What Inspires: 2nd Chances!

It’s the New Moon and the beginning of the Chinese New Year 4709: Year of the Black Water Dragon!’s Celebration! A 2nd chance to make a fresh start of 2012; a 2nd chance to commit to change. Chinese tradition on New Years’ houses are swept clean. Old thoughts, deeds, misdeeds are brushed out the door. Out with the old; in with the new. New Resolve! New Ideas! New Slate!

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Happy Chinese New Year!

Firey Eyed Water Dragon in Bali

The first day of the 2012 Chinese New Year is today—January 23, 2012 in China’s time zone. This day is a new moon day, and is the first day of the first Chinese lunar month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar system. But, according to all my Internet research, the first day of the Chinese New Year is Feb. 4th.

The Year of the Water Dragon comes only once every 60 years. 2012 is the year of the Male Water Dragon.

Are you are Dragon? Know a Dragon? Want to be prepared for the Dragon year? Here’s more about the Dragon:

“The Dragon is a legendary creature. It can survive on the ground, in the water, and in the sky. Dragon is mystic, misty, blurred, unreachable and unpredictable animal. When Dragon has attraction relationship with the other animals, Dragon is quite likely to hide its Earth characteristic. When Dragon meets Rat, Dragon will show more Water characteristics. When Dragon meets Rabbit, Dragon will fully support Wood characteristic in the Rabbit. When Dragon meets Chicken, Dragon will turn itself into Metal identity. Dragon is a stranger to Dog. When Dog meets Dragon, Dog will bark and prepare for fighting. Dragon is kind of lonely. It’s hard for other animals to build love or romantic relationship with Dragon.” Chinese Forecast website

What does the Year of the Black Dragon mean?

“Dragon contains Earth, Water and Wood. If your Lucky Element is Water, then you will have pretty good luck in 2012. If your Lucky Element is Earth, then you will gain some degree of good luck in 2012. The Dragon is the last year of Wooden Cycle, which is from 2010 to 2012. If your Lucky Element is Wood and you do well in the 2011 Rabbit year, then your luck will continue.”

It’s really all about knowing your “Lucky Element.” But first, you must find your Lucky Element. After finding your Lucky Element, you can click over to see a graph of the rise and fall of your life.

Luck if you’ve ever been a lady to begin with,  Luck be a lady. . . Happy New Year, Take 2!

Chinese Paper Lanterns Light the Way into the New Year!

My new picture book, YOUR MOMMY WAS JUST LIKE YOU, illustrated by David Walker is here! The companion to last year’s YOUR DADDY WAS JUST LIKE YOU. This one’s for you Lexi!

published by GP Putnam Sons-in bookstores and from on-line sellers, now!

I just received a note from my publisher’s publicity department (my publisher, I love typing that). They want me to send them my website info and to update my bio and photo. It is wonderful that they asked. I’m delighted that they want their authors’ and illustrators’ info to be current. But that is not the truly thrilling and part. The list of people on the group e-mail is what is amazing. Candlewick Press publishes fabulous books by brilliant authors, with art by amazingly talented illustrators—check the list for yourself! I don’t want to check the list again, it makes nervous. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. For someone to say, “gotcha” Kelly and strip me of my “Author” title the way Jason McCord had his stripes ripped off at the beginning of every episode of Branded.

That’s the way it is for lots of us writer types. (I know, I’ve asked around.) Often we really don’t know where our best writing comes from and when. And more often than not it turns out that the “author” has not created the story as much as he or she “channeled it” that is, stepped aside and allowed it room to happen. We all have our ways of letting the creative spirit bubble up. I tend to circle the process like a cat, getting close, but not too close, until I’m ready to pounce. By pounce I mean write it…yep, no matter how the story comes to us, in the end we all have to spend the time in the chair writing it (That’s why they call us writers.) And while I may not remember where the ideas for my stories come from, or how I thought up that magnificent, fabulous, incredible Title/last line: Not Norman, I do remember all the time I spent BIC (Butt in Chair as Robyn Weaver, the Book Doctor, says www.robynweaver.com.) writing, writing, writing.

I’ve made my decision. I’m not going to challenge this notice from Candlewick. I’m going to take full credit as “author” and update my photo, bio, and website info as requested…even if I don’t recall writing those wonderful words I said I did.