tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56396661795780939412011-12-22T19:06:10.733-08:00The dish, the gossip, the day to day.Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.comBlogger571100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-50479779288254811382011-12-22T19:06:00.000-08:002011-12-22T19:06:10.748-08:00

About two years ago I started a hypnotherapy journey. I am now a hypnotherapist and love using it to help writers and myself really enjoy the writing process and dig into their creative depths. Well, last month after finishing a non-fiction book project that has taken much of my time for my the last 2 1/2 years, I started working on my own memoirs again, (mostly a collection of stories from my

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-20225854108385284732011-10-20T20:45:00.001-07:002011-10-20T20:47:08.781-07:00

<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if !mso]> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;

Jill Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06885153804726661236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-34837887516698461662011-08-26T11:10:00.000-07:002011-08-26T11:10:20.559-07:00

I'm in a very small town in the northwest corner of Colorado right now, conducting a life history interview for an 87-year old man. The interview is interesting so far, as always, and I am enjoying being in the high desert after a long absence from this part of the country. On the 88 mile drive from Grand Junction to Rangely, I saw wild horses, deer, and cattle grazing on the side of a

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-23810977328537228752011-08-18T16:59:00.000-07:002011-08-18T20:04:41.041-07:00

I'm a memoirist. It even says so on my cards. But for some reason I have largely ignored the sub-genre stratification of memoirs. A memoir was a memoir. But now I see my error. There are war memoirs, there are midwifery memoirs, there are political memoirs, and so much more. Let me tell you about two genres of memoir that are currently on my radar and why. They are: food memoirs, and dating

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-23734761057327596002011-07-19T16:00:00.000-07:002011-07-19T16:21:31.711-07:00

W.H. Auden said, "A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language." I believe this to be true of all writers. Do you agree? Tell us why or why not here.Looking forward to reading all of your feedback.xo,Christina

Christina Tanioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14727926493532122510noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-63064107238910402062011-07-12T09:00:00.000-07:002011-09-14T16:13:29.330-07:00

<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if !mso]> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt

Christina Tanioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14727926493532122510noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-28561982551758187482011-07-05T09:00:00.000-07:002011-09-29T15:23:10.773-07:00

As Memoirs Ink's Senior Editor, I have seen the writing contests (half-yearly and annual) from start to finish for nearly 3 years. As a result, I have compiled a list of friendly tips to help you make sure that your essay lands in the coveted "yes" pile.I hope these tips will also help you to stand out as a writer, not just for our contest, but beyond.#1 Stay FocusedAs these are short essays,

Christina Tanioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14727926493532122510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-86449835765336645012011-06-24T09:00:00.000-07:002011-06-24T09:00:00.451-07:00

Years ago, when I was interning for Memoirs Ink, I learned a lot about running a business, but I also learned how to cook lemongrass. You see, the biggest perk of working out of Felice's home office was that we could take breaks to satisfy our crazy cravings in the kitchen. Whether it was sushi, xao xa ot ga (chicken with lemongrass and chilies), or vegan shepherd's pie, our cravings knew no

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-61393084163511742302011-05-10T21:58:00.000-07:002011-05-13T12:41:49.793-07:00

Memoirs Ink has been cooking up a solution to some common struggles that creative non-fiction writers face when trying to write or finish a book. Some of these problems include isolation, lack of structure or momentum, lack of support, lack of financial resources, and often times, lack of fun in the process. So we have combined the answers to all of these problems into a simple, fun, affordable

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-11055089372108591462011-05-03T11:24:00.001-07:002011-05-03T11:24:52.631-07:00

Since some people want to know more about what happened with third place and why we chose not to award it to anyone, we will tell you what we can without slandering anyone. After choosing the winners and having them all sign agreements that their work was original and previously unpublished, we discovered that 3rd place had already won a contest and published elsewhere more than a year ago.

Jill Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06885153804726661236noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-65115769507088839802011-05-02T13:13:00.000-07:002011-05-02T13:16:10.492-07:00

Okay there was a little bit of scandal, but we are over it. Here are the winners.First Place: Hockey Night in Canada by Ariadne Hawkins Second Place: Tasty by Lauren Leatherman Third Place: In an unprecedented incident, we have disqualified the 3rd place winner for violation of the guidelines. The judges and staff at Memoirs Ink, annoyed and disheartened, have decided not to award it to

Jill Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06885153804726661236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-30041415877294222822011-03-30T16:42:00.000-07:002011-03-30T16:54:50.054-07:00

Do you ever open your notebook and wonder what the heck you were thinking? Just now, I was trying to find a file on my computer and realized that it was probably not in there yet, since I only just transferred it from my brain to paper. I looked through a small stack of stuff on my desk. In it were different sized papers, a colored drawing from my daughter, several blue post-its, a few receipts

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-82457952012793448612011-03-13T20:42:00.000-07:002011-03-13T20:53:02.769-07:00

This week was our sixth and final week of The Writer's Mind workshop. It feels almost too sacred to talk about. But this is what we did after class. We are planning on uploading some of the portraits to JR's global art project.The next class will begin in April. I pushed it back from the 6th to the 13th. Six Wednesday nights in Culver City. Online class coming in June. If you want to be on the

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-90259383693914650012011-03-09T14:02:00.001-08:002011-03-09T14:07:24.455-08:00

A student in The Writer's Mind Class sent this to me. If you haven't heard about Project Inside Out, it's inspiring. We are going to submit an image as a class.Here's a video. There is a long and short version. I recommend the long one.The website for the project is here. Short video here too.

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-46616228348726771322011-03-07T14:04:00.001-08:002011-03-07T14:10:38.082-08:00

I love it when I am dyslexic or just a bad typer, because my mistakes often are more interesting than my original intent. I just wrote "quest post" instead of guest post. I don't know what it means. But I'm sure it could mean something cool.So, if you were to define Quest Posting, what would it mean? Post your definitions or thoughts in the comments. And if you have an image that would go with

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-22831881681418614562011-03-06T20:13:00.000-08:002011-03-06T20:27:01.919-08:00

Seriously. What's the deal?I found all of these images over at literaryquotes.com and they seem to have a thing against smiling authors. Guh. I'm so tired of the serious writer and the suffering writer. Writing is joyful and healing on some level or none of us would do it.Does anyone know any statistics on this?Do writers sell more books if they smile in their author photo?It would be a fun

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-17672862012877665442011-02-27T09:17:00.000-08:002011-02-27T09:36:15.467-08:00

The opposite of war is not peace, it is creation. Art. I can't find who to credit for saying this first, but it seems to be well known, and also well ignored most of the time.I had a realization a few days ago that in The Writer's Mind class, I am helping to heal some very great writers--from fear, from blocks, from the negativity that surrounds us--and in doing so, I am helping to heal the world

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-44981997822442802372011-02-25T18:41:00.003-08:002011-02-25T20:25:27.326-08:00

Last night was the fourth meeting of my Beta class, The Writer's Mind. After every class I feel so inspired and want to blog about it, but do something else instead, like my own writing, or bathtub reading, or sleeping. Last night one of my students shared a piece about swimming nude and other outdoor water related recreation. She mentioned rope swings, cliff diving. There was one phrase I am

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-86269440843846237092011-02-13T09:15:00.000-08:002011-02-13T09:27:46.749-08:00

To give you an example of video diary, here is one I made about what I did last week. As you can see, it doesn't have to be fancy. But it's different than home videos in that it tells a story directly to the camera. Video diaries are usually short. They are moment or slice of time. But a series of them can piece together some cool insights over time. And like a poem or a personal essay, they can

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-78090948446078339052011-02-08T16:15:00.000-08:002011-02-08T19:38:10.010-08:00

In the spirit of expanding the genre of memoir, we'd love to see your video diaries. What's a diary? I'm not sure I want to be pinned down in to a definition. But let's just say it is a video, or series of videos that documents some part of your story. Maybe just a moment in time, or something that captures a larger range of moments--but all in a few minutes. Send us your links and if we like

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-30331593897052059962011-01-24T12:10:00.001-08:002011-05-18T08:59:34.102-07:00

What do these books have in common?I can not take credit for this information. I am not obsessive enough--although I admire the discoveries obsessive behavior has led to in this world. So here's the story and the secret. More than 10 years ago I went to a writing conference and heard a writer named James V. Smith talk. I guess I would classify his writing as military/sci-fi/fantasy. Not

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-3962994383369468592011-01-21T21:40:00.000-08:002011-01-21T21:53:46.237-08:00

You know how we feel about emoticons. For the most part, I have been relaxing my stance on this, just because if I didn't, I might have to hate everyone, and as the writer of this awesome letter we found at mcsweenys.net says, I have to say "No" to hate. But there are still some things that drive me crazy. Here's how Jade Ologunja begins her letter:Dearest :) , So there you are, just smiling

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-32143750182448530742011-01-14T14:30:00.000-08:002011-01-14T14:35:12.655-08:00

That's what I am thinking of titling my new writing class, and the book that I foresee coming out of the class. Or perhaps the Creative Mind--because most writers are also doing a million other creative things and the tools and benefits of this program will be applicable to all creative modalities. I am working on the syllabus now, in a happy trance. Mmm.If you have been thinking about taking

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-3251314677269135282011-01-11T14:15:00.001-08:002011-01-11T14:24:50.323-08:00

I have been getting quite a few questions about our upcoming writing class. Here are the answers:It is a personal essay class.You can expect to do writing assignments, read essays and critique them, and have brilliant discussions over tea.Fiction writers and screen writers are welcome. All writing comes from personal experience so it should help your craft, regardless what your favorite genre.Yes

Jill Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06885153804726661236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-70910297033619806592011-01-03T16:51:00.000-08:002011-01-04T07:17:27.924-08:00

Blocked? Need motivation to write? Want to get in and out of flow easily and effortlessly? This is what we have been up to. Felice Austin, president of Memoirs Ink and hypnotherapist has put together this unique and totally awesome hypno-writing class. Right now it is only for Los Angeles residents, but we hope to make it available online in the future. Check out this video and if you live in L.A

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-52289392347996593872010-12-15T14:20:00.000-08:002010-12-15T14:26:18.495-08:00

Want to win the Memoirs Ink Writing Contest?For the first time ever, get feedback from contest judges on your entry BEFORE you submit it.Two of our previous writing contest judges thought this might be a good idea. Based on the overwhelming response to our post-contest feedback (we had to turn people away because of limited space) we thought they might be on to something. After all, part of our

Jill Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06885153804726661236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-9519483444403469402010-12-03T12:45:00.000-08:002010-12-03T12:47:34.980-08:00

The winners for the 2010 Annual contest are:Grief by Tara Cowie (New York, NY)Frankenvag by Erin Hart (Vancouver, Canada)Surviving Black Holes by Kaitlin Legg (Fairport, NY)To read the winners please visit www.memoirsink.com/archives

Jill Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06885153804726661236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-64475406404640794602010-08-06T15:07:00.001-07:002010-08-06T15:26:11.725-07:00

What you may not know is that in the past year I have become a hypnotherapist. My interest in hypnotherapy started with childbirth, but now I see how it can benefit literally every field. And so I have decided to put together a hypno-writing class. What that means is that in addition to the regular writing instruction and all that jazz, it would also include hypnosis. I have found hypnotherapy to

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-81894834114129435802010-07-29T10:52:00.000-07:002010-07-29T11:48:15.613-07:00

Raise your hand if you think about time travel?I used to think about time travel a lot. Mostly for fun. But then I read Einstein. And I learned that time is actually space. And space is not linear. Space can warp and bend and fold back on itself.So if time is not linear, what really holds us back from time travel?From my current point of view as a hypnotherapist, I believe it is our minds.For

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-26795177484969639002010-07-23T10:23:00.000-07:002010-07-23T10:25:39.165-07:00

When I was a few months into my pregnancy and feeling alone, I came across this quote by Harriet Lerner: “We are never the first in our family to wrestle with a problem, although it may feel that way…. Learning how other family members have handled their problems similar to our own down through the generations, is one of the most effective routes to lowering reactivity and heightening

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-24364604422537595022010-06-08T13:59:00.000-07:002010-06-08T14:10:22.489-07:00

What's with all the anonymous comments? It seems that everywhere else in the blog world, people like everyone to know who left a comment. Because isn't it all about getting your name out there and having people link back and find your amazing blogs? Now suddenly we are getting a bunch of comments from anonymous. Makes me wonder. If you really want to be anonymous, you could keep your profiles

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-35241464057858899522010-05-22T15:47:00.000-07:002010-05-22T15:53:11.719-07:00

I have had a writer crush on Steve Martin for about a decade now. It started when I moved to New York in 1999 and started reading The New Yorker in earnest. One day I was reading a “Shouts and Murmurs” essay and laughing out loud. I thought," who is this guy?" I looked at the byline and saw the name Steve Martin. I wondered if it bothered the author that he had the same name as the also funny

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-68531636291991020912010-05-17T13:02:00.000-07:002010-05-18T09:44:00.082-07:00

We are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2010 Memoirs Ink Half-Yearly Writing Contest. Here they are:First Place: Hellhound Melissa FebosSecond Place:DreamerNora ClaypoolThird Place:Do You Make Gravy?Jennifer BlomgrenHonorable Mention:Summer WatersJulian Bentley- EdelmanYou can read these and previous years winners and bios in our archives: here.Please keep up the good writing and enter our

Jill Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06885153804726661236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-11007418883537272742010-04-30T12:50:00.001-07:002010-04-30T13:17:22.182-07:00

We are supposed to announce the winners today. Maybe some of you out there entered our contest and are wondering why we haven't call you yet. It is because we haven't called anyone. The judges have narrowed it down to 6 or 7 and are at a total impasse. They asked me to read them. I read them. I laughed, I sighed, I nodded my head. But I refuse to have any part in judging this year. It is too hard

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-70290935098478102322010-04-23T09:40:00.000-07:002010-04-23T09:53:44.183-07:00

I picked up our mail a few days ago and was happy to note that we are already be getting entries to our August Contest. What was more surprising, though was that one of the entries came from the California State Prison. Now, we have received entries from all over the world, but this is our first entry from prison. And why not? It would seem that one has a lot of time to read and write in there.

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-8148895819186846542010-03-08T13:46:00.000-08:002010-03-08T14:22:40.115-08:00

We have taken a break from blogging for a few weeks because we were trying to keep up with the avalanche of contest entries. Okay. It is not an avalanche. It is a small hill that my dog could ski down. I haven't counted, but there are few hundred entries from all over the world and we are hoping to find three excellent ones that make us shout YES! in a sort of orgasmic way. We'll see. I am not

Jill Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06885153804726661236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-50582787151976160352010-02-08T13:12:00.000-08:002010-02-08T13:16:05.773-08:00

Guest Post by Chynna LairdOne assumption that many new authors make is that their publisher or agent will take care of most of the marketing of their book. The truth is that although authors may get the occasional lead from their publisher or agent, most of the onus of getting the word out about a book is on the author.Now unless you are Stephen King, whose books are pretty much sold as soon as

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-68051382444792976832010-01-28T15:35:00.000-08:002010-02-08T13:19:46.326-08:00

At Memoirs Ink we often discuss fascinating issues such as the importance of commas, properly used exclamation points, and most recently, air quotes. These air quotes, or finger quotes, as they are sometimes called, are used most often when quoting someone or something while speaking, or to show that someone is being sarcastic.Some of us at Memoirs Ink think that using air quotes is just as

Christina Tanioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14727926493532122510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-50890258356532786672010-01-13T13:01:00.000-08:002010-01-13T13:08:44.455-08:00

I am an avid fan of the English language, and as such, I often wonder, when did we lose faith in her, anyway? Last time I checked, there was a myriad of words to replace the often overused and misplaced exclamation point. The only time an exclamation point is warranted is when the statement is an actual exclamation, like Look! Or, Wow! Or, Congratulations! And, as Strunk and White state, “Do not

Christina Tanioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14727926493532122510noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-2500676631209377172009-12-18T14:57:00.000-08:002009-12-18T15:12:31.835-08:00

Since many of you have been asking, here are some helpful hints about how to interview your family member this holiday season. It is best to do several interviews if possible, but remember that anything that you can get is better than nothing at all. The best advice I have is to wait ten (count 'em) seconds after your subject finishes talking before opening your mouth again. The

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-39732434350170945792009-12-18T12:25:00.000-08:002009-12-18T14:13:45.777-08:00

What do you want to get for Christmas/Chanukah/Quanza/Festivus? What should you give that special book worm in your life? Well, you can be sure that I have thoughts, opinions, and a wish list.My top 5 Giftable Memoirs - as you can imagine, some memoirs don't make the best gifts because of subject matter and other reasons. So this list is my list of favorites that would make a great gift to most

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-83975682650954809172009-12-09T13:11:00.000-08:002009-12-09T13:35:02.636-08:00

This year, for the month of December only, Memoirs Ink is offering a dramatic discount (70% off) on our life-history interview package as a gift to the community.Communities and families suffer with the loss of our elder’s stories. This season, consider a family gift that will be cherished by generations to come. Life History Interview Package includes: Preliminary background

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-6840178618845349712009-12-07T20:56:00.000-08:002009-12-07T21:11:48.223-08:00

I have always favored the term “memoirist” or “personal historian” when I talk about what I do. But Memoirs Ink does so much more than just this. Another service we provide is help to people who want to write their own memoirs, which I actually prefer to writing memoirs for them. There are several terms for a person who does this (book-doctor, memoir coach, ghostwriter, creative editor, etc.)

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-19320413761057693102009-12-04T19:47:00.000-08:002009-12-04T20:08:52.144-08:00

It is time again to announce our half-yearly writing contest. It is called the half-yearly because it is half a year away from our Annual August contest and it is half the word count of the August contest. The things we do to help you remember. Well, since it is harder to write a 1500-word piece than a 3000-word piece, I thought I'd announce it right away to give you as much time as possible. We

Jill Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06885153804726661236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-84556280399683307732009-12-01T16:23:00.000-08:002009-12-02T13:32:49.274-08:00

As I walked down the stairs from Memoirs Ink’s headquarters, I hugged Felice good-bye. I was off to San Diego for a few days, for Thanksgiving weekend."Can’t wait to hear all your crazy stories about your family,” said Felice.People often talk about their crazy families. There is a sort of unspoken, and sometimes very loudly spoken, understanding that families, are, well, nuts. My family is no

Christina Tanioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14727926493532122510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-69369672431120753662009-11-25T09:11:00.000-08:002009-11-25T10:03:57.912-08:00

Classic Little People A few weeks ago I had a dream about my posterity. I don't remember much but the image of them all in a group, maybe 40 or 50 people of different ages and they were all looking up intently at me. (I'm not sure where I was--maybe in the sky or on a ladder.)In the morning I tried to look up "posterity" in my dream dictionary to no avail. In pondering it's significance over the

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-91088497585106196842009-11-24T13:02:00.001-08:002009-11-24T13:40:33.268-08:00

Felice wants me to blog. Thinks it will be a good outlet for me. Ugh. I can't fault her for pushing me to trust in my creative side at little more. That's what she does with everyone. But I am much more of a bookworm than I am writer. She says "no pressure, just freewrite," but I am not about to post the uncensored wanderings of my Scorpio brain. If you didn't know, Scorpios tend to be morbid, at

Jill Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06885153804726661236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-43787585133832356182009-11-18T12:44:00.000-08:002009-11-21T23:56:52.600-08:00

Today I went to lunch with my writer friend. She told me the following story. I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants. I told her she should write about it, but she didn't seem to see the value in it. She told me I could have it. So here it is. I have assigned her to write one of my stories for me, without telling me which. Here is her story. By me.Smelly PantsWhen I was a Freshman, I was

Christina Tanioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14727926493532122510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-29476184181485738812009-11-16T19:48:00.001-08:002009-11-17T15:58:32.098-08:00

David O'Shea defines "fringe" at the storytelling festival.Last Saturday was the LA storytelling festival and Jill and I graced them with our presence. It was great to see some faces we knew, like Ellen Switkes (Cornucopia) and David O'Shea and meet some new people. The festival was a combination of concerts (people performing their stories) and workshops about storytelling. I saw some great

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-26343192777606745122009-11-12T15:55:00.001-08:002009-11-12T16:11:27.938-08:00

Memoirs Ink wants to announce and congratulate Abby Sher, one of our previous contest winners for the release and success of her novel, Amen, Amen, Amen: Memoir of a Girl who Couldn't Stop Praying (Among Other Things). We also mentioned Melissa Petro, in last month's newsletter, but will do it again here. A version of her winning story, Mexico, has been published in the anthology Hos, Hookers,

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-23741048303384542282009-11-12T10:50:00.000-08:002009-12-01T23:06:01.503-08:00

A couple of months ago, I took a writing and performance class with Amy Friedman and Laurel Ollstein. Our class put on a spoken word show. I invited my family. I did not know just how much of a mistake that was, but I do now. I have a very large, overly involved Egyptian family. Many of them drive me insane. I forgot about how many of them there are, and how overbearing they can be, because I

Christina Tanioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14727926493532122510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-57612764584553515052009-11-09T20:29:00.000-08:002009-11-09T20:55:22.951-08:00

This weekend I went to a book launch party for the 3rd Tell Me a Story collection. Tell Me a Story started out as a children's newspaper column for a small paper in Ontario Canada. It is now syndicated and appears in over 150 newspapers around the country featuring multicultural myths and folktales from around the world. After 15 years of writing this column, Amy Friedman, the writer, got the

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-1223346793082622622009-11-06T11:44:00.000-08:002009-11-06T11:50:49.391-08:00

When we moved to Blogger, this post did not come with, so I thought I should post it again. The other day, a former boyfriend tried to lol me and given that he knows how I feel about it, I equated it with calling me a bad name. I asked if this was his intention and he just responded with lots of exclamation points. Joker. Here's the post:I have said it before. I will say it again. I hate lol.

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-85210703885174231052009-11-05T21:34:00.000-08:002009-11-05T21:59:32.846-08:00

A week or two ago, I told a friend that Memoirs Ink is now writing Child Memoirs. I actually called them Kiddie Memoirs, and she thought I said Kitty Memoirs. Ha! I laughed and laughed, and then I stopped and thought, "Could I?""You never know with people in L.A." she said, as if reading my thoughts. I shook my head. There aren't many animals about which you could entice me to write a serious

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-40443376821808121862009-11-04T18:29:00.001-08:002009-11-04T18:53:31.790-08:00

Danika reaching to pet the orphan lambs. I made this image in Montana in 2004. I made it with a real camera, loaded with real film. Then I processed it with chemicals in my darkened bathroom; I enlarged and printed it in a darkroom at Santa Monica College. Now I have scanned it, and much of the magic of it is lost and the rest will depend on your computer screen, and the angle of your chair.

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-76858488892765324742009-11-02T19:13:00.000-08:002009-11-02T19:56:01.326-08:00

Today I read some contest entries who wanted feedback. I just have to say, in general, the feeling that I have after reading personal essays is: it is amazing what people survive. Really. Brain aneurysms, abusive parents, molesters, crazy marriages, electrocution. Then there are the people who seem to witness everything. What happens to them is that no one can keep from telling them anything.

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5639666179578093941.post-86760654852685767542009-10-29T13:47:00.000-07:002009-10-29T13:47:49.364-07:00

We just published the winners of our Annual Contest yesterday and I read some of them for the first time. But you will notice we did not publish second place. This is because I got tired of waiting for Kendall Pope to get back to me. He seemed really excited to win second place, but hasn't sent me his contest winner agreement form yet or returned my emails or calls. I hope he's okay. It's totally

Felice Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598202776803851846noreply@blogger.com1