Archives for category: Books

Carly_Photography dede launch

I have to tell you more about the launch of the Artist’s Survival Cookbook. I couldn’t have done it without the help of my amazing friend Carly. We had exactly one hour to set everything up. She just came in with boxes of lovely stoneware and props, I had done the baking, and in no time flat she magically threw together the most fantastic display. On the day, nobody, absolutely nobody, noticed the chairs in the back and how run down the old church hall was. Everybody was stunned by the food display and in the beginning no one dared to help themselves. Everything on the table was there to nibble on. Except for the eggs, they were raw. :)

I will dedicate a post to Carly, who is a photographer and stylist soon, when I have more images.

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The pop-up kitchen for the launch of the Artist’s Surviva Cookbook was a full success. The time went by so fast and there were plenty of people of all ages who wanted to have a go. There weren’t many kids, which was a bit sad, but you can tell that those who were there really enjoyed it. I heard someone saying: “This is how kid’s birthday parties should be.”

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The photos were taken by Erwin Loosekot

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Now I am getting nervous. The book launch is on Saturday and I have made plenty of lists: What I have to take, what I have to buy, what I have to ask others to help me with and so on.

Yesterday I had to swing by the venue again because all of a sudden I realised I don’t even know where the toilets are and then I was told the fridge is broken. So I will have to organise a chilly bin for the milk and the butter. I don’t have one of those.

Today I went to the shops to buy flour. Surprisingly, the 1.5 kg bags were more economical, because they were on special this week. So I bought 8 packets of white flour and 4 packets of whole meal. The lady at checkout was so curious, she couldn’t resist asking me what I was doing :). I knew that will happen. Honestly who would buy 12 packets of flour in one go. It wasn’t really that cheap that it justified hording. So I gave her an invitation to the launch.

The worst thing is, I have absolutely no idea how many people will show up. I have had some replies to my emails and a lot of people said it is a great idea. I didn’t ask for RSVP as it would make it too official and I really would like for people to just drop by.

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Doesn’t the saying go: “Necessity is the mother of all inventions”. When the puppets got really desperate, they came up with the idea to make a book full of recipes with flour and water: The Artist’s Survival  Cookbook. The book is now available on CreateSpace and this Saturday we are celebrating the launch with a pop-up kitchen at the Methodist Church in Birkenhead. It is an interactive launch and the visitors can try their hand at a recipe from the book. I still have a lot to prepare and I have no idea how it will go, but that is the fun of it :)

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The Dedepuppets started out as observers of life. These two are pals from the book Hermit’s web or the few friends I need I handcraft myself, that I did in 2012. The brainy Professor and his buddy Pig. They are a couple. The professor loves to talk and drink and comes across as being intelligent. His mate pig loves to drink. Fullstop! He doesn’t say much. And in the book the story goes, he is not a connoisseur at all, he just quaffs down the wine until he is plastered.

(Note: Little did I know back then what it actually means if you have to work with Professor and Pig. Back then I only knew them from a social setting. Socially they can be fun, but at work, oh dear… you don’t want go there!)

Last Sunday I grabbed two of my puppets and together we made the best bun recipe from page 32. Just to prove that it is that simple. I hope you like it, it would be great if you could share. It is such a great Christmas present. Buy a bag of flour, a wooden spoon and the Artist’s Survival Cookbook and you can make someone a really happy kitchen god(ess).

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Okay, back to my Pecha Kucha presentation. Sorry that it is a bit fragmented. The publication of the Artist’s Survival Cookbook was late breaking news. I am now up to slide 7. You might recall, my presententation is about “why I play with puppets”. I began creating the Dedes in 2012. They started out as No Bodies and I couldn’t quite put my finger on why I do it. They just imposed themselves on me. In the meantime I have figured out that they are a wonderful tool to enhance emotional intelligence. This is the subject of my Pecha Kucha presentation. Pecha Kucha presentations have the format of 20 slides and the presenter can talk for 20 seconds to each slide. There is not much one can say :).  Now I am up to the 4th pillar of Emotional Intelligence: People skills.

People skills: Those who are emotionally intelligent avoid power struggles and backstabbing. They usually enjoy other people, and can honestly give credit where credit is due. They easily earn respect from others. Keep in mind, respect has to be earned, it cannot be demanded. In fact all these characteristics (self-awareness, self-motivation, empathy and people skills) go hand in hand and follow each other.

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The first shipment of the Artist’s Survival Cookbook has arrived. Just in time for the Indie bookfair at the Northshore Event Centre this weekend. For all my overseas friends… the book is now available at Amazon. I haven’t quite figured it out, but they already discounted the book, strange. It is also available on the CreateSpace Store, but here it is my intended price. This is one way of robbing the author of their royalties. Why would anybody buy it on CreateSpace when you can get it cheaper from Amazon, and the shipping is also cheaper there too. Grrrrr. But that is not what I wanted to write about!

The Indie bookfair was a very intersting affair. The exhibitors were small publishing houses, self published authors and companies that offer publishing services for those who want to become published authors. The visitors were mainly the latter or people who knew someone who was exhibiting. So there weren’t many sales to be had all around. I had prepared little bags with one bean plus a Dede instruction card on how to grow the bean, and on the back there was info about the book . At least the visitors were very happy to take the little gift and hopefully they will grow the bean and look up the book on Amazon (slim chance though, but I got some attention). As I was invited by my friend Dee to share her stall, I still came out ahead and Dee herself didn’t do too badly. We both made good contacts with people we can work with in future. And that is invaluable. The comments about the puppets were also nice. A few people knew the puppets from their exhibition and from puppet month last year, so they are little celebrities in their own right.

Personally, I get anxieties when I see so many people in one place all wanting to sell their books. I am pretty sure every single one is worthwhile reading and everyone poured their lifeblood into their work and then there I am, with a book too and wanting to sell it! I think I will have to retreat and play with my puppets again for a little while :)

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I am getting very close now making my famous Artist’s Survival Cookbook available on CreateSpace. After puppeteer-friend Tony had a good read and made correction, the lovely Heather went over the whole thing again with a fine comb. I have entered the latest changes and uploaded the complete file again. That is it now! In the meantime I have created a preview on CreateSpace. Everyone can look at and review the book here: https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1177728

There is an independend book festival on first weekend in October. My garden guru friend Dee has organised a stall and offered to share it with me.  I also have seen the first proof copies from CreateSpace and I am happy with the print result. You guys can not believe how excited I am right now!

 

 

 

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Finally, the Artist’s survival book went to the proofreader this week. I will upload the file to CreateSpace and order a copy to see what the print quality is like. Then when it comes back from proofing, I can make the changes and thunderbirds are go! I am so excited about it all. You certainly wonder what took so long. The book was basically finished two or three month ago. Well, life has been a bit of a struggle last year, hence the book. However, having no money wasn’t the main problem. Of course the Dedes live the life of their Artist. Recently they had a full Dede meeting to discuss what project should be next. Pig wanted to embark on a potato cookbook. Mouse wants to make a book on how to set up a garden in a small space and someone else suggested a book on the nutritious value of nuts, called The Artist is going nuts. Everyone was laughing, but Devil. Philosopher who is a good observer said, maybe the home economic books should be put aside for a while and the Dedes should make a book about workplace bullying. Now the room fell silent and no-one quite understood where this was coming from. It was very awkward. Devil’s eyes became watery and he said: “We have to do it, for the sake of everyone out there, who has to deal with it, but I don’t know if I am ready just yet.” Who would have thought that the Devil get’s bullied?