Aug 28

Aug 28 Episode 77: Daily Routines During a Pandemic

Welcome to another episode with the Book Friends Forever! Grace and Alvina discuss their daily routines right now, and try to find more time in Grace's routine for her to work.It’s been hard for everyone to find their new routine in this “new normal” these days, especially as back-to-school time begins and the fall approaches.

“First, how have you been?”

Alvina has found love again! She’s been living in Burlington, Vermont temporarily and really enjoying the beauty of lake Champlain right in her backyard. Stephen is from Brooklyn and he moved up to Burlington in February to help his Dad out of a rehab center and into an assisted living home. He rented a townhouse and Alvina has moved in for the time being! It’s been really great. Grace got to meet him when he and Alvina stopped by on their way up from Brooklyn. She’s been settling into her own new routine in Vermont. She’s also on the jury for The Original Art Show which she has loved reviewing all the submissions for but it has been very time consuming. She’s so impressed with the art work.

Grace has been busy trying to get her daughter’s schooling situated like so many families right now. Her elementary school decided to go fully remote. They were looking at private schools but now that the school has added more structure to the distance learning program, it will most likely be a better situation than the spring. She’s actively seeking out families in the school who want to help her coordinate learning pods. (Where small groups of kids learn together at someone’s house and they don’t have to wear masks or social distance as much. It’s deciding to be quarantined together basically.) Grace is finding this to be super challenging though as every family has a different expectation or different goals, needs, rules, etc…She’s dealing with the complexities of people feeling left out and how to make it all work to meet everyone’s needs. It’s not easy.

Routines in the time of pandemic!

Grace and Alvina can agree that finding time to do it all and keep a solid routine is tough. It’s hard to balance everything out. Grace’s basic daily routine consists of exercise, a walk, craft-camp with her daughter and other kids, 3-4 hours of solo work time, dinner time, bed time routine, and finally sleep. She’s finding it hard to make more time for painting and writing. She and Alvina discuss ways to re-arrange the week so there’s a little more balance and more time for creative work. She’s been listening to some podcasts on productivity and they talk about letting go of something that you don’t really need! This is hard to decide what item can go. She started a writing group with authors Jonathan Auxier (author of “Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster".) and Kate Millford (author of “Ghosts of Greenglass House”.) This has been really enjoyable!

Alvina is loving her new routine in Vermont! She still goes for a run every morning and it’s usually along the lake. She’s been taking wonderful pictures and adding to them on her Instagram stories and posting photos. (See more pictures on her Instagram account: @alvinaling)

After her run she settles into work with a cup of coffee and Stephen will bring her a homemade breakfast! In the evening, Stephen has a tradition of watching a movie with his Dad and she can either join that if she wants or sometimes she’ll join her usual zoom events. (zoom karaoke still going strong!) They usually watch an episode of “The Floor is Lava” on Netflix. On the weekends, she is finding herself to be more productive because she and Stephen make a plan for some kind of afternoon adventure. Typically this is either a bike ride or a swim in the lake! This helps her get the work done.

What are you grateful for?

Grace is grateful for being able to paint non-digitally. She’s happy that on the SCBWI Summer Spectacular interview when she talked about it, she was fully supported. Some people can’t believe she doesn’t create digitally. She’s grateful for that option.

Alvina is so grateful for Lake Champlain! She’s enjoying the big beautiful skies and being able to go swimming so often. The lake is just a five minute walk from where she lives. She’s also grateful for finding love again since Greg died.

2-Minute Book Review- with Alison Morris

Shirley and Jamila Save Their Summer by Gillan Goerz.

“A Light hearted charming and really satisfying middle grade graphic novel. ..with a wonderfully diverse cast of characters that will appeal to a wide range of ages.”

Alison Morris is a nationally recognized children's book buyer with an infectious enthusiasm for reading and 20 years' experience matching books to readers. As the Senior Director of Title Selection for nonprofit First Book, she oversees the curation of children’s and young adult books on the First Book Marketplace, hand-selecting a diverse range of titles that speak to and address the needs of kids in underserved communities, with a keen eye to inclusion, authenticity, and kid-appeal. She previously served as Senior Editor at Scholastic Book Clubs, Children's Book Buyer for Wellesley Booksmith and The Dartmouth Bookstore, and was the founding blogger of the ShelfTalker children’s book blog for Publishers Weekly. She'll be joining us from her home near Washington, DC where she spends LOTS of time discussing books with her husband, illustrator and graphic novelist Gareth Hinds.

*To purchase Grace's 2021 Where the Mountain Meets the Moon trilogy calendar: http://ow.ly/mpHv30r60ya *To become a patron of Kids Ask Authors (and also help BFF): https://www.patreon.com/kidasaskauthorspodcast