Nadia Giordana--Embody Your Vision

Santa Fe, New Mexico on my mind

iinadia — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:46:08 +0000

For us, the idea of relocating to New Mexico grew legs in January and hasn’t waned. We can get an all-adobe, gorgeous 4+ bedroom home with a guest wing that has its own carport and private entry (for the folks). And the property is offered at less that our Minnesota home is worth. For Chuck and I, the work we do is via Citrix and Internet connections, so this is not a pipe dream, it’s doable! The art community and concentration of creative venues make that part of the country especially attractive to us. Another plus: daughter and family hope to make the move too; we’re all on the same page. Still, it may take a year or so to work it all out. I won’t miss the below-zero temperatures or the relentless summer mosquitoes one bit!

Filed under: journal entry, The Art World Tagged: New Mexico, relocation

Coming mid 2010: 10,000 Days in Alaska Book Two

iinadia — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:23:48 +0000

It’s been a monumental task transcribing 27 years of the daily journal entries my father made while living in Alaska. So much so that I wasn’t sure book two would ever happen. Book one (available at Amazon.com) was 528 pages and book two will be closer to 600. But after bringing in an assistant, we are back on track. She has been a godsend for a number of reasons. Perhaps one day I’ll share the poignant back story.

Norman is an active participant in this process. He’s a stickler for the truth and wants to be sure these journals are complete and accurate. This is more than his legacy. It’s a piece of Alaskan history (not unlike the well-known Dick Proenneke books) documenting daily life along the Glenn Highway at Nelchina (including dozens of families who were friends of Norman and Sylvia). His style is abbreviated and cryptic, writing almost exclusively in sentence fragments–but then, that’s the way he talks for the most part, and we made the decision early on to preserve his unique voice for this documentary journal.

Filed under: books Tagged: 000 Days In Alaska, 10, Norman Wilkins

Upcoming talk radio interview: “Sexty Something” the Basia Fuller story

iinadia — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:53:42 +0000

Sexty Something is the story of Basia Fuller. Her parents were WWII spies. She was raised in a refugee camp. She was abused as a teenager. She broke through the glass ceiling in the British Business world. She went to America and made a fortune. She was shot at and kidnapped. She was broken and bankrupt. She rose to walk the red carpet. She built a real estate fortune which crashed when her health and mind succumbed to the travails of her life. Once more she pulled herself up by her bootstraps and rebuilt her life. In her fifties she found the man of her dreams. Finally, in her sixties she risked it all one more time and came out a winner in business and in life. This is the story of Basia Fuller, living proof that it is never too late to live your life to the utmost. Her stirring story will inspire you to look at age as nothing more than a number. She’s defied tradition and broken through glass ceilings in business, as well as outdated taboos in her personal life. Available at Amazon.com.

Sound exciting? Tune in March 25th 4:00 pm Central Time and listen to Basia in person as she tells her story to Nadia Giordana at Interviews with Extraordinary Women.

Note: A link to a print transcription of this interview will be available here on March 26, 2010 after the program airs.

Filed under: books, Radio Tagged: Basia Fuller, interview, Sexty Something

It’s voodoo time!

iinadia — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:08:38 +0000

You won’t find these beauties at any garden center–not even Bachman’s. They are available only from enthusuasts like me. Voodoo lily, snake palm, umbrella palm, and other names, Amorphophallus Rivieri (a hydrosme) is an exotic and exciting plant to grow. Look it up online, see my notes on Facebook, or do a search here at this blog for more information (I’ve written about these wonders before).

I have 2-3 of the small corms I can part with, and I will share them with you if you like the idea of having something in your garden deck or patio that no one else has. Message me if you live in the twin cities and want to stop by and pick one up. They are crazy-easy to grow. Mostly, you must care for the corms correctly and then the plant will take care of itself. I want them to go to good homes, they’re my babies.

You must be dedicated. It took me 4 years to grow this nearly 2-lb., grapefruit-sized corm from the original dime-sized “baby” corm I had originally. Each year, the plant gets larger (usually doubles), in turn producing a larger corm (along with several satellite corms) that will grow into an even larger plant. Corms can get up to 25 lbs. Imagine the plant from one like that! I’ll have one in a few years.

UPDATE: 3-08-10 ALL GIVEAWAY CORMS ARE SPOKEN FOR–SORRY, TRY ME NEXT YEAR.

Filed under: Gardening Tagged: corms, snake palm, umbrella palm, voodoo lily

Independent publishing has changed

iinadia — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:54:31 +0000

I’ve been a writer and publisher since the early 1990’s and over the years a lot has changed. Independent publishing has grown up and come into its own. I have to think that the Internet has helped spread the word and made it possible for legitimate independent publishers to reach the right clients. In addition to that, the Internet has served to educate and raise the sophistication level of the writers and authors themselves. (I’m talking about the predatory, pseudo-publishers that have been taking advantage of naive writers for decades.) It’s not so easy for them anymore. Today’s writer’s are savvy and when they need to check a company out, they know where to find that information. Print on Demand technology has revolutionized the publishing industry as a whole, and there is a fast-growing, vital and exciting community of talented people finding new and viable ways to see their books published and made available literally worldwide. At the same time, we are seeing more and more big publishing houses flounder and cut corners (that’s another article altogether).

One of the best ways for a writer/author to keep a solid footing, is to become involved in local and national conferences and networking organizations. Example: this weekend, I participated in the Bloomington Writer’s Conference and Book Fair in Minneapolis. It was a great experience, though I wish I could have attended more workshops. I did however, have the opportunity to give a 10-minute, televised reading from my book, Thinking Skinny. (I’m not sure when or where it will be aired, but if I can get the clip, I will post it here at the blogsite.) Overall, I learned a lot and loved the one-on-one interaction with the public, talking about my book, and especially getting to know dozens of local writers and publishers.

–Nadia Giordana

Two organizations I can suggest: Midwest Independent Publisher’s Association (MIPA) and the Independent Publisher (IPPY) Book Awards.

Filed under: Publishing, Success Tagged: changes in independent publishing