Tag Archives: award winning author Sue Batton Leonard

Film Friday: Paper Towns

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Coming this Summer! Paper Towns

Paper TownsJohn Green’s novel Paper Towns ended up #5 on the New York Times Best Selling Books List and now this part mystery/part coming of age story will be coming to the big screen.

The story is about a young teenage boy who moves next door to a girl who he finds confusing and perplexing. When she disappears she leaves behind clues to her where-abouts. Quentin, her neighbor, and his friends are sent on chase to find her. Will  finding her end up in some kind of a life altering event?

The story is written by the author of No Fault in the Stars and the cast of the movie includes Nat Wolff (Quentin), Cara Delevingne (Margo), Halston Sage (Lacey). “Paper Towns debuted at #5 on the New York Times bestseller list and won the 2009 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery.

To read more about this movie which could be this summer’s blockbuster.

See you back here on All Things Fulfilling on Monday.  Have a great weekend.

This blog is brought to you by award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.

Strength Comes with Setbacks

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“The beautiful thing about setbacks is they introduce us to our strengths.” ~ Robin Sharma

A large population of the  American people were thrown into an unexpected financial “dither” when the economy came to a nearly screeching halt some eight years ago or so. “The crash” forced the American people to look at sustainability in different industries. Economists and “the think tank” has been studying how to creatively deal with a whole new economy and how best to survive it ever since.

The publishing industry looked long and hard at environmental issues associated with books in print. More sustainable ways of publishing, such as e-books and print-on-demand have been developed. The way music and audio books is now distributed is also more sustainable. Downloading digital files rather than shipping product has brought new ways of doing business to the industry.

Thankfully hardback and paperback books have not completely disappeared from the planet. I like reading from a paperback book as much as my neighbor. But with print-on-demand, huge warehouses full of large inventories of  books have been reduced, as have the numbers of books being discarded in landfills. Thats good news!

Living Well, Spending Less: 12 Secrets of the Good Life is a great read for those who doubt that living with less is the key to happiness. The book may help you to adjust your thinking and put balance back in your life.

balance

As the economy rebounds, it will be interesting to see whether the American citizens will return to their old ways of being or whether a true “renaissance” has taken place. Have people fully realized that in order to live a fulfilling life, we can do it with less stuff? Will we continue to put our energies into finding sustainable ways of doing business? If so, there were great gifts in the downturn of the economy.

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.

 

Art Journeys

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“Art isn’t a result; it’s a journey. The challenge of our time is to find a journey worthy of your heart and your soul.“ ~ Seth Godin

Kimball art centerNo visit to Park City, Utah is ever complete unless I look in on the exhibits at the Kimball Art Center.  Over the Moon and Under the Sea, the annual Wasatch Back Student Art Show, was hung during my most recent visit a couple of weeks ago. The KAC  is an educational art space that brings in “over $14 million in economic opportunity to their community” through their largest fundraiser every summer. Assistance from foundations, grants and individual and corporate sponsors provides support for this vital art resource located in historic Park City.

YouAreHere-exhibitionYou Are Here is the upcoming exhibit at the KAC scheduled for May 29 to August 23, 2015. I particularly enjoy theme-based art exhibits because it is interesting to see the creative solutions and persepectives that each artist brings to the subject.

It never ceases to amaze me the scope of young artistic talent in this country. The other evening I attended a pot luck dinner sponsored by the Steamboat Springs Art Council in my own community of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The walls at the “Art Depot” were decked out with local students’ artwork that could rival that of the students of the Wasatch. As I sat eating and enjoying the evening program I couldn’t help but be saddened to think how few young artists pursue art as a lifetime career, when perhaps they could be missing out on their most fulfilling path in life. Fear of being a stereotypical “starving artist” or following someone else’s wishes instead of their own desires prevents many individuals from continuing along an artistic journey throughout life.

Today on AllThingsFulfilling.com I’d like to share a sampling of work from “Over the Moon and Under the Sea.” Thanks to the KAC for allowing me to take these photographs to share with our readers on All Things Fulfilling.

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KAC8Do return tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling.com. This blog is brought to you by award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard. For information on “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected” or short stories “Lessons of Heart & Soul.”

 

Good News, Dear Margaux

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May 27, 2015

Dear Margaux,

What a pleasant surprise when I opened my mailbox last week and found that the U.S. Postal Service had delivered this notecard from you!

Girl Scout Margaux letter without last name

I am so glad you enjoyed my presentation “One Day in the Life of a Writer.” I was happy to learn that I am not the only one who wakes up in the middle of the night wanting to jump out of bed to write down ideas. It makes me feel better that you said the same thing happens to you. 

GS scribe badge I was not aware that my visit helped your troop earn your Scribe badges until I read the Girl Scout blog.

Tomorrow I am attending the  Girl Scout Fundraiser for adults at the Catamount Ranch and Club.  I am excited! I have my ticket! What a cool fundraising idea to have some of the best chefs around creating savory appetizers from sweet Girl Scout Cookies.  It will be interesting to see what the chefs will be serving up. I’d better take my camera! If your mom is coming, tell her I have saved a book for her and will bring it along incase she hasn’t yet ordered a copy.

Enjoy your outings, meetings and the friendships you have made through the Girl Scouts. I think I mentioned to your troop that I made life-long friends through scouting.

Keep on Writing! And remember the good news we shared about life “There are always flowers for those who want to see them!”

Sincerely,

Mrs. Sue Leonard (aka author Sue Batton Leonard)

Award-winning author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected 

and short stories – Lessons of Heart & Soul.

Film Friday: Freedom Writers

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“To write means more than putting pretty words on a page; the act of writing is to share part of your soul.”

Most writers would tell you the reason they write is because they have to. There is something fulfilling in it that is often difficult to explain.

Whether writing a fictional story, recording past experiences in the form of a memoir, sharing information and knowledge or creating poetry, there is something freeing and fulfilling in the process.

On this film Friday, I’d like to introduce our readers to a movie that was released back in 2007 called Freedom Writers: Our Story Our Words. The movie stars Hilary Swank as a high school teacher in California. It is about the power of journal writing to help students communicate their feelings and frustrations in their lives. The power of writing is transformative to the lives of many of these inner city students.

FreedomWriters

If you have not seen this movie, check this movie out! The Freedom Writers Foundation will also be of interest to educators.

See you back here on All Things Fulfilling on Monday! This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.

The Wild West of Publishing

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Wild West of Publishing

 

Have you signed up? In case you hadn’t heard the Wild West of Publishing is coming to Steamboat Springs, Colorado on Saturday, May 23rd from 9am to 1pm.

A whole morning of information aimed at authors needs for knowledge so they don’t get shot in the process of publishing. Thanks to sponsorship of the Steamboat ArtsCouncil www.steamboatarts.org, this educational presentation from the Colorado Independent Publishers Association is very affordable – $15 per registrant.

An overview of the May 23rd program:

Traditional vs Independent publishing – Dr. Patricia Ross, Publisher Hugo House Publisher and Patty Moosebrugger of Blue Ink Review

Editing and Design Production: Nick Zelinger, NZ Graphics and Melanie Mulhall, Dragonheart Writing and Editing

The Publishing Process – Joe and Jan McDaniel of BookCrafters, Mike Daniels, The Publishers Coach and Patricia Ross

Marketing – Sue Leonard, Kathy Mason, Mason Works Press and Mary Walewski, Buy the Book Marketing.

You may register on-line  or sign up the morning of the program or call 970-879-9008.

See you in Steamboat!

This blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, an award-winning author of the Colorado Independent Publishers Association.

 

Time with the Seniors

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“Language allows us to reach out to people…, it’s the greatest legacy you could ever leave your children or your loved ones: The history of how you felt.”
~ Simon Van Booy

On Monday, June 1st, I look forward to speaking with the Routt County Senior Citizens. Since AARP has determined that at age 50 we are “senior citizens,” we could have a wide range of ages in the group. Many would argue that age 50 is too young to be tagged as “retired.” People go on to live vibrant lives for many more decades beyond that landmark.

There can be gifts in early retirement and even forced retirement, as it provides plenty of opportunity for new beginnings and starting new life chapters. Having the gift of time and thanks to the independent publishing industry an increased number of “seniors or retirees” are taking the opportunity to share their careers, life journeys and life experiences through writing.

senior writing

On June 1st, I look forward to sharing an overview of my memoir, Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, an anthology of short stories, with the Routt County Seniors. We will also be discussing the value of memoir writing  and how to get started writing.

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This blog is brought to you by award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.

 

Brightening the Spirit with Color

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“Kodachrome, they give us those nice bright colors

They give us the greens of summers

Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day, oh yeah.”

~ Paul Simon

LU2 May 5 2015 resized and signed
We are living in a visual world and scientists have been studying the effects color has on our psyche. Indeed, there is validity to the psychological properties of color.

I have had my own long standing argument with wearing the color black. Sometimes I feel as if I want to put it on because it looks sophisticated and more formal than many other colors. So, I think “Okay, this occasion calls for my little black dress.” I put it on, and off it comes. I can’t stand what it makes me feel like. Don’t get me wrong, people   look terrific in their little black dresses. But, its just not me unless paired with some loud contrast.

Lately, I have been doing a little merchandising at a thrift store called Lift Up. It’s creatively challenging because all items are donations, display space is limited and I have to use the resources we’ve got on hand. But that is what makes it so much fun.

I’ve been taking pictures of some of the displays I have been creating. I had to laugh at myself the other day as I went through them. Notice the  arrangement of the colors on this multi-level bookcase and what i put unintentionally on the bottom shelf.  I need to raise it’s status!

LU3 May 5 2015 Signed & Resized

Sometimes, it is good to face what’s been dark places in our lives. I found that out when I wrote my memoir “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.” As it’s been said, if it wasn’t for darkness, there’d be no light. There is another book related to darkness and light of spirit that you might want to add to your reading list.

Wouldn’t you agree a spectrum of colors is illuminated more beautifully when it’s been placed up against the dark?That’s the reason why after a cold dreary winter, we appreciate colorful flowers that burst forth every spring and summer.

LU8 singed

LU3 Signed

Enjoy spring and the coming of the bright season of summer! I know I will.

This blog is brought to you by award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.

Spirit Not Withstanding

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“A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition.” ~ William Arthur Ward

What’s a girl to do when she’s a bystander because she is too young to be a Junior Girl Scout? She creates her own sense of fun, and I loved it.

Look at the joy on this little girl’s face! I’m calling her the “Dazzling Earring Girl.” She went about her way finding a  creative use for the paper roses I had made and given the Girl Scouts while she was waiting for her sister to complete her craft project.

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One never knows where life will take us and “Dazzling Earring Girl” might just have the tag line “jewelry artist” under her name in the future!

You know what I like about the Girl Scouts? Please excuse my bias because I was both a Brownie and a Junior Girl Scout. In my opinion, it is an organization that endorses postive values that parents can teach their children about keeping their values straight in life.

I hope this little girl in the picture remembers to always to seek the light! The good news is on this Thirsty Thursday her joy will dazzle other people. Glad she joined us!

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard. For information on her memoir and book of short stories. On Sunday, May 10th I’ll be honoring Mother’s Day on All Things Fulfilling.

 

Book Covers and Fonts

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Like all forms of design, visual design is about problem solving…~ Bob Baxley

So, an author friend of mine is getting ready to have her next release published. Last week, she posted images of several cover designs that she is considering. I let my opinion be known only because she asked for some feedback and I understand the value of feedback with regard to publishing.

It got me to thinking of the cover design of my 2nd publication, Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul. I decided that it was time to make a change to the cover. I love the cover image but the font of the title has been problematic in a digital format. I didn’t foresee the kinds of problems I am having with it. For the title I had chosen a font that is in script. Esthetically it looked good with the cover image but it was not a good decision on my part because it is not very readable digitally.

So there has been a slight revision to the appearance of the e-book cover of Short Stories: Lessons in Heart & Soul. Here is a before and after.

Below – Initial Font Used in Title on Cover Design

Lessons of Heart V4 Cover

Below: Revised for Better Readability of Title in Small-form Digital Formats

V5 Cover revised font 4 15 15

You’ve gotta love e-books, it’s so easy to make changes. Download a new version of a cover or revised text and you are all set. Not much more than a click of a mouse and very little expense.

Chalk up this necessary revision to lessons learned in digital publishing! Since e-books are still undergoing tweeks in development I’m not the first to encounter this problem. Here is a good article about e-books and fonts. 

See you back here tomorrow. This blog is brought to you by award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.