Transformer kicked off 2010 by inviting DC based artists Jessica Cebra and Zach Storm to transform their project space into a snow globe winter wonderland. Incorporating painting, drawing, and collage to create a whimsical, winter-themed environment, this unique collaboration featured a live ballet performance choreographed by Washington Ballet Director Septime Webre.
http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649
I also wrote about this cool event for the Pink Line Project.
Check out my Pink Line Project review of Kerry Skarbakka, The Struggle to Right Oneself: A Survey. The photos really have a dark humor to them that I really enjoyed. They’re big prints of absurd scenes – like a man in a suit leaping through fire – that tell a story, of people surviving unexpected catastrophe.
Check out the great cover that my friend Dave Newman designed. I love it!
So, what’s going on with my book, Murder in Ocean Hall? In this murder mystery, a famous explorer is killed in Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Suspects are many and it’s up to a cynical DC detective to solve the case. The book was inspired by the three years I spent working for the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Nobody was murdered while I worked there but a lot of the science and the background in the book comes from my time with NOAA.
I’m represented by a literary agent and we’ve been following the traditional publishing route. However, the book publishing world, upended by recession and technological change, is in turmoil so it’s very difficult for a new author to get a book deal.
My contract with my agent ends March 1.
After then, Plan B goes into effect – I’ll publish the book through Lulu (using the awesome cover above) and sell print and e-copies online.
One way or another, Murder in Ocean Hall will be published.