EVENTS

Contemplations of the Super(B)owl 2024

I suspect I approach the Super Bowl a bit differently than many people. I don’t follow the national football teams, although I like the college football teams that involve my alma mater, Florida State University, and the University of West Florida.

Big Bowl, Bigger Commercials

I watch the game for the commercials. I usually write during the game, but I watch TV when the commercials appear. My first intense interest in the SB commercials involved the Budweiser frogs. I like amphibians and reptiles, so I thoroughly enjoyed these commercials. I looked forward to seeing the next installment in the frog story each year. Disclaimer: I’m not too fond of beer, so the brand wasn’t interesting to me. Nor am I prejudiced because Bud was brewed in my hometown.

Picking a Team

Despite rooting for the Seminoles or the Argonauts, I don’t have a favorite professional football team. When it’s time for the Super Bowl to be played, I root for the non-human animals. If both teams are animal names, I go with the lowest vertebrate. For example, I prefer a bird team over a mammal team. Despite many animal teams, this year’s Super Bowl had only humans. Very disappointing.

You may not be familiar with the UWF Argonauts. When I attended, the sports teams did not include a football team. That was okay. I was there to get my Master’s degree in Biology. Why spend time in a stadium when Pensacola had the sugar-white sand beaches to enjoy? When it was decided that it was time for UWF to have a football team, the officials conducted a poll: should UWF stay as Argonauts, or should they change to something more familiar? I was pleased when Argonauts was retained. What is an argonaut? As a biologist, I immediately think of the octopuses that live in a chambered shell and propel themselves through the water. My favorite is the Chambered Nautilus. Then, there are the mythical Greek heroes who accompanied Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece. It’s the latter that is used as the symbol for the football team. 

The West Florida Argonauts Logo.

However, the university uses my preferred argonaut.

The university of West Florida logo with a nautilus shell.

This year, a friend introduced me to Superbowl, as in Superb Owl, for those not interested in the Super Bowl. I’m thinking of writing a picture book about local owls, and she suggested Superb Owls might be a good title. The owls in the Sonoran Desert are superb. But for now, I do have several other books on animals of the Sonoran Desert, you can find them on my website

DIY Your Writing Retreat!

With the busyness of everyday life, I often find myself longing for a few days alone when I can immerse myself in putting words onto a page. Some of my author friends take a month off in this pursuit of focus and productivity. Others can go into an office and shut the door on the world. I can’t do either. I couldn’t stand being away from my fur and scale babies for more than a week, and I write at my dining room table so I’m not shutting myself off from the world. 

Time to Retreat!

I long for a few days away, such as at a retreat. When I search for writing retreats, I discover many choices. There are place-themed retreats (Hawaii or the Northeast), activity-themed retreats (yoga), genre-themed retreats (mysteries, Westerns), and different conveyances (ship, train). With my present pursuits of riding and writing, I look for horse-related retreats. There is one that looks particularly attractive up in Wyoming. I am okay with hauling my horse, but I don’t think I will be taking Poncho up to Wyoming anytime soon, so I could ride other horses. Unfortunately, this retreat is in the summer, and this coming summer, I’ll be the writer-in-residence for the Pima County Library. I’m not traveling anywhere. Maybe in 2025.

Yet, a writing retreat can be anywhere that fits your needs. I need chunks of time without responsibilities. I had a few lovely days writing in a hotel before Iguana Fest in Punta Gorda, Florida.

Elaine and fellow author at a Florida Writing retreat.

Making Time for Writing

I’m writing this blog from the front room of my cousin Rick’s house during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. I have a table to put my laptop on, a comfy sofa, and animals to keep me company. The bed is quite comfortable, the bathroom convenient, and I can get up whenever possible. He provides me with delicious food, and I know I can start each day with my favorite bagel and lox. Fuel for the soul. He lets me use his car if I want to roam around my hometown, but this time, I will only get together with a few friends and enjoy most of the days writing, writing, and more writing. I won’t be bored. I have enough writing tasks (Fun Facts for the videos, blogs for marketing, and books to finish). I like it when the weather cooperates by being rainy, cloudy, and cold. Perfect climate conditions to remain housebound.

Rick prepares the evening meals, and then we relax in the evenings (I still manage a few written lines during this relaxation period). Last night, I got caught up on emails.

An additional perk during the holidays is all his neighbors feel he needs a bit of holiday cheer since he is a widower: cookies, fudge, coated pretzels (my favorite), pie, etc. It would be disrespectful not to taste and share them with him. 

Two types of fudge made by Elaine's cousin's neighbors.

I conclude that you don’t need to spend much money or go somewhere special. Carve out a few days for a change and isolation (but not too isolated) so you can commune with your muse. Being productive is its reward!

Happy Writing! May the muse be with you in 2024! I am already busy booking my writing retreats and events for 2025, find out where I’ll be on my author website.

Behind the Scenes at a Book Conference

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of a large book conference? I was honored to be part of the local committee for Left Coast Crime 2023: Trouble in Tucson. Tucson Sisters in Crime wanted to help with the conference and we divvied up the various tasks, both before and during the conference. Fortunately, there weren’t any after-the-conference needs because we were exhausted! Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at everything we did to get ready for the book conference. 

There are a Lot of Books

One of the tasks the locals take on was providing a site for all the materials to be sent to and collected. Often, storage facilities are used, but I offered up my garage. It turned out not to be much of a sacrifice since I had to have my car’s transmission rebuilt during that period, so the garage was empty. I was glad I didn’t go with a different storage site since I had to move each box that came.

I was impressed (and relieved) that the publishers sent reasonably sized boxes since books can be very weighty. None were too heavy for me to pick up and move into the safety of my garage.

A plastic wrapped palate of boxes.

 

All of the delivered books are ready for the conference. Most of the delivery drivers very nicely placed the boxes back by the garage, so all I had to do was carry or drag them to the pile. The only boxes delivered to my front door, unfortunately, were the incredibly heavy ones that contained the conference booklets! I had to use a dolly to haul them to the back of the house.

Even more boxes added to the pile.

And More Books!

A great group of Tucson people arrived to move the boxes to the resort on our designated day and time. When I volunteered, I thought my Ram 3500 truck would be big enough to transport all the boxes to the conference site. I was wrong. Fortunately, the helpers had brought their trucks and cars and we crammed the books in. In total, we needed four trucks and SUVs to get this box pile to the resort.

Elaine's garage finally emptied of boxes.

We were able to transport the entire box pile in one trip. Of course, once at the hotel, we had to unload the boxes and haul them through a banquet room to get them to the conference rooms. All the boxes were subsequently unpacked and arranged into meeting bags along with those incredibly heavy booklets.

I was delighted to have my garage available for my car again. The repairs on it were completed the day before the conference.

Many people commented on the volume of boxes for the conference. I proudly stated that I had personally touched ALL of them, at least once.

Being responsible for the box collecting was very satisfying and I was pleased with this contribution to the Left Coast Crime Conference: Trouble in Tucson.

Author Elaine A. Powers Will Be Signing Books at the Tucson Festival of Books, March 14-15, 2020

author Elaine A Powers holds a book in front of her booth at Tucson Festival of Books
Come out and say Hello on March 14-15!

On March 14-15, 2020, Tucson will host the third largest book festival in the US, the Tucson Festival of Books. Over 130,000 people come to enjoy this world-of-books every year.

All aspects of the book business are included, with several hundred authors in attendance, many who are involved in panels open to the public. Special programs for children and teens and about science are presented. This event is known for its cultural diversity and promoting literacy among children and adults in Southern Arizona. Millions of dollars have been donated to literacy programs because of this focus.

Author Elaine A. Powers participates in this event by having a booth from which she sells her books. Book lovers enjoy buying books directly from authors and Ms. Powers loves meeting them, as well, and personalizing and signing the books. She says it’s one of the most rewarding parts of being an author.

Ms. Powers will share the booth with author and illustrator, Anderson Atlas. Together, they offer books for all children’s book age groups, and some for adult readers, too.

Stop by and say hello on the weekend of March 14-15.

Tucson Festival of Books
March 14-15, 2020   9:30 – 5:30
University of Arizona
Children’s Section
Booth 324
Grab an Adventure by the Tail
Elaine A. Powers, Author
Anderson Atlas, Author/Illustrator
BOOKS FOR ALL AGES OF CHILDREN

 

CURTIS CURLY-TAIL COMES ALIVE ON YOU TUBE!a curly tail lizard on a bahamian beach with blue sky and ocean, sand and green plants
Elaine A Powers Author Conservationalist Biologist
Click Image to Hear “Don’t Call Me Turtle!”image of woman reading book at tucson botanical gardens
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