Turning Over a New Leaf, Garden Cocktails, & a Giant Box of Crayons

So I Have Some News

After over a year of not writing a book...I'm writing a book. I just made a deal with Random House to publish THE TREE COLLECTORS: Tales of Arboreal Obsession, which I am going to both write and illustrate.

About ten years ago, I met a man who introduced himself to me as a tree collector. He lived in Pennsylvania, where he had some acreage. He planted every kind of tree that struck his fancy, and crammed them in together as closely as he reasonably could. He told me that he had 150 different species and cultivars, growing in rows the way a book collector would line up books on a shelf.

I remember thinking at the time that trees were an odd thing to collect. They are large and difficult to move. Most collectors like to trade up, swapping out a better version when they can afford to. A collector’s taste might change over the years, and they might get rid of more common items to make room for the rare and unusual. But how do you do that when your collection consists of enormous living, breathing organisms?

I thought at the time that it might be an interesting idea for a book, and I even met a few more tree collectors over the years, but it just never came together in my head. Then, over this last year of being stuck indoors with not much to do, I picked it up again. When I thought about it as an illustrated book, it just made more sense. The idea of including some art seemed to breathe more life into the idea.

Anyway, I'll be profiling about 50 tree collectors, and talking about other ways of thinking about the idea of "collecting" without actually owning a large parcel of land and filling it with trees, such as projects to catalog urban trees and so forth.

It feels good to be getting back into a project, after taking a longer break than I've ever taken in my life. I certainly wanted a break, after twenty years of writing books, doing book tours, researching books, and generally being on the treadmill of endless tasks that self-employed people find themselves on. For that entire time, I always worked seven-day workweeks. I never gave myself an official day off, apart from those days off that happened by accident, if I was sick or on an airplane all day (which doesn't count as a day off, really) or actually traveling on an actual vacation, but even then I was always working, a little bit.

So now I'm back at work, but at a much more livable pace, with actual days off and no guilt trips about uncompleted tasks or unanswered emails. I'll be at work on this book for a couple years, and I intend to make very few other commitments so I don't go back to my old overscheduled self. Wish me luck.

Oh, and if you happen to know a tree collector, send them my way!
 

So That Means I'm Not Writing Another Kopp Novel Right Now

I've put off saying this out loud, because it felt weird, but...yes, it's true...I won't be writing another Kopp Sisters novel anytime soon. When I started down this road, I said that I could see myself writing 7-10 of these books. At the time that sounded crazy--how on earth was I going to write seven whole novels?

But here we are. I won't give away the ending of Miss Kopp Investigates, but if you read that far, you'll see that I've left them in a good place, a place that is based on their true story, and a place that I could easily pick up again down the road.

I was sad to step away from their little world, where I've spent so much time over the last decade, but it was time for my brain to have something different to do. Ten years is a long time to think about one thing. Thanks to all of you who have been cheering me on, and who loved the Kopps as much as I did. That's all I ever wanted from these books, for people to love them.

Inktober Is Here

October is Inktober, which is a thing on Instagram where you post your ink drawings under the #inktober hashtag. There's a website and some rules and a list of prompts, which I never follow. This month, I'm going to try to do it all month long, and I'm going to use a dip pen and India ink. If you're interested in how this sort of thing works, here's what I use:

A dip pen set like this one

Waterproof India ink 

If you want to paint with the ink, you also need a paintbrush and little plastic cups or jars to mix the ink with water and get different values.

I'll try to post some videos throughout the month as I go, so stay tuned on Instagram and YouTube. Also, I do have a class coming up on an ink-related topic, but it's not quite ready as of this writing, so stay tuned for that, too.

You Are Not Falling Behind

Twice in the last week I've been on Zoom with someone who expressed absolute anguish over how far behind they were on...well, everything.

So this is my new mantra, which I made up on the spot with one of these people: There is no falling behind. There is no getting ahead. There is only getting up in the morning, and doing some tasks, and trying to just be a person in this world we live in.

That's it, that's my entire philosophy right now.

Here's My Chat with My Audiobook Narrator

We had a little bit of technical difficulty during my Zoom event with my audiobook narrator (by "we" I mean me), but thanks to the magic of video editing, I fixed it on the recording and you can watch it here, glitch-free. Christina Moore does such a great job narrating the Kopp novels, and she'll tell you everything you ever wanted to know about being an audiobook narrator.

Would Anyone Like a Garden Spritz?

The people who make Chandon sparkling wine have asked me to join them for a virtual event about their Garden Spritz, which is a sort of cocktail in a bottle that sounds delicious (I'll let you know, they're sending me some.) Anyway, a bartender will be mixing some drinks, and I'll be talking about the plants and how to grow them or use them in a drink.

Does that sound like fun? Join us here.

Here Are Two More October Events

October 14: Murder by the Book in Houston with Lori Rader-Day, author of many crime fiction novels. Go here for details. 

October 15: Left Bank Books in St. Louis with Cassandra Quave, author of The Plant Hunter. Please join us!
 

Pumpkins! Chickens!

If you'd like to hang a piece of original art on your wall, I hope you'll drop by my shop and take a look around. It makes me very happy to pack up paintings and send them out into the world.

Writers Chat & Painting Demos on Pause

I have a super busy fall, Zoom-wise, so I won't be scheduling a writers' chat or a painting demo for now. But keep in mind that I teach many classes on both!

I Can Send (Some) Signed Books to You

Would you like a signed Kopp novel? I have small quantities of a few titles...or rather, my husband does. Supplies are limited, so get them while they last, and thank you sincerely for your patronage. Go here to browse and order.

What Are You Reading?

I'm pretty sure that I did not finish a single new book this month because I had some work-related required reading. But I was delighted to find this book by Beya Rebai, a French illustrator I'm obsessed with. I also went out and bought the entire 84-set of NeoColor II wax pastels, which is what she uses to create her vibrant, wonderful art. The book is in French so I can't read it, but did you know that your Google app on your phone will translate text for you? So I'm reading it that way. But mostly it's pictures anyway--very clear step-by-step images that demonstrate her technique. Recommended if you happen to share this very particular narrow interest of mine.