Finding It Independently

Trust us, we know that sometimes it is hard to get noticed even when you do something worth someone’s attention. As independent eBook authors, we struggle against the perception that if you haven’t been swallowed by a large publishing conglomerate, your work must be second rate. We know it’s the same for others in the world of arts and crafts. So, in order to foster good karma and so we can practice what we preach, we like to support other independents who have made the effort to produce quality work on their own. This week we have the chance to do this three times.

One of Lynn’s current students turned personal tragedy into a remarkable work of fiction. If we weren’t old enough to know that there is plenty of room for good writers, we might be intimated that one so young could produce such a fine novel her first time out. Instead, we would like to take this opportunity to recommend Slipping Reality by Emily Beaver. We got an electronic copy from Amazon (find it here) and read it on our Kindle and on our laptop’s Kindle Reader. It is definitely worth reading even without knowing the back story. We are both happy and proud to wish Emily continued success in writing and look forward to reading her next eBook.

 Another former student and long time friend married an artist who works at a bookstore to help make ends meet. He had his first gallery showing this month and we went down to see it. The show’s title, “Imagination Rules the World” could not have been more accurate. To quote from the brochure: “The artist, Daniel Ketelhut, leads you on an imaginative journey through fantastic artscapes where expressive, surreal creatures lurk just outside the realm of the known.” We’d never seen anything like it and were so impressed, we bought one. The Abduction of Persephone is going to hang in our living room as soon as the show is over. If you are within driving distance of The Main Street 5 Gallery in El Cajon (124 E. Main Street) we highly recommend visiting on or before Labor Day. It might be the only chance you’ll have of seeing all these amazing and inventive creatures in the same place again. 

You could say that Evan’s cousin makes bags out of banners, but that would be nearly tragic in understatement. What really happens is that Mary Alice Kessler turns outdated vinyl banners into functional art. Clicking through the picture of tote bags on her website (www.wheresmybag.biz) reminds us of thumbing through the pictures in National Geographic. It’s simply mind boggling that so much eye-popping imagery can be wrapped around something so practical. We also find it hard to believe that these masterpieces were created from something (let’s face it) you never even noticed hanging on the side of some building. We were so impressed that we had her make us a custom tote from the cover of our eBook. Starting next week it will be filled with healthy snacks and be prominently displayed in the Poway High Student Services Office.

You could look at it like it was a fair exchange; that we simply traded money for goods. But we know that it was more than that. Our lives were enriched because we seized the chance to learn what other creative folks were doing and took the opportunity to be part of their future success. Now, when you discover Emily, Daniel, and Mary Alice, we’ll be able to say, “Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah! We knew them first!”