Great News + Life Saving ‘In the Air Tonight’ and Every Day

Yesterday a Silver Medal and a big official certificate literally showed up in my mailbox. My ground breaking picture book Giving Voice won another award! A Silver E-Literature Award for the Best Multi Media eBook.

In case you’ve somehow missed it, Giving Voice is my award winning, genre-busting, picture book that brings beauty and thought to your world. Through exceptional artwork, animations, and music, the story explores how the dots of our lives connect and how the small kindnesses we show each other can literally change the course of someone’s life.

It’s a book you’ll keep coming back to like a favorite song, whether you read it cover to cover or spend a few moments flipping through the many images, animations, and sound. Introduction by Nick Bantock, best-selling author of Griffin and Sabine. The ebook edition is available on Apple Books.

It’s available in print too.

Just as a heads up, when my new online classes launch, I’ll be offering discounts to everyone who has bought the print book from my website or the ebook from Apple Books.

It’s a way for you to save money and back my new teaching offerings all at the same time. Win/win.

…And speaking of winning, another thing I may have just won is first place in Signature Serenade. Thanks to everyone who tuned in from around the world last week and donated to our fundraising efforts for NPR affiliate WCLK Jazz 91.9. So far my husband Chris and I have raised over $4200., most of it live on the air last Thursday evening. Deb Moore was such a delight to talk with. We’ve had rave reviews for our banter, candor, and playlist from the station’s very kind and knowledgeable staff. With everything going on, much of it literally in our neighborhood, it feels great to know we’re making a difference for my favorite American art form (jazz), National Public Radio, WCLK, and Clark Atlanta University, the HBCU the radio station calls home.

The deadline for us to officially win is July 1 at midnight EDT. Let’s just say June 30 to be safe. We are in first place by a only tiny margin of $188, so if you meant to contribute and didn’t have a chance yet, please click here and make my winning streak official.

And now for that Life saving bit “In the Air Tonight” (not just on the air)…

I had to leave the house yesterday after 2 straight months of privileged, safe, pajama lockdown and was completely horrified to discover first hand just how stupid most of my fellow Atlantans are being.

Masks on mouths but uncovered noses. On purpose. (?????)
No masks at all.
Masks that slip down off noses while talking.
Lowering masks to speak to someone then pulling masks back up when finished speaking.
Masks that don’t even vaguely make sufficient contact with skin, so people are sucking in and blowing out air around the masks.
People standing within 3 feet of each other.
Someone holding up a paper mask in front of her face and standing directly in front of me to take my temperature that was ‘contactless’ if you count 1 inch a way as contactless in the midst of an airborne, deadly pandemic.
“Stand here” and “sit here” signs placed within 5 feet of each other.

I could go on and on. Where was this? Let’s just say somewhere official, staffed by many people who ought to know way better.

Put this together with the thousands of unmasked protestors, law enforcement, dog walkers, shoppers, etc. I’ve witnessed on Twitter and outside my windows, and you’d think basic germ theory was as difficult as rocket science…or that Americans really are as arrogant as we’re portrayed in films and TV produced in other countries.

I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir here! As a reader of my blog, I’ve no doubt you are an enlightened and unselfish person aware that doing the right thing means doing the right thing for everyone, including yourself!

Yes, it’s a hot summer here in the Northern Hemisphere. Yes, masks are completely annoying. So is lung damage. COVID is on the rise in the USA. The virus doesn’t give a rats ass about any country’s economy or what the government officials say or do. COVID just does what it does, replicate and destroy life.

If you’re in one of the many countries like Finland, Australia, and New Zealand that have gotten this pandemic more under control for your inhabitants, thank you for showing us it can be done.

Wherever you are, thanks for sucking it up and doing the right thing.