Blog – Cindy Pon

what is thy name, cat?

November 15, 2011 – 5:58 pm

i was so pleased by my riot of blossoms with my
funny birds painting recently that i had to repeat it!
but this time, it is a funny cat sitting beneath the
blooms. this is my third cat painting! as i’ve said on
twitter, i consider myself more a dog than cat person,
tho i like both animals–but cats have a way of sneaking
into my novels–as cats will do. and apparently, into my
art too! my first cat was named Blobby Cat, my second
Surly Cat. i have no idea what this cat should be named.

want to help?

help come up with a name or title for this painting and
WIN A PRIZE! what will i win, cindy, what what?

eh. this is a haphazard half-arsed giveaway open
to all. let me surprise you. tho i’m sure it’ll be something
bookish or brush arty. =)

contest ends when i feel like it.
contest has closed!

GO!

By cindy pon | Posted in artist's life, brushpaintings, contest | Comments (55)

full circle

November 14, 2011 – 8:40 pm

i’m here! i’m here! but have been
so outrageously busy with writing novel 3 and
real life stuff. thanks for stopping by and
please leave a comment and say HI! *waves* =D

at the end of october, i attended my first world fantasy
con AND malinda and i also brought the Diversity in YA
tour to official close, with a fantastic signing at the Poway
library. thank you so much danielle, for having us! so many
of my friends from twitter (yes, twitter!) who love YA came
to attend the event. thank you guys for coming too!

greg van eekhout was the only other local author and
was kind enough to shuttle all the panelists from the
world fantasy con hotel over to the library. i admit, i was
nervous. when we say DiYA is grassroots, we mean it–
pile a bunch of YA authors into one car–adventures!
yikes. greg admitted he was nervous and i felt the exact
same AFTER the event, when i drove everyone to a taiwanese
dinner. ha!

*our rad panel consisted of (L to R): malinda lo, me, cinda chima,
holly black, karen healey, and greg van eekhout with danielle, the
wonderful YA librarian at the Poway branch as moderator.

*i’m fairly certain that i’m responding to the question posed
by the raddest 13 year old boy in the audience: what’s a eunuch?
everyone said i did a wonderful job of explaining in an as polite
way as possible. even radder? the boy bought a signed copy of Silver
Phoenix after!!

*it was a packed event and such a fantastic way to end
our Diversity Tour. it truly was a labor of love and malinda
and i stressed but had a wonderful time. to be honest, looking
back, i’m not sure how we pulled it off. haha! but i will say that
the tour was only as successful as the great authors who agreed to
join us at each tour stop, as well as the YA book lovers who showed up
to support us! and of course, all the wonderful librarians and
indie booksellers! thank you!!

*a mom with twin girls wanted a foto of them with malinda
and me. how cute are they? one twin got Silver Phoenix and
the other got Fury of the Phoenix, but each only wanted me to
sign the novel to herself. hehe!

*so it started as a joke on twitter when i asked megan
(raddest fan ever aka RFE) wouldn’t she LOVE to be at our diversity
panel. unfortunately, she lives in utah. well, guess who drove all
the way out from utah (again!) to attend the event? thank you megan
for being such a fantastic and fun fan! <3

*karaline came with her sister larissa, also a YA fan! this
was her first bookish event, hoorah! karaline said she had
a blast. =D

*a group foto of awesome! (L to R back to front: joanna (librarian),
karen, malinda, greg, holly, me, lali (librarian), danielle (librarian),
cinda and jennifer (librarian). i loved the librarians who all came
to support the event, not to mention host us!

*it was so great to finally meet the lovely rae carson,
author of fantasy debut The Girl of Fire and Thorns. and
between you and me? she’s even more beautiful now than back
in her beauty pageant days!

*i didn’t get to attend world fantasy con full time because
motherly duties called that weekend as well. but a highlight
was definitely meeting n. k. jemisin (nora) whose debut The
Hundred Thousand Kingdoms was a top read for me in 2010.
i was really bummed i missed out on her pajama themed release
party for the third book in the series, The Kingdom of Gods. BUT!
she tweeted about giving away the slightly used games from the party
and i responded with a YES, please. so i picked up the games before
the banquet. thus nora is looking so stunning in her elegant gown.
what a fan girl moment for me!!

*here is a foto by my friend heather of the YA panel i was
on at the con. it was a pleasure and honor to be discussing young
adult books and reading along with mar perez, karen healey and
tamora pierce.

whew! i hope you enjoyed the recap and fotos! it has been a whirlwind
november and i can hardly believe thanksgiving is next week! stay
tuned for another cat painting to be posted this week. i need help
with naming this particular cat–and there shall be a prize if you play!

By cindy pon | Posted in author's life, diversity in YA, dreams, novel 3 | Comments (6)

feed your soul

October 14, 2011 – 11:20 am

*funny birds say: what’s up?

after many months of not completing a painting
worth framing, i was happy to take home these
funny birds chillin’ under a riot of blossoms. i
personally think that a person’s art is a little glimpse
into her soul, and for me, my brush art definitely
caters to the charming whimsical side. i’m drawn
to cute creatures and bright colors when i paint–
it’s simply what i love and lifts my spirits.

when writing, i reveal much more darkness and
angst. my writing is more grown up than my
paintings. 8) even then, i have very little interest
in writing from an adult’s perspective: marriage,
children, grown up responsibilities and worries. why?
i live this! and all my artistic endeavors are about
escapism, catering to the sides of me that aren’t
expressed so often in day to day life.

i honestly believe that art and fostering your
creative side is so good for the soul. i actually call
it art therapy. this is my tenth year as a brush painting
student, and it’s been a wonderful journey for me.
it’s amazing how that decade flew by. i never considered
myself artistic when i was younger. i remember drawing
“still lifes” in pencil of my mini schnauzer, my stuffed
animals, and even one of my walkman (haha!) but that
was the extent of my interest. it wasn’t really encouraged
by my parents. writing wasn’t, either. they were just
hobbies that i did on my own.

this year, i’m volunteering for the bubs’ art class.
their new school has a dedicated art teacher (so
wonderful) who has her own studio. she asked me
yesterday to help with the annual student art show.
each student chooses one project they are most proud
of to display, and the show is on for two days, catered
with coffee and pastries–all fancy and a big deal.

i think this is wonderful! a show really lets the children
understand what it feels like to display your work, to
feel accomplished and acknowledged, and also to place
importance on art. because i think it truly is important
to a child’s growth and development, to encourage that
creativity.

it’s when the magic happens.

By cindy pon | Posted in artist's life, brushpaintings, mother's life | Comments (12)

seven

October 5, 2011 – 4:49 pm

almost a year ago, upon finishing my Fury of the Phoenix
revisions, i really wanted to celebrate by getting a fourth
piercing in my right ear (making a total of seven between
my two ears). i had one ten years ago but it closed,
and had wanted to repierce it for the longest time. alas, due
to travel and general Fury release and Diversity in YA tour
craziness–it never happened. until this monday…

hoorah! i invited fellow san diegan YA author kirsten
hubbard on a piercing date and she took fotos! check
out her post here. she said i smiled the whole time.
probably. haha! the pain was minimal–it’s the healing
the piercing for weeks that will be the real challenge now!

the piercing followed an exciting weekend of book events.
on saturday, i attended the mission viejo reader’s festival.
it was a fantastic event and had something for readers of
all ages. i arrived early and chatted to jamie ford (Hotel on
the Corner of Bitter and Sweet) for a bit. allison, the lovely
librarian who invited me to the event for a diversity panel also
introduced me to linda evans, who recently released a memoir
recipe book. she was very gracious.

*our fantastically fun panel: lisa yee, gretchen
mcneil, moderator allison, me, and marlene perez!

on sunday, i attended the orange county children’s
book festival for the first time. it was hot! but also very
well attended and there was a fantastic YA line up including
authors such as lindsey leavitt, d. j. mchale, andrew smith,
kami garcia, heather brewer, katie alender… so many rad
authors in one place!!

some attending YA authors: lisa desrochers,jeff mariotte,
gretchen mcneil, heather brewer, me, inara scott, katie alender.

reading from Fury of the Phoenix. i’m wearing
prescription sunglasses and it was a hot and bright
day. just to clarify i wasn’t being a diva. inara (to my
left) and i actually discussed the decision before going
on stage. hee! also on the rad paranormal panel, emma
michaels, gretchen mcneil and jeff mariotte.

it was a wonderful weekend spent with fellow book lovers,
readers, and writers with great food to go with the great
company. a special shout out to aly who was my official
author handler, as in, she literally had to be on the phone
directing me where to drive as i got hopefully lost. i’m afraid
sense of direction is not my forte. you’ll never find a map
in the front of my fantasy novel. haha

wow. this post took all day to write because sweet pea
fell off the monkey bars and smashed her teeth. ouch. so
the afternoon entailed a trip to the dentist as well as the ER
to make sure she wasn’t injured beyond what we could see.
she is okay!

also, congratulations to vivian on the YA Rising Stars
tgifbm! giveaway! thank you to all those who entered!

By cindy pon | Posted in author's life, funsies, fury of the phoenix, silliness, vanity | Comments (4)

tgifbm! YA Rising Stars edition!

September 19, 2011 – 8:09 pm

Thank Goodness It’s Free Books Monday, y’all!

and this one is gonna rock socks. remember a month
back i had a fantastically fun signing at Once Upon A Time
in montrose with suz young, nova ren suma and holly
goldberg sloan?

*me, holly with delicious cake pops, suz and nova.

well, get ready young adult novel fans! i’m giving away
signed copies of A Need So Beautiful, Imaginary Girls,
I’ll Be There and (i literally decided while posting this)
Silver Phoenix OR Fury of the Phoenix to ONE lucky winner!

goodreads link

it’s been too long since i’ve had a tgifbm! giveaway
and i thought i’d come back with a bang! do you
remember the drill? tweet, facebook status, blog, LJ
or whatever with a blurb and link back to this post, then
comment with that link here. giveaway open to US mailing
addresses only. i’ll select a random winner on friday, 9/30.
good luck!

By cindy pon | Posted in books, contest | Comments (29)