Kate Hart

Badass Ladies You Should Know: Johnnie Jae

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 18:28:00 +0000

Over the past three years, I've had the honor of sharing 65 profiles of amazing ladies with you, and while I'm sad to be putting the project on indefinite hiatus for health reasons, I couldn't be more pleased to be ending the series with a bang -- or, more accurately, a Brown Ball of Fury. Johnnie Jae is an Indigenerd force of nature, bringing Native people, projects, and issues to national attention. From geek and pop culture to suicide prevention and political advocacy, Johnnie is an incredibly badass lady, and I'm thrilled she's capping off the Badass Ladies You Should Know project.

Thank you for all your support!

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Kate: Describe your career(s) and/or current projects. What path(s) and passions led you there?

Johnnie As Indigenous people, we are around 2% of the entire U.S population and the hypervisibility of mascots, stereotypes and whitewashed history has rendered us invisible in our own lands. This has impacted the way that non-native society views and interacts with us and it also impacts the way we view and value ourselves.

I believe that representation matters and the more voices we have speaking up, the harder it is for our struggles, achievements and humanity to be ignored. So, all of the work that I do is centered around creating platforms that encourage and empower us to reclaim our narratives, tell our own stories and challenge the rampant misrepresentation.

I’m the founder and CEO of A Tribe Called Geek, a multimedia company dedicated to showcasing and encouraging Indigenous contributions to geek & pop culture as well as STEM fields. Being a lifelong Indigenerd, I felt that it was important to create a platform that would allow us to celebrate our existence and contributions within these spaces, while also allowing us to create a community…..the league of Indigenerds, if you will.

This is really where my focus has been over the last few years because as with any other facet of society, we are severely underrepresented and misrepresented as Indigenous people within Geek culture and STEM. But the most important part of my work through A Tribe Called Geek is #Indigenerds4Hope, which is our suicide awareness & prevention initiative. Through #Indigenerds4Hope, I host workshops for our native youth that address suicide and mental illness in age appropriate manners, but the ultimate goal is to create a STEM camp to help further engage and encourage their involvement in STEM.

Kate: Do you have any (other) creative outlets? How do they influence/affect your main work (if at all)?

Johnnie I have quite a few creative outlets. I love to doodle and color because it helps me to manage my stress and anxiety. I love doing graphic & web design, photography, sock puppeting, and I love to sing….badly and as loud as possible. I also have a bad habit of doing some pretty ridonkulous and random videos on both instagram and youtube. I wouldn’t say my creative outlets influence my work, but being able to do photography, graphic & web design saves money because we can do everything in-house.

Kate: What's your biggest challenge?

Johnnie My health and inability to accept that there are limits to what I can do. I was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus when I was 9 years old. Every single day, I fight against pain, sickness and the way I feel about myself when my face is rashy and poofy. I fight against every limit, even when it hurts and even when I know it will just makes things worse. I spend every day fighting just to have some semblance of a normal life and it’s absolutely exhausting. I’m like a human mogwai with all the rules that need to be followed for my care, even more so when you take into account that I’m photosensitive.

Kate: Tell us about a time that you bounced back from failure.

Johnnie I am always bouncing back from failure thanks to youtube beauty tutorials. But seriously, failure is inevitable and a matter of perspective. While I am not always proud of my failures, I am grateful for them because they give me the opportunity to grow, to do and be better.

Kate: Tell us something that makes you proud.

Johnnie Nothing makes me prouder than seeing our Native people rise! To see us achieving and thriving despite all the struggles and obstacles that we face, to see us creating opportunity and miracles from little to nothing. The love, laughter and survival of our communities is what makes me so incredibly proud and hopeful.

Lightning round: Tell us what you’re… (just answer the ones you like)

reading: In the Light of Justice: The Rise of Human Rights in Native America and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
listening to: Paramore “Hard Times”
wearing: no pants cuz this is how I do 99.8% of all my interviews
wishing for: the day when our native nations are no longer living in survival mode and fighting tooth and nail to keep our languages, traditions, water, lands and people from being destroyed.
wanting: a new computer and lifetime supply of BLK water.
loving: the growing resistance against hate and oppression.

Kate: Who are some other badass ladies we need to know & why?

Johnnie Well, I definitely think Jack Malstrom aka Jack the Pima is definitely a badass woman that people need to know. Aside from being my co-host for the ATCG podcast, she’s a two-spirit advocate who does amazing work regarding the Indian Child Welfare Act. You can find her on twitter at @jackthepima.

There’s also Maggie Hundley, who is the chicken soup to my soul. She’s one of our co-founding board members for Not Your Mascots and host for the commUNITY Talks podcast. She has one of the most compassionate voices when it comes to understanding and discussing black/native identities as well as the importance of solidarity and community building.

Patricia Gordon and her granddaughter Prairie Gordon, who run the Indian Youth of America Summer Camps. This is a camp that for 41 years now has been providing such a wonderful service to our native youth. indianyouthofamerica.org

Kate: What are the best ways to support other women?

Johnnie Uplift, empower, and invest in each other. We need to support and encourage each other because as women we often prioritize the needs and well-being of our loved ones and our communities over our own. So, we need to look out for each, check in and make sure that we are taking care of ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually. We need to help each other heal and empower each other to reclaim our power. We need to be invested in each other’s growth and success because as we often say in our native communities, when one rises, we all rise.

Kate: What is your advice to aspiring badasses?

Johnnie You have to live with a purpose beyond just surviving the day in front of you. You must always consider the extraordinary measures that you are willing to take or withhold in order to be well, to be happy; to not just survive, but thrive. We are our ancestors’ wildest dream, we owe it to them, to our future generations and to ourselves to live extraordinary, purpose driven lives.

Known as the Brown Ball of Fury, Johnnie Jae is a profoundly driven and unstoppable Indigenerd from the Otoe-Missouria and Choctaw tribes of Oklahoma. She is a writer, speaker, technologist, advocate, community builder and entrepreneur that loves empowering others to follow their passions and create for healing and positive change in the world.

Currently, she is the founder and CEO of A Tribe Called Geek, an emerging multimedia company that is dedicated to showcasing and encouraging Indigenous contributions to geek & pop culture as well as STEM fields. Jae, also, co-hosts the ATCG name sake podcast with Jackie Malstrom aka Jack the Pima, where they often discuss native representation or the lack thereof in mainstream geekery with fellow Indigenerds from across Turtle Island.

Jae has also contributed her skills Native Max Magazine, Native News Online, Complex, Good Men Project and the Success Native Style Radio Network.

In addition to her entrepreneurial pursuits, Jae is an advocate for many Indigenous and human rights issues, mainly focusing on youth empowerment, suicide prevention, gender & racial equity, violence towards Indigenous people, human trafficking, police brutality, reconciliation & solidarity, and Indigenous representation in the media.

She is a Founding Board Member of Not Your Mascots and LiveIndigenousOK. She is also a member of the Women Warriors Work Collective and served as co-chair for the March for Racial Justice.

Her ability to seamlessly shift from humor and pop culture to advocacy and business has made her a much-sought after speaker, panelist, and commentator. She has taught numerous workshops that address suicide awareness & prevention, mascots & stereotypes, digital activism, Indigenous journalism & media, and the utilization of social & digital media for business and activism. Her work has been discussed in many media outlets, such as Indian Country Today, ATPN, CBC, USA Today, Women’s E-News, Takepart.com and Upworthy. She has been a guest on several radio shows and podcasts, including Native America Calling, Native Trailblazers, Black Girl Nerds, BBC World Have Your Say and ICI Radio.

Facebook: /johnniejae & /tribecalledgeek
Twitter: @johnniejae & @tribecalledgeek
Instagram: @johnniejae & @atribecalledgeek
www.johnniejae.com
www.atribecalledgeek.com

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Want more Badass Ladies?
Check out more profiles, or follow and boost from any of these accounts:

BOOk Pumpkins 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Mon, 30 Oct 2017 22:37:00 +0000

~ It's that time of year again ~

Pick a pattern and carve your favorite cover into a kidlit jack o'lantern!

Don't see your favorite book?

Check the index or just browse year by year:

2011 // 2012 // 2013 // 2014 // 2015 // 2016

If you need further instructions, scroll to the end of this post -- and please tag me with a picture of the finished project. Happy carving!

Creepy Contemporary

All That Was by Karen Rivers; The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan

When I Am Through With You by Stephanie Kuehn; Valley Girls by Sarah Nicole Lemon

After the Shot Drops by Randy Ribay; The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Dress Codes For Small Towns by Courtney Stevens; Far From The Tree by Robin Benway

Frightening Fantasy

Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore; The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

Flame In The Mist by Renee Ahdieh

Wild Wild West

Gunslinger Girl by Lyndsay Ely; All The Wind In The World by Samantha Mabry

Horrifying Historical

Alex & Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz

Scary Suspense

Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda; Murder Trending by Gretchen McNeil

Murderous Middle Grade

The Serpent's Secret by Sayantani DasGupta; Rules For Stealing Stars by Corey Ann Haydu

Fish In A Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt; Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

My family's 2017 pumpkins:

left: The Raven King by Thomas (age 11)
middle: All That Was, Fish In A Tree, and Gunslinger Girl by me
right: Crenshaw by William (age 9)

How to use these patterns:

1. Click the image to expand, then right click and save to your computer. (You can also download from Google Docs here.)

2. Print at whatever size fits your pumpkin, then pin the pattern to it.

3. Use a toothpick or pushpin to poke holes around the edges of the design (more holes = easier to see the lines).

4. Remove the pattern and rub flour or powder over the holes to make them show up better.

5. Cut out the black sections. Gray sections should be scraped to half-thickness -- don't cut all the way through!

6. Take a picture and tweet it at me or tag me on Instagram!

Badass Ladies You Should Know: Rebecca Barrow

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 13:00:00 +0000

Rebecca Barrow's upcoming YA debut, You Don't Know Me But I Know You, releases next week. The fact that it takes on abortion and adoption is enough to qualify Rebecca as a badass, but if you follow her anywhere online, you know that's just the tip of the badass iceberg. Read on to learn how she became a writer, her take on feminism, who she names as fellow badass ladies -- and don't forget to enter her giveaway at the end, open internationally!

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Kate: Describe your career(s) and/or current projects. What path(s) and passions led you there?

Rebecca: I’m a YA author and my first book is coming out VERY SOON! It wasn’t really a complicated path to get here: I’ve always written stories (terrible ones) and when I was sixteen I decided that my former career dreams of fashion buyer/screenwriter/nurse were out and author was in. I actually decided not to go to university, even though I already had a place and everything, because I just really wanted to write and didn’t want to get into debt taking lectures I wasn’t interested in that would be no guarantee of me getting published. It was a big risk and I don’t necessarily recommend it for everyone! But it’s starting to pay off. Sometimes I think the only thing that got me from that sixteen-year-old to published author was sheer stubbornness. (I am every inch the Scorpio.) I had decided to do this and therefore I had to make it work. Obviously I got the other two parts of the equation, luck and timing, but even now when I’m being hard on myself and thinking you’ll never be successful, this other part of me is like Oh yeah? Fucking watch me.

Kate: Do you have any (other) creative outlets? How do they influence/affect your main work (if at all)?

Rebecca: I play the piano; I started like so many people, when I was six or so, and did all my grades, briefly considered getting a diploma in music, and then quickly realized it was not for me. I still play but not as often, and only for myself. I’m not good at composing, so I only play pieces written by other people, and I actually find that a relief. Writing is so much creating things from nothing, but playing music is just a matter of taking what’s already there and making it come alive. I also go through phases of needle-based crafts—last was knitting, now it’s cross stitch. Again, I just follow patterns—it’s this feeling of satisfaction knowing that all I have to do is follow the instructions and I’ll end up with a pretty thing. Sadly there are no instructions for writing books and what I end up with is rarely pretty, at least not before I take six months to a year to make it that way. So it’s nice to have other outlets where the creation is beyond my control.

Kate: What's your biggest challenge?

Rebecca: Worrying about what other people think of me. Constantly. And what they think of my work, and should I change this or that to appease their imaginary opinions of me, and will that make them like me/my work or take me more seriously…am I cool author, do readers like me, should I be more like X or Y to be successful? It’s EXHAUSTING.

Kate: Tell us something that makes you proud.

Rebecca: I’m proud that I’ve gotten this far in my writing career. It’s hard sometimes to remember how impossible this all seemed—I think that’s a trap many creative people fall into. Failing to stop and appreciate how far you’ve come, and instead focusing on how far you have to go until the next goal. A few years ago all I wanted was to get a literary agent. A few years before that, it was to write a book-length thing. Now I have written more manuscripts that I’d like to remember, gotten an agent, sold a book that’s very important to me, and that book is coming out into the world. Ten-years-ago me would be astounded, and I think present-me should remember that.

Also I do love when people say my book made them cry. Sorry not sorry for playing with your emotions!

Kate: Did you have any defining moments that galvanized your understanding of and/or commitment to feminism? How does it inform/inspire your work?

Rebecca: I don’t think I’ve had any BAM moments—it’s been more a slow opening of my eyes. I think I’ve always considered myself a feminist, and I was definitely raised to think of myself as a feminist, but as I get older and read and learn more, my definition and understanding of that word expands. I think all of my work is feminist, even in ways I don’t explicitly intend. I write about teenage girls, mostly mixed race/black, dealing with reproductive health issues, mental health, relationships, sexuality—even if I wasn’t doing it intentionally, these things are viewed through such a lens of Politics anyway. But I am doing it purposefully and with intention, and I hope that always comes through.

Lightning round: Tell us what you’re…

reading: Beautiful: The Life of Hedy Lamarr
watching: Pretty Little Liars, always
listening to: Christina Aguilera’s third album Back to Basics. Where is the next album???
eating: Skittles
doing: thinking about the next book
wearing: Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner in Blackest Black
wishing for: Miu Miu jeweled acetate sunglasses in blue
wanting: stability, sunshine
loving: my pets

Kate: Who are some other badass ladies we need to know & why?

Rebecca:

Nicolette Mason—fashion writer and blogger talking about body positivity, fat fashion, queer issues. site | twitter
Ruby Tandoh—food writer talking about body positivity, the politics of food and the diet industry, mental health, queer issues. twitter | her books
Alice Fanchiang—poet, ray of sunshine, Hamilton superfan, geek fashion queen. IG | her poem Skin

Kate: What are the best ways to support other women?

Rebecca: Listening and amplifying other voices. Support their work—buy their books, music, creations; share their stories, in their own words. Ask what is needed of you and then do it.

Kate: What is your advice to aspiring badasses?

Rebecca: Find people who get you and understand what you want to do. You won’t feel so alone.

GIVEAWAY

A finished copy of You Don't Know Me But I Know You + a print of its characters

open internationally!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rebecca Barrow writes stories about girls and all the wonders they can be. A lipstick obsessive with the ability to quote the entirety of Mean Girls, she lives in England, where it rains a considerable amount more than in the fictional worlds of her characters. She collects tattoos, cats, and more books than she could ever possibly read. YOU DON'T KNOW ME BUT I KNOW YOU is her first novel.

www.rebecca-barrow.com // twitter // instagram
goodreads // amazon // bn

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Want more Badass Ladies?
Check out more profiles, or follow and boost from any of these accounts:

Available ARCs ~ August 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 22:36:00 +0000

Man, what a damn mess we have in the US right now. My social media feeds are 85% horror at the news, 5% memes, and 10% fellow authors wondering how the hell they're supposed to promote their books and make a living in this climate.

For the record, I think we've reached the point where it's 100% okay to tweet promo and politics at the same time (if you didn't, you'd be waiting until 2045 to get a word in edgewise, and that's an optimistic prediction). However, I'm also keenly aware that it's awkward to promote yourself even in the best of circumstances -- and I know book bloggers and readers are having a hard time finding new titles through all the news.

So! Here is one small assist. I cruised through NetGalley and Edelweiss and made a list of ARCs available for request, organized by genre. This list does not even attempt to be exhaustive (and please don't hate me if I missed your book. There are a lot.) I have not read any of these, so my selection criteria includes but is not limited to:

POC/NDN/LGBTQ/disability/other marginalized rep (success of which may be up for debate)
author is notable, notorious, and/or an award-winner
description sounds unique and/or interesting
cover looked cool
because I felt like it.

If you are wondering "what the hell are NetGalley and Edelweiss," no worries: The Book Bratz, Lili's Reflections, and Stacked have the help you need. And if you find this list helpful, please let me know -- I'd be happy to do similar posts in the future if they're useful (maybe monthly, so the post isn't quite so long?).

Sharing is always appreciated!

anthologies

Behind the Song edited by K. M. Walton; Buzz Books 2017 Fall/Winter; Feral Youth edited by Shaun Hutchinson (NG, EW); Meet Cute by various authors; Three Sides of a Heart edited by Natalie Parker

contemporary

assault/abuse

Being Fishkill by Ruth Lehrer; The Closest I've Come by Fred Aceves; The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed (NG, EW)

dating and sex

Kaleidoscope Song by Fox Benwell (NG, EW); Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann; This Is Not a Love Letter by Kim Purcell; You Don't Know Me But I Know You by Rebecca Barrow

family

American Panda by Gloria Chao; Calling My Name by Liara Tamani; Far From the Tree by Robin Benwell; Frankie by Shivaun Plozza

Here We Are Now by Jasmine Warga; Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (NG US, NG Canada, EW); Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed (NG, EW); Right Where You Left Me by Calla Devlin (NG, EW); You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon

friendships

Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills; Neighborhood Girls by Jessie Ann Foley

mental health

Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp; Madness by Zac Brewer; Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman (NG, EW)

mystery/thriller/action/adventure

A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo; The Becoming of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin (NG, EW); Echo After Echo by Amy Rose Capetta; On the Free by Coert Voorhees; This Darkness Mine by Mindy McGinnis

romance

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren (NG, EW); Jaya and Rasa: A Love Story by Sonia Patel; Prince In Disguise by Stephanie Kate Strohm

fantasy

Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor; An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson; Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi; Before She Ignites by Jodi Meadows; Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao; One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake

graphic novel

I Am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina, Stacey Robinson, and John Jennings

("The Hate You Give + The Lovely Bones" -- whoa)

historical

Among the Red Stars by Gwen C. Katz; The Girl With the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke; The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe; No Saints in Kansas by Amy Brashear

horror

The Devils You Know by M. C. Atwood; Uncanny by David Macinnis Gill

magical realism

All The Wind In The World by Samantha Mabry (NG, EW); The Memory Trees by Kali Wallace; The November Girl by Lydia Kang

nonfiction

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater; Not Your Princess by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale

sci fi

All Rights Reserved by Gregory Scott Katsoulis; Landscape With Invisible Hand by M. T. Anderson; Last Star Burning by Caitlin Sangster (NG, EW); Thirteen Rising by Romina Russell; Tool of War by Paolo Bacigalupi; Zero Repeat Forever by G. S. Prendergast (NG UK, NG Canada, NG US, EW)

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Want your e-ARC in a future roundup? Email katehartbooks at gmail dot com with a link + "ARC roundup" in the subject line.

Find this series useful? Ways to provide support: patreon // my book // etsy // share with a friend

The Return of Field Trip Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 18:34:00 +0000

Once upon a time, on an internet that feels far, far away, I wrote a weekly roundup of "writing, publishing, and otherwise amusing" links over at the now-defunct YA Highway. Well, it turns out that old habits die hard. Despite a two and half year hiatus, I still auto-follow industry news sources, I still bookmark good links out of habit... and I sort of miss the writing community connection and *mumble mumble* something admitting that I have feelings *mumble*.

So! I've decided to take on Field Trip Friday 2.0. The new version will be a monthly collection here on my own blog, full of links useful to both aspiring writers and publishing pros: writing tips, industry news, creativity boosters, marketing info, and whatever else seems relevant.

Please see the end of the post for details on submitting links to be featured, as well as ways you can support the project. And now, without further ado... 2Field Trip 2Friday. Twice the Trip. Half the Fridays. Hope you enjoy. <3

writing

process

- Drafting: Four Methods for Highly Anxious Individuals from Wrex-Writes, a blog "especially for folks who find writing difficult—who feel alone, who struggle with anxiety or depression or chronic illness, who want desperately to write but can't write—you know who you are."

- Author Jami Gold has an extensive collection of Worksheets for Writers.

- Literary agent Dongwon Song offers advice for getting maximum impact in your writing.

- A really interesting compilation of writers sharing their career regrets at The Booklist Reader (June 2016)

- The Kidliterati look at three ways to beat self-sabotage.

- Lindsay Smith shares 7 ways she stays on track as an author with ADHD.

- Get help with the dreaded synopsis from author Daniel José Older.

characters and settings:

- ‘Game of Thrones’ Teaches U.C. Berkeley Students Art of Language Creation at KQED

- Potentially helpful for character research: the Inside Jobs project at The Atlantic, talking to American workers about their varied jobs

inspiration:

- 32 Easy Exercises to Boost Your Creativity Everyday at Inc.com

- The BN Teen blog's Open Mic feature is always worth a read.

- Delilah Dawson shares how -- and why -- to make book playlists (May 2016). Need more music? NPR lists the 150 greatest albums made by women.

- Sarah Anderson knows what's up.

pic.twitter.com/5ENhZf3ioa
— Sarah Andersen (@SarahCAndersen) July 26, 2017

representation:

- "To write or speak is not a luxury. America does not have a story without us, yet we are often denied a place in the larger narrative. Without our voices, there is no real America possible." Author and poet Joy Harjo on memoir, memory, and erasure.

- McSweeney's hosted a great primer on cultural appropriation written by Rajeev Balasubramanyam.

- "How Can Historical Fiction Be Feminist?" asks Greer MacAllister at The Millions.

- "Viewing yourself as others have misconstrued you either silences you or enrages you. Both these outcomes are detrimental — at the individual as well as societal level." Author S. K. Ali discusses moving forward in the diversity conversation at SLJ.

reading

bookish news:

- Met Museum To Celebrate 50th Anniversary Of 'From The Mixed Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler' at Gothamist

- Book Birds has a guide to bookish subscription boxes, comparing ten of the most popular.

- Among all their other challenges, librarians are also on the front lines of dealing with opioid addiction.

- Zara Rix looks at ways YA is reflecting the Black Lives Matter movement.

- The NYT takes an in-depth look at how to raise a reader. (I disagree with their take on when to introduce Harry Potter.)

- Finally, the sorting quiz we've always wanted: Which Baby-Sitters Club member are you? (It insists I am Kristy but I know that I am Janine because the mystery of whether "baby-sitters" needs an apostrophe continues to haunt me.)

what to read:

- Looking for something light? Kirkus picks 11 fresh takes on YA romance, and SLJ has funny YA favorites.

- YA Wednesdays has your July YA releases, and YA Interrobang provides a new release list each week. (The latter is also compiling lists of books featuring neurodiversity.)

- Dahlia Adler offers 25 of the most anticipated LGBTQIAP YA novels still to come in 2017.

- Kelly Jensen at Stacked rounds up the YA horror reads of 2017, and gathered the year's favorite reads for the Book Riot newsletter.

- If you're already done with this year, PW has the Spring 2018 Children’s Sneak Previews, Book Birds is compiling a list of all the 2018 YA releases, and you can get to know 2018 kidlit debuts in their monthly #18DebutChat on Twitter, every 18th at 8pm eastern.

- If you need new book blogs to follow, there are lots of suggestions in this thread started by @ReadByNicka.

- Getting burned by bad books? YA Books Central now offers the Try It First newsletter, which lets you read the first five chapters before you buy.

on the screen:

- Lana Condor will star in the film adaptation of Jenny Han's beloved To All The Boys I've Loved Before. Some fans were critical of having a Vietnamese-American actress play a Korean-American character, while authors Ellen Oh, Maurene Goo, and others weighed in with their own takes.

- If you missed the debut of Sara Zarr's Story of a Girl, don't worry -- you can still watch it on the Lifetime website!

- "I Don't Want To Watch Slavery Fanfiction," says Roxane Gay in response to HBO's new show "Confederate."

- Nnedi Okorafor's Who Fears Death has been optioned by HBO with George R. R. Martin as executive producer.

- A! Wrinkle! In! Time! trailer!

The teaser trailer for Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time is here. Watch it now and see the film in theatres March 9, 2018. #WrinkleInTime pic.twitter.com/N3JELMnhdV
— A Wrinkle In Time (@WrinkleInTime) July 15, 2017

cover reveals:
(not comprehensive - these are just a few that caught my eye. click image for more info.)

publishing

for authors:

- Agent Kathleen Rushall offers a pep talk for authors on the roller coaster of publishing.

- Think Before You Thank: Writers & Acknowledgments by author Kate Messner (Sept 2012)

- An Abridged Glossary of Pub Speak from author Dahlia Adler (April 2013)

- Everything You Wanted to Know about Book Sales (But Were Afraid to Ask): An in-depth look at what/how/why books sell from Electric Lit (June 2016)

- Because I've mentioned the #SchmagentRedFlags hashtag to several aspiring writers recently: Sarah LaPolla's "Agents, Schmagents, and Pink Flags" (Sep 2015)

- When should you switch to a pen name? Sophie Littlefield, aka Sofia Grant, has some answers over at Publishing Crawl, while The Guardian looks at a recent trend of male authors using female pseudonyms.

- Sarah Nicolas at YAtopia lists 15 things to never include in your query.

marketing and promo:

- Morgan Jerkins asks, "Is Trump ruining book sales?"

- Sherman Alexie’s heartbreaking reason for pausing his book tour at KUOW

- For Us, By Us: How Publicist Kima Jones Is Helping Black Women Writers Get A Seat At The Literary Table at Essence

- Corey Ann Haydu shares her experience with a 6th grade school visit and sexual harassment.

- One of the last things I wrote for YA Highway was an author's guide to cover reveals -- what are they, how to get one, and etc. (July 2016)

pub pros:

- Michiko Kakutani, legendary book critic and "the most feared woman in publishing," has resigned from the NYT.

- HarperCollins Children announces a new YA partnership with WattPad.

- What Does A Book Editor Do? Macmillan's Rhoda Belleza shares her insights at Bustle.

- To Recent Grads Seeking a Job in Publishing: Patrice Caldwell of Disney Book Group gives advice on finding that first publishing job (June 2016).

- Agent Jennifer Laughran explains what other publishing jobs exist besides authors and editors (Oct 2015).

- Publishing Trends does periodic roundups of publishing personnel changes and events.

industry news:

- "Despite no big hit in the first half of 2017, sales of print units are 3% higher than in the first half of last year." The Rise in Print Continues according to PW.

- S&S Restructures Children's Publicity and Marketing

- I feel like I've linked similar articles in years past, but PW reports that an investor is urging Barnes & Nobel to find itself a buyer. (Maybe this June plan to add alcohol and expanded food offerings will help?)

events:

- The Asian-American Literature Festival is happening in DC July 27-29.

- September 2nd's National Book Festival is seeking volunteers.

- IndigeNerd!, a Native American arts festival and comic con, is happening July 30 in Norman, OK.

- No fun festivals in your area? Rose Brock of the North Texas Teen Book Fair has advice for starting your own book event.

other stuff

- Between politics, celebrity deaths, and you know, the world in general, I thought most of us could use this "Everything Is Awful and I’m Not Okay: Questions to ask before giving up" checklist.

- How America Is Failing Native American Students at The Nation

- Did you know there are tiny elf-sized doors all over the US Capitol?

- Here is something that should not have made me laugh as hard as it did.

I'm no geologist but this is quite an interesting Rock formation. pic.twitter.com/oPrh6j1y2x
— Daniel (@DannyDutch) July 25, 2017

- And finally, few things surpass the sheer joy of Lupita Nyong'o in disguise at Comic Con.

Did you see me at Comic Con?! #SDCC2017 pic.twitter.com/9Vnx4ss96d
— Lupita Nyong'o (@Lupita_Nyongo) July 26, 2017

If you'd like to submit your own posts, events, cover reveals, or other news, please send them to katehartbooks at gmail dot com with "Field Trip Friday" in the subject line. And if you find this series useful, you can support via Patreon, my book, Etsy -- or just sharing with a friend (easy links will be up on Twitter and Facebook).

have a good weekend!

Badass Ladies You Should Know: Sarah Nicole Lemon

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Tue, 18 Jul 2017 15:00:00 +0000

One of my most frequent statements of 2017 has been "I love Lemon," and only rarely do I mean the citrus fruit. I met Sarah Lemon in our author debut group, and her social media feeds immediately convinced me we should be friends (you'll be shocked to hear I was right). Her debut novel, Done Dirt Cheap, was released in March to rave reviews, but Lemon is also an outspoken advocate for social justice, a rock climber, a mom of three, and a biker babe. Read on to learn more about her publishing journey -- and scroll down to win a signed copy of her book!

Kate: Describe your career(s) and/or current projects. What path(s) and passions led you there?

Lemon: I am an author, with one book freshly into the world (DONE DIRT CHEAP) and another set to come out in 2018 (VALLEY GIRLS). I never intended to become a writer, because that felt like a magical thing girls like me did not get to be. I grew up poor and anything with art didn’t make money, so it simply wasn’t a possibility. But I was always a voracious reader—reading gave me access to the world I couldn’t have. When my life gathered some stability, I began looking more towards to writing as something I could actually do, even if it made me no money. I am aware how privileged I am to be doing something I love so much.

Kate: Do you have any (other) creative outlets? How do they influence/affect your main work (if at all)?

Lemon: Not unless you count things in the outdoors? With writing being so cerebral, I appreciate the chance to do something with my hands and feet, and seeing more than just the computer screen. I rock climb, hike, and ride my motorcycle when I can. Honestly though, as a mom to three small children (one special needs), a police wife, and trying to start a writing career, time for anything extra is not readily available. When I was younger, I enjoyed photography, watercolor, and music. I know I’ll find those things again when I have more space. For now, I just enjoy Instagram and getting lost in YouTube wormholes.

Kate: What's your biggest challenge?

Lemon: I’m going to be real here, and say by far the greatest challenge I’ve encountered has been trying to jump social class. Whenever I open up about it, people are quick to compliment me that they can’t even tell—and it’s hard not to cry “but you can’t see how hard I’m working to have you say that.” It’s sucked up the most amount of thought, time and effort in my publishing path. I’ll be honest, I’ve shed tears over it. When I first began in publishing, the nicest restaurant I’d ever been in was basically an Olive Garden. I had never needed to tip service, because I was never in that space. I had only been on a plane once, for my honeymoon when I was 19. Now, I’m a lot more comfortable in those spaces, and every time I get on a plane, or hand over my bags, or go to a nice restaurant, I marvel at where my life has taken me. Even though it means I no longer fully belong anywhere, I’ve made my peace with it and feel lucky to have had such a broad range of experiences.

Kate: Tell us about a time that you bounced back from failure.

Lemon: I’m convinced failure is the most important part of success. I’m a climber, and a terrible one, but I always hear in my head “if you aren’t failing [falling], you aren’t trying [climbing] hard enough.” DONE DIRT CHEAP is my first published book, but it’s the third book I wrote with my agent. The first was universally loved and rejected (too quiet). The second, my agent lovingly put in the trash (bless her). Those two failures made DDC possible. It made me raw and desperate, and also willing to put all my vulnerabilities on the line and really go for it. I tried to write a book only I could write. The other thing about failure is that its most terrifying before it happens. When it happens, I’ve found it’s much easier to deal with than I expected.

Kate: What's the best compliment you've ever gotten?

Lemon: A friend just told me I’m the walking subversion of a trope, and it’s one of the nicest things anyone’s ever said. I understand that my background, my stories, and the way I look creates an immediate distrust (deserved) to people in publishing, but especially PoC. It can be really awkward, in that space to, say, know how to skin a deer. But, I try to take ownership of my history, my people’s history, to show you can change, you can learn, you can have different experiences and still have empathy and understanding. I do appreciate my learning experiences about race and class were all done in the real world (as opposed to online). I lived in West Baltimore at the same time as I worked at Georgetown Law, and God bless the black women who guided redneck, floundering me through those spaces.

Kate: Did you have any defining moments that galvanized your understanding of and/or commitment to feminism? How does it inform/inspire your work?

Lemon: I was raised to believe the worst thing I could become was a feminist. If you wanted to completely take away a woman’s credibility in my community, you called her a feminist. For me, the point in my life where I really came into my own as a feminist was during my first pregnancy. I was 22, and despite being married, college educated, and in a steady white collar job, being pregnant made me lose the “exceptional woman” status I’d enjoyed. It also forced me to confront how I relied on white supremacy to reaffirm that belief.

I was living in West Baltimore at the time, and everywhere I went in the medical community in Baltimore, people treated me based on my face, my youth, and my address (the presumption was I was white trash, uneducated, and pregnant with a black, drug dealer’s baby). I was told to abort my child. I was told I shouldn’t be bringing kids into the world. Even after his birth, I was continually talked down to, given misinformation and treated as if I wasn’t capable of taking care of my child. It’s hard to spend all your energy trying to prove to people you deserve to exist, that you deserve to be treated with respect, that you deserve to bring a family into the world.

I understood immediately that the treatment I was receiving, however shitty, was still better than the treatment my (black) neighbors received. I understood that if I went missing in West Baltimore, people were going to care a little more than they cared about a missing, pregnant, black woman from West Baltimore. That directly affected my feminism, because suddenly feminism became something incredibly important—it became something I understood from a systematic perspective. The system does not find much value in the existence of women, but specifically poor or black, and especially poor, black women (and good lord, let’s not forget poor, black trans women!). We, as white women, or “exceptional women,” or black women with privilege, are complicit in that violence unless we actively dismantle that in our lives. Even now, I approach feminism from the systematic perspective. I focus on dismantling the systems that support and reaffirm our prejudices and beliefs. I strive to do that in my writing, in my lane. I also force everyone back home to deal with me as a feminist. I don’t shy away from the label.

Kate: What are the best ways to support other women?

Lemon: I think the best way to support other women is by looking at the women in your community and finding your role in supporting, elevating and caring for women the most at risk. For me, as an author, it means promoting women of color online, reading their books and talking about their books. It means listening to them when they talk about harm perpetuated in literature. It means I do not tell stories that aren’t mine to tell. For my best friend, who was a student midwife and is now in school to be a nurse midwife, it means something totally different (namely, helping at risk women get access to positive maternal care). I think we all have opportunities in our lives to change the system if we are looking with intentionality.

Lightning round: Tell us what you’re…

reading: nothing…whomp whomp…I’m on a deadline. But I’m super excited about Roshani Chokshi’s new book A CROWN OF WISHES, and that will be the first book I read post deadline.
watching: Dave Chappelle’s comedy special on Netflix.
listening to: Tool, it’s my editing music. There’s something in the rhythm that just fits my writing brain.
eating: salad, fried chicken, and Halo Top ice cream.
doing: finishing my 2018 book, VALLEY GIRLS
wearing: Adidas pants and a Metallica t-shirt.
wishing for: everything Gucci right now, which is not at all in my price realm, but a girl can dream.
wanting: to show up at all author events looking like 70’s Jerry Hall (this is an unattainable dream, but I persist in it).
loving: THUG on the NYT list for the third week in a row! [author's note: this answer shows how unacceptably long its taken me to share this interview -- apologies, Lemon!]

Kate: Who are some other badass ladies we need to know & why?

Lemon: Right now, I’m learning a lot about black women of rock and roll and also Asian women climbers. Those are two widely disparate things, I know, but women like Big Mama Thornton (an out and proud black woman in the 50’s who wrote "Ball ‘n Chain" and recorded "Hound Dog" before Elvis), and also girls like Malavath Poorna (who climbed Everest at 13yo) are incredible and interesting, and I want to read these books! (I am not writing them).

Kate: What is your advice to aspiring badasses?

Lemon: Have a spirit of teachability. (Is that a word?) I’m a Slytherin, so obviously, I think being teachable is important because it allows you to learn how to be successful, even if nature or nurture hasn’t naturally inclined that way.

GIVEAWAY

Win a signed copy of Done Dirt Cheap! Open to US and Canada.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sarah Nicole Lemon spent the first fifteen years of her life doing nothing but reading and playing outside, and has yet to outgrow either. When not writing, you can find her drinking iced coffee in a half-submerged beach chair near her home in southern Maryland.

Find Lemon:
website // twitter // instagram

get Done Dirt Cheap // add Valley Girls to your TBR

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Check out more profiles, or follow and boost from any of these accounts:

Badass Ladies You Should Know: Sajidah K. Ali

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Wed, 07 Jun 2017 18:49:00 +0000

Getting published can be a long slog. I was lucky to have friends beside me every step of the way, including today's Badass Lady, Sajidah Ali. She has an uncanny way of knowing exactly when someone needs a check in, a supportive message, or just a random silly tweet, and I couldn't be more thrilled to see all the buzz for her upcoming debut, Saints and Misfits, which comes out next week! (Be sure to enter her swag giveaway below!)

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Kate: Describe your career(s) and/or current projects. What path(s) and passions led you there?

Sajidah: I’m the author of Saints and Misfits, a contemporary YA novel about a Muslim-American teen. Each part of that sentence, author, YA novel, Muslim-American teen, feels good to say. I’ve wanted to be an author since I was a child and actually got a degree in Creative Writing in my early 20’s to fulfill this desire. However, I didn’t settle into the dream right away because I chose to focus on family (I became a mom early, while finishing university) and on a career in education. In 2006, a friend brought up life-lists – she pulled out a tattered piece of paper that held hers from university days – and a group of us decided we were going to write our own. The list would be the dreams we envisioned, when we were young, for our lives; the things we still envisioned for our lives. (I’m a strong believer in the idea that it’s never too late to do something kind, fulfilling, hopeful, life/world-changing.)

So there it was on my life-list: become an author. I began blogging my intent and progress and threw myself into learning all I could about writing a book. It was an education – like getting another degree in Creative Writing. Besides working on the art and craft of writing, there’s a lot to learn about the publishing process and the industry itself.

So began the journey back to my dream. It helped that the life-list crew met a few times a year to review our progress in fulfilling our visions.

Kate: Do you have any (other) creative outlets? How do they influence/affect your main work (if at all)?

Sajidah: I love art of all kinds. I can spend all day looking at art, reading about it, and, most of all, making it. Here’s a small sampling of my stuff: https://skalibooks.com/art-art/ Maybe it’s due to this love of art that I storyboard for plot and even sketch characters when I’m stuck. When I say sketch, I mean stream-of-consciousness sketching, where the character blooms on paper, with me unsure of what pencil stroke is coming next. (Um, lol, maybe this actually called doodling?)

Visuals also inspire me when writing. I relied on them quite a bit to write Saints and Misfits. Because it served me so well, I’ve been using this method again for the novel I’m working on currently. So instead of reading to do my research, I engage in visual research. Like looking at photos, physically being in a setting I’m thinking of using (eyes open wide), or watching a documentary. Perhaps this has become my thing because I’m pretty adamant about staying away from reading when I’m in a writing season. Reading other books invariably interferes with the voice-flow I’ve immersed myself in. (When writing season is done, all I do is read! LOVE reading season!)

Kate: What's your biggest challenge?

Sajidah: I’m not a good multitasker. I’m very single-task focused and I’ll do that single task with my all but life is not a single-task-a-day affair of course. This was a challenge because I used to struggle with this aspect of my personality and wonder why I couldn’t multi-task and BALANCE everything better. But then a wonderful someone taught me that often times the words “balance” and “multi-task” are used to disguise the expectation of women to be perfect in every sphere of our lives. And if you’re a busy person with a lot of going on, this could send you careening.

I’ve learned, only recently, that it’s okay to block long chunks of time (like writing retreats!) for what I want to focus on and that some things may not be daily activities. Like I will NO longer beat myself up for not writing every single day.

Kate: Tell us about a time that you bounced back from failure.

Sajidah: I went through a long period of time when I felt like the only talent I had was in trying to be a supermom. I was that mother who made cute smiley-face lunches with notes and who framed countless pieces of art my kids made. No time left for personal creative pursuits. I found a poem from that era called Frozen Tundra (lol) that described how I felt about my creativity. I felt like the writer in me had completely disappeared.

I bounced back by connecting with other creative-minded people. A support network – whether online or in-person – is so important to nurturing your creativity. It can be as simple as checking in with each other to see how projects are going or meeting up for weekly coffee dates or, the best, writing retreats. Talking shop, creative-shop, is integral for me and, haha, tundra-thawing.

Kate: What's the best compliment you've ever gotten?

Sajidah: Writing-wise, this compliment would be from my husband. All through the writing of my novel, whenever I’d discuss scenes, read bits of my writing or involve him in it, he’d be quiet or, worse, unengaged. Outwardly, I attributed this to the fact that he only reads science fiction or nonfiction but inwardly, I was crestfallen. Finally, he requested that I hand him my novel when it was DONE. I decided that this would be when it was published. And, so, five years later, I handed him the ARC of Saints and Misfits and he took one weekend and sat there with cups of hot drinks until he finished, closed the book with tears in his eyes and said, Wow, everything fitted together, nothing was superfluous and it’s just so, so, complete in the best way. He’s a project manager who’s into minimalism, efficiency and optimal outcome so this was a huge compliment.

Kate: Did you have any defining moments that galvanized your understanding of and/or commitment to feminism? How does it inform/inspire your work?

Sajidah: My feminism woke as a child when I read and heard about how Islam began. Really. I understood my religion to be a revolution to the status quo of women all the way back in the seventh century. The ideas about a woman keeping her own name, owning her own property, challenging edicts etc. coincided with the debate happening in other parts of the world on whether women had souls or not. Understanding this part of my heritage early resulted in my belief that the struggle for gender equity – feminism – was an intrinsic part of my identity as a Muslim. I went on to read and learn more about this aspect of my faith. I also saw strong women within my own community – women in my extended family, women at the mosque – and this solidified my belief. That’s why I don’t hold back in addressing and challenging the situation of women all around the world, including Muslim countries, most of which do not follow Islam in regards to women’s rights.

Lightning round: Tell us what you’re…

reading: My next to-read is Tash Hearts Tolstoy
watching: Abstract (a documentary series on Netflix about art and design)
listening to: Regina Spektor’s On the Radio
eating: Avocado toast, lol
doing: report cards, waaah
wearing: earth-toned hijabs (it’s a thing now)

Kate: Who are some other badass ladies we need to know & why?

Sajidah: Linda Sarsour – one of the organizers of the Women’s March. A powerhouse of an activist, she exudes confidence, loud and vocal solidarity, and passion. But these qualities are combined with compassion and a deep connection with others. I’ve met Linda at events a few times and, in each instance, she’s been personable and kind.

Kate: What are the best ways to support other women?

Sajidah: Seek solidarity through boosting each other’s voices. Listen to each other’s experiences with openness and examine the lenses through which we’ve been conditioned to see diversity. Feminism can look different so buy diverse girl-power stories to understand what the struggle is like for someone with an identity different from yours.

GIVEAWAY

Enter to win one of FIVE Saints and Misfits book swag packs – open internationally!>br> a Rafflecopter giveaway

Find Sajidah K. Ali at:
website // twitter // goodreads

Buy Saints and Misfits:
Simon and Schuster // Amazon US // Amazon CA // Barnes & Noble // Book Depository // Indigo

Want more Badass Ladies?
Check out more profiles, or follow and boost from any of these accounts:

Badass Ladies You Should Know: Tanaya Winder

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Thu, 01 Jun 2017 20:37:00 +0000

Imagine spending all of your work days supporting and empowering teens, using your MFA to teach creative writing, and organizing awareness-raising exhibits like Sing Our Rivers Red, then going home and thinking, "You know, I should be doing more. Lots more." That's exactly why Tanaya Winder is this week's Badass Lady: her day job alone makes her a badass, but she also dedicates her free time not just to her own art, but to making sure fellow indigenous artists can also access the field. From poetry to music, motivational speaking to motivating students, Tanaya's life and career are nonstop inspiration to others -- which is probably why she's one of NCAIED's 2016 "40 Under 40" Emerging American Indian Leaders.

It's an honor to profile her here, and be sure to scroll down -- she's also giving away copies of her books!

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Kate: Describe your career(s) and/or current projects. What path(s) and passions led you there?

Tanaya: I’m in the practice of heartwork. I’m blessed to live a life doing what I love serving people I love. I’ve managed to carve a space in the world where I can have a career doing what I’m passionate about. My day job is serving as the Director of a youth program where I get to work with high school students to help them in their secondary and postsecondary success. I love helping them find, see, and embrace their potential. I also try my best to “walk my talk.” If I tell the youth I work with to pursue their passions and walk in this world with a good heart and good intentions, I do my best to exemplify just that. So in addition to Director life, I also travel the country as a performance poet and motivational speaker. I’m a published poet and learning how to navigate those spaces (given my administrative experience as a director) I decided to create an Indigenous artists management company and collective where I can help other talented Indigenous artists navigate those spaces as well. We support and uplift each other and also encourage others to find their passion and use their gifts to help build a better world. Sometimes I get to travel with them and open their music sets with my spoken word and singing.

My current project is working on a Dream Warriors Artist showcase this fall where all of the artists I manage and work with can come together to debut some new music and collaborations. We have a dream to one-day help start an endowment for Indigenous communities to pursue art projects.

Finally, I’m currently finishing up my first chapbook Why Storms are Named After People and Bullets Remain Nameless, which should be available for purchase by the end of May. Then, I go to work on my second full-length poetry collection.

Given all those things, my life may seem like a bunch of random pieces but really they fit together in a beautiful mosaic where each piece relates to and feeds into the other. I love it.

Kate: Do you have any (other) creative outlets? How do they influence/affect your main work (if at all)?

Tanaya: Aside from writing I also sing. I’ve been taking vocal lessons for a little over a year now and it’s like therapy to me. I love learning new techniques and how something small like simply changing the shape of your mouth can affect the sound in big ways. I honestly think singing (and working on that craft) makes me a better performer. I incorporate singing into some of my poems, but I also think it helps with stage presence, feeling comfortable in my body, and finding other ways to connect with the audience. Out of all art mediums, music is the one that can heal across timelines. Learning how to practice that kind of healing makes me a better Director, writer, youth worker, and heartworker.

Kate: What's your biggest challenge?

Tanaya: Time! There never seems to be enough time to do all the things I want to do. I have so many ideas and I get so excited by them that I’ll try to do everything and sometimes (more often than not) I end up taking on more than I can manage. So then, learning how to maintain balance is my biggest challenge, but I’m getting there.

Kate: Tell us about a time that you bounced back from failure.

Tanaya: I don’t believe that anything in life should be named a “failure.” I think if you learned something from the experience then it wasn’t a failure, but rather a lesson in learning how to stretch more in the direction of compassion, acceptance, and love. For me, one of these moments that forced me to stretch into a bigger, more loving, more compassionate, more forgiving version of myself was after one of my best friends committed suicide. I felt like I failed by not being there, by not knowing, by not stopping it. It took me years to forgive and let go. And in that period of forgiving and letting go I made a lot of mistakes and inevitably, unintentionally hurt some people I love. But, I learned empathy. I learned to accept (and give) forgiveness and ultimately, I became a person dedicated to love and helping people I cross paths with see all their beauty, wonder, and magic. I try my best to be a mirror, reflecting all of the light one might not always be able to see.

Kate: Tell us something that makes you proud.

Tanaya: Seeing my students succeed makes me proud. I love seeing them continue on with their lives, accomplishing their goals, and pursuing their dreams. Seeing them shine makes me happy. I especially love it when a student may have been shy at first…like let’s say in a writing workshop I was leading, but then by the end of it they’re standing at the front, or even sitting in their chair sharing a piece of their heart with the entire class. That takes bravery! I suppose I’m proud knowing I played even a small role in helping them like I was able to be one thread in the fabric of their lives.

Kate: What are the best ways to support other women?

Tanaya: I believe the best ways to support anyone is asking them “what do you need” and “how can I help?” For women specifically, I think showing lateral love is super important and this can come through uplifting and empowering whether that be by offering advice, insight, or a safe harbor for her to just be. Uplifting can come through encouragement but also through sharing space by connecting each other to opportunities and even creating opportunities together. Showing someone that I see you and helping them feel and be seen in the ways they need is absolutely necessary. Everyone is going through their own battles or navigating their own storms and I think each of us has the ability to be a lighthouse for the other, to help guide each other through those dark times. My mother always said, “Be the kind of person who makes everybody feel like somebody.” I take that to heart in supporting other women in their heartwork because it is tough, difficult, and extremely vulnerable to feel, live, and love. When it comes to supporting other women in their emotional bravery, I want to embody revolutionary love by being just as brave.

Kate: Who are some other badass ladies we need to know & why?

Tanaya: Right now every womxn in this collective I am a part of “Women Warriors Work” is a badass lady everyone needs to know because they are all setting positive examples of being – they are all doing necessary heartwork in the world. http://womenwarriorswork.org/

And also these ladies below are doing some great work in the world to make it a better place.

Rowie Shebala – amazing poet and fierce performer. Definitely check out her spoken word
Monique Aura and Nancy King - they’re both such dope art educators, muralists, and all around super talented badass artists!
Irene Vasquez – she’s the Director of Chicano and Chicana Studies at the University of New Mexico and this amazing lady does so much for her family, department, university, and community. I want to be her when I grown up :)
Sharice Davids – She’s one of the smartest, driven women I know! It’s inspiring to see a young Native woman making a difference as a White House Fellow doing good work to represent Indian Country

Lightning round: Tell us what you’re…

reading: The Artist’s Way
watching: Scandal
listening to: Harry Styles
doing: working on the manuscript for my 2^nd full length poetry collection
wearing: pajamas
wishing for: more rain
loving: life :)

Kate: What is your advice to aspiring badasses?

Tanaya: Everything happens for a reason. Breaks you thought were heartaches were really the Creator helping you dodge a massive bullet destined for danger, rupture, and the darkness you crawled your way out of long ago. So let go. Let go of anything that didn’t work out the way you wanted because you know this – deep in your heart of hearts you know: you were born from a line of fierce women on fire who shine light in the darkest of places and heal those in need. And if people are afraid of you, let them be afraid – they should be because you are powerful beyond containment, the kind of free people dream of embodying and everything is coming together the way it was always meant to. Because you are destined for greatness. And anything you ever set your mind to, you looked yourself in the mirror and said, “we are going to fucking do this.” And you did. You did do it. So don’t stop now because you are meant to keep all of the promises you ever made to yourself.

GIVEAWAY

Win copies of Words Like Love and Why Storms are Named After People and Bullets Remain Nameless -- open internationally!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Tanaya Winder is a poet, singer, writer, and educator, raised on the Southern Ute reservation in Ignacio, CO. An enrolled member of the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe, her background includes Southern Ute, Pyramid Lake Paiute, Navajo, and Black heritages. Tanaya writes and teaches about different expressions of love (self love, intimate love, social love, community love, and universal love). A winner of the 2010 A Room Of Her Own Foundation’s Orlando prize in poetry, her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Cutthroat magazine, Superstition Review, Drunkenboat and Kweli among others. Her poems from her manuscript “Love in a Time of Blood Quantum” were produced and performed by the Poetic Theater Productions Presents Company in NYC. Her debut poetry collection Words Like Love was published in 2015 by West End Press. Her second collection Why Storms Are Named After People and Bullets Remain Nameless is forthcoming later this year. Tanaya has taught writing courses at Stanford University, UC-Boulder, and the University of New Mexico. She has a BA in English from Stanford University and a MFA in creative writing from UNM. She is a co-founder and editor-in-chief of As/Us: A Space for Women of the World. She guest lectures and teaches creative writing workshops at high schools and universities internationally. Tanaya is the Director of the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Upward Bound Program, which services 103 Native American youth from 8 states, 22 high schools, and 8 reservations across the country. She continues to teach as an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico. Winder co-founded Sing Our Rivers Red, an earring exhibit with 1,181 single-sided earrings to help raise awareness about the epidemic of murdered and missing Indigenous women and colonial gender based violence in the United States and Canada. Finally, she created Dream Warriors Management, an Indigenous artist management company and collective. Winder is a recipient of the National Center for American Enterprise Development (NCAIED)’s 2016 “40 Under 40” list of emerging American Indian leaders. You can learn more about her at: www.tanayawinder.com

facebook // twitter // instagram // TED talk
www.dreamwarriors.co // www.asusjournal.org // https://www.womenwarriorswork.org/

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Badass Ladies You Should Know: Maurene Goo

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Wed, 17 May 2017 17:00:00 +0000

Sometimes you meet people and immediately know you're going to be friends. That's what happened two years ago when I met Maurene Goo at the LA Times Festival of Books -- mutual friends had assured me I'd love her, and sure enough, they were right. Fast forward to 2017 and we've shared a publisher, signing tables, secrets, good times, and even weird stomach problem remedies. I'm grateful to have Maurene in my life and I'm happy to share her with you. Don't forget to enter the giveaway at the end!

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Kate: Describe your career(s) and/or current projects. What path(s) and passions led you there?

Maurene: I’m a YA author who does freelance editorial work on the side. I had a few meandering paths that lead me here—but always there, from the beginning, was a love of books. I thought I wanted to study journalism in college but took so many literature classes that I ended up minoring in English lit. Then I worked in a bookstore after graduating with absolutely no career plans. So I applied to grad schools and ended up going to Emerson College to get an M.A. in writing, literature, and publishing. I worked in textbook publishing while in school then worked for a few art book publishers in LA when I moved back here. During all this, I was writing my first YA novel purely for fun (it was a sample for an MFA program that I couldn’t stop working on even after I decided not to pursue it). My friend read an early draft and sent it to her agent who ended up representing me! In a way, my publishing journey was both long and short. A few months after I sold my book I started freelancing and writing full time.

Kate: Do you have any (other) creative outlets? How do they influence/affect your main work (if at all)?

Maurene: I have an interest in design, and I was doing that work when I sold my book, actually (I was the design director at a wholesale art house). I’m not sure if it influences my writing, but in general, I’m a pretty visually driven person, so I have some strong feels on book covers, haha. I don't have much time for it nowadays, but my website is where I have fun once in awhile.

Kate: What's your biggest challenge?

Maurene: Focus. I used to be super proud of my multi-tasking skills (a plus in project management work), but it’s now a huge detriment to getting writing done. There are always one billion other things that distract me…and I end up doing them a lot of the time. Having friends to write with has been invaluable, I work really well with accountability and deadlines.

Kate: Tell us about a time that you bounced back from failure.

Maurene: Very tempted to list every boy that never liked me back but probably we’re talking career related ;) Well, I’m four years between books, which is like—eternity in YA years. I took a long break after my first book when a lot of my ideas were rejected. I actually didn’t write a single word for nine months straight. I know that's “bad” for writers (write everyday! Or something!), and I wouldn't necessarily give that advice to anyone. However, it’s what I needed at the time— some perspective beyond publishing and not having my identity shaped by success or failure at this one thing. So when I finished drafting my second book, I knew it was a book I really loved and wanted to champion. It was hard-earned.

Kate: Tell us something that makes you proud.

Maurene: Anytime someone says something I wrote made them laugh out loud, I am very flattered. I’m not kidding when I say that’s a big goal of mine every time I write a book—to make people laugh. A lot. I don't know why I feel this need to be like, a comedian, but humor is something I’ve grown to really value as a writer. (I’m sure it all boils down to simple narcissism!)

Kate: Did you have any defining moments that galvanized your understanding of and/or commitment to feminism? How does it inform/inspire your work?

Maurene: I actually took an introduction to feminism class in college. Haha. But I think feminism was a part of my life from day one—my mom was always a strong figure and she never took shit from anyone. And she taught me and my sister to never take shit (while being polite, well-raised Korean kids). She also always pursued her career and prioritized it. At first, it was out of necessity, but soon it became clear that my mom found real fulfillment through work. This was like, step 1 of understanding feminism for me. That women are equal to men—as breadwinners, decision-makers, in strength and intelligence, etc. So I’ve always fought against any force that told me otherwise. As far as how feminism informs my writing? I write about teenage girls. They might be flawed and have a lot of growing to do, but I think they’re valuable in a world that is always telling teen girls that their interests and opinions are silly. I want to tell their stories.

Kate: Lightning round -- tell us what you’re…

reading: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead and Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith
watching: The Handmaid’s Tale and Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (K drama of course!)
listening to: Spoon’s new album, Hot Thoughts and the Reply All podcast
eating: I just ordered Korean food! Spicy tofu soup.
doing: A lot of book promo, haha. Ha. Ha.
wearing: It got “cold” in LA so I’m wearing my fleece and thick camping socks
wishing for: A huge fail for the proposed GOP healthcare bill.
wanting: My cat to stop bringing lizards into the house
loving: My boxing class—it’s so fun, empowering, and really challenging.

Kate: Who are some other badass ladies we need to know & why?

Maurene: Celeste Pewter for keeping the entire kid lit community properly informed and galvanized after the election. She’s a political staffer and book reviewer and she’s been invaluable in the whole #resist movement.

Ali Wong for being the funniest Asian American woman in the world. Ok, there are probably others I don't know about, but her Netflix special, Baby Cobra, nearly killed me. She writes for Fresh Off the Boat and lives in LA and it’s my personal mission to befriend her.

Megan Nicole Dong who works in animation. She does the funniest/slightly grotesque and bizarre comics and she was recently picked as one of Variety’s Ten Animators to Watch.

Kate: What are the best ways to support other women?

Maurene: With your money! I’m only half-kidding. Supporting women-owned businesses, buying their art, consuming their content—that’s all ways you can support women’s work. But you can also be a good friend, support them emotionally and mentally. And be a connector, refer people, talk them up—spread the word on the women you want to support. (You are the BEST at this, Kate Hart!) [editor's note: I try, thanks Maux. <3]

Kate: What is your advice to aspiring badasses?

Maurene: Take risks and don't be afraid of failure. I’m not religious so I believe we only have this one life to get shit done.

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(US only)

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Maurene Goo is the YA author of Since You Asked and I Believe in a Thing Called Love. She grew up in a Los Angeles suburb surrounded by floral wallpaper and piles of books. Before publishing her first novel, she worked in both textbook and art book publishing. She also has very strong feelings about tacos and houseplants and lives in Los Angeles.

website // twitter // instagram // facebook

preorder I Believe In A Thing Called Love:
amazon // barnes and noble // indiebound // add on goodreads

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Badass Ladies You Should Know: Gauthami Vemula and Renae Virata

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Wed, 10 May 2017 17:59:00 +0000

Badass Ladies You Should Know is (thankfully) not a unique series. There are lots of online projects featuring noteworthy women, and today I'm happy to profile Gauthami Vemula and Renae Virata of UGauGrrl.com, a site where #ModernMuse posts highlight all sorts of women doing all sorts of amazing things, and important women and words of wisdom are featured on wearable inspiration.

As if that's not enough, Gauthami has Master’s Degrees in both Psychology and Counseling, holds leadership positions in several organizations, and is a Dallas Women’s Foundation 2014 Maura Helping Women Award recipient and a 2015 Dallas Business Journal Women in Business Award winner. Renae holds a degree in the Communication of Science, Engineering and Technology from Vanderbilt University, sits on the board of Dallas nonprofit Against The Grain Productions, and appeared on the 2012 season of NBC reality TV show “Ready for Love.” Read on to find out how they do it all, and why.

*

Kate: Describe your career(s) and/or current projects. What path(s) and passions led you there?

Gauthami and Renae: UGauGrrl is a movement that we created to inspire, empower and impact women. We do this in two ways. The first is through our Modern Muse campaign where we highlight women and girls around the world who embody our mission on our blog and social media platforms. The second is through our collection of stylish t-shirts featuring iconic, and oft-forgotten, women of the past and today along with inspirational messages.

With all of the negativity in the world and being women, we wanted to promote conversation around positive messages and bring women’s history to life in a unique way. We like to think that we are a vehicle to carry on the legacy of awesome women before us.

Kate: What's your biggest challenge?

Gauthami and Renae: Our biggest challenge is being a new startup. However, we face something new every day about teamwork, finance and running a business, among other things, that make entrepreneurship a fun learning experience.

Kate: Tell us about a time that you bounced back from failure.

Gauthami and Renae: We don’t look at the challenges we’ve faces as failures but more as opportunities to grow! While we’ve only been in business for five months, our first attempt at Facebook ads was a flop. But we quickly bounced back and took a different direction, which worked!

Kate: Tell us something that makes you proud.

Gauthami and Renae: We are so excited every time we hear how much people (women AND men) love our shirts. They not only love the designs but, more importantly, the spirit and messages behind them.

Kate: Lightning round. Tell us what you’re…

reading: Gau – The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander/Benjamin Zander; Renae – He Named Me Malala by Malala Yousafzai
watching: Gau – “The Young Pope” and “Fuller House”; Renae – “This is Us”
listening to: everything except the news
doing: Gau – taking care of Gau; Renae – preparing for my baby’s arrival
wishing for: Gau – love; Renae – a break
wanting: travel the rest of the world
loving: life!

Kate: Who are some other badass ladies we need to know & why?

Gauthami and Renae:

Nikki Duong Koenig – custom-handbags.com
Tammy Nguyen Lee – AgainstTheGrainProductions.com
Ami Doshi – milaap.org
Grace Lozada – GraceLozada.com
Jacqueline Twillie – JacquelineTwillie.com
Beverly Hill – www.gendap.org

Kate: What are the best ways to support other women?

Gauthami and Renae: The best way to support other women is to lift each other up instead of tearing each other down. We hope that UGauGrrl is one way that we can personally support our fellow ladies and their aspirations.

Kate: What is your advice to aspiring badasses?

Gauthami and Renae: Quit trying to be, just be. Do you!

*

Gauthami Vemula and Renae Virata are two friends who believe in being the change they want to see in the world! Gauthami is a first-generation Indian American while Renae is a first-generation Filipino American. They both live in Dallas and have full-time jobs in addition to living out their passion to move UGauGrrl’s mission and vision forward.

website // facebook // instagram // pinterest

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Badass Ladies You Should Know: Lilliam Rivera

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 17:53:00 +0000

Sometimes these intros are impossible to write. All I really want to say is, You know who kicks ass? Lilliam Rivera, that's who. From the Pushcart Prize and the Clarion Writing Workshop, to readings at PEN Center USA, interviews with MTV, articles for Cosmo and the LA Times, and personal essays on Lenny Letter, Lilliam's already well-established writing career is now paired with the debut of her YA novel The Education of Margot Sanchez -- and she is killing it. What's more, she is a delight in person, and I can't wait to see her again later this month at YALLWEST in Santa Monica.

Be sure to enter the giveaway for a copy of her book!

*

Kate: Describe your career(s) and/or current projects. What path(s) and passions led you there?

Lilliam: The Education of Margot Sanchez is my first young adult novel published on February 2017 by Simon & Schuster. I also write short stories that have been published in literary and speculative literature magazines. My background is in entertainment journalism where I’ve worked on staff as an editor and writer for various publications including Latina magazine and E! Entertainment. Now I currently freelance writing copy for fashion brands.

Kate: Do you have any (other) creative outlets? How do they influence/affect your main work (if at all)?

Lilliam: As I mentioned above, I’ve written features and cover stories for magazines. Here are just a couple of my favorite stories: America Ferrera, Aubrey Plaza, Why Do Latinas Have The Highest Suicide Rate in America?, and an interview with Sofia Samatar.

I’ve also hosted a radio show called Literary Soundtrack where I interviewed authors of color like Laila Lalaimi, Victor LaValle, and Meg Medina, to name a few. For me, writing is just perfecting that muscle so writing for other outlets helps me with my fiction. You also don’t know where you will find inspiration.

Kate: What's your biggest challenge?

Lilliam: My biggest challenge is ignoring the voices that try to convince me that I’m a fraud. Even with a book published and the ability to finish a second novel, I still get caught up in the swirls of doubt. My challenge is to focus on the work in front of me and to ignore what is going on with everyone else.

Kate: Tell us about a time that you bounced back from failure.

Lilliam: Before The Education of Margot Sanchez, I wrote my first young adult novel. It was about Latina vampires set in Los Angeles. I started to submit the novel to agents in the hope of representation. It was right at the time when the Twilight movie came out and every young adult novel was about vampires. Anyway, I received a lot of rejections. It was a real test for me. I worked hard finishing that novel and I learned so much from that experience. I was devastated but I guess I knew deep down that no matter the amount of rejections I knew I had a voice that deserved to be heard. Somehow I managed to keep moving forward.

Kate: What's the best compliment you've ever gotten?

Lilliam: I’ve had the best readers reach out to me and tell me how much they’ve enjoyed reading Margot Sanchez. They’ve expressed how much they can relate to the character. Some have even sent me gifts. I’m always so happy when someone takes to time to let me know that something I wrote moved them in some way. That is a huge deal and I don’t take those things lightly.

Kate: Did you have any defining moments that galvanized your understanding of and/or commitment to feminism? How does it inform/inspire your work?

Lilliam: I didn’t grow up with the word “feminist.” The word I did grow up with is activist or revolutionary. My family instilled in us that we had to fight against the injustices in this world and that there are many out there who refuse to acknowledge Latinx as equal. The first defining moment I came to understand this was when my father explained to me how Puerto Rico, the island he grew up in, is neither a state of the U.S. or an independent island but a commonwealth. If you follow the history of the Island, from when the Spaniards “discovered” it to its current state, you would understand how destructive and racist the colonial mentality is.

Lightning round: Tell us what you’re…

reading: I’m currently reading Among Strange Victims, a funny novella by emerging Mexican author Daniel Saldaña Paris.

watching: I’m watching Into the Badlands. Karate, bad ass girl fighting. Need I say more?

listening to: On repeat, “Humble” by Kendrick Lamarr.

eating: Whatever is in the house.

doing: In front of my laptop, always typing.

wearing: I’m wearing a concert t-shirt from Hurray for the Riff Raff.

wishing for: The list is very long.

wanting: To see the Game of Thrones new season already! July can’t come quick enough.

Kate: Who are some other badass ladies we need to know & why?

Lilliam: Alynda Segarra is a Puerto Rican folk singer from New York. I’m obsessed with her music. I love how vocal she is in her music, using her platform to make a statement. Her latest album “The Navigator” is all about gentrification and safe spaces.

If you don’t know who Congresswoman Maxine Waters is by now, you seriously need to check yourself. Congresswoman Waters is the only representative who is vehemently against the current administration. She is not afraid.

Julia de Burgos is a Puerto Rican poet who wrote such powerful lines such as “Don’t let the hand you hold, hold you down.” Her work played such an important role in my young adult novel.

Kate: What are the best ways to support other women?

Lilliam: The best way to support other women is to have your list ready. What I mean by list is I mean that if someone asks me ‘Do you know of a good person for…’ I will have my list of women to recommend. It is healthy to be competitive but I believe there is more than enough room for everyone so I’m always willing to share my resources. Be supportive. Be vocal.

Kate: What is your advice to aspiring badasses?

Lilliam: Find a path that works for you. You will end up finding others on that journey that will help and that you in turn will help.

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Lilliam Rivera is an award-winning writer and author of The Education of Margot Sanchez, a contemporary young adult novel available now from Simon & Schuster. Recently named a "2017 Face to Watch" by the Los Angeles Times, Lilliam's work has appeared in Tin House, Los Angeles Times, and Latina, to name a few. She lives in Los Angeles with her family where she’s completing her second novel.

website // twitter // instagram // goodreads

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Badass Ladies You Should Know: The Queens Bookshop

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Wed, 29 Mar 2017 21:38:00 +0000

We're taking a little cross-country trip -- from last year's profile of the Koch sisters, owners of LA's The Ripped Bodice bookstore, all the way to New York, to meet the badass ladies behind The Queens Bookshop Initiative. As all the Barnes and Noble stores closed in their area, Vina Castillo, Natalie Noboa, and Holly Nikodem decided their side of the borough needed an independent bookstore of its own to fill the gap.

One $70,000 Kickstarter and a ton of hard work later, they're set to open their new store this year. Find out more about the challenges they've faced and what they're looking forward to!

*

Kate: Describe your career(s) and/or current projects. What path(s) and passions led you there?

Holly: Take ten plus years in retail and combine that with a love of books, and you get the crazy notion that starting an independent bookstore is a good idea. The Queens Bookshop Initiative, though, really started as a labor of love that sprung from recognizing a genuine need in a community.

As of 2016 all of the big box bookstores in Queens (Barnes and Noble, specifically) were gone. Vina was the one to realize that Queens was left with one general purpose bookstore to service the entire borough (The Astoria Bookshop). She suggested we start our own, after having worked together for several years. Natalie and I agreed. If we were sorry to see the bookstores leave, then we would have to be the ones to bring them back. The people of Queens deserved a place to comfortably interact with books that wasn’t the internet - a place that could foster a sense of community or belonging. Together we formed The Queens Bookshop Initiative, rallied the neighborhoods behind us, and set to work bringing a new independent bookstore to the borough.

Since then we’ve met some of the most amazing people (a little nine year old boy in a park that told us owning books was better for the economy than borrowing them, small business owners eager to let us use their cafes for meet ups and markets, and fellow booksellers that are driving the industry). We’ve also heard some of the harshest criticism (e-readers are taking over the world, Amazon will eat us alive, people don’t actually read anymore...) What really drives me now is a desire to give our supporters what they’ve dreamed of and to prove our critics wrong. Also, books are great? Technologies and markets come and go, but books never need to change.

Kate: Do you have any (other) creative outlets? How do they influence/affect your main work (if at all)? (If you have photos/links/examples to share, that would be great.)

Vina: Besides reading and film photography, another hobby that has proven to be very useful in this venture is knowing my way around Photoshop. Designing and creating flyers for any of our events, or for announcements we’ve had throughout has been unexpectedly fun and an area I wouldn’t have thought twice about beforehand.

Natalie: I dabble in a lot of random things. I enjoy watercoloring, writing poetry, and Holly never has to try to convince me to craft with her. I think any work you do creatively fuels your soul and gives you a fresh and dynamic look at the work you are also doing professionally.

Holly: Outside of reading? Photography (cameras as technology are fascinating) paper crafting (card making, origami, quilling). I’m not sure if they influence the running of a bookstore, but they certainly make me excited for all the beautiful table and window displays we can set up.

Kate: What's your biggest challenge?

Vina: Personally, my shyness can be at times crippling, but when it comes to our bookstore I have found that whenever we are approached with someone who thinks “physical books are dead/ebooks are taking over,” all my shyness is cast aside and I have a huge need to prove those people wrong. Books offer an experience that cannot be replicated, no matter how many apps or devices try to emulate them. The sense of accomplishment of turning the last page of a book? The atmosphere, their aroma, and the presence they have on a bookshelf? I could go on and on!

Natalie: Actually trying to live out your dream can be terrifying and challenging. When you've thought about doing something for so many years it can become a fantasy in your head to the point where you don't think it's really happening even when it really is. It’s given me a nearly constant fear that the floor will fall out from under me, that someone will sweep in and tell us “Just kidding. You aren't actually doing this.” But the community's faith and interest in our project has definitely kept me afloat. As well as the trust I have in my partners’ abilities and knowledge.

Holly: Trusting that I’m smart enough to succeed. I second guess myself, a lot. That and fighting the narrative that books are an archaic, dying medium.

Kate: Tell us about a time that you bounced back from failure.

Natalie: In my personal life, I've definitely had instances where I've been thrown to the ground and had to drag myself back up again. But with the bookstore, I don't feel like we’ve ever truly stopped moving forward. When we found locations that didn't work, we moved on to the next. When someone told us no, we asked someone else. When our feet dragged, we carried each other. We haven't bounced back because we haven't stopped moving forward.

Kate: What's the best compliment you've ever gotten? Or Tell us something that makes you proud.

Vina: I feel the most proud when fellow businesswoman say “I love what you are doing.” I can’t express how thankful I am and how much that means to me, their support has been consistent from the start. As women, most of the time we have to rely on one another, safe to say they haven’t turned their backs on us and they always have advice and offer a helping hand.

Natalie: I think we can all agree that it warms our hearts and gives us such encouragement when people tell us they can't wait to come to our store, and when people tell us that we are doing an important thing for our community. A friend of mine told me just the other day that this project will genuinely positively impact our community and that we were doing something that really mattered. It was so heartening to hear that from someone outside of this.

Holly: We got to meet the author Louise Penny and when she found out what we were doing she took my hands in hers and said “You are my heroes.”

Kate: Did you have any defining moments that galvanized your understanding of and/or commitment to feminism? How does it inform/inspire your work?

Vina: I distinctly remember right before we launched our Kickstarter, we met up at a cafe to brainstorm our campaign and right next to us were about 4-5 men seated and they happened to overhear us. They then proceed to tell us “how we should do this” or ways they think we haven’t thought through our approach… It hit me not only how basic their advice was but how they were wary of our success as such “young women.” Months later I hope they saw that we did achieve what we worked so hard for and that our gender didn’t hinder our success. I can only continue to hope that even under our current political climate, women everywhere have that same chance to prove what they can accomplish.

Holly: There was never that “ah-ha” moment of understanding feminism for me. As an only child to a single mother, the expectation of respect and equality, regardless of gender, was the norm for me. It wasn’t until I was older, probably college, when questions started to begin with “How does it feel to be a woman in ___” that an understanding of feminism started to creep in. That understanding is still creeping and evolving in my mind. I don’t think it’ll ever galvanize; it will always be a changing, growing thing. That being said, if the idea of being a woman opening a business and promoting literacy in a community is seen as feminist inspiration to some, I’ll gladly wear that badge.

Natalie: I feel like feminism was something that has always been a part of who I am whether I had a name for it or not. Every woman has experienced those little (and sometimes very big) moments when someone says that you can't do something, that you shouldn’t do something because you're a woman or because you're from here or you believe in this. And it’s how you react to those moments that define you, not the moments themselves and certainly not whatever label someone puts on you. Sometimes people have come to us and said that we are not capable of the work we are trying to do, that we have no idea what we're talking about because we're just a bunch of girls. At that point, it's just a matter of saying "Yes, we’re girls, we’re women and we are still going to kick this project in the ass no matter what you say."

Kate: Who are some other badass ladies we need to know & why?

TQB: Audrey Dimola is currently the Director of Public Programs at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City. From the moment we started our endeavor, Audrey introduced herself and just brought this intense light and energy with her. She’s a poet and artist and has a love for her neighborhood like no other. We’ve partnered up with her several times and in doing so we’ve had the pleasure to witness her find a calling with Socrates and find an outlet for her creativity and drive that really benefits her community. She’s definitely been an inspiration to us. Plus she gives really genuine hugs.

Lightning round: Tell us what you’re…

Vina
reading: Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff (Thanks Obama! I picked it up after he chose it as one of his favorite reads)
watching: Veep!
listening to: The xx’s new album I See You
eating: currently obsessed with grapefruits.
doing: working
wearing: all black
wishing for: our bookstore to open soon!
wanting: again, to open our doors.
loving: that I will soon be reading The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, I’ve heard nothing but great things
other: I feel really happy that we are part of this series!

Natalie
reading: Red Rising by Pierce Brown and Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
watching: Arrow
listening to: Hollow by Tori Kelly on repeat
eating: pizza
doing: waiting through jury duty
wearing: still winter wear, unfortunately
wishing for: spring time and our bookstore
wanting: a good long nap
loving: my dog, Kaylee, always
other: I've never eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in my life

Holly
reading: The Melancholy of Mechagirl by Catherynne M. Valente
watching: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju (anime, go figure)
listening to: Hamilton (on loop)
eating: a lot of oranges lately
doing: filling out interview questions
wearing: my trusty green cardigan
wishing for: the final piece of financing to go through for the shop
wanting: to see our doors finally open
loving: the graphic novel The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg... it’s so good.
other: My favorite word is “doodle”. Really it's the oodle sound.

Kate: What is your advice to aspiring badasses?

Vina: I think Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said it best: “I have chosen to no longer be apologetic for my femaleness and my femininity. And I want to be respected in all of my femaleness because I deserve to be.” A mantra we should all live by.

Natalie: Just keep on being your badass self and don't stop doing whatever makes you happy and helps your community.

Kate: What are the best ways to support other women?

Vina: Applaud their successes. If you have a platform, spread the word as a way to help.

Holly: Trust them. Ask them questions to learn from them. Expect great things from them.

Natalie: First of all, shop local lady-owned businesses. Second, never ever doubt the capabilities of a person because of their gender. Third, don't stand for the crap you see other people do to women, whether it's someone you know or a stranger. We have to lift each other up because we are all living in the same world.

*

Bios for the ladies behind The Queens Bookshop:

Vina Castillo: 4 years of bookselling/managerial experience (Barnes & Noble). BA in Literature and Publishing. You will find on her bookshelf: literary fiction, classics, children's/YA, and four different editions of the Harry Potter series. Proud Queens resident! Serial music festival go-er, and bitten by the travel bug.

Natalie Noboa: 5 years of bookselling/managerial experience (Books-A-Million, Borders, Barnes & Noble). Lifetime Queens resident. Graduated from Queens College in Secondary English Education with two years at Baruch College for business. You will find on her bookshelf: science fiction, fantasy, an exorbitant amount of YA, memoir, humor, and an accidentally large collection from The Norton Anthology. Loves giraffes and puppies.

Holly Nikodem: 2 years as bookstore manager, 10 years in retail management with experience in event planning and niche markets. BA in Print Communication. You will find on her bookshelf: House of Leaves, Bone Clocks, and Brave New World. But also ALL the graphic novels, ALL the manga.

For more about The Queens Bookshop, visit their website or follow on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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Badass Ladies You Should Know: Alice Driver

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 15:00:00 +0000

In January, I got to interview sommelier Rachel Speckan, an old friend from high school. Her family must have some killer genes, because this month I have the honor of profiling her cousin, Dr. Alice Driver, a photojournalist whose work I've admired for a long time. Alice uses her prodigious talents to benefit marginalized populations, fight for intersectional feminism, and shine a light on injustice at a time when doing so is becoming more dangerous by the day.

*

Kate: Describe your career(s) and/or current projects. What path(s) and passions led you there?

Alice: I have two fellowships to support my current writing and photography projects on Central American migrants traveling through Mexico, a Restorative Narrative Fellowship from Images of Voices and Hope and a Foreign Policy Interrupted Fellowship. At a time when the United States has embraced particularly hateful, vitriolic rhetoric against immigrants with a focus on Mexico, I feel that it is essential for me to use my photography and bilingual writing skills to tell narratives that highlight the strength, resilience and humanity of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. My project will take me to migrant shelters in Juarez, Oaxaca, and Tapachula, Mexico where I will focus on telling the stories of women and transgender migrants.

Kate: Do you have any (other) creative outlets? How do they influence/affect your main work (if at all)?

Alice: At any given time, I am juggling several creative projects. If anything, the difficulty for me is that I want to turn everything in my life into a project. I am working on a co-authored book about the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi with Civil Rights leader Mary King, and I recently translated a book by Mexican journalist Julián Cardona into English. I would like to make another short documentary if I can raise the funds.

Kate: What's your biggest challenge?

Alice: The biggest challenge is balancing my creative life and making money.

Kate: Tell us about a time that you bounced back from failure.

Alice: I fail all the time – freelance writing is 99% rejection. For every fellowship I’ve gotten, I’ve been rejected from 30. Learning not to take rejection personally has been a difficult but important lesson. And keep doing the work, because the work is what matters.

Kate: What's the best compliment you've ever gotten?

Alice: Poet Nikky Finney, who was my professor in college in 2001, wrote me in 2015, "So much of the world needs the muscle found in true words. Please keep sending what your head and belly make as one loaf."

Kate: Did you have any defining moments that galvanized your understanding of and/or commitment to feminism? How does it inform/inspire your work?

Alice: I was raised a feminist. My mom has always been outspoken about social justice issues, and she is funny and a real force to reckon with. The injustice of daily life moves me to continue my feminist work, because I see how women I know, including myself, are marginalized and discredited, as well as paid less than their male colleagues.

Kate: What are the best ways to support other women?

Alice: I believe that rising tide lift all boats, and I try to support other women by celebrating their work and their lives. In practical terms, I interview women, recommend them as experts, share their work, and try to increase the participation and visibility of women in my field.

Kate: Lightning round -- tell us what you’re…

reading: I’m reading The Sport of Kings by CE Morgan and The Heart of the Artichoke by Elena Poniatowska (who, coincidentally, I met in Mexico City recently)
watching: Samantha Bee
listening to: Julie Byrne
eating: Gorditas, tacos, mamey milkshakes
wearing: Superman converse (Wonder Woman was sold out)
wishing for: equality
wanting: to collaborate on more projects with photographers and videographers who I admire
loving: Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer

Kate: Who are some other badass ladies we need to know & why?

Alice: Roxane Gay is one of my favorite writers, both for how genuine she is and how open and funny.

Elizabeth Plank is a media goddess – brilliant, funny and she does a lot of good work supporting disability rights.

Kate: What is your advice to aspiring badasses?

Alice: Do the work and be persistent. Don’t overthink.

Dr. Alice Driver is a bilingual photojournalist based in Mexico City. Driver received a 2017 Images and Voices of Hope Restorative Narrative Fellowship to support her work on a project about women and transgender migrants in Mexico, and she is also a 2017 Foreign Policy Interrupted Fellow.

She is the author of More or Less Dead: Feminicide, Haunting, and the Ethics of Representation in Mexico (University of Arizona 2015), a book which she completed as part of her postdoctoral fellowship at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City.

Driver's writing and documentary photography have been featured in The New York Times, Oxford American, National Geographic, The World Policy Journal, The Guardian, The Texas Observer, Al Jazeera English, Pacific Standard, and Ms. Magazine. She has interviewed and/or worked with foreign policy analyst Anne-Marie Slaughter, actress Lena Dunham, chef Andrew Zimmern, novelist NoViolet Bulawayo, and Emmy-winning writer Moira Walley-Beckett. She has a forthcoming book chapter on Mexico with Oxford University Press.

twitter // facebook // instagram

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Badass Ladies You Should Know: Jen Baquial

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 17:00:00 +0000

Remember that article that went viral a few months ago, about the motorcycle gang that delivers breast milk in NYC? Everyone from the New York Post to the New York Times covered the Sirens Women's Motorcycle Club of New York City -- and it just so happens that their president, Jen Baquial, is an Arkansas native and a friend of another Badass Lady, actress Ashley Atkinson.

One Facebook connection later and I get the honor of sharing this in-depth look at how Jen went from life in Little Rock to leading such a badass group.

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Kate: Describe your career(s) and/or current projects. What path(s) and passions led you there?

Jen: The job that pays the bills is industrial automation and electrical engineering. My mother would describe me as the kid who always took things apart to see how they work, and that curiosity definitely led me to my engineering career today.

My greatest passion in life right now, though, and what I am most proud of is being president of the Sirens Women’s Motorcycle Club of New York City, an organization that has a 30 year herstory in New York City leading the NYC Pride March. It has been my goal to grow the club’s membership and focus on community service. I really believe that even though we are a small group, every little bit of service we can do is totally worth it. I always try to stress that we should help in the areas that we care about the most, and so any member or pledge that notices a need somewhere can bring it to the club and we do whatever we can to help. Whether it’s delivering donor breast milk from the New York Milk Bank to a NICU or collecting clothing for local people in need or mentoring a woman who wants to learn to ride a motorcycle, the Sirens will try to find ways to support and strengthen women in our community. Riding our motorcycles together gives us immense joy, but doing service in the community together gives us greater purpose.

Kate: What's your biggest challenge?

Jen: Professionally, my biggest challenge has always been “sitting at the table” with men and having to skillfully be assertive without being perceived as pushy or bossy. I’ve had many encounters with men in the field and in the office where my knowledge or skillset has been questioned or challenged for no other reason, at least that I feel, other than the fact that I am a woman. I’m not afraid of admitting that my own insecurity can play a part in this, but I often think how I would be perceived if I were a man or a more feminine presenting woman. Being an assertive woman doesn’t play out in the same way that being an assertive man does, and I work hard to navigate professional confrontations so as not to jeopardize project success.

I think this is why I cherish my work with the Sirens so much. I never have to feel that sort of pressure in the club. We are a family, and we empower each other in a way that isn’t full of gendered expectations or insecurities. We do interact with male motorcyclists in the community and also have moments where we are challenged in the community at large, but as a group we strengthen and empower each other. That fuels our confidence in the way we ride, the way we carry ourselves, and ultimately the way we are respected by other motorcyclists in general.

Kate: Tell us about a time that you bounced back from failure.

Jen: Life in my early twenties was particularly difficult for me. That internal struggle I was talking about gripped me so hard that I dropped out of college and fell into a drug addiction. There were so many times I would think, this would all be easier if I just floated away. One morning after a long night of not sleeping, I looked in the mirror at myself and said, “Okay, not today. I won’t let myself go like this.” I left town and got clean on my own cold turkey. Five years after being sober, I had enough strength to finally come out to my parents. It was the hardest moment of my life, but it felt like I had suddenly gotten rid of 10 tons of bricks I had been carrying on my back since I was a kid. In that moment, I knew I had to be prepared for however my parents would react. I’m not going to say it was beautiful and amazing, but I am lucky it wasn’t as bad as I know it has been for others. I love my parents, and I know they love me. I respect them enough to give them the time they need to figure out their feelings. Will they attend my wedding? I’m not 100% sure they are ready for that, and I’m okay with it. It’s hard to say what they have a harder time with, me being a lesbian or me riding a motorcycle, haha!

Kate: What's the best compliment you've ever gotten? Or Tell us something that makes you proud.

Jen: I think I’m pretty normal, like most people, and find compliments hard to take and respond to. Honestly, my favorite compliments come from little girls. When a child sees me and says things like, “Wow, you ride that motorcycle?” and look at me like they are logging in their mind that they can do it too someday, that makes me so happy. I have a niece that said to me one time, “Aunt Jen, I like you because you wear whatever you like and you don’t care if it’s supposed to be boys’ clothes.” I explained to her that the idea of boys and girls clothes don’t make a whole lot of sense to me and that people should wear whatever makes them feel good. The smile on her face as I handed her a child size leather motorcycle vest for her birthday was totally priceless.

Kate: What's your best experience on a motorcycle?

Jen: In June of 2010 I got laid off of my job at Anheuser-Busch. I figured I needed a little life reset, so I took 3 months on the road with my dog Mojo (he has a special seat he rides in) and traveled back and forth across the country on my Harley. It was the ultimate freedom. I stopped all over the country and visited friends from every time in my life. Being alone, well aside from Mojo, on the open road gave me time to reflect on what’s important in life and breathe knowing that everything I experienced up to that point just made me who I am and I love that woman. I ended up making Brooklyn my landing point at the end of my journey, and I knew at that I had found home. I have so many stories from that trip. If I was a writer, I’d have a book.

Kate: What are the best ways to support other women?

Jen: Mentor, employ, and engage.

Kate: Who are some other badass ladies we need to know & why?

Jen: All of my Siren sisters are badass ladies!

GIVEAWAY!

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Jen's bio:
I grew up in Little Rock, AR, the daughter of Filipino immigrants. My parents taught me that hard work and respect would get me far. I was raised in the Roman Catholic faith and internally struggled with my identity throughout my entire childhood. It’s not an easy thing to be indirectly told by all of your adult influences that who you are inside is wrong. It fueled a lot of low self-esteem issues for me as a child, so it made sense that all I could do was bury myself in academics and sports to find other ways to gain approval and hide who I knew I was inside. If the child I was then knew that I could be a part of a group like the Sirens Women’s Motorcycle Club of New York City, my days and nights would have been a whole lot easier. I am proud of all of my academic and professional accomplishments, but I am most proud of having finally found a way to be comfortable in my own skin and love who I am inside and out. That was a 35 year project, haha! Anyway, I’ve been in the engineering industry for 10 years and have been motorcycling, at least legally, for about that long.

Sirens website // Sirens Facebook

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The Big Day and a Big Chance

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 15:00:00 +0000

Today's the day! After seven years of work, After the Fall finally hits shelves. I'm sure there are lots of wise and pithy things I could say about the process, the book itself, and my hopes for the future, but to be honest, my brain is mostly taken up with a high pitched whirring noise and the occasional realization that I forgot to buy plates for my launch party.

If by chance you are in the vicinity of Fayetteville, Arkansas, I'd love to see you said launch party: 6pm at Nightbird Books on Dickson Street. If you have a chance to mention the book on social media today, it'd be much appreciated. But most importantly: Some dear friends have joined forces to turn my release day into a chance to do good. They'll be matching donations to RAINN up to $4000, giving us a chance to raise at least $8000 for sexual assault survivors!

Just go to fundraise.rainn.org/afterthefall and make your contribution, and at the end of the day, the ladies listed on that page will double the total (up to the $4K limit). If you can't contribute but still want to help, signal boost the fundraiser using the hashtag #afterthefall and share some of your favorite feminist reads. Every bit helps.

As for the book itself, you can find it all the usual places:
amazon // barnes & noble // booksamillion // indiebound // nightbird books (signed copies available)

Thank you so much for your support, today and over the past half a decade or so, and for helping to fight against rape culture and sexual assault.

Badass Ladies You Should Know: Rachel Speckan

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 20:19:00 +0000

One of the best things about the Badass Ladies series is learning about fields I know nothing of. Today, I'm happy to feature Rachel Speckan, a Chicago sommelier and a friend of mine since our high school literary magazine days. Rachel is one of a growing group of women wine experts in a field traditionally dominated by men, a challenging career that she balances with the care of two small children and a fierce Ultimate Frisbee game.

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Kate: Describe your career(s) and/or current projects. What path(s) and passions led you there?

Rachel: Madness. But, I thrive in the energy of the frenzy and the busy.

Professionally, I am six months into a new position, which brings projections, reviews, and evaluation. Stepping into the role of National Beverage Director with City Winery has launched my career responsibilities to cover all current locations and be present in the planning and implementation of openings. I have been traveling often and keeping a finger on the vibrant pulse of each location, coordinating with local teams and national contacts and partners, alike.

Personally, I am literally expecting a new (second) baby any moment and we just relocated to a new home in a new town. [editor's note: new baby is here; she and Rachel are both doing well!]

Balancing work, home, fun and health is a constant battle. But, I am passionate about all of the endeavors.

I thoroughly believe that the nature of my childhood in the landscape of rural Arkansas and a deep connection to education has been a driving force throughout my life path. I relish in creating and savoring experiences that integrate culture, food, wine and people.

Kate: Do you have any (other) creative outlets? How do they influence/affect your main work (if at all)?

Rachel: Playing competitive sports is my creative outlet. Although my participation in organized athletics and contact sports is fairly limited currently, I really love the connection to the team, game strategy and physical endurance.

Outdoor adventures, when I am able to partake, are also a refreshing and exciting outlet for myself and the family!

Kate: What's your biggest challenge?

Rachel: I struggle, hard, against taking a moment to breathe. Relaxing is honestly a real problem for me. This affects both work and home. I am always pushing harder, further, faster. Literally, I have to force myself to slow down and enjoy doing nothing, not making a plan, putting down the list and being unorganized. I am constantly filling the calendar with commitments in hopes of creating more opportunities, better experiences, and deeper connections. However, I am truly working on slowing down, focusing, and being comfortable relaxing. Relying upon the village of friends and family to nurture and support me!

Kate: Tell us about a time that you bounced back from failure.

Rachel: An important component of my career in wine has been my involvement in both educating and learning about wine. I have been immersed in the pursuit of the ‘pin,’ or, rather, higher education in sales and service through the Court of Master Sommeliers for the past several years. This program is an intensive evaluation in all aspects of the beverage and service industry. The standards are ever evolving and the margin for error is slim. Preparation is required and constant studying in theory, tasting and practical service dictate success. Style, grace, and personal composure are also key components.

I have dedicated years to learning, educating, mentoring, and challenging myself through the system. Each step is exponentially more difficult and demanding than the preceding. Each attempt at each level is an incredible experience bound up in confidence and anxiety, preparation and pleasure and pain, successes and subsequent failures.

Following a failed attempt at sitting the Advanced Exam in Portland in 2015, I threw myself full force into deeper study, more intense education, more tasting, Skype sessions, larger scope of mentoring and an expanded network of mentors. With the perspective of gaining experience and becoming a stronger beverage professional, learning from failure and really looking squarely at my particular areas of weakness and honing in on pursuing and probing the soft spots, I sat the exam again in Portland in early 2016. The process was exhausting and exhilarating and ultimately successful. I was trembling and terrified the entire way through, but projected confidence, cool, and savvy for the winepin win at the end of the process.

Through a brief bout of tears and angst sprung strength and fierceness. I became a better sommelier, wine educator and beverage director through the process and experience. This failure was part of the success.

Kate: What's the best compliment you've ever gotten?

Rachel: Unfortunately, I do not take compliments well. I often deflect or simply do not know how to truly accept a compliment. However, what has filled up my cup with happiness recently is sincere feedback that I have played a pivotal role in the direct professional success of other individuals...and that I am a valued mentor and friend.

Kate: Did you have any defining moments that galvanized your understanding of and/or commitment to feminism? How does it inform/inspire your work?

Rachel: I am not certain that I made a conscious decision to be a feminist. The entire concept seems like a given to me, and, I have lived my life as such. I believe this is directly related to my upbringing and strong women leaders in my personal and professional life.

I realize, now, though, the consistent and steady dedication to feminism that is required in my everyday endeavors. Professionally, I have faced issues with being labeled as aggressive or coming on too strongly, experienced being talked over or interrupted, watched as promotions were rewarded or compensation unevenly distributed. This has certainly galvanized my understanding and commitment toward a balanced and fair approach toward others and strength in my behavior and altered (many times) the direction of my chosen path.

Kate: What are the best ways to support other women?

Rachel: I have thus created a supportive network for mentoring women specifically and fostering an environment that is uplifting, composed of men and women that are mutually respectful, lift each other up, challenge each other in healthy ways, and push forward together. I suppose that I have cultivated a reputation for hiring, developing and fostering women wine professionals and serious women’s ultimate athletes. My approach is to create a challenging environment that encourages women to develop skills, maximize assets while minimizing (and addressing) weaknesses, and reach for higher, further, more ambitious end goals.

Kate: Who are some badass ladies we need to know?

Rachel:

Alice Driver - journalist
Kim Werst - food activist and educator
Kelsey Weyerbacher - artist
Kya Sainsbury-Carter - VP at Microsoft
Elaine Brown - wine reviewer

Kate: What is your advice to aspiring badasses?

Rachel: Celebrate the experience! Embrace madness. Let others help you, but, share your strength. Never stop learning. Never stop teaching. And, simply ROCK it.

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Rachel Speckan is the National Wine Director at City Winery. After many years immersed in the industry of all things boozy, Rachel is thoroughly dedicated to being the ultimate wine geek, with a good dose of sales savvy and super polished service and etiquette. She has traveled extensively, collecting vineyard rocks, eating local specialties, and drinking wine around the world in all the places.

With a special place in her heart for edgy California winemakers, dusty Italian reds, lush and stony Savennieres, and funky American microbrews, Rachel brings a dynamic, delicious, and well balanced professional approach. Rachel is incessantly drinking wine, talking about drinking, encouraging others to drink, teaching about drinking, writing about drinking and eating adventures, drinking, tasting, researching, and talking about drinking. Although she dabbles in a wide spectrum of captivating and experimental beverage, Rachel's true love is traditional, and, yet innovative wines with character. She is thrilled to work in a functional winery setting, rock out with musicians, but also teach courses and host wildly exciting wine events at City Winery!

She is deeply entrenched in research and training in the Court of Master Sommeliers, as well as holding an Advanced Certificate from the WSET, and is also involved with the Cicerone Certification Program.

To throw it way back, Rachel grew up on a farm in Arkansas, with serious roots to the land and sense of place. She continues to search out and align with winemakers, athletes, and all the folks that share a similar vision. Rachel holds a Master's degree from the University of Chicago, and, as a cultural anthropologist by educational training and curious by disposition, she is on a mission to research and taste all things fermented and, in turn, share the love and knowledge with fellow wine lovers, explore and approach challenges with relish and fervor!

website

other interviews with Rachel:
sommtalks // chicagoist // timeout // fooditor // chicago tribune

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Badass Ladies You Should Know: Veronica Roth

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 16:36:00 +0000

I know, I know. You already know Veronica Roth. You know she's the author of the Divergent series, a book she wrote during college, that's sold multiple millions of copies and stayed on the NYT bestseller list for years. You know the series was made into movies, and you probably know that her next book, Carve the Mark, is releasing next week as one of the most anticipated books of 2017.

But although I greatly admire the way Veronica has handled her unexpected success and resultant fame, that's not why I asked her for an interview. What makes Veronica a true badass is that despite leading a busier life than almost anybody, she's still the kind of person that, say, sends you a stuffed brain to hold when the one in your head is acting up. She's the kind of friend who texts you while you sit in the surgery waiting room, telling you silly jokes to help keep you calm. She's the kind of friend who uses her success to promote the work and causes of people she cares about -- and though she might kill me for mentioning this, she's the kind of person who shares her wealth privately behind the scenes, because she's not interested in cookies or attention for doing the right thing.

I'm glad to call her a friend, and grateful that she's shared her thoughts for this project.

*

Kate: Describe your career(s) and/or current projects. What path(s) and passions led you there?

Veronica: I’ve been writing for fun since I was a kid, maybe 10 or 11 years old. It wasn’t until college that I thought of it as something I could do for a job—and even then, I knew how hard it was to get published, so my official plan was to be a freelance copyeditor or proofreader, since I did that part-time while I was in school. But sometimes you’re just in the right place at the right time—or rather, sometimes you just have the right manuscript with the right people at the right time! I sold my first book, Divergent, a couple months before I walked at my graduation.

But the path that led me to Carve the Mark was basically just me, playing around with a story I found interesting, after the Divergent series was finished. I felt like I had finally shed the lingering shame that had surrounded my love of YA books and sci-fi/fantasy and all the delightful tropes therein, and I don’t know, I just charged into the story with joy and filled it with all the things I liked: space! Training montages! Family drama! Burgeoning female friendships! Weird mystery substances! The “people with powers” trope! The “girl used as weapon gains her own agency” trope! Alien languages! Space gladiators!

It was a powerful feeling.

Kate: Do you have any (other) creative outlets? How do they influence/affect your main work (if at all)?

Veronica: Honestly, I am frustratingly single-minded. Writing was always my hobby—I crammed it into all the empty spaces in my life while I was in school!—so when it became my job, I had no hobbies to speak of, and I still don’t. I read, but that’s pretty standard for a writer. And it’s not creative, but I do love to exercise. I started kickboxing last year and I love it. Running, too.

Kate: What's your biggest challenge?

Veronica: I’m anxious! The diagnosed, medicated kind of anxious. So sometimes my biggest challenge is not obsessively checking WebMD, or not falling asleep in the middle of the day so I can avoid the things that stress me out, or having a conversation with more than one person over the course of an evening. Some days I feel really strong, like I can handle anything, and some days I’m completely helpless and can’t work and feel like a waste of space. Medication gives me more of the former days than the latter, these days, and that’s amazing. God bless you, chemicals.

Kate: Tell us about a time that you bounced back from failure.

Veronica: I have to tell you, I always feel like such a fraud talking about failure when I’ve been so fortunate, and really had very little to overcome to get where I am—being a straight white able-bodied woman from an upper class background in America is a pretty sweet deal, guys.

But I guess that just means redefining failure, because one of the things I think was a big failure of mine was a failure of sensitivity. I wrote a pretty careless sexual assault scene in Divergent, and one day I went on the Internet to discover that someone had pointed that out, pretty publicly. Digging deeper, I discovered that other people had had a problem with it, too. I wrestled for awhile about what to do about it, and ultimately I decided it was best to just own up to it. I wrote a blog post describing as honestly as possible what was wrong with the scene and what I had learned since I wrote it.

And this is the important thing, the thing I feel like we don’t believe enough in our culture: when you just acknowledge how you messed up and don’t try to make excuses, people are receptive to that. The world can be a very hostile place, don’t get me wrong. But the mistake a lot of people make when they fail the way I did is trying to hide it or downplay it. We all make mistakes; everyone knows that. But a sincere confession is good for the heart.

Kate: What's the best compliment you've ever gotten?

Veronica: I don’t receive compliments very well, to be honest—they make me want to disappear into a hole in the ground, so I’m not terribly gracious in my reaction to them. But I am proud of the person I’ve become. I think I’m pretty honest, and kind, and I try to support other people as much as I can. It’s hard to say this! Why is it so hard to say what we like about ourselves?

Kate: Did you have any defining moments that galvanized your understanding of and/or commitment to feminism? How does it inform/inspire your work?

Veronica: Honestly, I think I’ve been through a bit of a feminist tornado in the past ten years. In high school I was one of those people who identified as “not like other girls,” who had negative feelings about female friendship. I certainly wouldn’t have called myself a feminist. Then, in college, I realized that I had female friendships that didn’t involve gossip, or competitiveness, or passive aggressiveness—all the things that I believed defined female friendships before then. It’s pretty hard to be a feminist if you’ve been culturally conditioned to hate your own gender, right? So God, am I grateful for the supportive, smart, and generous women who made me love being a woman.

I’ve been learning since then. Recently the biggest revelation I had came courtesy of Sumayyah Daud, which encouraged me to listen before I talk over people who experience marginalization in a different way (and, let’s be real, in a much greater way) than I do. That doesn’t mean not taking action. It means directing your efforts to boost marginalized voices and platforms, not your own. And most of the time, I still have no clue how to do that. But I try to be patient with myself, and with other people. We’re all fumbling for the light switch here.

Kate: What are the best ways to support other women?

Veronica: Listen to them. Celebrate their accomplishments, even if the small, dark parts of you feel envious. Help—if they ask. Be present if they don’t.

Kate: Who are some badass ladies we should know, and why?

Veronica: Margaret Stohl – she’s an author of some great books, but she’d be the first one to say “who cares?” to that identifier. She co-founded my favorite YA-focused book festival in the country, Yallfest, and its sister festival, Yallwest, where she arranged transportation, a free meal, and a free book for kids from low income areas to come in. She often finds herself to be one of the only female voices in the room with other Marvel types, now that she’s writing Captain Marvel comics. She does a lot of work with Facing History in Los Angeles, an organization that seeks to increase students’ understanding of bigotry and prejudice. I want people to know these things about her because she really hates to talk herself up, so you might never have understood how great she is otherwise.

Sarah Enni – Sarah is one of the most talented writers whose work you haven’t gotten to read yet, but she has a short story in the upcoming anthology Because You Love To Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy. She also does a podcast called First Draft where she interviews writers about their craft, and she’s one of the best question-askers I’ve ever encountered, a skill I very much admire and want to cultivate. [Sarah's Badass Ladies profile is here!]

Somaiya Daud – Somaiya is another “one of the most talented writers whose work you haven’t gotten to read yet”. Her book Mirage, which is Moroccan space royalty wonderfulness, comes out in 2018, but in the meantime you should probably follow her on Twitter at @somaiyadaud. She is very smart. So smart I’d really like to crawl into her brain and live there forever, subsisting only on wisdom.

Emily Graslie – my fellow Chicagoan who works at the Field Museum, has a youtube channel called The Brain Scoop where she will get you Interested In The World Around You and make you put up the praise hands emoji for WOMEN IN STEM!

Kate: What is your advice to aspiring badasses?

Veronica: Take one step toward what you want. That’s all you need to do right now—one call to a therapist, one page of writing in your book, one job application, one conversation. Step until you’re just a little bit uncomfortable, and after you’ve recovered, step again. A badass knows what she wants and goes after it. But that doesn’t mean she always feels like a badass or can grab it all at once, and that is okay.

And for fuck’s sake, be kind to yourself.

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Veronica Roth is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Divergent series, as well as the upcoming book Carve the Mark. She lives with her husband and dog in Chicago, Illinois.

website // instagram // twitter // tumblr

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Badass Ladies You Should Know: Jovanna Anzaldua

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 21:04:00 +0000

In 2015, I profiled museum curator Jaclyn Roessel, whose "shine love" approach to life continues to inspire me every day. Today, I'm so pleased to feature her dear friend Jovanna Anzaldua, who not only co-hosts the schmooze-lady connected project supporting remarkable women in Arizona, but also works as an advocate for women's reproductive health and justice as she earns a PhD -- on top of her Masters in Public Administration and a position at the Arizona State University Art Museum. Her work and drive are an inspiration as we kick off 2017.

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Kate: Describe your career(s) and/or current projects. What path(s) and passions led you there?

Jovanna: I am a PhD student, women’s reproductive health/justice advocate, and a consultant. I am also a proud board member for the Arizona Family Health Partnership and am a co-host of schmooze- lady connected. As a student in Biology and Society I focus on reproductive health mostly as it relates to policy, ethics and law. One of the projects that I am most excited to work on as a student is Reproductive Health Arizona (RHAZ). I have had an interest in reproductive health since I was in my late teens when I ran into some reproductive health issues of my own. I have a natural curiousness which led me to explore the topic probably more in depth than I needed to and since I am also naturally drawn to sharing what I know, I began sharing what I learned with my close friends and family. The shock on their face when I would share what I was learning about our bodies and the policies that policed them was validation for me that this is what I had to do- and that is still one of my primary drivers.

Kate: Do you have any (other) creative outlets? How do they influence/affect your main work (if at all)?

Jovanna: Cooking! It functions both as a way for me to zone out/relax and to connect with those that I love. The two women who have influenced me most, my mom and my nana, taught me how to cook. I carry many special memories and traditions that involve cooking. I’ve always known it was an act of love to make sure that someone is nourished and that their taste buds are poppin.

Kate: What's your biggest challenge?

Jovanna: My biggest challenge right now is imposter syndrome, that anxiety-inducing voice in the back of my head that tells me that I’m not a badass and that I’m a fraud who hasn’t accomplished all the things that I know I have. Clearly this is bullshit, I’ve done a lot of things that I’m proud of. I find that it helps to be open about these feelings and to talk to others who also feel the same. I’m both amazed and reassured when accomplished, seemingly fearless women in my life admit to feeling this way.

Kate: Tell us about a time that you bounced back from failure.

Jovanna: Most recently, I received some tough feedback from my professors that hit me like a ton of bricks. Of course, it was somewhat expected as academia is known for being tough as one of its purposes is to produce high level thinkers and experts but the feedback really had me feeling like I was a failure one semester in. Through consulting with my professors, talking with former/current PhD students, reading related blogs, and leaning on my amazing support system I crawled out of the imposter syndrome haze. This is a new experience for me- I’m in the program because I have plenty of room to grow and must accept that part of that growth is going to be harsh. With newly gained perspective, I’m ready to go into semester two eager to grown, with slightly thicker skin. I invite anyone who finds themselves in similar situations to reach out to me - the strength I gained from those around me was invaluable and I’m so glad that I remained open about it instead of retreating.

Kate: What's the best compliment you've ever gotten?

Jovanna: One of the best compliments I have received was being told that I do a good job of balancing my straight forward message with a soft delivery. I value facts and feelings which can sometimes be viewed as juxtaposition. I strive to be balanced so I appreciated that someone saw that.

Kate: Did you have any defining moments that galvanized your understanding of and/or commitment to feminism? How does it inform/inspire your work?

Jovanna: I attribute my initial formalized understanding of my values as “feminist” to the riot grrl movement, a natural continuation of my love of punk rock as a teenager. I was in a riot grrl band and had a zine when I was 15; activism and the strive for equality (whether gender, racial, economic) have always been a natural part of who I am since about then. However, throughout my entire life I have been lucky to be influenced by a family full of strong women as well as a father who taught me that I could do anything I wanted and really reinforced feminist values without calling it that. My priorities as a feminist have morphed throughout the years along with my understanding of intersectionality and the many systems within which we exist.

Kate: What are the best ways to support other women?

Jovanna: Give them the credit and recognition that they deserve, whether it’s bolstering their unnoticed input in a meeting or submitting their name for an award. Listen to their dreams and ambitions then connect them with opportunities that can help them reach their goals when they arise.

Kate: What is your advice to aspiring badasses?

Jovanna: Be fluid and change paths as necessary. If something excites you, explore it and don’t be afraid to change your mind if what you thought was for you ends up not being for you. Share your interests with others. You never know how opportunity will present itself – sometimes it won’t be exactly what you want but be creative in how you move forward. There is beauty in how things unfold when you’re open to a variety of possibilities.

*

A true city girl, Jovanna Anzaldua enjoys living in downtown Phoenix with her partner and step daughter. They rescued Luna, a pit bull mix, from a shelter in 2013 which naturally turned her into an avid “dog person.” Luna can do no wrong, it doesn’t matter how many remote controls she chews. As the older sister to four brother’s Jovanna takes the role of big sister very seriously and loves spending time with her huge family. She makes time to travel often- exploring local bookstores, coffee shops and cuisine. Food & drink brings her an absurd amount of pleasure; invitations to schmooze over vodka or coffee will rarely be turned down. Cooking is her ultimate stress reliever and expression of love.

Jovanna’s passion lies in women’s issues, particularly women’s health. This includes everything from reproductive health to women’s cancers within the context of policy, education and the clinical setting. Jovanna currently works, volunteers and sits on the board of various women focused organizations both locally and nationally.

schmooze: lady connected // ASU profile

Want more Badass Ladies?
Check out more profiles, or follow and boost from any of these accounts:

insta artists

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Wed, 04 Jan 2017 00:28:00 +0000

hello yes I am a quickie post full of recommendations for artists to follow on the 'gram, to go with this tweet thread.

curation accounts:
https://www.instagram.com/thefiberstudio/
https://www.instagram.com/embroidery_instaguild/
https://www.instagram.com/makersvillage/
https://www.instagram.com/thejealouscurator/
https://www.instagram.com/thankstitching/
https://www.instagram.com/needleworksociety/
https://www.instagram.com/modernmakersretreat/
https://www.instagram.com/etsysociety/
https://www.instagram.com/modernquiltinglove/

starter project to join:
https://www.instagram.com/1yearofstitches/xsa

crossstitch:
https://www.instagram.com/fallendesigns/
https://www.instagram.com/thexstitchxbitch/
https://www.instagram.com/badasscrossstitch/
https://www.instagram.com/themodeststitchery/
https://www.instagram.com/peacockandfig/
https://www.instagram.com/caralynnedesign/
https://www.instagram.com/threestitchfifteen/
https://www.instagram.com/sewcd/
https://www.instagram.com/crossstitchyerheart/
https://www.instagram.com/bonnewitchstitchery/
https://www.instagram.com/_innocentbones/
https://www.instagram.com/homestitchness/
https://www.instagram.com/lexstitchit/
https://www.instagram.com/thecrossglitch/

felting:
https://www.instagram.com/begoodnatured/

kits and patterns:
https://www.instagram.com/ohsewbootiful/
https://www.instagram.com/faimyxstitch/
https://www.instagram.com/stitch_rebellion/
https://www.instagram.com/i.heart.stitch.art/
https://www.instagram.com/mycathatesyoushop/

quilting:
https://www.instagram.com/jackiegillies/
https://www.instagram.com/libselliott/
https://www.instagram.com/latifahsaafirstudios/
https://www.instagram.com/cactusbron/
https://www.instagram.com/bitsandbobbins/
https://www.instagram.com/threadedquilting/
https://www.instagram.com/madelinelaura/
https://www.instagram.com/playcrafts/
https://www.instagram.com/bloomingtwigquilts/
https://www.instagram.com/owensolivia/
https://www.instagram.com/qvilted/
https://www.instagram.com/kimemquilts/
https://www.instagram.com/jacquietps/
https://www.instagram.com/tarafaughnan/
https://www.instagram.com/carolynfriedlander/
https://www.instagram.com/builtaquilt/
https://www.instagram.com/sewnbyleila/
https://www.instagram.com/seasidequilting/
https://www.instagram.com/themqg/
https://www.instagram.com/missouriquiltco/
https://www.instagram.com/makemodernmagazine/
https://www.instagram.com/makervalley/
https://www.instagram.com/keatonquilts/
https://www.instagram.com/thebaronessdesigns/
https://www.instagram.com/quiltbystarlight/
https://www.instagram.com/sewingoverpins/
https://www.instagram.com/sotosewn/
https://www.instagram.com/suzyquilts/
https://www.instagram.com/brooklynquiltingco/
https://www.instagram.com/quilterpatsloan/
https://www.instagram.com/messygoat/
https://www.instagram.com/aquilterstable/
https://www.instagram.com/slostudio/
https://www.instagram.com/cassandra.beaver/
https://www.instagram.com/entropyalwayswins/
https://www.instagram.com/bellaquilting/
https://www.instagram.com/angbrandl/
https://www.instagram.com/handmade4thewin/
https://www.instagram.com/baby_karnelyen_designs/
https://www.instagram.com/jrm0501/

paper:
https://www.instagram.com/anetaszpunt/
https://www.instagram.com/lisajaystudio/
https://www.instagram.com/porkchopspapercuts/
https://www.instagram.com/yinggraphic/
https://www.instagram.com/alittlebluefox/
https://www.instagram.com/sma_arts80/
https://www.instagram.com/ninapearsepaperartist/
https://www.instagram.com/lrawnsley/
https://www.instagram.com/bagsyblueco/

collage:
https://www.instagram.com/theavera_art/
https://www.instagram.com/demiiwhiffin/
https://www.instagram.com/emilymooreart/
https://www.instagram.com/saraheisenlohr

beadwork:
https://www.instagram.com/c.holybear/
https://www.instagram.com/eleumne/
https://www.instagram.com/eliasnotafraid/
https://www.instagram.com/buffalogirlcreative/
https://www.instagram.com/alayneegoodwillquillwork/
https://www.instagram.com/jbird789/
https://www.instagram.com/molinas_lakota_beadwork/
https://www.instagram.com/bhartijesrani/
https://www.instagram.com/shoshoesquiro/
https://www.instagram.com/j.okuma/

artsy embroidery:
https://www.instagram.com/valeriamolinari/
https://www.instagram.com/usedthreads/
https://www.instagram.com/mori_embroidery/
https://www.instagram.com/s.lapre/
https://www.instagram.com/ittybittybunnies/
https://www.instagram.com/moonrisewhims/
https://www.instagram.com/sarahkbenning/
https://www.instagram.com/bellissima_embroidery/
https://www.instagram.com/avluworks/
https://www.instagram.com/llllllllillllllll/
https://www.instagram.com/pinsandpines/
https://www.instagram.com/toocrewel/
https://www.instagram.com/namaste_embroidery/
https://www.instagram.com/wildboho/
https://www.instagram.com/d_safae/
https://www.instagram.com/slow_stitch_sophie/
https://www.instagram.com/michelle.kingdom/
https://www.instagram.com/k.i.k.k.y/
https://www.instagram.com/oddanastitch/
https://www.instagram.com/nisasnisaa/
https://www.instagram.com/alexsembroidery/
https://www.instagram.com/memorialstitches/
https://www.instagram.com/knickerbocker_stitches/
https://www.instagram.com/emmaroselaughlin/
https://www.instagram.com/inknhoney/
https://www.instagram.com/siwooinparis/
https://www.instagram.com/heatherclaradesigns/ (sometimes does YA covers!)
https://www.instagram.com/lady_scrib/
https://www.instagram.com/tessa_perlow/
https://www.instagram.com/welcome.juniper/
https://www.instagram.com/lillybaik/
https://www.instagram.com/rocketfullofpie/
https://www.instagram.com/blackcatkustom/
https://www.instagram.com/hummingpea/
https://www.instagram.com/coricrafts/
https://www.instagram.com/frac.tion/
https://www.instagram.com/rematastudio/
https://www.instagram.com/looloogems/
https://www.instagram.com/oeroeboeroe2/
https://www.instagram.com/ladyjanelongstitches/
https://www.instagram.com/hooopthereitis_/
https://www.instagram.com/yourgothicgranny/
https://www.instagram.com/labuentiemperia/
https://www.instagram.com/thecatscanary/
https://www.instagram.com/tsurubride/
https://www.instagram.com/springfieldstitches/ (Simpsons)
https://www.instagram.com/starcrossedstitch/
https://www.instagram.com/venusemflor/
https://www.instagram.com/cut_and_rum/
https://www.instagram.com/maricormaricar/
https://www.instagram.com/salem.stitches/
https://www.instagram.com/artiststephaniekellyclark/
https://www.instagram.com/katiedidandco/
https://www.instagram.com/brynnandcoshop/
https://www.instagram.com/erinmcmom/
https://www.instagram.com/katehughes.art/
https://www.instagram.com/marigoldandmars/
https://www.instagram.com/escapethreads/
https://www.instagram.com/femme.broidery/
https://www.instagram.com/belo_cami/
https://www.instagram.com/fools.and.mortals/
https://www.instagram.com/buse_atelier/
https://www.instagram.com/embroideredham/
https://www.instagram.com/miy_fufutaba/
https://www.instagram.com/katie.m.doyle.embroidery/ https://www.instagram.com/moon_girl_stitches/
https://www.instagram.com/unpicking/

crafty embridery
https://www.instagram.com/ohjamieelizabeth/
https://www.instagram.com/jharmonart/
https://www.instagram.com/sloppyricamo/ https://www.instagram.com/honeyandthebadgerembroidery/
https://www.instagram.com/northregent/
https://www.instagram.com/sewjenaissance/
https://www.instagram.com/annielangart/
https://www.instagram.com/thimblethistle/
https://www.instagram.com/pixiecrafthandmade/
https://www.instagram.com/nonnasneedles/
https://www.instagram.com/handmadebykate_/
https://www.instagram.com/tesselaine/
https://www.instagram.com/stitchezwithattitude/
https://www.instagram.com/tinkerellen/
https://www.instagram.com/fox_in_the_hole_design/ https://www.instagram.com/badtimeembroidery/
https://www.instagram.com/stockandstitch/
https://www.instagram.com/brinnanabreadcrafts/
https://www.instagram.com/markotart/
https://www.instagram.com/mend_marthaellen/
https://www.instagram.com/thefolklohr/
https://www.instagram.com/threadhoney/
https://www.instagram.com/theflorary/
https://www.instagram.com/forestchorusstudio/
https://www.instagram.com/isewpose/
https://www.instagram.com/minaxmesa/
https://www.instagram.com/stitchqueer/
https://www.instagram.com/poorcreditcrafts/
https://www.instagram.com/walnutandlaurel/
https://www.instagram.com/willstitchforcoffee/
https://www.instagram.com/prettylittleneedlework/
https://www.instagram.com/sol.y.mano.studio/
https://www.instagram.com/pegsandneedles/
https://www.instagram.com/wildflower_threads/
https://www.instagram.com/yolish.designs/
https://www.instagram.com/bobbypinbandit/
https://www.instagram.com/nerdsandneedles/
https://www.instagram.com/rochilana/
https://www.instagram.com/knottydickens/
https://www.instagram.com/thekitschystitcher/
https://www.instagram.com/thelittleoystershop/
https://www.instagram.com/bugandbeanstitching/
https://www.instagram.com/gulushthreads/
https://www.instagram.com/larkrising/
https://www.instagram.com/littletwigdesigns/
https://www.instagram.com/destinycitythreads/
https://www.instagram.com/stitchingsabbatical/
https://www.instagram.com/hoffeltandhooperco/
https://www.instagram.com/highstitch/
https://www.instagram.com/mountainsofthread/
https://www.instagram.com/yesstitchyes/
https://www.instagram.com/threadthewick/
https://www.instagram.com/margdierembroidery/
https://www.instagram.com/seesophiesew/
https://www.instagram.com/thistleandthreaddesign/
https://www.instagram.com/mcreativej/
https://www.instagram.com/parlournoir/
https://www.instagram.com/stitchmyheartout/
https://www.instagram.com/thread_counted/
https://www.instagram.com/thisishowisew/
https://www.instagram.com/sideinstitches/
https://www.instagram.com/stitchin_jules/
https://www.instagram.com/makingjiggy/
https://www.instagram.com/oh_janet/
https://www.instagram.com/flossybb/
https://www.instagram.com/peachaster/
https://www.instagram.com/stitchingpretty/
https://www.instagram.com/saltytalkembroidery/
https://www.instagram.com/stitchpatrick/
https://www.instagram.com/willowwhimsies/
https://www.instagram.com/deer.and.now/
https://www.instagram.com/stitchculture/
https://www.instagram.com/sea_horse_farm/
https://www.instagram.com/shesaidsew/
https://www.instagram.com/magnolia.threads/
https://www.instagram.com/purpose.bybeth/
https://www.instagram.com/breezebotpunch/
https://www.instagram.com/femmestitches/
https://www.instagram.com/themakere/
https://www.instagram.com/mountaingirlartshop/
https://www.instagram.com/pinandthreadco/
https://www.instagram.com/exploringembroidery/
https://www.instagram.com/daria_roozen/
https://www.instagram.com/seasidefoxartwork/
https://www.instagram.com/knot_it_threads/
https://www.instagram.com/book_nerd_embroidery/
https://www.instagram.com/polkafan/
https://www.instagram.com/yourfroguette/
https://www.instagram.com/nuevo.reino/
https://www.instagram.com/mystitchingjourney/
https://www.instagram.com/preclusionembroidery/
https://www.instagram.com/flyfibers/
https://www.instagram.com/charlotte_stitches/
https://www.instagram.com/katybiele/
https://www.instagram.com/embroidebrenna/
https://www.instagram.com/sk_essamplaire/
https://www.instagram.com/creamor/

embroidery + more:
https://www.instagram.com/nightquilter/
https://www.instagram.com/littleghoststudio/
https://www.instagram.com/feelingstitchyish/
https://www.instagram.com/randomactsofamy/
https://www.instagram.com/thebadasserie
https://www.instagram.com/hellojennyhart/
https://www.instagram.com/s.d.evans/
https://www.instagram.com/vancitystitchco/
https://www.instagram.com/emilyunderwater/
https://www.instagram.com/paxandliv/
https://www.instagram.com/thestitchinghand/
https://www.instagram.com/teeteeheehee/
https://www.instagram.com/fiance_knowles/
https://www.instagram.com/houseelfstitchery/
https://www.instagram.com/eradura/
https://www.instagram.com/corinnesleight/
https://www.instagram.com/the_monsters_lounge/
https://www.instagram.com/theyellowwallpaper89/
https://www.instagram.com/snarktasticstitchery/
https://www.instagram.com/vkmatthewson/
https://www.instagram.com/stitchinthematrix/
https://www.instagram.com/missmake/
https://www.instagram.com/trustnostitch/
https://www.instagram.com/littlestabs/
https://www.instagram.com/friday55/
https://www.instagram.com/frontroomstitches/
https://www.instagram.com/cinderberries/
https://www.instagram.com/nyfloresita/
https://www.instagram.com/teaganolivia/
https://www.instagram.com/lolliandgrace/
https://www.instagram.com/shelly_sells_lemonade/
https://www.instagram.com/citysuesewing/
https://www.instagram.com/quiet_hours/
https://www.instagram.com/piccoloago/
https://www.instagram.com/bookstackbobbins/
https://www.instagram.com/stitchyfox/
https://www.instagram.com/theauthenticstitch/
https://www.instagram.com/stitchplzstudio/
https://www.instagram.com/themessybrunette/
https://www.instagram.com/rachyroar/
https://www.instagram.com/sewphiet/
https://www.instagram.com/allie.biddle/
https://www.instagram.com/caramichelledesigns/
https://www.instagram.com/calicoranger/
https://www.instagram.com/elinagaraeva/
https://www.instagram.com/shzsky/
https://www.instagram.com/crafty.stitch/

loose ends of a long year

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Fri, 16 Dec 2016 17:42:00 +0000

It's hard to believe that the year is almost over -- and hard for me to believe that after almost seven years of working on my book, After the Fall will be on shelves in just a few weeks. But if that's too long to wait, good news: You can read an excerpt on Bustle!

It's not a book that would have been finished without the help of some very dear friends, however, and in the run up to its release, they've been as amazing as always. For example: This past week, I got to reveal four fantastic blurbs from four equally fantastic writers.

(full text for these images can be found on my book page)

I've also been happy to see several positive responses from trade reviewers. Here are a few highlights:

"Hart’s debut novel has a lot going for it—well-defined and believable major and minor characters, in particular—as well as a lot going on. ... Hart holds it all together and closes with an ending that retains a measure of hope without becoming unrealistically perfect." - Publishers Weekly

"Thought-provoking moments regarding such issues as female sexuality, racial microaggressions, and class differences add depth to the characters." - Booklist

"At first, this title seems like a well-written examination of the definitions of assault and consent. But as a relationship blossoms between Raychel and Matt’s brother, Andrew, questions about communication and honesty emerge even more strongly, and after a family tragedy, grief and guilt are also brought into the mix. Those are some pretty heavy themes for one book to explore, but Hart does a good job of handling her ambitious plot. VERDICT: Like Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak and Courtney Summers’s All the Rage, this is an important novel for teens and adults to discuss together." - School Library Journal

AND a STARRED REVIEW from VOYA!

"This memorable debut novel is told in the alternating perspectives of Raychel and Matt. Both characters are very well portrayed as complex characters with strengths and weaknesses. The supporting cast is also well developed, with most characters avoiding the trap of falling into mere stereotypes. The story is well paced, flowing logically towards its conclusion. The ending ties up most issues, but leaves enough open so that the reader knows the characters are going to move on. This book deals with heavy issues concerning sexuality and grief, and as such might be difficult for some readers. Issues of jealousy, relationships, sexual consent, and grief run throughout. This would be an excellent addition to most high school libraries."

Meanwhile, badasses Kelly Jensen and Veronica Roth included me in some stellar book lists, which you should check out if you're still looking for holiday gift ideas: "Feminist Reads" at The Booksmugglers, and a holiday wishlist at Barnes and Noble.

Still need gift ideas? Well, there's always my new Etsy shop (she says, with no shame whatsoever). Or you could check out the latest edition of Shine Along, my monthly-ish newsletter that is about 15% my news, 90% links to cool art and articles, and 100% bad at math. This issue has an exclusive Badass Ladies gift list, plus I curated a collection of awesome online artists. (December's letter isn't in the archive, but if you subscribe I'll make you sure you get a copy.)

I'll be back next week with the final Badass Ladies profile of 2016 (may the year rest in dumpster fire peace), but I'm also finishing up some infographics, plus lining up profiles for 2017 and looking at ways to build that project into something bigger and even better. I hope you'll hang around and see what happens, and thanks for sticking around for the last seven years!

Badass Ladies You Should Know: Michelle Krys

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 20:52:00 +0000

If you ask me, nurses are superheroes. They study for years to work long hours on life-saving but thankless tasks, often disrespected both by patients and by doctors. Today's Badass Lady, Michelle Krys, works in one of the hardest nursing departments -- the NICU -- while also mothering two kids, writing books in her spare time, and being a really good friend. Scroll down for a chance to win a copy of DEAD GIRLS SOCIETY plus a poster!

*

Kate: Describe your career(s) and/or current projects. What path(s) and passions led you there?

Michelle: I’m the author of the young adult novels HEXED and CHARMED, which are urban fantasies following a popular cheerleader who discovers she may be a witch. My next book is a standalone contemporary thriller called DEAD GIRLS SOCIETY, which follows a group of girls who receive anonymous invitations to join a high stakes game of dares, only the game isn’t all that it seems, and soon the promise of a prize is replaced by a fight to stay alive. It comes out this November. 9

I’m also a nurse, and I work in a busy NICU.

I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember, but I didn’t actually give it a go until I was 25, on a year-long maternity leave. My baby slept through the night and napped 3+ hours during the day, and I suddenly found myself with all this time on my hands. I decided if I really wanted to write a book, I would never get a better chance. I spent my free time that year writing and editing my first novel (which I ended up trunking), but I’ve been writing ever since, around motherhood duties and 12-hour night shifts in the NICU.

Kate: Do you have any (other) creative outlets? How do they influence/affect your main work (if at all)?

Michelle: Does watching Netflix count? Seriously though, I watch a lot of T.V. Besides being entertaining, T.V. really inspires me. And if it’s a teen television show, it counts as “research”.

I’m ashamed to admit I also spend a lot of time catching up on celebrity gossip. I am insanely well informed on the goings on of the celebrity world.

Kate: What's your biggest challenge?

Michelle: Right now it’s finding the time to write. I just had another baby in April, and with nursing, meal prep, school and soccer practice it’s hard to carve out time for my own pursuits. And then when I do miraculously find time for myself, the challenge is to then spend it working instead of watching that Netflix I was talking about, which is infinitely easier than writing a book.

Kate: Tell us about a time that you bounced back from failure.
Michelle: Just one time? In all seriousness, the first book I wrote was an epic failure. I’d spent every spare minute of my maternity leave writing it, only to have all 120 agents I queried (can’t say I didn’t try!) roundly reject it. It was demoralizing, to say the least. But I was committed to getting a book published, so I tried very hard to view it not as a failure but as a learning experience. I dug deeper, got involved in the online writing community, read craft book after craft book, and wrote a better novel. This turned out to be my debut novel, HEXED, which was bought by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books. I’m so glad I didn’t let that failure get in the way of pursuing my dreams.

Kate: What's the best compliment you've ever gotten? Or Tell us something that makes you proud.

Michelle: Someone recently told me that I’m a kind person. I’ve never thought of myself as a mean person, but to be told that and know that it was how another person viewed me was really nice.

Kate: Did you have any defining moments that galvanized your understanding of and/or commitment to feminism? How does it inform/inspire your work?

Michelle: I think, like a lot of young people, I didn’t always understand what feminism was. It shames me to admit it, but the word feminist used to put me in mind of a woman who just wanted to stir up trouble. I can’t remember exactly when this changed, but I know that it was a gradual eye-opening process, wherein I started to really see all the unfairness and injustice in the world—the unequal pay, the slut shaming, the rape culture—and then I found myself suddenly explaining to others that feminism isn’t “we’re against men” but “we’re for equal rights and opportunities for men and women”. Now the issue is very close to my heart. You don’t have to read too closely in any of my novels to see my female protagonists come to realize their power, both figuratively and literally.

Kate: What are the best ways to support other women?

Michelle: Women are constantly being pitted against each other, but we’re stronger together. Instead of judging and criticizing each other, lift women up. Celebrate women. Give women the benefit of the doubt.

Kate: What is your advice to aspiring badasses?

Michelle: Stop comparing yourself to other people. Focus on how you can become the best version of yourself.

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Michelle Krys is the author of Hexed and Charmed. When she’s not writing books for teens, Michelle moonlights as a NICU nurse. She lives in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, with her family. You can visit her online at michellekrys.com.

twitter // facebook // instagram

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Badass Ladies You Should Know: Julia Good Fox

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 22:31:00 +0000

This week makes it hard to write a catchy tagline, much less hope for an article to get traction online, and I debated whether I should wait for a different time to post. But now more than ever, it's important to raise our voices and support badass women, especially women of color and other marginalized communities. This project will keep going, and I hope you will too.

I've long been inspired Haskell Indian Nations University Dean Julia Good Fox, and I'm honored to share her wisdom today.

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Kate: Describe your career(s) and/or current projects. What path(s) and passions led you there?

Julia: I have been in academia for the past 16 years. I started off as faculty in Indigenous and American Indian Studies. About two years ago, I transitioned into administration. Currently, I am the Dean of Natural and Social Sciences at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, KS. Prior to making the leap into higher ed, I worked as a programmer, as a manager in Public Health, and I also spent time in the mental health field. All of these careers have assisted me in my current role as Dean.

Kate: Do you have any (other) creative outlets? How do they influence/affect your main work (if at all)?

Julia: I still see myself as a writer, even though my writing has slowed down since I went into administration. My public writings focus on cultural studies, politics, and pop culture reviews. My scholarly writings mostly discussed decolonization in Indian Country and the United States

Kate: What's your biggest challenge?

Julia: Currently, I am exploring relationships and identity—and how these intersect community. So this involves asking myself a lot of questions and doing intentional observation of others. What makes people happy? How do people define and work toward a quality of life that makes sense for them? Why do people engage in bullying? How is resiliency fostered? Empowerment? Much of my job involves “people-work” and so these questions assist me in the everyday challenge of promoting shared purpose. It’s interesting!

Kate: Tell us about a time that you bounced back from failure.

Julia: I have had struggles, especially when I was younger, with depression and anxiety and general low confidence in my abilities. Therapy helped! A personal break-through was when I was in my 20s and realized that I did not have to create my unhappy past—that I could move beyond being stuck in what’s called post-traumatic stress and other dysfunctions that can arise from a violent childhood. The great thing about growing older is that it is now easier for me to get past these moments when they occasionally pop up. Developing a sense of humor is key.

Kate: What's the best compliment you've ever gotten?

Julia: An immediate one that comes to my mind happened decades ago. I worked at a drug rehab when I was in my late teens and early twenties. One day, I was eating at a restaurant and when I went to pay my tab, the waitress gave me a note that said “You helped me when I was at my lowest. I’ve been in recovery for a year now. The least I can do is pay for your lunch.” That was so moving. It helped me to understand that words and actions do matter in our interactions with others.

Kate: Did you have any defining moments that galvanized your understanding of and/or commitment to feminism? How does it inform/inspire your work?

Julia: Feminism is awesome! The stories of my Tribe are inspiring. My mother was influential in this regard, too. She was active in the ‘70s Feminism movement, bringing her Pawnee wisdom to the mainstream. I also was fortunate to have teachers, particularly during my elementary school days, who would loan me books about female leaders. They took the time to mentor me, a child at that time. To this day, I am a firm proponent of mentoring. Young women (and men) have so much to offer, and as a Tribal feminist, I believe it’s my responsibility to assist them as they’re charting their way to whatever is their goal.

Kate: What are the best ways to support other women?

Julia: Besides mentoring, friendship is instrumental. When I was growing up, there was so much anti-Indianism then as there is now that sometimes those close to me would engage in lateral violence. I do not want to recreate that. Finding my close circle of ride-or-die women friends has been a salvation. I’m grateful for their support. In return, I do my best to support women in their work and creativity. This can be in the form of a sincere compliment or other show of support, such as buying their books or art.

Kate: What is your advice to aspiring badasses?

Julia: Believe in yourself! It was difficult growing up in Oklahoma because my circumstances were mired in by conformity, conservativism, and colonization. Sometimes my only solace was in music or the library, but I would seek it out because these activities would nourish me. I would like to tell all aspiring badasses that nothing is impossible for them to achieve. Just show up, attend to the day-to-day tasks that need to be done, and work to create your dream one step at a time.

Also, develop a thick skin.

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Julia Good Fox is a citizen of the Pawnee Nation, and she was born in Oklahoma. She lives in Lawrence, Kansas, with her family, two dogs (Sammie and Mrs. Beasley) and two cats (Joe and Bowie). She writes about culture, politics, Indian Country, and the list goes on. Also, she enjoys thinking and reading.

www.goodfox.love

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Badass Ladies You Should Know: Dianne Bondy

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Wed, 02 Nov 2016 14:00:00 +0000

Today's Badass Lady doesn't need much introduction: You've already seen her featured in People Magazine, The Guardian, and Self, as well as in ads for the Penningtons clothing line. I'm so happy to share this interview with Dianne Bondy.

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Kate: Describe your career(s) and/or current projects. What path(s) and passions led you there?

Dianne: I am a public speaker, educator, fat activist, yoga teacher, cultural shifter and over all disruptor. My mission is to shift culture and shape consciousness. I travel and teach workshops on personal empowerment and yoga for larger bodies, and I share my practice on yogsteya.com, Yoga International and Gaiam.

Kate: Do you have any (other) creative outlets? How do they influence/affect your main work (if at all)?

Dianne: I love doing research and studying human nature.

Kate: Tell us about a time that you bounced back from failure.

Dianne: I consider my journey from disordered eating to self- love a huge win. My attitude towards myself.

Kate: What's the best compliment you've ever gotten?

Dianne: Thanks for not being a fraud. Thank you for bringing your light to this community.

Kate: Did you have any defining moments that galvanized your understanding of and/or commitment to feminism? How does it inform/inspire your work?

Dianne:The deeper I delve into my Yoga practice and the more I share the teaching, the more I understand myself. My practice has brought incredible feminist educators and critical thinker into my life, like Dr. Sabrina Strings, Dr. Sarah King, Dr Gail Parker, and Dr. Beth Berlia. These women teach critical thinking, gender studies, race, culture, and identity, which influences my work greatly

Kate: What are the best ways to support other women?

Dianne: Show up for them. Listen and help selflessly when asked. As women we often spend time tearing each other down; it is time to lift each other up

Kate: What is your advice to aspiring badasses?

Dianne: Do you! “Other people’s opinions of you are none of your business”

*

Dianne Bondy is a celebrated yoga teacher, social justice activist and leading voice of the Yoga For All movement. Her inclusive view of yoga asana and philosophy inspires and empowers thousands of followers around the world - regardless of their shape, size, ethnicity, or level of ability.

She applies over 1000 hours of training to help her students find freedom, self-expression and radical self-love in their yoga practice. She shares her message and provides millions of followers with affordable access to online yoga classes, workshops and tutorials at her virtual studio: Yogasteya.com. Dianne contributes to Yoga International, Yoga Journal, Do You Yoga, and Elephant Journal. She is featured and profiled in International media outlets: The Guardian, Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan, and more. She is a spokesperson for diversity in yoga and yoga for larger bodies, as seen in her work with Pennington’s, Gaiam, and the Yoga & Body Image Coalition. Her work is published in the books: Yoga and Body Image, and Yes Yoga Has Curves.

DianneBondyYoga.com // yogasteya.com // yogaforalltraining.com
facebook // instagram // twitter // youtube

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BOOk! Pumpkins 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 13:30:00 +0000

In 2011, I made book cover pumpkin patterns in response to talk of how dark and scary YA was getting. Years have passed and book challenges have come and gone, but the media continues to use kidlit fears as click bait, so here's another round of the most terrifying thing around this Halloween: children's books.

This year I'm also offering a bonus treat:

Since it's the first time I've gotten to include my own book in the patterns,
scroll down for a chance to win a signed ARC of AFTER THE FALL!

(No pumpkin necessary! But they do get you an extra entry or four.)

and now, beware the....

Creepy Creatures

The Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo; The Rat Prince by Bridget Hodder

House of Purple Cedar by Tim Tingle; Poison's Kiss by Breeana Shields

Treasure at Lure Lake by Shari L. Schwartz; In The Footsteps of Crazy Horse by Joseph Marshall III

Badass Ladies

American Street by Ibi Zoboi; Dead Girls Society by Michelle Krys

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas; Into White by Randi Pink

Who's That Girl by Blair Thornburgh; Strings by Nikki Katz

Blue Is A Darkness Weakened By Light by Sarah McCarry; After the Fall by Kate Hart (hi!)

Exit, Pursued By a Bear by E. K. Johnston; Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol;

Done Dirt Cheap by Sarah Nicole Lemon

Sinister Symbolism

Little and Lion by Brandy Colbert; I Believe In A Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo

Devil and the Bluebird by Jennifer Mason-Black; Flying Lessons and Other Stories by Ellen Oh, editor

Caraval by Stephanie Garber; Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth

Saving Hamlet by Molly Booth; This Above All by Lindsey Culli

LGBTQ Representation

Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin; History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and David Levithan; When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore

The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich; Bleeding Earth (paperback) by Kaitlin Ward

and...

Macabre Middle Grade

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander; Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson; Spy Camp by Stuart Gibbs

Don't see your favorites?

Check the index or just browse year by year:

2011 // 2012 // 2013 // 2014 // 2015

Win an ARC!

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How to use these patterns:

1. Click the image to expand, then right click and save to your computer. (You can also download from Google Docs here.)

2. Print at whatever size fits your pumpkin, then pin the pattern to it.

3. Use a toothpick or pushpin to poke holes around the edges of the design (more holes = easier to see the lines).

4. Remove the pattern and rub flour or powder over the holes to make them show up better.

5. Cut out the black sections.

6. Take a picture and tweet it at me!

Badass Ladies You Should Know: Erin Winick

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Hart) — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 15:00:00 +0000

Lots of people have two jobs, but rarely are those two jobs as challenging -- and seemingly separate -- as mechanical engineering and jewelry design. Erin Winick's online startup is already making waves, garnering CNN coverage and rave reviews. But what really drives her isn't just a love of science: she loves to make things, whether they're discoveries, wearable art, articles for the New York Times, or this interview full of great insight.

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Kate: Describe your career(s) and/or current projects. What path(s) and passions led you there?

Erin: I am a student at the University of Florida graduating with a mechanical engineering degree this December, but this summer I am actually interning in Santa Rosa, CA with Keysight technologies while running my company, Sci Chic. Growing up I have always loved science and making things. I constructed massive Rube Goldberg machines around my parents’ house, sewed my Halloween costumes, and built big LEGO towers. I rented stacks of Bill Nye DVDs from the library. When it came to finally selecting my major in college I gravitated toward the degree that teaches you problem solving and how to create new things, mechanical engineering. On top of that, I grew up in Florida surrounded by the space program and loving watching shuttle launches out in my front yard.

Kate: Do you have any (other) creative outlets? How do they influence/affect your main work (if at all)?

Erin: I am an engineer with a heart full of art. I am the weird engineer that likes to write. I love sewing, fashion and costume design. I use 3D printing as a creative outlets. All of this has led me really focus on science communication in addition to my degree. I love combining all of my interests in new ways. I truly believe science is creative, fun and fashionable and I am on a mission to show that.

I have made everything from galaxy themed dresses to Ms. Frizzle costumes. I have written for the New York Times and Business in Greater Gainesville. If someone gives me a chance to make things I jump on that opportunity.

Kate: What's your biggest challenge?

Erin: Figuring out which route to take next! I graduate this December and I am tossing around a lot of options of the next path for me to take. I love entrepreneurship and science writing and am going to at least pursue them part time upon graduation, but I am also debating going in full force as a science communicator or going into industry or a grad school program I love. I am definitely applying to the MIT Media Lab upon graduation as they have an absolutely amazing program that I think really fits my personality and love of creation. Balancing all of these different things isn’t easy and can be draining at times, but it is a true labor of love.

Kate: What's the best compliment you've ever gotten?

Erin: The best compliment I have ever received is that I am a really genuine person. After going to a conference with a friend, the friend told me tons of people came up to them later and told them they loved my genuine and real passion for what I am doing. It meant so much to me that this really came across and people could see how much I care about encouraging women in STEM and showing the creativity in STEAM.

Kate: Did you have any defining moments that galvanized your understanding of and/or commitment to feminism? How does it inform/inspire your work?

Erin: When I was leaving one of my previous jobs on the last day, one guy told me, “You are such a great engineer. Now don’t become a mom and ruin all that.” I wish I could say I had a great response, but I didn’t. I just nodded my head and walked away. It really shocked me that someone would say that. As I thought about it later on and wished I had stood up for myself at the moment, it made me want to prepare for a situation like that in the future. Comments like that can’t be ignored and it has sparked my motivation even more to encourage more women and diversity in STEM.

Kate: What are the best ways to support other women?

Erin: Reach behind you and pull others up with you. Do not be afraid to extend a hand. Help without the expectation of getting something in return, and the returns will come in ways that you never expected.

Kate: What is your advice to aspiring badasses?

Erin: Whatever it is that you love and are good at can be shaped into a career. You would be surprised. Talk to anyone and everyone you can. Learn about them and their passions. Then stay connected. You never know what person you meet could be the key to your future or will give you a once in a lifetime opportunity.

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Erin Winick is a mechanical engineering student at the University of Florida and the founder of Sci Chic, a company that creates science and engineering-inspired jewelry using 3D printing. Erin is a passionate advocate for women in STEM and entrepreneurship and an active member of the Society of Women Engineers. Erin has interned at Keysight Technologies, John Deere, Solar Turbines and Bracken Engineering and published on 3D printing outreach. In her free time she enjoys making, especially sewing and costume design, hiking, and singing along to Hamilton and Something Rotten cast albums.

website // twitter // instagram // snapchat // scichic.com

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