Category Archives: literacy

Community-Wide Reading

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“Communication leads to community that is, to understanding….. mutual valuing.” – Rollo May

If this is your first visit to All Things Fulfilling, Welcome!

The heartbeat of this blog space is about the arts and humanities.   Many blog postings are literary in nature – about books, independent publishing, writing and other culturally fulfilling things that enrich our lives. Take a few minutes to browse the list of categories on the right-hand side of the page.

Fortunately, I am living in a place where literacy is well-supported. The pulse of the arts can be felt though community-wide offerings and events sponsored by the Bud Werner Memorial Library, the Steamboat Arts Council and at Colorado Mountain College. There is always something of interest happening in  town. It is easy to design a fulfilling life when your interests align with the community where you reside.

Last Wednesday night I attended the first in a series of events that revolve around one very special book that was recently published. It is being talked about by many people in many communities. Tomorrow the focus will be on “One Book Steamboat.” Do return!IMG_20150917_071739_991

This blog is brought to you by EVVY award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard. For information on her publications.

 

 

 

 

Rewards of the Business

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Ink on paper is as beautiful to me as flowers on the mountains — God composes, why shouldn’t we? ~Terri Guillemets

Good news came to a group of independent publishers last weekend at the annual EVVY book awards sponsored by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association. All four of our We Write Steamboat members who were finalists came away with an award. They are as follows:

Major General Louis W Prentiss, Jr. for his book Memories of a Life in the Army (military category)

Lou Prentiss Book

Erik Landvik for Uncluttered Faith (spirituality/religion)

Eric Landvik

Jane Stein, author & Pam Duckworth, illustrator for Dear Class: Traveling Around the World with Mrs. J (juvenile non-fiction) and interior design/layout in the technical awards.

Dear Class

Merit Clark’s Killing Streak in the fiction/mystery & detective category and also 3rd place for cover design.

Steamboat author Merit Clark killing-streak-clark-2500px

That’s the good news on this Thirsty Thursday from Steamboat Springs, Colorado. In the coming weeks more EVVY award winners will be featured on All Things Fulfilling. Stay tuned!

This blog is brought to you by 2014 EVVY award-winning author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.

Fostering Joy Through Publishing

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“We can not accomplish all we need to without working together.” ~ Bill Richardson

I wish you could really know the joy I am feeling right now. Last week I found out that four authors in our We Write Steamboat networking group are finalists for five awards in the annual EVVY book contest sponsored by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association.

The group was formed in 2011 with a mission of “fostering independent publishing success.” Since then Steamboat authors have been well-represented each year as finalists and award winners. As the founder of the group, I couldn’t be more proud of what we have accomplished in bringing recognition to this community of writers.

Here is the list of Steamboat’s 2015 EVVY award finalists.

celebrate the author

Major General Louis W Prentiss, Jr. for his book Memories of a Life in the Army (military category)

Lou Prentiss Book

Merit Clark’s Killing Streak in the fiction/mystery & detective category and also finalist for cover design

Steamboat author Merit Clark killing-streak-clark-2500px

Erik Landvik for Uncluttered Faith (spirituality/religion)

Eric Landvik

Jane Stein author & Pam Duckworth, illustrator for Dear Class: Traveling Around the World with Mrs. J (juvenile non-fiction)

Dear Class

What a gift it has been to live and work among a community of independent publishers. I must also give recognition to the Steamboat Writers Group. Their expertise and knowledge with regards to critiquing works in progress is very valuable and that is why for thirty-plus years the group has held together.

It’s a joyful time for all of the independent publishers who are finalists in the EVVY competition. Good luck to everyone! All Things Fulfilling will be posting more information about the 2015 EVVY award-winning authors in coming weeks. Stay tuned.

Tomorrow I will be featuring an artist whose life calling has gone from farm boy in Virginia to dentist to author/independent publisher and internationally acclaimed scultpure artist. Now there’s a story!

This blog is brought to you by two time  2014 EVVY award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.

Exploring Roots and Characters

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I believe that the memoir is the novel of the 21st century; it’s an amazing form that we haven’t even begun to tap…we’re just getting started figuring out what the rules are.”  ~ Susan Cheever

Have you ever considered how our lives are made up of stories? Everyone has stories to tell and some people are natural storytellers. However, sometimes getting stories down on paper is not as easy as telling them orally.

Think about family stories for a minute. Unless these rich narratives are written down and published, future generations will never know them. The characters who sprouted from the family tree will be lost.
Not to be overly-dramatic, the truth is that unless we share family stories through the form of memoir writing, in a few generations down the road we risk becoming like be a nation of adoptees who don’t know who their parents or grandparents were.

The good news is, we are living in an age where ordinary people can write and publish their stories independently. You don’t have to have a big family name behind you or sensational story to tell in order to become published. Resources are freely available for ordinary people.

Publishing a story for personal fulfillment is reward enough. But future generations will greatly appreciate knowing something about their family narrative because so many tales just get lost.

family link to the past and bridge to future

This blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard. Author of an award-winning memoir Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and short stories Lessons of Heart & Soul.

Reading: A Vintage Idea

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Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book. –Author Unknown

It’s not pop-psychology or new age thinking that a love of reading has many fulfilling advantages. Books stimulate the mind, they transport us to different places, we get to meet interesting characters with diverse personalities and learn something about different cultures. Literature broadens our world and exposes us to new concepts and ideas. Here is what some influential writers say about the magic of reading.

Today, I thought we’d take a trip down memory lane and see some of the vintage signs that indicate “reading is good for you.” These placards and posters have decorated libraries, reading rooms, bookstores and other platforms over the decades.

Come along and think back to when you obtained your first library card. What did it feel like? A priviledge? Freedom? A passport into a new world?

I heard one man, my father say “the day he got his first library card, it was like the best gift he had ever been given.”  My reply to that was “Oh, and then came the wife and the children….” Just kiddin’ Dad. We know you’d be lost without your books!

Seriously, if you have young children, one of the best things you can do is let them catch you reading, frequently! Happy Reading, everyone!

vintagelibrary 6

vintage3

Vintage Library7

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Vintagelibrary 7vintage library 6vintage library images

vintage library 5

This blog is brought to you by award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard. For information on the award-winning Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, click here. And for Lessons of Heart & Soul, click here.

Summertime. The Way it Ought to Be.

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“Summertime is always the best of what might be.” ~ Charles Bowden
There is an article circulating over the internet that makes me feel as if the person who wrote it, an Italian teacher, really gets what living an inspired life is all about. He understands the way summer is supposed to be and the feelings of adolescence that seem to go along hand and hand with the season. Many of the youthful feelings of summer that are cited in this article return to me year after year, no matter what stage of my life I am in.

Read this article about the summer assignment the italian teacher gave to his students.
barefeet-lying-in-grass

How about you? Do you have certain youthful feelings that return this time of year? What do you think causes a stirring of these dreamy and magical emotions that don’t come any other time of year?

Is it the more laid-back approach that comes with summertime? Is it because we shed much of our clothing and live less bundled up, which leads to freer feelings? Is it the memorable sights, sounds and tastes of summer that come only one season of the year? What is it? I’d like to hear from you!

This blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard. Award-winning author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and short stories Lessons of Heart & Soul.

Fulfilling a Promise to Girl Scouts

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Good Morning! Happy May Day!

On March 24th I sent out a handwritten invitation to a very special group of youth –Girl Scout troop #12622. Here’s what the note card said:

You are cordially invited to “One Day in the Life of a Writer.” Join me at my writer’s desk in the Girl Scout meeting room on May 1, 2015  from 3:30 – 4:30 pm.

Well, the big day is here! I couldn’t be more excited to share my experiences of “One Day in the Life of a Writer.”  Here is what our program today looks like: 

  • A Peek into a Writers Day
  • A Tour of a Writers Desk
  • A Reading from an Authors Award-Winning Book

Girl Scout promise

Did you know the World Association of Girl Scouts is 10,000,000 “girl guides” strong and there are troops in 146 countries?I’ve asked each girl from troop #12622 to bring a question that they’ve always wanted to ask a writer but have never had the chance. On Monday, the questions and my answers will be published so Girl Scouts in other countries can learn more about what it’s like to be a writer.

I was a Brownie and a Junior Girl Scout in the 1960s where I grew up – in the heart of where north, meets south, on the Mason-Dixon Line in the State of Maryland. I can hardly wait to meet Colorado Junior Girl Scout troop #12622  – ages 9 and 10.

Do return to All Things Fulfilling on Monday because I promise to do my best to publish the girl’s questions to the author along with my responses.

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart and Soul.

Girl Scouts where girls grow strong

 

 

 

 

May Day, May Day

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“Each of us has a spark of life inside us, and our highest endeavor ought to be to set off that spark in one another.” – Kenny Ausubel

I’ve got a big responsibility ahead of me for Friday, May 1st. I’ll be speaking with  Junior Girl Scout Troop #12622 about my memoir Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. For a couple of weeks I have been churning ideas over in my mind about how to creatively engage a group of  9 & 10 year olds. After all, it’s been decades since I was a Girl Scout and I want to make sure what I share is engaging, age appropriate and relatable.

I’ve been wrestling with several approaches. Finally, I decided to say “May Day, May Day” and call on two former Girl Scouts, baby boomers just like me, to help me come up with some suggestions. Their spark of an idea has given me something to really build on and I can’t wait to share “One Day in the Life of a Writer” with the youth.

I am so looking forward to connecting with the Girl Scouts and sharing my heart and soul about my passion for writing. Thank you former Girl Scouts, Sharon & Caryn, for your excellent suggestions.

I have three weeks to refine and polish up my act. From now until May 1st ,  I need to remember to:

Keep Calm and Eat Girl Scout CookiesP.S. I hope they are still selling them on Sunday mornings at the United Methodist Church of Steamboat. If not, I have an idea where I can find some – from a lady who says “she has been hording them in her freezer. She said she likes to bring them out on July 4th.”

This blog is brought to you by award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard. Her books include Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul.

Grow Your Own Good News Story

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I don’t like to be the bearer of bad news because I like to take a positive, pro-active approach to life. Sometimes it’s hard to constantly ignore, however, what is in plain sight and so very visible in the media.

The breakdown of the family unit has been evident through many socio-economic indicators. The whole culture of a society suffers when the family unit deteriorates. Crime increases, education is no longer valued, we look up to people who are esteemed to be the most valuable members of society yet, all too often, these are the very people whose moral compasses have gone haywire.

But, the good news is, each one of us can do something in our own lives to grow strong families who will have stories of happy relationships that reign through generations.

I’ve noticed there seems to be a dearth of “good news stories” on bookshelves in bookstores. Here are the top 5 genres of books that are the most sought after according to booksellers.

  • Romance/erotica (1.44 billion dollar industry)
  • Crime/mystery (728.2 million)
  • Religion/spirituality (720 million)
  • Science Fiction & Fantasy (590.2 million)
  • Horror (79.6 million)

Frankly, I am surprised religion and spirituality ranks up there as high as it does. Perhaps because people are looking for answers for the ills of today’s society. Better yet, I’d like to think that books of spirituality and religion sell because people have faith that a better day is coming!

Here is what you can do in your own small way to make your relationships, your family and your world stronger.

be-like-a-tree-stay-grounded

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul.

 

 

 

Honoring Black History Month

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Frederick Douglass taught that literacy is the path from slavery to freedom. There are many kinds of slavery and many kinds of freedom, but reading is still the path.  ― Carl Sagan

February is Black History Month. I recently read a book about the Underground Railroad which helped me to understand more deeply about period of history when the movement to free slaves began. The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier is a departure from the historical art fiction that I’d come to know this author by. Her hugely successful book The Girl with the Pearl Earring was my first foray into Chevalier.

As with all of Chevalier’s other books, the writing is beautifully rendered and The Last Runaway did not disappoint. My journey into this period of history through Chevalier’s publication has made me want to read even more about the Underground Railroad.  As suggested by the docent at the Harriet Tubman Educational Center and Museum, A Song Unsung will be my next push into learning more about the Underground Railroad.

My interest in black history began in earnest last fall when I visited the Harriet Tubman Educational Center last in Cambridge, Maryland. Tubman was one of the most notable figures in history who was a catalyst for change in her people and in our country’s story about slavery.

underground railroad map

Celebrate Black History Month by doing some reading on the subject.

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author, Sue Batton Leonard. See you on Monday.