Hello friends & fans of Francesca—so tonight we reached over a thousand signatures on the petition, in a little less than a week. This is fabulous, and you made it possible. Thank you!
Also today, Francesca completed and FedExed a packet of info to Bank of America—their prompt response last week definitely means we made an impression! And they'll hopefully get cracking on modifying her loan agreement before it's too late. But the battle isn't over yet--they may be counting on our campaign to lose steam. We need to keep the pressure on them, so please continue your amazing work of posting the links, tweeting about the story, and spreading the word!
As a special thank-you to her supporters, Francesca wants to share some free writing videos with you—and you can sneak a peek inside the Faerie Cottage, too!
part 1: http://vimeo.com/7527405
part 2: http://vimeo.com/7528741
part 3: http://vimeo.com/7529744
(The password for all three videos is "pinkcottage," without quotation marks.)
Thanks again for all your amazing work helping publicize this cause--your support has made a huge difference. Onward!
Monday, March 19, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Francesca writes about the Occupy Movement
(Read the rest at: http://occupywriters.com)The other day I was leaving the market (blessed with bags full of groceries in my cart) when a woman came up to me. “Do you know of a church nearby?” She was missing teeth and her eyes were red-glazed. I gave her the cash I had and told her about a local church.
It seemed to be so insignificant.
I cried on the drive home to my lovely house and healthy children.
My high mortgage, health problems and anxiety suddenly seemed like small problems.
There is so much suffering around us.
about the author
Author Francesca Lia Block is renowned for her groundbreaking novels and stories—postmodern, magic-realist tales that transport readers through the harsh, gritty landscapes of contemporary life to transcendent realms of the senses where love is always our saving grace.
Born in Los Angeles, where she still lives, Block’s work pulsates with the language and images of the city’s sprawling subculture. Lauds a reviewer for the New York Times Book Review, “Block writes about the real Los Angeles better than anyone since Raymond Chandler.”
Block has described her work as “contemporary fairy tales with an edge,” where the real world and its trouble find solace through the magic of creative expression and love. She has received numerous honors, including the Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award and the Phoenix Award, as well as citations from the American Library Association, The New York Times Book Review and the School Library Journal, Her work has been published around the world, translated into many languages.
Read more about Francesca's books & work at her website: francescaliablock.com/
Born in Los Angeles, where she still lives, Block’s work pulsates with the language and images of the city’s sprawling subculture. Lauds a reviewer for the New York Times Book Review, “Block writes about the real Los Angeles better than anyone since Raymond Chandler.”
Block has described her work as “contemporary fairy tales with an edge,” where the real world and its trouble find solace through the magic of creative expression and love. She has received numerous honors, including the Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award and the Phoenix Award, as well as citations from the American Library Association, The New York Times Book Review and the School Library Journal, Her work has been published around the world, translated into many languages.
Read more about Francesca's books & work at her website: francescaliablock.com/
news coverage! Please keep spreading the word....
Links to a few stories in the news now....
http://jezebel.com/5893007/beloved-ya-author-in-war-with-bank-of-america
http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/genreville/?p=1814
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/francesca-lia-block-fights-to-save-her-home_b48348
http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2012/03/francesca_lia_block_on_po.php
Please let us know about any other stories, and keep spreading the word! We're doing good work here.
"come here inside this house"
come here, inside this house
where you can like all kinds of music hip hop or rap or pop or experimental harp music
you can even like to smoke cigarettes in the yard
you can complain about food you can cry as much as you like if you swear you have to put a quarter in the jar but no one will stop loving you you can eat pizza or only kale and you will still be loved without condition
you can be a sober drug addict or a pre adolescent angry girl or a laker’s fan or a heat fan
you can wear black patent nike high tops or organic cotton there will be soup for you if you want it there will be a bed if you need it there will be a dripping faucet and messy closets and stacks of papers and a dog who will jump on you and possibly tear your clothes there will be scraps of old master paintings, lace and jewels to make collages there will be books to read and lemons on the tree and dust bunnies under the couch no matter how many times i swiffer
there is always a beautiful child singing in this house
sometimes there are children fighting there is always a dog barking when you are trying to meditate
i used to dance and write love poetry in this house now i melancholy fondle each day like a prayer bead and let it go
hoping you might come inside some time
to dine with us
where you can like all kinds of music hip hop or rap or pop or experimental harp music
you can even like to smoke cigarettes in the yard
you can complain about food you can cry as much as you like if you swear you have to put a quarter in the jar but no one will stop loving you you can eat pizza or only kale and you will still be loved without condition
you can be a sober drug addict or a pre adolescent angry girl or a laker’s fan or a heat fan
you can wear black patent nike high tops or organic cotton there will be soup for you if you want it there will be a bed if you need it there will be a dripping faucet and messy closets and stacks of papers and a dog who will jump on you and possibly tear your clothes there will be scraps of old master paintings, lace and jewels to make collages there will be books to read and lemons on the tree and dust bunnies under the couch no matter how many times i swiffer
there is always a beautiful child singing in this house
sometimes there are children fighting there is always a dog barking when you are trying to meditate
i used to dance and write love poetry in this house now i melancholy fondle each day like a prayer bead and let it go
hoping you might come inside some time
to dine with us
two poems by Francesca
For Jasmine during the mortgage crisis in America
I wish I could give you a palace overgrown with lilies
And a sky filled with flying horses made of stars
Outside your window the tree I planted
purples jacaranda as your eyes
All I wanted was to shelter you
but now they make your bed away
So much sorrow in such a small person
At night you grind your teeth in sleep as do I
Warm against me my deepest comfort
Why is it I cannot comfort you?
With pop star princes and sparkly t-shirts and gardens and stages with velvet curtains
You have been inside of me for all my life and now you are outside of me
But not really
I would go blind for you I would sleep in a box
I would go without the love of a man the rest of my life
I even tried to be with your father again
I’d do anything darling one but it seems as if there is nothing I can do
Except hold you beside me and read to you my stories
no matter where we may slee
Mortgage crisis
I cried
Like arms I was contained
And in exchange
I put a roof on it
To keep out rain
Gave it all of what I’d earned
By making worlds
with words
We keep each other warm and dry
It is my earth and sky
A thing
But one that holds me while I dream
brings me flowers in the spring
It costs me everything
And though I hope within its arms to lay
Me down
Someday
I may
Be forced to walk away
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