writes romance novels was the presenter. She was fun, very knowledgeable, and had written about 8 books. But all of us in the class were most impressed with the amount of money she had made since writing her first book, about 10 years ago. She was in the $200,000+ range and showed us that although she hadn't written a new book or promoted herself for the past 3 years, money was still coming to her almost daily. This is every author's dream - that is if they want to make a living with their writing. 

Although to me, she may have spent a little too much time talking about her books, the characters, her fans, and how much they want her to write her next book in each series, she still gave us a lot of very useful information that I recorded and will follow as closely as I can. 




My books are also now on Amazon!


One of the most important ideas this successful author put into my head was the concept of writing a book series. I have noticed a lot of authors write one book and then continue with the same characters into another book or two (think Harry Potter).  I do, at this time, have one book, written for middle grade readers, and I have started working on a second book. Thinking about the other novels I have started working on, I really don't have another that could become a series. Maybe I'm going in the wrong direction?

Another idea I got from her was to get my books onto other platforms, besides Amazon (I did already know this, I just haven't taken the time to set my books up on other websites, besides my own, of course and our publishing company, BBDPublishing.com). 

I'm also considering creating a new website exclusively for my writing. As most of you know, my website, DJGeribo.com, combines my art with my writing. But I'm thinking I need to separate my writing from my art therefore giving me a stronger voice as an author. It seems like the right time, now that I have five books, to work on creating a fan base for my writing separate from my art. 


To order your copy of my latest book "Seven Storied Houses" go to  www.BBDPublishing.com.
 


“Overnight Success is almost always a myth. Half of this industry is luck. And half is refusal to quit."
                          — Victoria Schwab
                                         
Story in 6
 
"I Can't Hear You"
  An old woman, dressed in a black loose sweater, khaki pants, and sneakers, shuffles along the sidewalk. Beside her is a small, thin child wearing pink stretch pants, a long sleeved teddy bear print top, and gray Uggs boots, pulling an empty shopping cart behind her. The child talks the entire trip to the market  and once inside the store, the old woman takes out her shopping list, grabs a store carriage, and picks out the few items on her list. The child continues her chatter, even making elaborate hand gestures to better explain her point. At the register, the old woman pays for the items, taking the cash from a small change purse. When the cashier thanks the old woman for her order, the old woman takes ear plugs out of her ears and asks,  “What was that?”  

Authistpreneur

author/artist/entrepreneur

Someone who is an author, an artist, and an entrepreneur.  Any person who writes or has a published novel, who paints fine art/illustrations, and also has established businesses using the combination of artistic talents.
                                                                - DJ Geribo

 

What I'm Reading


Summer should be a time to catch up on reading. But since I no longer go to the beach and lay in the sun, summer is just like every other season and I find myself busy with things to do. I do get out more and visit with friends but I also imagine that I'm going to read more. Although that didn't happen, I did manage to finish a couple of books.


   Split Second - My first David Baldacci novel this was a perfect beach read book. Action-packed excitement filled the pages and kept me reading from chapter to chapter. I was definitely in the mood for a light and fluffy novel and this one filled the need (I don't typically read romance novels which would also do the trick).  I was impressed with all the pre-planning that must have taken place as Mr. Baldacci wrote the novel. Keeping track of so many sub-plots has to involve at least a wall chart. I would definitely read another one of his novels, some of which have been made into movies. Maybe next summer. 

     Interpreter of Maladies - I finally got around to reading this, another Pulitzer Prize winner. I'm always fascinated by books that win awards and as I've learned with everything we do in life, to get better, look at the ones who are winning awards and do what they do. This was a collection of short stories that I enjoyed. I particularly liked her solid descriptions of scenes and characters that gave you a clear picture of who they each were. Many of the stories took place in my old stomping grounds, Boston and surrounding areas, so that in itself interested me. But the stories themselves are comparable to ones that I have written, also, which was encouraging. 
   

Go to My Blog to See What I'm Reading

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