and the winner of Magical Journey is ...

Melodye Shore!

I know that you want to know how this winner was selected for my contest, sponsored a few days ago.  I will share that secret here.  With more than 500 people clicking on this giveaway post and more than 30 entering to win, with my own blog utterly unaccustomed to throwing book giveaways, I called in my arsenal, which is to say my husband, and asked him a question.

Choose a number, I said.

Why? he asked

You will be selecting a winner, I said.

A winner!  Well.  He gave it great thought.  He closed his eyes.  He chose his quantifier.

Melodye won, I said.

I want some credit for that, he said.

Credit is given.  A challenge is won.

All of you who so kindly took interest here, thank you for your responses and contentment.  I know you will love Katrina's book, however it enters your life.

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Christmas weather, holiday kindness, and thank you, A. A. Omer

I made my way to Body Combat early this morning.  The snow began to fall just as I left.  I allow myself to be lazy after workouts like that.  To lie on a couch and dream a novel forward. 

I write so slowly now.  But I never mind the time I make to dream a novel forward.

In between I read the astonishing work being sent to me by the YoungArts writers; our literary future, ladies and gentlemen, is in excellent hands.  I read, as well, Katrina Kenison's glorious new book, Magical Journey, of which I wrote not long ago.  Look for a chance to win your own copy here, on New Year's Day.  All you'll need to do is tell me what makes you quietly glad, and your name will be put into the hat.

Finally, I discovered, thanks to a little white-winged bird, that A.A. Omer, a reader of discerning tastes (in my humble opinion), placed Small Damages number one in her five-book list of the year's best writing.  It joins the work of David Levithan, Moira Young, Ilsa Bick, and Wynne Channing.  It is an act of greatest kindness.  Thank you.

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Handling the Truth: Katrina Kenison's kindness and first words

Tomorrow morning I am going to share a video here that will quiet you, inspire you, make you want to know my friend, Katrina Kenison.

But this afternoon I am privileged to share Katrina's words about Handling the Truth.  She received this book and read it at once.  She sent me notes as I stood near my great-grandfather's grave in Bryson City, North Carolina, and then notes again, through a dark week.  And even in the midst of all she is doing in preparation for the launch of her own book, Magical Journey: An Apprenticeship in Contentment (look for it!), she took time to craft these words.

They are the first "official" words for this book:

With infectious passion and hard-won wisdom, Beth Kephart eloquently celebrates the rigors and rewards of the creative process and – equally necessary – the art of crafting a meaningful life.  Part memoir and part memoirist’s manifesto, this small, urgent book inspires on many levels.  Read it and learn how to tell your story.  Better yet, read it and begin to understand why your story matters.

Katrina Kenison, author of Magical Journey:  An Apprenticeship in Contentment

For the full press release, go here.

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