Hello Dear Readers,

Well, things continue apace with both the doings of Tatterdemalion and our both of our writerly and painterly lives, on two distant coasts. I thought I'd give you a quick update amidst various writings and wanderings, because something Quite Exciting has at last come to pass, and while this doesn't directly concern Tatterdemalion, at least not literally, it does on a much bigger scale, because in a sense it is something of the dreaming within Tatterdemalion's skin, come to real life. To get to the point-- at long last, Hedgespoken, the wonder-vehicle created over the past year and a half by Rima and her partner Tom and the help of many, many good folk, is ready for the road! Rima is putting the last featherings on the nest, final bits and bobs are being secured, and the truck is-- perhaps even at this very moment!-- finding its way slowly up a green grassy lane. This is just ridiculously exciting news!

You should really rush over and read all about it on the Hedgespoken blog right now! There are marvelous photographs and Rima's words and a true taste of the imagination and soul from which all of the paintings in this book sprang, over the course of many years of Rima's life as an artist. Seeing Hedgespoken come to life, even from so far away as California, feels like a beautiful flowering of so much creativity and imagination and heart, all in one incredible wheeled being. A living vehicle of wild revolt, that's what I would call Hedgespoken. A real, live Lyoobov. 

And to add even more wonder to the wonderways, Rima will be painting the cover for Tatterdemalion from this new home, likely in some lovely green byway with the spring birds singing. It couldn't be more suitable, a more perfect way for a cover for this book to be born. We will share sneak peeks of this just as soon as we can!

In other news, a story of mine is just recently up with the literary fantasy magazine Beneath Ceaseless Skies. It is called "Whale Oil," and concerns a young boy, an old heron-woman, and the hunting of whales in 19th century San Francisco. You can read the full tale here!  Included in this issue is an audio podcast of the story, which is a lovely new experience for me-- to hear my work read by someone else! 

Meanwhile, editing and other such matters continue apace, keeping us on schedule for a December 2016 delivery of your Tatterdemalions! If you have friends or family who've been thinking of ordering a book, note that by pre-ordering through Unbound and supporting the book in this way, you will have it in your hands a full six months before it actually reaches the bookshelves! Leatherbounds and a few spots in my animal tracking and story-making workshop still abound....

Warmly,

Sylvia