Author Archives: PB Rippey

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About PB Rippey

Writer, mother, wife, 7th gen Californian, and keeper of the mini-zoo.

Miss MOL Break

Posted on December 23, 2011 by PB Rippey

Sometimes I live vicariously through Miss MOL, an art curator by-the-sea. I love her recent sojourn. She hits all the cool places and makes me laugh. Check out her latest post on the Springs. THREE DAY TOUR.

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Bit Of Info

Posted on December 20, 2011 by PB Rippey

From Writer’s Digest. Because I, anyway, always learn something (except how to make the perfect cup of coffee, I can never seem to learn that…): The 18 Most Popular Articles on Writing of 2011 We posted more than 1,300 articles … Continue reading →

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Writer, Activist, Leader (And The List Goes On)

Posted on December 18, 2011 by PB Rippey

RIP “I would be glad if it was felt that I have done something generally useful. I don’t care much about personal fame or popularity. I would be satisfied with the feeling that I had a chance to help with … Continue reading →

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Quote For The Weekend (Pre-Holiday Edition)

Posted on December 17, 2011 by PB Rippey

“One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don’t clean it up too quickly.” – Andy Rooney I am going to remember this quote on Christmas morning, refuse … Continue reading →

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Waiting For Clause

Posted on December 11, 2011 by PB Rippey

Impatience, mostly, from everyone in the mall except those of us in line to see Santa, because we all have children and are too focused on distracting their impatience (pointing out Christmas lights, analyzing the 6 potbellied, dancing-on-hind-legs, oversized reindeer heralding … Continue reading →

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YA Muses Giveaway

Posted on December 7, 2011 by PB Rippey

Another tantalizing giveaway at YA Muses, a site I check in with every day (even if I’m on a tight schedule). The Mon-Thurs Muses all have books coming out in 2012. One, Katherine Longshore, is giving away an ARC of her novel, … Continue reading →

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Quote For The Weekend: Just Barely December (Clumsy) Edition

Posted on December 4, 2011 by PB Rippey

“I do like Christmas on the whole…. In its clumsy way, it does approach Peace and Goodwill. But it is clumsier every year.” – E.M. Forster Especially if you have a preschooler fascinated by the endless de-hanging possibilities of tree ornaments, … Continue reading →

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Library Peeking

Posted on December 2, 2011 by PB Rippey

A Peek Inside the Libraries of Famous Writers Colm Tóibín’s library and workspace. Photo via. I think Colm’s library is my favorite because of the floor-to-ceiling shelves–but Kipling’s cuts a close second because of all the wood paneling and beams … Continue reading →

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Quote For The Weekend (Late Edition As Was Holiday, No? Blrrrrgh)

Posted on November 27, 2011 by PB Rippey

A work of art is not a matter of thinking beautiful thoughts or experiencing tender emotions (though those are its raw materials) but of intelligence, skill, taste, proportion, knowledge, discipline and industry; especially discipline. —Evelyn Waugh Farewell post-turkey-day sandwiches of … Continue reading →

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Supernova (Boom, Crash)

Posted on November 21, 2011 by PB Rippey

When I’m tired, it shows. I don’t have bags under my eyes resembling Hugh Hefner’s ball sack (thank you, Crazy Stupid Love for that line, crud from a movie so crazy sexist it was: Stupid), but I miss things, like windows … Continue reading →

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Quote For The Weekend (Pre Holiday-Feasting-Blowout Edition)

Posted on November 19, 2011 by PB Rippey

It’s so beautifully arranged on the plate — you know someone’s fingers have been all over it. ~Julia Child  

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Book Impatience (Stop It!)

Posted on November 15, 2011 by PB Rippey

Part of me is content with our preschooler’s current home library (I’m referring not to a digital library, but the kind housing the real things–colors, textures, scents, sounds of pages turning, imagine it) and I can be heard gleefully spouting … Continue reading →

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Quote For The Weekend (Exhausted Edition)

Posted on November 10, 2011 by PB Rippey

Never tire yourself more than necessary, even if you have to found a culture on the fatigue of your bones. —Antonin Artaud When I was in my early twenties, I kept a postcard with his image on it fastened to … Continue reading →

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Dive, PB, Dive!

Posted on November 9, 2011 by PB Rippey

Funny—I looked in the mirror and there she was—deep-sea darling—my mind instantly obsessing on the Mariana Trench and how even though it’s the deepest spot on Earth I’m barely acquainted with it and how silly is that for an author revising a novel filled with … Continue reading →

Posted in Avoiding My Writing, fish, middle grade, ocean related, Writer's Angst, Writing Progress | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Writer’s Day 2011

Posted on November 5, 2011 by PB Rippey

This photo is from the SCBWI Central-Coastal Writer’s Day 2010, at which I won a Special Mention for my middle grade novel and half off the price of this year’s Writer’s Day, which took place today, all day, and in which … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Fiction, middle grade, Writer's Angst, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Quote For The Weekend (TGIF Edition)

Posted on October 28, 2011 by PB Rippey

Gore Vidal on E. Nesbit (1858-1924):  “I do not think it is putting the case too strongly to say that much of the poverty of our society’s intellectual life is directly due to the sort of books children are encouraged … Continue reading →

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Wet Beach

Posted on October 25, 2011 by PB Rippey

Pashmina fog. You can’t really write that, but–“smoky” is cliché, the cat feet brilliance is spoken for and I have a gray pashmina I never wear that is the hue and untouchable texture of  last Saturday morning’s fog. You cannot write … Continue reading →

Posted in Avoiding My Writing, ocean related, Writer's Angst, Writing, WTF | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Quote For The Weekend (Late Edition As was Ocean-Distracted–Luckily It’s Never Too Late For Quotes)

Posted on October 23, 2011 by PB Rippey

“One of my favourite places to read was my elder brother’s bedroom. It was a tiny room with a bed, a chest-of-drawers, bookcases full of books, and shelves where he kept his seashells, butterflies, pressed wild flowers and microscope, because … Continue reading →

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NBF Torture

Posted on October 18, 2011 by PB Rippey

I find this disturbing and wrong and a certain deeply suspicious/dark sunglasses wearing/fedora sporting/trenchcoat draped (except not in this heatwave)/notebook carrying (yeah, enough already) part of me wonders what the real story is. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD YOUNG ADULT NOMINEES ARE BACK … Continue reading →

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Quote For The Weekend (Early Edition As Family Member Arriving And Will Only Have Time For Sisterhood, Lion King, That Thomas The Train Game Which Is Much Better When Played With 3 Persons And Will Delight The Boy, The Consumption Of Healthy Salads For Dinner–Preceded By Slabs Of Brie And Chunks Of Olive Bread Ripped Savagely From Loaf With Bare Hands Then Dunked In Olive Oil And Balsamic Vinegar And There Might Be Almonds Coated In The Sweetly Outrageous, Plus Ice Cream For Dessert, The Kind You Add Scoops Of Peanut Butter To. And Storytime–Here, We Force Our Guests To Read The Bedtime Stories. So, You Know, Beware. And Then Adult Movie Night. Well, Not ADULT Movies, Ha Ha! And Let Us Not Forget Popcorn. Popped In Olive Oil. And Chardonnay Served In Colored Crystal Wine Glasses, Even Though Yes, I Know You’re Not Supposed To Drink Fine Wine From Colored Glasses, But, Frankly, It’s Fun To Be Plebeian. And This Weekend There Are Park Dates And Birthday Parties In Pumpkin Patches And Ducks To Visit And These Things Called Pedicures To Be Had And If You Ask Me When I’ll Be Writing This Weekend, I’ll Tell You: The Seconds I Can.)

Posted on October 14, 2011 by PB Rippey

“I won’t speak at schools where the students haven’t read my books. I have certain grades I like to talk to more than others. I won’t drive great distances. I am sort of a pill about all this. On the … Continue reading →

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See? Not So Proud

Posted on October 11, 2011 by PB Rippey

Tripping on stage at the very end of a performance, during the denoument, the final vital monologue. Tripping. So hard, so clumsily, there was no hiding it. Tripping. So that everyone in that theatre was yanked out of their suspension of … Continue reading →

Posted in Avoiding My Writing, Fiction, Me and Us, Poetry, To Explain, Writing, WTF | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Quote(s) For The Weekend

Posted on October 8, 2011 by PB Rippey

“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, … Continue reading →

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Not Avoiding My Writing

Posted on October 7, 2011 by PB Rippey

See previous post. Now read this: THE PASSAGE OF AT LEAST 2 UNINTERRUPTED HOURS There is no blogging when working. There is no Hulu and bad actors living with dinosaurs. No Elephant Man. No social network. No Internet. They just. … Continue reading →

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Avoiding My Writing

Posted on October 6, 2011 by PB Rippey

10:04p.m. Have been snuggled in writer’s armchair for 90 odd minutes, laptop on lap and discovered the following: Steve Jobs is dead, there are pictures of the Degeneres/de Rossi BH “lovenest” and you can look at them, The Pioneer Woman is giving … Continue reading →

Posted in Avoiding My Writing, To Explain, Writer's Angst, Writing, Writing Progress, WTF | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Pass The Cognac, Baby

Posted on October 3, 2011 by PB Rippey

My husband and I are parents not used to going out in the evening together—just us— no preschooler in tow. I may hit a book club or Target by myself around 8p.m. My husband may work late one or two … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult writing, Me and Us, Poetry, poetry reading, Santa Barbara, To Explain, WTF | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments