"Oh, Kaye!" Chats About Coloring and Has a Give-Away

MALICE DOMESTIC NEWS 
AGATHA AWARDS -
Penny Warner for Best Children's/Young Adult
Art Taylor - Best Short Story
Hank Phillippi Ryan - Best Nonfiction
Terrie Farley Moran - Best First Novel
Rhys Bowen - Best Historical Novel

Hank Phillippi Ryan - Best Contemporary Novel

My congratulations  to all the nominees, and to all the winners!
Such an honor!


And now - since I didn't make it to Malice this year , I stayed home with my crayons and my coloring books.  

I did.

Coloring relieves stress.

It does!



Chances are you're already aware of the new coloring book trend that's showing no signs of slowing down.

If you went to amazon.com on Saturday 4/25/2015 to check out their Top Twenty Top Sellers in Books you would find that out of the 20 top sellers, 7 were adult coloring books.

The #2 best seller was "Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book" by Johanna Basford

#8 - "Enchanted Forest: An Inky Quest & Coloring Book"by Johanna Basford

#12 - "Adult Coloring Book: Stress Relieving Patterns" by Adult Coloring Book Artists

#13 - "Detailed Designs and Beautiful Patterns (Sacred Mandala Designs and Patterns Coloring Books for Adults) (Volume 28)" by Lilt Kids Coloring Books

#16 - "Mystical Mandala Coloring Book (Dover Design Coloring Books)" by Alberta Hutchinson

#19 - "Dover Creative Haven Art Nouveau Animal Designs Coloring Book (Creative Haven Coloring Books)" by Marty Noble (Author), Creative Haven (Author)

#20 - "Flower Designs Coloring Book (Volume 1)" by Jenean Morrison 

Johanna Basford is getting ready to release her third coloring book.  The two she's already done are consistently sold out at amazon.

And they're lovely!

Here's a couple of articles you might enjoy - 

"Though they can be used by kids, these and other new coloring book titles are being marketed to stressed-out, work-addled adults, who want to benefit from the quiet zen that a coloring session can bring."  from CNN.com - full article here:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/21/living/feat-adult-coloring-books/


and more here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/21/adult-coloring-books_n_7088048.html

I ran across adult coloring books when I went to the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum last year to see the amazing Wolf Kahn exhibit.

Also on exhibit were quilts.  Glorious antique art quilts that were stunning.

And the museum had a few quilt coloring books for sale in their shop.

Could I resist?  

Pffttt.  

Noooooo.

I always have crayons and colored pencils and pens and markers on hand 'cause I use them when I journal (along with stickers and postcards and other ephemera that I also use for collages).

Once I started coloring and realizing how relaxing it really is, and how much fun, I bought a few more coloring books.  

And I gave a few for Christmas gifts.

Now, I have added coloring to my list of fun things I love to do.

And our sunroom is looking more and more like kindergarten.  Not such a bad thing, all in all.,,

So.

Grab yourself a coloring book or two.

And use your favorite coloring "tool."

Pencils.

Crayons.

These cool markers that are pens on one end, felt tip on the other.

Or whatever suits your fancy - pastels, whatever . . .


Pick a design you like 

Color away.

And if you're not all that pleased with the final result, so what?  It was all about the "doing," not the end result - I'm no artist, that's for sure.

Do another -

Love the one you did?!  GREAT!  Do Another!


And another - 

And remember - 

It is perfectly okay to

So.  Dear Reds, yes, yes, yes, I know - we are all busy.  

But take a break and give yourself a little joy.

Color!

And, if that's not appealing to you - then, by all means

Whatever it might be.

And Now - A Give-Away 

(make that Two Give-Aways!)

A whole bunch of people I know are at the 27th Annual Malice Domestic Convention right now.  Including some of our Reds (a couple of them are bringing home teapots!).

I'm not one of them attending the festivities this year . 

Harley is not one of them either . 

But, you know that very cool bag of books you're given when you check in? Well, my book will not be in it. 

Neither will Harley's. 

BUT you can still snag a copy of my WHIMSEY and Harley's MY NAME IS HARLEY AND THIS IS MY STORY. 

For Free. 

For three days. Kindle Versions Only. 

May 2 thru May 4. 

Just go to http://tinyurl.com/nqgynyk for WHIMSEY and to http://tinyurl.com/kowfc8v for Harley's book. 

If you're at Malice, have fun, and add these two books (virtually) to your book bag. 

If, like me, you're not at Malice, perhaps this will ease a little of the pain. 

Enjoy!