Just so you know, I've been in a bah-humbug, blue funk lately. Attributing it to the short winter days of December and the fact that my publishing career seems to have hit kind of a standstill (come on, big best-seller, fancy publishing contract - where are you?) Truth-be-told, I had just written in my journal that I was having a hard time finding JOY in my writing. So imagine my surprise when I opened the envelope, and found six copies of my 2009 novel THE HORSE JAR . . . .
I had no idea my publisher was working on a translation of THE HORSE JAR, but I am thrilled to pieces. The Spanish name for this version is:
which pretty much says it all, don't you think? Here is the back cover, and I'll have to work on my Espanol to read it.
I wrote an earlier post (click here to read it) about the long road to publication for THE HORSE JAR. In fact, both of my first two novels, FINDING CHANCE and THE HORSE JAR are published with Mondo Publishing, an educational publisher. Not the biggest or the flashiest publisher, they sell directly to schools (although you can now buy each book on Amazon, right here.)
But with this new version in Spanish, I am extremely happy to think that a whole new bunch of kids (maybe some that just came to this country, and who aren't fluent in English yet) will read Annie's story and her words: "whenever things looked really bad, there was always something around the corner, sometimes surprising things, that made everything better."
So - I open The Piggybank of Dreams - and once again find - JOY.
7 comments:
Congratulations, Linda! What a wonderful early Christmas gift. This is exciting and I'm really happy for you! I hope you find the JOY in your writing again soon!
Thanks so much, Laura. I think it's easy to get sucked into the publication trap - thinking that's all that matters. I'm trying hard not to go down that rabbit hole. And I am beginning to realize that every word we write is communication. Whether it's a blog post, an email, a tweet, facebook message, or a note on a Christmas card - all of our words can have an impact, and touch people. When I think about writing in that way, I begin to find the joy again.
Oh, and did I tell you how much I love your blog? It's so inspiring and uplifting - every single time I read it! Merry Christmas to you, and thanks for spreading so much joy around :-)
Oh, that's exciting! Where may I purchase a copy of the English and Spanish versions? I teach third grade and I'm sure my kiddos would love to read your book!
Cheryl Ann - You can order directly from Mondo (although I think they sell in quantities of six) by clicking on the link above to go to their website. If you'd like individual copies, you can order directly from Amazon, and hopefully the Spanish version will be up there soon, or send me an email: linda (at) lindabenson (dot) net and let me know how many you'd like.
Linda,
What a nice surprise!
It's often hard to remember why we want to write, in the face of societal pressure to ACHIEVE when achievement is defined as Big Bucks! Fame! Fortune! Paparazzi! Your note helped me focus on what is important, and be grateful. Thanks!
What an awesome surprise!
I am sooo happy for you!!!! An early Christmas present, and a special one considering you hit one of those nasty funks that come along for so many of us now and again. I'm heading to Amazon now to buy your books--thanks for the link and this post!
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