Poet Nancy Carol Moody sent me a "spine poem", called "The Simple Truth". Ever seen this or done it? Me neither, but I think it is very cool. Go to your bookshelves right now and try it. Here's the one I received... notice that the last line of the poem is my ninth book.
Speaking of the ninth book, it would seem that my 10th collection is long, long overdue. Fans have been nagging me, my publisher has been nagging me. So, fyi, book 10 is in the works and will come out midway through next year. Working title..."I'll Pretend I Didn't See That". Thanks, all, for the encouragement.
Life has been complicated (or we could say interesting) of late which can leave a person with lots to say, or little. In my case, I'll say less and cartoon more. Hence the infrequent blog posts. But... Thanks to all the dear fans who loyally follow Stone Soup and occasionally send me wonderful fan mail. Here's a recent letter, from a Northwest reader...
"Dear Jan,
I think Stone Soup is one of the very best comic strips in the business. I only religiously read a few strips, some with story lines and some with daily laughs. Stone Soup is the best of both worlds. It's topical without being too topical. It's warm and has a big heart. The charaters have real lives and they jump right off the page. I think your sense of humor and timing is fantastic. Continued Success, I'm happier for seeing your work every day.
Sincerely,
A reader from Port Orchard, WA -- Where the salmon swim very fast from all the Starbucks caffeine being peed into the water by Seattlites."
Dear reader, you truly made my day!
And now, back to what keeps me going...
Cartooning!
Very disappointed with your recent cartoon depicting a White woman dating a black man. It's an afront to all black wmnen to depict black men always wanting white women.
Posted by: Keisha Washington | January 13, 2013 at 11:05 PM
Dear Jan,
I love your cartoons and the fact that you have a young gal helping you. Last weekend, our granddaughter from small town Rio Vista on the Sacramento Delta in CA, went to her first prom. Sadly, the prom ended early when the students learned that a girl and classmate was killed in an auto accident coming home from taking her college stat tests. She was a friend of our granddaughter. It was the first time our granddaughter (a Jr. in H.S.) has lost a friend and Mother says she just doesn't know how to really deal with it all. They why the loss etc. I know it's a terrible subject for a cartoonist but if you were able to find a way to deal with this in your cartoons, it could be helpful
Sincerely,
Peggy Shippen
Posted by: Peggy Shippen | May 07, 2013 at 09:26 AM