“Many of the families we serve require bilingual/bicultural staff that are able to communicate in a meaningful way to Spanish-speaking parents and children. Antioch University’s Latino Mental Health MACP concentration has been a hugely beneficial resource.”

Thomas M. Sodergren
Director of Community Services
Casa Pacifica, Centers for Children & Families  

“As Director of Community Based Services for Casa Pacifica, I have had the pleasure of overseeing our programs in Santa Barbara County for the past 5 years. We provide MediCal services to children and families of low income/no income households in Santa Maria , Santa Barbara, Lompoc, Guadalupe, Santa Ynez Valley, Carpentaria and many other towns in our county. All of our programs are designed to keep children with their families and in their communities by providing quality mental health services in homes, schools, foster placements, or wherever we can help. Through Therapeutic Behavioral Services(TBS), SB 163 Wraparound Services, and our 24/7 mobile crisis response services(S.A.F.T.Y.) we provide services to over 300 youth and families per month on average. Many of the families we serve are Spanish speaking only and require Bilingual/Bicultural staff that are able to communicate in a meaningful way to parents and children who may not understand the mental health issues that are affecting their families. It is critical that we have clinically educated staff who understand the fear and concerns that can put up barriers to Latino families accessing services for their children.

Over half of Casa Pacifica’s direct care staff are Bilingual/Bicultural and many have graduated from Antioch University in their Latino Mental Health concentration for an MFT degree. Of those graduates, 5 have received stipends from the MFT Consortium of California and are currently working for Casa Pacifica providing services throughout the county to underserved and disenfranchised youth and families. Antioch University has been a hugely beneficial resource for future staff who are introduced to our community based services as possible employees and also to staff who already work for Casa Pacifica who want to pursue their quest for a graduate degree and a career in public mental health. Casa Pacifica strongly supports the stipend program that is offered to Latino MFT graduates of Antioch University Santa Barbara and recognizes the quality mental health service providers that have benefitted from this generous offering. ”    

Thomas M. Sodergren
Director of Community Services
Casa Pacifica, Centers for Children & Families 
“Providing Hope and Help”
Santa Barbara County Division
(805) 319-7501
tsodergren[at]casapacifica.org

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Immigration, legal and otherwise, is a pressing national issue with special consequences for education. Many are concerned about the impact of immigration reform on the economy, social services, and national security. Congress is considering comprehensive immigration reform that would strengthen border security and provide a path to citizenship for 11 million persons living in the U.S. Businessmen like Warren Buffett are clamoring for more skilled immigrant employees. “Dream acts” in California and other states have opened higher education to “undocumented” students. A pending bill in the California Legislature would allow non-citizens to serve on juries. 

 As the featured speaker, Dr. Marcelo Suarez-Orozco, Dean of the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and immigration expert, will present the experiences and achievements of immigrant students. He will be joined on a panel by: U.S. Rep. Lois Capps, addressing the progress of legislative reform in Congress; an AUSB alumna who will give a firsthand account of the challenges she faced as an undocumented student; and Maricela Morales, Deputy Executive Director of CAUSE, a local community action group, who will discuss efforts to empower documented and undocumented constituents to develop a voice for social change in the public arena. 

The panel will be moderated by AUSB trustee Lou Cannon and is sponsored by:  Pacific Standard, Montecito Bank and Trust, SB League of Women Voters, AUSB Trustee Dee Dee Barrett, and AUSB Board Chair Vicki Riskin.                                                                   

You can learn more about the event, read bios of the panelists, and RSVP at

www.antiochsb.edu/immigration

The post AUSB Presents a Trustee Forum on The Future of California: Immigration & Education, May 29 appeared first on Antioch University Santa Barbara.

 1. Small Groups:

 2. Accomplished, high-caliber faculty. All of the workshop leaders are successful authors and screenwriters.

 3. Special Treats: Every evening there will be a reading by a distinguished author, and two afternoons will feature panels on How to Get Published and Breaking Into New Genres. A first-night reception with dinner, continental breakfast each morning and a closing luncheon are included in the cost of the institute.

 4. Genre Specific Workshops: including in Fiction: Finding Your Voice, Creating Worlds, Writing Commercial Fiction, Writing Mysteries from the Inside Out, The Art of Revision; in Nonfiction: Explanatory Journalism, Intermediate Memoir Workshop, The Essentials of Memoir Writing, Long-form Nonfiction; in Screenwriting: Developing Your Story Intuition, Adapting forthe Screen, Advanced Dramatic Writing, The Writer’s Journey, and Improv for Writers; in Writing for Young People: Transformative Journeys, Writing YA From the Inside Out, and Hooking the Little Ones.

 5. Did we mention it’s held in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA? The American Riviera! 

See you this summer! Register here.

The post 5 Reasons You Can’t Miss The Antioch Summer Writing Institute: appeared first on Antioch University Santa Barbara.

This is a very thought-provoking piece that we found to be exceptionally relevant to current educational practice. Thomas highlights the importance of the Common Core, claiming that progressive educators have become so accustomed to the burden of instructional mandates that they may be missing opportunities presented by the common standards.

Please note: If you are not already registered, you will be requested to sign up for a free EdWeek.org account to read the text in its entirety.

The post AUNE Faculty Member Defends Common Core in Education Week appeared first on Antioch University Santa Barbara.

Bruce Hale has written and illustrated more than 25 books for kids. His Underwhere series includes Prince of Underwhere and Pirates of Underwhere. His Chet Gecko Mysteries series includes The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse, The Big Nap, The Malted Falcon, Hiss Me Deadly, and others.

Q. Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? 

A. No, in fact as a kid, I was more drawn to the idea of being a pirate, firefighter, cowboy, or Daniel Boone.  Late in elementary school, I decided to become a children’s book writer, but switched to cartoonist by middle school.

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about your latest project?

A. My latest project, the SCHOOL FOR S.P.I.E.S. series, is a mash-up between Oliver Twist and James Bond – orphans being trained to become super-spies.  Intended for the upper range of the middle-grade audience, it’s fast, funny, and suspenseful.  The first book, Playing With Fire, comes out at the end of June.

Q. Do you have any advice/cure/ for the infamous “writer’s block”?

A. In my experience, writer’s block is just fear — fear of not being perfect.  My way of beating it is to give myself permission to write a really crappy first draft, and then write it as quickly and sloppily as possible. The idea is just to get the rough shape of the story down. Nobody else needs to see your ugly first draft, and if you intend to make it crappy, there won’t be the pressure of trying to achieve perfection the first time out.

Q. How did you get started in the writing industry and what is your best piece of advice to people interested in pursuing writing as a career?

A. I started out by sending out stories and collecting rejection letters, which I did for 8½ years.  During that time, I self-published five picture books, which taught me a lot about writing, promotion, and publishing.  Finally, I met an agent at a writers’ conference who liked my Chet Gecko story.  Three months and a quick rewrite later, I had a three-book contract with Harcourt.  

Q. What is one interesting thing about you that most people don’t know?

A. I’m a former actor and current singer.  I perform with a Latin jazz band called Mezcal Martini, and if I weren’t an author, singer would probably be my next choice of career.  

Q. What is the best food you’ve eaten in the past week?

A. Fresh chocolate-chip walnut cookies.  Mmm…

Q. Is there anything new on your plate? What can we expect from you in the future?

A. There’s always something new.  Right now, in addition to my ongoing SCHOOL FOR S.P.I.E.S. series, I’m doing several picture book and easy reader stories about CLARK THE SHARK.  And I’m pitching a fractured fairy tale mystery series, so my writing plate is nicely full.

Q. What is one thing you are really looking forward to with the Summer Writing Institute?

A. I’m looking forward to diving deeply into the subject with my group of writers.  When you take this much time, you can really learn something and apply it, which isn’t necessarily the case with brief weekend conferences.

Q: How important is networking and social media in the field of writing?

A. These days, social media is becoming more vital than ever – but it’s important not to get lost in it.  In the end, what counts more than anything is good writing.  If you haven’t made your book as awesomely good as it can possibly be, all the tweeting and blogging in the world won’t help it, or your career.  However, if you’ve really spent the time on your work, the networking can be truly helpful.  I’ve heard of writers whose social media abilities helped land them a book contract – because they had a great book to back it up.

Q: Can you give us a rough breakdown of the process of writing a novel from the point of conception to having the book published and sitting on bookshelves? 

A. Now that’s a big subject.  Okay, here’s the reader’s digest version… A story idea is like a grain of sand in an oyster, slowly growing into (hopefully) a pearl.  Sometimes, the initial idea will knock around in my head for years, sometimes only for a month or two, but always evolving and becoming more complex.  When I’ve jotted down enough rough ideas, I spend a few weeks to a month plotting things out.  Then comes a first draft, rough and sloppy.  It’s followed by revision after revision – however many it takes to get things right.  If it’s an already-contracted book, I send it to my editor; if not, I send it to my agent to shop around.

More rounds of revisions follow.  Sometimes, I also do illustrations, if it’s that sort of book.  After a final round of copyediting, it’s out of my hands.  Then the publisher’s team does its part – designing, hiring illustrators, promoting, and physically producing the book.  What seems like a short forever later, I finally receive a box of printed books, and shortly after that, my books are out in bookstores.

Q: What was the best piece of advice about writing or becoming a writer that someone has ever given you?

A. Barry Moser said that talent is like house dust – we’ve all got a little bit of it stuck to us somewhere.  What counts more than talent is persistence.  That’s what gets you published.

The post Bruce Hale: From Acting and Singing to Writing for Kids appeared first on Antioch University Santa Barbara.

Gail Tsukiyama is the author of seven novels, the most recent of which is A Hundred Flowers. She was born in San Francisco to a Chinese mother and a Japanese father and attended San Francisco State University, where she received both her Bachelor of Arts degree and a master of arts degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing. Most of her college work was focused on poetry, and she was the recipient of the Academy of American Poets Award.

Q. Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? 

A. I knew I always wanted to tell stories.  Even when I was very young, I was always writing down stories or scenes or dreaming of them in my mind.  I began as a film major, thinking that was the medium in which I wanted to tell my stories.  I quickly realized it was too confining in terms of structure and development and turned to the writing department.

Q. What inspires you? 

A. Good music, well-written books, a wonderful movie, friends, a lovely glass of wine.   

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about your latest project?

A. It’s early in the writing, but it might depart a bit from my other more historically placed works.  A good part of it takes place in modern day.

Q. I’ve heard that writers often bond to their characters, what does it feel like to finish a story and let go of that bond a little?

A. How I really know I’m finished with a story is when it also feels like it’s time to let go of my characters.  It feels similar to sending a child out into the world; it’s hard and you worry, but you inherently know that you’ve prepared them in every way you can and that they’re ready.

Q. Do you have any advice/cure/ for the infamous “writer’s block”?

A. I tend to walk away from the work for a short time and take on a different mindset – I go window shopping or grocery shopping.  I see a movie or read a book.   I go for a walk or work out in the yard.  Doing something physical always works for me, even something as mundane as vacuuming.  By the time I return to the story, I almost always feel rejuvenated and able to see the work more objectively.

Q. How did you get started in the writing industry and what is your best piece of advice to people interested in pursuing writing as a career?

A. I majored in English with emphasis in creative writing at San Francisco State University.  I began publishing my poetry in small literary magazines and worked my way up to writing short stories and then the novel.  When I was almost finished with my first novel, I attended a writer’s workshop at Mills College.  There I met a group of writers who have remained my writer’s group for the past twenty-five years.  I met my agent through one of them and the rest is history.  It’s important to have readers whom you trust that you can show your work to for feedback.  And if you’re not in an MFA program, there are many writing programs, such as the Antioch Summer Writing Institute that bring together writers with those in the writing industry. 

My best advice is to concentrate on writing the best story you can, and to write it without thoughts of being published.  If the writing comes from a passion within, the rest will follow.  

Q. What is one interesting thing about you that most people don’t know?

A. I always wanted to be a doctor.  

Q. What is the best food you’ve eaten in the past week?

A. Fried chicken.  I don’t eat it often, but when I do it’s got to be good!

Q. Is there anything new on your plate? What can we expect from you in the future?

A. Besides a new book, I’m also involved with a books + water project called WaterBridge Outreach.  It’s a private, nonprofit that supplies books and water needs to impoverished countries.  I was in India last November checking on projects we’ve sponsored.  I hope to keep working with WBO in the years to come.

Q. What is one thing you are really looking forward to with the Summer Writing Institute?

A. Hearing new voices.

Q: How important is networking and social media in the field of writing?

A. Apparently very important.  I’m so bad at it that it’s embarrassing.  I wrote an entire keynote talk about my inability to use social media in ways that would help with the business of writing.

Q: Do you have any practices regarding the above question that you have found successful? Any websites you swear by, any online communities that have been helpful, etc.? 

A. I finally have an Author’s Page on Facebook.  Unfortunately, I’m not very good at keeping up with it so I’m definitely the wrong author to ask.  I’m going to try and do better with using social media in the months ahead! 

Q: Can you give us a rough breakdown of the process of writing a novel from the point of conception to having the book published and sitting on bookshelves? 

A. The initial process of writing a novel is in the writer’s hands.  You have to sit down and write every day until that glimmer of light finds its way onto the page(s) and shines.  It takes discipline and dedication.  Only after you’ve written a really clean final draft, do you look for an agent who believes in your book, so they’ll find the right home for it. (Meaning an editor and publishing house.)  They are your allies and will help fight for everything that becomes the business of writing – from designing the book cover to how much marketing will take place, from sending early copies out for reviews to which bookstores or warehouses will carry the book.  (This is also when social media can play a helpful role in getting the word out!) While the process of writing a book is very solitary, it takes a team to bring the final product to the bookshelf of a bookstore.

Q: What was the best piece of advice about writing or becoming a writer that someone has ever given you?

A. Always tell the truth.  It’s also what I tell students.

The post Gail Tsukiyama: Poet, Novelist, Teacher appeared first on Antioch University Santa Barbara.

“It’s important for Antioch to make this program as accessible as possible to promising writers,” says Marcia Meier, director of SWI, “so I am especially delighted that President Nancy Leffert has made these partial scholarships available to those in need.”

To apply for a President’s Access Grant for SWI, submit a 200-word essay via email explaining why you need this grant and how it would benefit you, with “SWI Grant” as the Subject line. Include your full name, email address and phone number. Hard copies of essays will not be accepted.

The President’s Access Grant application deadline is Thursday, May 30, 2013. Recipients will be notified by Wednesday, June 5. The application deadline for the Summer Writing Institute is Saturday, June 15.

The post Partial Scholarships Now Available for Qualified Summer Writing Institute Participants appeared first on Antioch University Santa Barbara.

The 50+ participants included professional therapists, agency staff, family caregivers, and other community members with an interest in this field. From a variety of speakers, they learned clinical skills and multidisciplinary perspectives on preventive, medical, wellness, holistic, and transitional approaches that support optimal life quality for themselves, aging clients, and their families.

In Friday night’s opening address, AUSB President Dr. Nancy Leffert welcomed attendees before introducing the keynote speaker, Harry R. Moody, PhD, director of academic affairs for AARP in Washington, DC, who spoke on: Flourishing in Later Life: New Visions of Healthy Aging and Mental Health.

Featured medical and mental health presenters during the Symposium included: David Lebell, MD; Stuart Light, MA; Peter MacDougall, PhD; Albert Munoz-Flores, PsyD; and Elizabeth Wolfson, PhD, LCSW, chair of the MA in Clinical Psychology Program, which sponsored the event under the aegis of its Healthy Aging concentration.

On Saturday afternoon, several creative artisans and educators – poet/teacher Barry Spacks, author/teacher Kimberley Snow, and Beverly Schydlowsky, PhD, presented Secrets of Healthy Aging: Local Luminaries Share Their Perspectives, followed by a Panel on Multidisciplinary Perspectives that examined such diverse issues as independent and residential living, adult day care, family support, and meaningful end-of-life rituals.

Other symposium topics included: the latest medical advances for healthy aging; clinical practitioner approaches; mind over matter for conscious aging; 21^st-century grandparents; an artistic perspective on the secrets of healthy aging; and a multimedia student presentation.

The post AUSB Symposium on Healthy Aging a Huge Success appeared first on Antioch University Santa Barbara.

Maureen Murdock is an author, educator, Jungian-oriented psychotherapist and photographer. Author of the bestselling book, The Heroine’s Journey, Maureen conducts workshops on memoir writing and personal myth. She combines her interest in the mysterious workings of the psyche with a study of mythology and a love of storytelling and memoir writing. Maureen’s popularity as an author, lecturer, and workshop presenter has enriched the lives of thousands of people. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages.

Q. Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? 

A. No, I wanted to be an artist.

Q. What inspires you? 

A. The prose of good memoirists like Jeanette Winterson, Mary Karr and Jennifer Boylan.   

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about your latest project?

A. I have been working on a book-length memoir about my relationship with my bipolar son, which takes a universal look at how motherhood is a profound journey, which includes loss and acceptance. 

Q. Do you have any advice/cure/ for the infamous “writer’s block”?

A.  Take your writer for a long walk in nature or by the sea and find out what your writer needs. Maybe she needs a bit of a vacation from your nagging. Send her in your imagination to Hawaii for a couple of weeks and go back to your writing room and read a good book or look at some artwork that inspires you.

Q. How did you get started in the writing industry and what is your best piece of advice to people interested in pursuing writing as a career?

A. I was very lucky. I first self-published a book on guided imagery with children that was noticed in the library at Naropa Institute by the then-publisher of Shambhala Publications. He asked the librarian how to contact me and I had just taught a workshop there so she told him. He contacted me, asked me to add three chapters to the book and published it as Spinning Inward in 1987. From there I wrote The Heroine’s Journey and The Heroine’s Journey Workbook for Shambhala and then got book deals from Ballantine and Seal Press. My best piece of advice is to not get discouraged when the rejections come in. And they DO come in. Keep at it. You’ve got to write for the love of it because very few writers make a living from it.

Q. What is one interesting thing about you that most people don’t know?

A. I worked with the Huastecan Indians in Mexico and, at the time, learned their language. 

Q. What is the best food you’ve eaten in the past week?

A. Eggplant Parmigiano at Tre Lune in Montecito.

Q. Is there anything new on your plate? What can we expect from you in the future?

A. I just wrote a nonfiction piece on working at San Luis Obispo Men’s Prison; I will continue to write about the criminal justice system.

Q. What is one thing you are really looking forward to with the Summer Writing Institute?

A. Hearing all the wonderful stories from the memoirists I will be working with. Being inspired by other writers.

Q: How important is networking and social media in the field of writing?

A. I’m finding that it’s very helpful to have a blog; I appreciate the feedback I receive from the people who read the blog: maureenmurdockblog.com. Keeping up with the blog, however, takes time, time that takes away from my other writing.

Q: Do you have any practices regarding the above question that you have found successful?Any websites you swear by, any online communities that have been helpful, etc.? 

A. Narrative Magazine’s blog.

Q: What was the best piece of advice about writing or becoming a writer that someone has ever given you?

A. Make a commitment to your work and show up at a regular time to write. Make an appointment with your writer even if you don’t have anything to say. Listen.

The post Maureen Murdock: Make a Commitment to Your Writing and Show Up appeared first on Antioch University Santa Barbara.

Barbara Samuel is a multiple RITA award-winning author with more than 38 books to her credit in a variety of genres. She has written historical and contemporary romances and a number of fantasy novellas with the likes of Susan Wiggs, Jo Beverley and Mary Jo Putney. She now writes women’s fiction about families, dogs, and food as Barbara O’Neal.

Her work has captured a plethora of awards, including six RITAs from the Romance Writers of America; the Colorado Center for the Book Award (twice); Favorite Book of the Year from Romance Writers of America, and the Library Journal’s list of Best Genre Fiction of the year, among many others. You can find a full list of all titles here.

Now living in her hometown of Colorado Springs, Barbara writes in a study overlooking Pikes Peak, a pin that draws her home from her travels. She shares her home with Christopher Robin, a British endurance athlete, a gorgeous and lovable chow mix named Jack; a very, very old Siamese named Esmerelda; a rescued street cat who has become the fattest silver tabby on the planet, and the wonder twins, two tuxedo kittens from a local shelter, whose names have changed several times. Yes, a lot of animals.

An avid photographer, cook, and traveler, Barbara keeps a log of travels, recipes, and photos at her blog, A Writer Afoot, where she also sometimes posts writing advice. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook, but she doesn’t promise to be particularly interesting there.

Q. Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? 

A. I don’t remember ever wanting to do anything else.  When I was in the fifth grade, I was reading a novel and it occurred to me that someone wrote this book, that it hadn’t just appeared in the world.  Which meant writing novels was a job. And if that was a job, why would anyone do anything else? I started writing novels right then.

Q. What inspires you? 

A. Beauty, first of all.  Common and extraordinary beauties. Children’s hands, the sea, dandelions, music, the smell of the earth.  Food and cooking and the hearth where women gather.

And I am drawn to the way we survive things–or don’t. How one person faces a disaster and stays stuck in the moment for the rest of their life, while another finds a way through it.  Spirituality and physical endurance are parts of that quotient. 

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about your latest project?

A. Four food bloggers aged 24 to 85 come together at a lavender farm in the Pacific Northwest to celebrate the eldest’s birthday.  Lavender, wandering chickens, an Airstream trailer, a great dog and the odd ghosts all play a part.

Q. I’ve heard that writers often bond to their characters, what does it feel like to finish a story and let go of that bond a little?

A. At first, I’m the irritated mother of a just-graduated senior who knows everything. I can’t wait to pack them off to college and let them be somebody else’s problem.  But I experience empty nest syndrome when I actually ship the book off.  I miss the characters very much, and I know I won’t really see them again. It’s great to hear from readers when they’ve spent time with them.

Q. Do you have any advice/cure/ for the infamous “writer’s block”?

A. I don’t actually believe in writer’s block.  It just means something has taken a wrong turn.  Either fix it, start over on something else, or just keep showing up every day and plug away.   If the trouble is too many voices in your head, kindly ask them all to leave and write for yourself. That’s always the answer anyway: write first for yourself.

Q. How did you get started in the writing industry and what is your best piece of advice to people interested in pursuing writing as a career?

A. I started ages ago, writing category romances when there was a huge, sucking demand.  It was lucky timing.

But the same things still are true: study your genre. Know who the masters are and what their path is. Educate yourself to the business–agents, editors who love work like yours, which lines and houses publish the kind of work you write.  Read Publishers Lunch and all the industry rags. Pay attention to the changing markets, too.  At the moment, that’s the great unknown.  How will we be publishing books five years from now? Ten?

Q. What is one interesting thing about you that most people don’t know?

A. I don’t know how interesting it is, but I collect rosaries on my travels.  I have a wooden one from Chimayo, one of jet my son brought me from Barcelona, and one made of rosewood that I bought when I walked the Camino de Santiago de Compestela, among others.

Q. What is the best food you’ve eaten in the past week?

A. A pile of asparagus grilled with lemon juice, olive oil, and kosher salt.

Q. Is there anything new on your plate? What can we expect from you in the future?

A. I have a lot of irons in the fire at the moment.  Working on the ideas for the next book for Bantam, collecting material for a side project, and playing around with another genre I’m not ready to discuss.

Q. What is one thing you are really looking forward to with the Summer Writing Institute?

A. I love the immersion of being with a group of writers for a whole week.  Teaching renews me, and I always learn a tremendous amount.  I’m also looking forward to being in Santa Barbara, which is one of my favorite places on earth.  I have to go commune with my tree, for one thing (the giant Moreton Bay Fig). I met her cousins in New Zealand.  Just cannot get over those trees–they’re so ancient and enormous and enchanting.

Q: How important is networking and social media in the field of writing?

A. Ugh. A necessary evil, I’m afraid, if you want to sell books.  There’s a lot of pressure from the publishing industry to learn it and maximize your online presence, so it’s something we all have to learn.  That doesn’t mean you have to do everything. Pick a few things that suit you and try to be good at them.  I love Facebook, not so much Twitter, and love to blog, since I was a columnist in my journalism days.  It comes naturally.  Figure out where your strengths are.  I thought I’d love Pinterest and don’t, but one of my friends is great at it.

Q: Can you give us a rough breakdown of the process of writing a novel from the point of conception to having the book published and sitting on bookshelves?

A. For me, the point of conception can be a long time before the actual start of the book. I always have a bunch of possible stories rolling around in my head. They collect things, sort themselves into baskets, and at some point, I realize one is fully loaded and ready to go. I’ll play around with research, browse websites, think about the possibilities.

 At that point, I’ll write a sketch/synopsis, and character bios.  The first 100 pages are slow, far less word count than the rest of the book as I figure out what’s going on, what the story is really about, and what I might need to know.   The final 100 pages go very, very fast–sometimes a few days or a week.  I’m tired. I need to live in the book, and have no patience for the outside world. I like to hibernate, wild-haired and lost in the wilderness, and write.

Revisions are usually tackled as I go, so at the end, I’ll spend a week or two going through it before I send it out to editor and agent, who return with questions, clarifications, suggestions. I rewrite the most substantially here, and polish a lot.  Then it goes to line-editing, then copy editing, then galleys, then the book. The whole process takes about two years.

Q: What was the best piece of advice about writing or becoming a writer that someone has ever given you?

A. Remember that you are always writing your backlist. Every book has to be the very best you can muster.

The post Barbara Samuel: From Romance to Women’s Fiction, Winning Awards All the Way appeared first on Antioch University Santa Barbara.

Q. Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? 

A. Yes. Ever since the age of 10 when my mother gave me my first journal. It was a beautiful red leather Kahlil Gibran journal with sayings on the top of every page.

Q. What inspires you? 

A. Life inspires me, as do emotional experiences, nature, reading wonderful writers and speaking to interesting people.

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about your latest project?

A. My latest collection of poetry to be released in early 2014 is called Lust. I am also a doctorate candidate in psychology. My dissertation will combine my passions for writing and psychology. As a writer, I have always been interested in the psychology of the mind and what makes people tick.

Q. I’ve heard that writers often bond to their characters, what does it feel like to finish a story and let go of that bond a little?

A. This happens more commonly with fiction writers than with nonfiction writers or poets. What we might get attached to is the joy of what we are writing.

Q. Do you have any advice/cure/ for the infamous “writer’s block”?

A. I don’t really believe in writer’s block. There are ebbs and flows in every profession and every act of creativity. If you are having difficulty with a particular project there are different ways to work through this. Sometimes just writing helps. You can also take advantage of this time to do a lot of reading of writers whom you admire, and do whatever inspires you. Being in nature, whether it is for an ocean walk or a hike in the mountains; it is always inspiring.  Journaling can also bring ideas and inspiration to writing.

Q. How did you get started in the writing industry and what is your best piece of advice to people interested in pursuing writing as a career?

A. I started writing at an early age and was the editor of my high school newspaper. The most important thing about breaking into the market is to be passionate about what you are writing about. If you are passionate about what you write about then your readers will be passionate about reading your work. How to break into the market depends a great deal on the genre. The best way to start is on the local level by writing letters to the editor and/or for local newspapers or magazines.

Q. What is the best food you’ve eaten in the past week?

A. Fresh lobster. Chocolate mousse.

Q. Is there anything new on your plate? What can we expect from you in the future?

A. I am always creating. Writing is my lifelong passion. There are not enough hours in the day for the ideas I have. I blog regularly for the Huffington Post and write a column for The Santa Barbara Sentinel called, “The Mindful Word.” I have a few new book ideas but I don’t want to jinx them by talking about them!

Q. What is one thing you are really looking forward to with the Summer Writing Institute?

A. Inspiring emerging and published writers to write regularly. Sharing and hearing about what others are writing. Memoir and real life stories have always fascinated me.

Q: How important is networking and social media in the field of writing?

A. Networking and social media are extremely important and it is becoming even more important. Publishers are doing less and less to promote writers, thus leaving a lot of publicity to be done by the writer. The better your network, the more chance you have for success.

Q: Do you have any practices regarding the above question that you have found successful? Any websites you swear by, any online communities that have been helpful, etc.?

A. One site or online community is not more important than the other. What matters is the combination of many to build a platform. Writers should choose sites depending upon the area of interest, whether it is poetry, history, health, biography, science, journalism or general interest. If you have published books it’s a good idea to have a Facebook page for those books. Twitter is also helpful. “Red Room” and “She Writes” are also great networking sites.

Q: Can you give us a rough breakdown of the process of writing a novel from the point of conception to having the book published and sitting on bookshelves?

A. First, you must be passionate about your subject. Second, just write without editing, and get your words out on the page. Third, find readers to read and review before sending out to editors/publishers or agents. Fourth, only submit when you are really happy with your work. Fifth and most important is be persistent. This is probably the most important trait as a writer. If you want others to believe in your work, you must believe in it first. You also need to understand that rejection is simply a part of the process. You are not being rejected as a person, but your work might not hit a chord in the reader. Do not take rejections personally. You need to develop thick skin and get used to it. Forge forward.

Q: What was the best piece of advice about writing or becoming a writer that someone has ever given you?

A. Write what you are passionate about and not necessarily what you think the market wants. Persistence pays.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like us to know about you that we haven’t covered yet?

A: Love what you do and do what you love.

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Q. Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? 

A. Absolutely! I never seriously considered any other career, and I’m not sure I ever had the choice. Even before I learned how to read I was on the path to becoming a writer. My dad’s storytelling abilities were my first inspiration. He used to tell epic bedtime stories that sometimes spanned weeks. I became obsessed with “story,” not only in the written form, but oral, film, television. The idea that someone could make a career out of telling stories for the joy of entertainment infected me, and I’ve never found a cure.

Q. What inspires you? 

A. Everything. Anything. I’m always watching, observing, listening. You never know where inspiration can come from. You have to be on your guard, and you have to pay attention. When you hear something – a snippet of conversation – or learn something – a random fact – that starts your mind down the “what if” path, that’s it. Inspiration. Whatever gets your brain gears turning is grist for the mill. Books are not built on one inspiration, but hundreds of big and little pieces of inspiration for plot, setting, character, theme. You have to be a sponge and absorb as much of it as you can. My advice for writers of any genre is to read widely. Some of my biggest lightbulb moments came from reading random nonfiction books that had nothing to do with what I was working on.

Q. You have had a really unique opportunity of seeing the roles you write come to life, what’s it like seeing your vision on screen?

A. It’s surreal and empowering and addictive when it works. You look at the actors playing your characters and think, “I made you! You came out of my head!” But it can be terrifying, too, because sometimes a line or a block of dialogue doesn’t work when spoken out loud, or a scene isn’t adapting quite how you planned, and you have to scramble to make it work because cameras don’t lie. If it doesn’t play, it doesn’t play.

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about your debut novel, Struck?

A. Struck is the story of a teenage girl named Mia Price who is not only a human lightning rod, but also a lightning addict. She’s been struck by lightning hundreds of times throughout her life, and she’s become addicted to the feeling of being filled with energy. Nothing makes her feel more alive than being struck. Unfortunately, it’s not very good for her, and endangers the lives of those who are close to her. So she and her family move to Los Angeles, where lightning only strikes a handful of times each year. But she trades thunderstorms for earthquakes, and soon after she arrives in LA a massive electrical storm causes an earthquake that devastates the city. In the chaotic aftermath, two doomsday cults rise to power, one that wants to save the world and one that wants to destroy it, and both cults possess seers who’ve predicted that Mia is the key to their apocalyptic visions.

Q. I’ve heard that writers often bond to their characters, what does it feel like to finish a story and let go of that bond a little?

A. Ah, the post-partum blues. I just finished a book, so I’m in that separation phase right now. Honestly, and this sounds a little depressing, but I feel elated for about two days after I finish a book, and then I start to feel empty. But I think that’s the plight of creatives of all kinds. You get a high off of the work, even when it’s hard, and then when it’s done you come crashing down. Or maybe that’s just me.

Q. Do you have any advice/cure for the infamous “writer’s block?”

A. For me, writer’s block usually stems from doubt, either doubt in myself and my abilities, or doubt in the foundation of what I’m working on. If it’s doubt in myself that’s tripping me up, I’ve found that reading something truly inspiring kicks me back into gear. You’d think that would do the opposite, that reading something great would make you feel even more hopeless by comparison, but that isn’t usually the case for me. When I read something amazing, it sparks my creativity and I get excited again. Excitement is key! If you’re not excited by what you’re creating, that could be why you have writer’s block. Or, if you know there’s some fundamental problem with your plot or characters, intuition can cut off the blood supply to your creative arteries. That might mean you’ll have to risk stopping in the middle of a draft to go back and examine what you’ve done, see if you can find the flaw in the design.

But, if all else fails, you just have to start writing something, anything, accepting that it might well suck, and be okay with that. Remind yourself that you don’t have to show anyone the suckness. As long as it starts the ball rolling again, that’s all that matters.

Q. How did you get started in the writing industry and what is your best piece of advice to people interested in pursuing writing as a career?

A. Well, first things first, I got started by writing a few very bad practice books, a lot of short stories, and then, eventually, writing a good book. Even before I wrote the good book, though, I started going to conferences so I could network. I’ve found networking to be essential. When I was still working on my first bad book, I attended the Maui Writer’s Conference and got the chance to have lunch with Terry Brooks. Years later, he agreed to read Struck and blurb it. Networking definitely has its value!

But the best piece of advice I can offer (there’s so much, but I’ll narrow it down to this) is to keep perspective about what the publishing industry is: it’s a business. What does that mean? It means that even while you might be carving a piece of your heart out to put on the page, or creating a masterpiece of literary language, what you’re really doing is creating a product that publishers need to sell. And it’s hard to accept that, because it diminishes the act of artistic creation. BUT…the kind of perspective I’m talking about comes into play when you’re trying to write a query letter, or when you’re choosing from your file of ideas which one you ought to write next, or when you’re assessing agents or going on submission or promoting your book. These are big, big, big parts of being a writer, and they’re the business parts. Focus on the art when you’re making it, and then get down to business.

Q. What is one interesting thing about you that most people don’t know?

A. I’ve never seen “Top Gun.” I don’t know why, but it just never appealed to me.

Q. What is the best food you’ve eaten in the past week?

A. Coconut pancakes!

Q. Is there anything new on your plate? What can we expect from you in the future?

A. My next YA novel, The Killing Jar, will be released through FSG/Macmillan in Fall 2014. It’s about a teenage girl who survives a horrific crime against her family, only to be kidnapped and brought to a utopian commune.  There she learns some startling secrets about herself and her connection to the commune people who call themselves the Kalyptra.

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The free social event was planned to give students in both the AUSB and SBCC communities a chance to engage in cross-cultural dialogue, snack on foods from around the globe, make new connections, and learn more about AUSB’s bachelor’s and advanced degrees, including the new MBA program.

“We are very pleased that this collaborative event between our two partner schools was so successful,” said Guy Smith, chair of AUSB’s BA Program. “With over 160 people in attendance, this may have been the largest event to date that we’ve had on the patio. I was personally a part of many conversations about the BA program for transfer and international students, as well as discussions about our new MBA degree starting this fall.”

Not only did a large percentage of AUSB’s undergraduates and alumni originally transfer from SBCC, but the University offers exceptional support for international students who want to earn an BA or graduate degree here in the United States—and Santa Barbara in particular. Many of the SBCC food fair guests took a tour of AUSB’s downtown campus and spoke with transfer advisors.

During the event, the Ambassadors sold raffle tickets as a fundraiser for Direct Relief International, a Goleta-based organization that assists countries in need following natural disasters or strife. One hundred percent of the proceeds were donated to DRI.

For more photos, visit the International Student Ambassadors of SBCC Facebook page.

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Elizabeth Wolfson, PhD, Chair of MACP and professor for the program’s Healthy Aging concentration

Symposium organizer Elizabeth Wolfson, PhD, Chair of MACP and professor for the program’s Healthy Aging concentration, was interviewed for the column, and will also be a featured guest on the “Young at Heart” radio show this weekend, hosted by Newton and his partner Patti Teel. The interview will air Saturday and Sunday, April 13 and 14 at 5:30 pm on KTMS 990 AM news talk radio.

Discussing the value of the Symposium in the column, Dr. Wolfson emphasizes, “This is the fastest-growing demographic on the planet. Whether you are aging yourself or care about an elder loved one, all of us are increasingly affected by the unprecedented numbers of elders. Understanding the components of healthy aging is irrefutably one of the greatest tasks we are all faced with today.”

Newton goes on to discuss the “…high rates of depression, social isolation, self-depreciation and even suicide” that are pervasive in older adults, and acknowledges, “Nurturing a positive attitude about age not only helps seniors feel good about themselves, it helps them retain a sense of control in the face of the decline and losses that occur in the later stages of life.

“Antioch University is lighting a candle against the impending darkness [of aging-related decline] – first, by developing a special concentration in healthy aging for those pursuing a master’s degree in clinical psychology; and now, by staging a two-day symposium for professionals, students and the public who are interested in the physical, social and psychological facets of aging,” he concludes.

The Symposium on Healthy Aging will take place Friday, April 19 from 4:00 to 9:00pm, and Saturday, April 20, from 9:00am to 5:00pm, at the downtown AUSB campus, 602 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara. Visit our Event link for more information.

The post AUSB’s Symposium on Healthy Aging Featured in News-Press Column and on KTMS Radio appeared first on Antioch University Santa Barbara.

D’Emidio-Caston (right) with
OAS teacher Wendy Robins

During his stay, Julius spoke at an AUSB community event co-sponsored by Ecology Education (formerly Art from Scrap) and the Youth Wilderness Society, and toured several local elementary school gardens. His trip followed up a 2012 visit to AUSB by his New England colleague David Sobel, who initiated connections with local environmental organizations and schools involved in the Orfalea Foundation’s School Gardens program, as well as other local SB teachers and school administrators.

“The AUNE and AUSB Education programs are very much aligned in philosophy and we are exploring ways to work together for the benefit of our students on both coasts,” says Education Department Chair Marianne D’Emidio-Caston, PhD. “In fact, Tom met with BA–Environmental Studies faculty Dawn Osborne and me to discuss forging strong connections between our BA and MA/MED programs that will support new, ecologically literate teachers who are able to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards.”

During his visit, Julius was brought by Dr. D’Emidio-Caston and Osborne on a tour of the prototype school garden of AUSB’s educational partner Open Alternative School (OAS), where he took the accompanying photo of D’Emidio-Caston (right) with OAS teacher Wendy Robins. They also visited Peabody Charter School, where he spoke with the principal about their healthy lunch program.

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