TIG’s first bookstore!

March 28, 2014 ~ Alina ~ 2 Comments

I have joined forces with my first bookstore!

Paperback copies of The Illuminator’s Gift are now available at Spectator Books in Piedmont, CA! (I blogged about them when I first visited last month.)

On a bohemian street offering boutiques, antiques, and handcrafted coffee, check out this independent bookstore that’s bigger on the inside. Spectator Books sells both used and new books. Their fiction selection (for both adults and children) is particularly impressive.

And now I can personally attest to one of the titles in that section 🙂

So if you find yourself in the area, get a little lost in this lovely labyrinth of books. And maybe pick up a certain title while you’re there (wink, wink).

Book Family

March 21, 2014 ~ Alina ~ 4 Comments

One of the things I didn’t realize I’d get when I wrote a book was a book family.

I thought writing a book was about sitting alone for hours and hours, documenting your thoughts and ideas, and sending them out to other people. Like a one-way letter to the world.

What I didn’t realize was that others would write back.

The Illuminator’s Gift is connecting me with all sorts of people: friends and strangers, children and adults, people who are like me and people who are different. As they read, the story becomes theirs. The ideas no longer belong to just me.

It’s the best thing ever.

I’ve gotten to meet dozens of kids in schools. Some of them have written me letters with questions about the book that I’d never thought of before.

One girl even wrote a book report. I think her summary of the story was better than mine.

One precious boy had The Illuminator’s Gift read aloud to him because he can’t see the black-and-white letters on the page. He catalogued his reading time in Braille, a language of dots that I don’t yet know how to read.

And I’m not the only storyteller out there. Two anonymous writers sent me prequel and sequel chapters to The Illuminator’s Gift. Maybe I should take a leaf from their book. So to speak.

Maybe the most fun, though, is the e-mail correspondence I get to do with people I’ve never even met. As a kid, I was too shy to write to my favorite authors (even the ones who were still alive). I didn’t want to bother them or take up their time. Now I see that not only was I missing out on the fun of a correspondence–I might have made their day. I wish I’d been as brave as the kids who write to me now.

I thought writing a book was something I would start, then finish. That once it was published, the journey would be complete.

I couldn’t have been further from the truth. The journey is just beginning. What was once a one-way letter is now a two-way conversation.

I am blessed by a book family, bound together by words and pages.

Spring Miracles

March 14, 2014 ~ Alina ~ Leave a comment

I never can decide whether spring or fall is my favorite season. Both are beautiful, offering change and new directions, the beginnings of new roads and opportunities.

But with spring outside, ready to touch, see, and smell, I’m feeling a bit swayed toward the beauty of this season.

It’s in the living buzz of the bees as they stuff their pockets with pollen.

It’s in the scalloped edges of the new leaves, still sticky from their buds.

It’s in the outrageous colors of the flowers, outdoing the imagination of any fashion designer.

It’s in the unshorn grass, joyful to be alive and growing.

It’s in the unfurling petals, reaching toward the sun.

It’s the magic and mystery of the world coming back to life, of beauty and expectancy, of wonder even in the tiniest of vessels.

And so I pay attention.

Because each day is its own kind of miracle.

Independent Bookstores: Piedmont Avenue

March 7, 2014 ~ Alina ~ 4 Comments

It’s been a while since I reviewed any independent bookstores, but boy, do I have some good ones for you today.

The motivation behind my birthday adventures to Oakland several weeks ago was largely the concentration of independent bookstores on Piedmont Avenue. There are at least four. Mere blocks from each other. It was perfect.

First up: Owl and Company Bookshop. The shop is owned by Michael Calvello, who has another shop in San Francisco and specializes in antiquarian books. Owl and Company is the quintessential independent bookstore. This is why.

Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lining both walls. Ladders (even if they’re not sliding ones).

And all the old books even my heart could desire. Well–at least for a while.

There was even a vinyl record of Viennese Waltzes providing ambience.

And a wooden owl keeping watch.

Next up: Book Zoo and Issues, next-door neighbors. Much smaller than Owl and Company, Book Zoo has an eclectic, slightly outdated collection of books on adult topics, politics, and environmental issues. Their website has a very intriguing compilation of other independent bookstores in the area.

Issues is more of an independent magazine shop, although there were a few books as well as eclectic print materials (including a large variety of greeting cards).

Their outdoor sign was also unique and charming. Perhaps I ought to advertise this way?

Finally, Spectator Books. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, and the display in the front room is all new books, which I don’t find quite as interesting as used ones. But what’s special about this shop is that it’s bigger on the inside.

In this veritable labyrinth of books, hallways lead to rooms, which lead to more rooms, which lead to nooks and crannies, all lined floor to ceiling (and then some) with books. Note to self: I should never face the temptation of Spectator Books (or any shop like it) alone. If my mom hadn’t diligently dragged me out when our parking meter expired, I might still be there. I bought a copy of Princess Academy by Shannon Hale as a souvenir.

I hear there’s also a fifth bookshop on the avenue called Black Swan. Sadly, I didn’t make it that far. Guess I now have an excuse to make a return trip.