By Joanna Campbell Slan
As a family, we’ve been working hard on going green. Today my husband David turned the car around (we were carpooling!) a block from home because he realized he’d forgotten to put out our recycling.
Lately, David’s been even greener than I am, and I'm pretty proud of him. His biggest complaint? Styrofoam.
Which got me to thinking. Couldn’t I find a way to use those flimsy containers they give us to take home leftovers? Yes, indeed. I used my Sizzix shadow alphabet set and punched out letters. Then I painted them with acrylic paint. Because the Styrofoam letters are lightweight, they tend to stick to the paint. I used a strip of masking tape, turned sticky side up, to hold the letters down as I dabbed them.
I think they’ll be great for a page I’m planning to celebrate us going apple-picking.
I’m not sure that my new scrapbook heroine Kiki Lowenstein has been bitten by the “go green” bug yet, but after my encouraging experiments with Styrofoam, you can bet I’ll add this tip to the next book in the series. This week is the official launch of Paper, Scissors, Death: A Kiki Lowenstein Scrap-and-Craft Mystery (ISBN: 0-7387-1250-7). I’ll be bringing along my scrapbooks to signings in order to show people that I really do love the craft. One of the albums will be my Happy Father’s Day “trash” album, which is made from cereal boxes. I cut the large flat panels to size, covered them with flattened paper bags, and used parts of Father’s Day cards and envelopes inside. I also glued all sorts of objects—a guitar pick, receipts, the top of a golf ball package, and so on inside the back cover. Stuff I'd rescued from the waste paper can.
You know, archeologists call ancient trash sites “middens,” and these are highly prized because they are rich depositories of clues to cultures. Read more about middens here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midden
I figured I’d glue together our very own family midden in the back of David’s Father’s Day album. I’m glad I did. Years from now, we’ll look at it and remember what we ate, what we did, and how we spent a special day together. That’s a memory too precious to toss in the trash.
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To read an excerpt from Paper, Scissors, Death, go to www.youpublish.com/joannaslan
To order your copy—complete with a coupon for 50 Free Digital Prints—go to http://www.amazon.com/Paper-Scissors-Death-Lowenstein-Scrap-N-Craft/dp/0738712507/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220378229&sr=8-1pattimar
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Paper, Scissors, Death
Fall 2008, Midnight Ink
www.joannacampbellslan.com
http://killerhobbies.blogspot.com
41 comments:
I can't wait for this book! I mean, two of my favorite things... scrapping and murder mysteries. What could be better?! :D
JOANNA,
THank you for being a guest on my blog... I'm really excited that your here.....I was so excited when I found out what type of book you were writing... I love reading and scrapping's been part of my life since 2002, so the two are something I'm very passionate about and combining them together is perfect... I was wondering.
How long have you been scrapping?
When did you come up with the idea to combine scrapping with murder mysteries?
Hugs,
PattiM
Hi Joanna,
Where on earth did you come up with the idea to write your book?
I LOVE the title!
Drea
I am so excited to read this book! Scrapbooking and mystery - it doesn't get any better than that! Thanks for the great "green" idea!
how phenomenal that you have combined both of these passions into one! congrats on the release of your book, and it's exciting to see you as a guest on patti's blog!! then the added bonus of 'green' tips -- it's all just too wonderful!!
Joanna, great to see you on Patti's blog!! I am so excited about our books. I know we are all very excited about having you for scrap chat hour next week!! Love your letters they look like a lot of fun!
Joanna,
Hello!! How did you get the inspiration to write a novel about scrapping?? Also how often do you find time to scrap?
I've never heard of a midden....that's a really cool concept! Love it!
Hi Joanna,
Thanks for stopping by Patti’s blog to chat with us. I think it’s great that you've combined scrapping and murder mysteries. I enjoy both and can’t wait to read your book.
Rachel (Scrap 2.0)
Hi Joanna,
What an honor for Patti to have you stop by...I had no clue that there were scrap mysteries out there...Found that out through Patti...I've been pretty successful with getting my DGKs into scrappin w/me...Lookig forward to reading your book...
Hi, Everyone--
I've been scrapbooking (the way we know it) since 1996, and my first "how to" book came out in 1998. It's called Scrapbook Storytelling.
How much do I get to scrapbook? Never enough! I did get to make a small scrapbook during our last family vacation. I love the small projects because they're so "do-able" and you have such a sense of satisfaction.
Now, why did I write a scrapbooking mystery? Well, I knew I wanted to write a novel (that word sounds so lofty!), but I wasn't sure about what. I was sitting with my friend Emilie Richards and she passed me a note (we were in a conference and supposed to be PAYING attention to the poor speaker), and on it she wrote, "Why not write a mystery about a scrapbooker?"
What a really cool book! How would you describe your scrapping style other than being green? :)
I hope you'll all stop by and see the excerpt booklet. It's at www.youpublish.com/joannaslan
I chose three scenes--really quick reads--but I wanted to give you a sense of who Kiki is. She's so much fun, and sometimes she's just a total mess.
I also included how to make a "smash" album, which is a small folding album, plus recipes, plus a discount code from Snapfish.
My style....hmmmm.
I'm eclectic. I run a contest for scrapbookers in England. It's called "The Best of British Scrapbooking" and from the UK scrappers I've learned to be a lot less...fussy, I guess you'd say. They are much more free-wheeling than we are. And I'm a big customization person. I like my stuff to really be One-of-a-Kind.
Patti's such a sweetie to have me as a guest. But if she's interested, I can send along a scrapbook page I did recently so y'all can see what I mean.
That would be great Joanna... Please send it and I will get it posted....Thanks
Hugs,
PattiM
i was also wondering how long you have been scrapbooking and how would you describe your style?....
and, one more...what sparked the idea for a scrapbook-murder/mystery book?...
thanks!....
You know, I was a real crafts nut as a kid. My mom used to make glue from flour and water. (Probably NOT archival, right?)
When you think about it, scrapbooks and murder DO go together. There was a young woman on the East coast. She and her boyfriend murdered this guy, and she--stand back, this is sick--put something like skin or stitches or whatever in her scrapbook. Ugh. And think how upset people got about that Hall of Fame situation, and the winner who didn't follow the rules.
So my point is, anything you can dream up, someone will do. (In fact, it's a joke among mystery writers that sometimes reality is too weird for a reader to go along with, and our work must be scaled down or seem utterly unbelievable.)
And when it comes to what people love--their families, their homes, their friends--of course, someone might use violence to protect all that. So, wouldn't all that show up in a scrapbook, too?
What a pleasure to have you on Patti's blog. Your book sounds so intriguing and I love to read and scrap, so this is perfect.Thanks.
I think it's great that you came up with this idea.
Question: What has been the reaction by other mystery writers about your scrapbook mystery novel?
Do they think that only scrapbookers will buy it? If that's the case you shouldn't have any problems selling lots. lol
Hi Joanna,
Thank you for the green tip of the Styrofoam carry-out trays to use for alphabet letters....Is this your first novel? If not what was your first one? Did you get published the first time you wrote a novel or not?
Cant wait to chat with you at AMR on SCH....retirednrse
I'm really looking forward to reading your new book. I love scrapping and mysteries so what could be better!
Oops...forgot my question.....
Did you find it hard to get published. I write but have not taken that 'leap' yet. I hear that it's a lot of persistence.
So glad you are on Patti's blog and will be at SCH next week. The books sounds really interesting.
I was wondering if you are planning on doing more books and making a series out of it?
Julia
Love your going green ideas. Have you ever thought about writing a book about "going green" scrapbooking book?
I was also wondering if you would try to make a series out of this.
Wow! I just read the excerpt... it is really good!
How did you come up with the book concept? Was it scrapbooking? Or was it Kiki first? Is that your dog? Beautiful!!
The reaction by other mystery authors--well, they are for the most part a really neat group. They've been very encouraging. In fact, I blog with six other mystery authors at http://killerhobbies.blogspot.com We call it that because a new trend in mysteries is hobby-themed books.
And do I hope folks other than scrappers buy it? Oh, golly, I sure do. The non-scrappers have said they love the book, too. I think I've tried to make the characters interesting enough that you don't have to love scrapping to enjoy the mystery and the people I created.
This is my first novel, but I'm the author of ten non-fiction books--seven scrapbooking technique books, two inspirational (I'm one of the early Chicken Soup for the Soul authors), and one college textbook.
I had another novel idea, but it wasn't working out. I did, however, learn sooooo much about the writing process, that this one sold quickly--the first agent I "pitched" it to said, "Why on earth would ANYBODY be interested in a scrapbooking mystery?" But the second loved it, and she's now my agent. (The first one was a guy from NYC, and I guess he just was out of touch with reality!)
Getting published can be hard. Really hard. And you have to have a strong stomach for all kinds of rejection. Early on, you have to believe in yourself because, baby, it's going to be you, and you, and you by yourself doing this for a long time before anyone publishes you.
That said, I put myself through college to get a journalism major, so I was fortunate to have more background than most when I tried to take that big leap.
Paper, Scissors, Death is the first in a series. (As long as YOU all buy #1, that is! You wouldn't believe how much depends on you liking the book, recommending the book, buying the book for holiday gifts...and so on.
The second book, gee, I'm not even sure what the name is!
Would you believe that authors have no control over the titles of their books? Yep.
I've already written and turned in Book #2. In fact, if you are going to come to Scrapfest, I'll be signing Book #1. And if you go to my website and order my book through Main Street Books, you'll be entered to win "character naming privileges," which means you can name a character (after yourself or a child) in Book #2.
I would love to make a "go green" scrapbooking book. But if you've noticed, it's really almost impossible today to write a scrapbook technique book, and have it traditionally published. (That means, on paper rather than virtually.) The reason is that the magazines do so many books, and have such a great distribution network, that's unless you are working for one of them, it's really tough.
That said, this would be a great virtual project, right?
Tell me if you like what you see on www.youpublish.com/joannaslan That would be a good place to do a virtual book. I also have an e-book at www.scrapbook.com They're terrific people. That books does very well, too.
Thanks for the compliment about the Excerpt Booklet!
Actually, Kiki came to me right about the time I started thinking I'd like to do a scrapbooking mystery. Kiki was the name of my mother's cat, and I thought it too cute.
The dog isn't mine. She's a rescue Great Dane named Orion, who is owned by a friend of mine. I own two dogs--a Bichon and a Bichon-Poodle rescue dog who only has three legs because he was abused.
I'm doing a fundraiser with a Great Dane rescue group this fall. With the economy the way it is, with foreclosures like they are, a lot of big dogs don't have homes.
I can't wait to chat with all of you online at All Moments Remembered! This is going to be FUN.
Okay, I'm off to eat lunch, let the dogs out, and work on a mass mailing. GROAN.
By the way, I do write a bimonthly free electronic ezine. You can sign up for it by going to my website www.joannaslan.com or by emailing me at savetales@aol.com I usually have cool contests, show new techniques, give journaling prompts, at least one free download, and generally have lots of fun.
I'll be off the computer for awhile but will come back to my blog to check on everything..... I'll do the name draw tomorrow......
Have a great day everyone...
I want to thank you Joanne, for coming to my blog. I look forward to reading your book and am pleased that scrapping has reached beyond how to books....
Hugs,
PattiM
Welcome and I'm happy to see you as a guest on this blog! Your book looks very interesting and I can't wait to read it!
I also love your styrofoam letters idea! Thanks for sharing that with us!
Welcome, and I'm glad to see you on the blog as well!
My mom reads a mystery series about a gardener - which she loves because she gardens. I can't wait to read this book, because it is really fun to read about your hobby or job in a novel!
I have tried writing some myself.. but have only had a few things published (literary mags).
Awesome idea for the letters.. I would have to wrstle them away from my mom though.. she uses them for starting seeds and things like that.
Can you give us a sneak peak at book #2?
Welcome!!! :)
How long does it take you to write a book?
Also on an average how long does it take you to create a layout?
Thank you for dropping by to answer questions!!!! I love mysteries and scrapbooking what an awesome combination!!! :)
Oh how very cool! My two loves all in one! I'm one of those nutty people who's love of reading goes a bit far at times. I actually read a whole set of Britannica encyclopedias the summer that I was 11! The ladies at the library thought I was totally crazy. LOL (sorry rambling there.)
I love the idea of a "trash" mini album. It sounds really fun!
I can't wait to get my hand on your book! Are you going to be doing a book tour at all? If so are you by any chance coming to the NW?
(sorry Patty I double posted.)
I have two friends who do mysteries about gardening. One is Heather Weber,and the other is Rosemary Harris. I wonder if she's reading one of those?
It took me 55 years to write my book. (I'm not really kidding. It took that long to get up the courage, to have the discipline, and to face the rejection.) As for layouts--well, I remember one that took me two days. One of those projects you start and then later think, "What? Was I nuts?"
I will be on tour. My first "stop" is Scrapfest at the Mall of America, hosted by Archivers, in Minneapolis. For my other personal appearances, go to www.booktour.com and put in my name.
I hope to see all of you, really soon. And I just got an email from my friend Angie Fox (she's a BIG author) that my book has shipped from Amazon. Yahoo!
This blog candy is now closed... I have drawn the names.... will list later... TU
PattiM
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