THIS WEEK! Seattle & Olympia.

OLYMPIA- 1/31/13- with Aron Nels Steinke at the Olympia Timberland Library. 7:30 p.m.

Coffee with a Canine & Shows This Week

Hello! I was interviewed by a blog called Coffee with a Canine, where I basically told Beija's life story. You can read it here.

She looks like she had a bad attitude in this photo because she HATES it when I sit on her dog bed with her, and hates getting posed for photographs even more.





THIS WEEK:


1/22- Calling Dr. Laura RELEASE PARTY and reading at Powells City of Books, 7:30 p.m. After-party to follow


1/23- Backfence presents Russian Roulette - live spontaneous true stories DOORS 6:30PM | SHOW 8:00PM 21+


1/24- Reading at Books Inc in San Francisco


1/26- Reading at The Last Bookstore in LA, 3 p.m., with special guests Tara Jepsen and Bouquet!

Art Show at Powells

This is a photo taken of the giant original page art show at Powells by my super nice friends Susan and Mike, over at the blog Retirement For Dummies. It will be up all month. Come and see me at Powells January 22nd, 7:30 p.m. If you want to skip the crowd, hop in your car and drive 1.5 hours north to Olympia, Washington, where I'll be at the Timberland Library on January 31st.

My Sweet, Petite, Wishbone.

2013 Book Tour Dates: BOOKING NOW

Hello friends,
I am setting sail to promote my book around the West and the East very soon. I am going to be solo from Jan 22-Feb. 8th, and then traveling with the marvelous Cassie J. Sneider starting February 15th. We are booking our tour right now, so if you are a librarian or a student or a teacher or a bookstore and you would like us to visit you along the way, please get in touch!
I will post our final final final dates as we have them.
In the meantime, you can visit my tour tumblr.
xoxo
n.g.


WEST COAST

January 22, 2013 - Portland, Oregon @ Powell’s Bookstore (after-party TBA)

January 24, 2013 - San Francisco, California @ Books Inc.

January 26, 2013 - Los Angeles, California @ The Last Bookstore with Tara Jepsen and musical guests, Bouquet!

January 30, 2013 - Seattle, Washington @ Elliott Bay

January 31st, 2013- Olympia, Washington @ Olympia Timberland Library with Aron Nels Steinke

February 6, 2013 - San Francisco, California @ RADAR reading series

February 8, 2013- San Francisco, CA @ CCA MFA in Comics Program Talk

February 16th- LA Zine Fest Reading at Footsies Bar

February 17, 2013- LA Zine Fest with Cassie J. Sneider

February 19-March 15- EAST COAST TOUR w/ Cassie J. Sneider

February 21- Baltimore, MD @ TBA w/ Cassie J Sneider

February 24- Philadelphia, PA @ Wooden Shoe w/ Cassie J. Sneider

February 26- Montreal @ TBA w/ Cassie J Sneider

February 28- White River Junction, VT at The Center for Cartoon Studies

March 2- Boston @ Hub Comics, with CJS & Special Guest LIZ PRINCE

March 4- Massachusetts, TBA

March 7- Bloomington, Indiana at Indiana University w/ Cassie J Sneider

March 8- Bloomington, Indiana at Boxcar Books w/ Cassie J Sneider

March 9- Chicago Zine Fest w/ Cassie J Sneider

March 10- Chicago Zine Fest w/ Cassie J Sneider

March 12- New York @ Bluestockings w/ CJS & Special Guest Caroline Paquita!

March 13-Brooklyn, NY@ Brooklyn Public Library w/ Cassie J Sneider

March 14- New Paltz, NY @ SUNY Library (3 p.m. lecture)

& Inquiring Minds (Zinester Party w/ special guests)

March 15-Holbrook, NY @ Sachem Public Library w/ Cassie J Sneider

Regarding Wishbone

Wishbone Georges passed away today, just shy of her fifteenth birthday. She fell asleep on my chest and left the world that way, completely restful and with her family by her side.

Wishbone was known as a wizard, as a wish-granter, and as a sage with debatable wisdom.
She ran through hedges into Narnia, almost got our mail service suspended by chasing the mail man, and was given
a range of voices by those who knew her, ranging from geriatric to wizardly to, ultimately, sort of Ratso.
Most of these voices were based on her real-life vocalizations. She whined almost every day (garnering the name "Tiny Whiny"), with noises ranging from a tinny hum to a muffled scream, and something that sounded like a cross between a muppet and a horn.
In her imagined voice, Wishbone recently (and repeatedly) came out as "bi" and successfully applied for and received a job as an assistant at a talent management company. Her qualifications (which are detailed in her Cover Letter) included "Finding the warmest spot in the bed".

Nicknames:
Wizard, Anonymous Fuzzball, Fuzzy, Tiny, Weirdo, Teeny Tiny, Tiny Whiny, Teeny Weeny, Wish-Bun, Bun, Woman, Funny Girl, Bone, Wish, Wishy, Wishy Wishy Wishbone.
Nerd

In real life, Wishbone was one of the weirdest and sweetest dogs I've ever met. She was not man's best friend- she was simultaneously feral and a Mama's boy, if that makes sense.
She clung to my heels at the dog park, rolling on her back and snapping at big dogs who tried to befriend her.
She ran ahead of us on walks like a mush-dog, almost lifting off the ground at times.

She would sometimes exercise herself by sprinting laps around and around the perimeter of the back yard, just enjoying running in the sun.
She enjoyed this second only to chasing the chickens, which made her look exhilarated.

Wishbone was obedient during baths and hair-cuts, and sprung out of the towel and across the house post-grooming, happy to be alive and so clean.
I credit her former owners for this. I also credit them with teaching her to shake hands and stand on her hind-legs for food.

Wishbone also drove me crazy. She paced and whined incessantly in the past few years, ignoring a full food dish and warm bed in lieu of racing across the room to lick Beija's empty dish. She would eat her home-made, special kidney-saving diet only grudgingly, and after being placed in front of her dish for hours a day.
 Wishbone lept from great heights, ignoring the doggy steps and crashing to the ground from the bed each day.
She was kept alive mostly by human intervention, as we caught her mid-air, carried her, and kept her from killing her renal system by eating only meat (which was her greatest dream).

She was the first dog who made me step up to the meat counter on a regular basis in my adult life.
She had acupuncture, three doctors, a thunder shirt, and ten teeth removed.  

I hope I gave Wishbone a good life.
I tried my very best. There were times, during the hours of pacing and whining, where I wished someone would take her away, but I knew that would only make
her more uncomfortable and anxious, so we stayed together.
She slept under the covers at night, and in a soft round cat bed during the day.
She slept next to me at the art studio, and rode quietly on road trips to the sea and the snow and the forest.

Wishbone visited the Washington coast this December and had one last hurrah on the beach.
She followed me into the shallow surf and was almost swept up by a surprise wave, but I caught her.
I stood in the way of the ocean's attempts to reclaim this small, senior child of the earth.
This afternoon I stepped out of the Earth's way and gave her back.
I let Wishbone go to sleep, so she doesn't have to pace any more.
Hopefully she will have a giant ceramic Beija bowl in heaven, and when she gets there, it will be full of meat.

xoxo
n.g.




Donations in her name can be made to the Oregon Humane Society, via Wishbone's tribute page.