Cindy La Ferle
If you’ve followed my Sunday columns in The Daily Tribune and Michigan Prime (in the Sunday Detroit Free Press), you might enjoy my personal blog. Featuring my photography, inspirational quotes, discoveries, and occasional essays, Things that make me happy is updated almost daily. I started the blog after I deactivated my Facebook account, and use it in lieu of other social media.
Celebrating the magic and wonder of our favorite season in the Great Lakes State, the June issue of Michigan BLUE is now available in bookstores and on newsstands. Whether you’re mapping out a weekend road trip or spending an afternoon in your favorite lawn chair, this issue will inspire your summer plans. In addition to a gorgeous photo story on stargazing by Howard Meyerson and a piece on national wildlife refuges by Leslie Mertz, it features an essay I wrote on the art of collecting beach stones — one of my favorite summer pastimes. I’m always proud to have my work published in this beautiful magazine. ~CL
My essay and column collection, Writing Home, is available locally at Yellow Door Art Market in Berkley and Paper Trail Books in downtown Royal Oak. (You’ll find a few used copies on Amazon — but new copies are sold only in retail stores and writing workshops.)
Written during the years I worked at home while raising my son, the collection includes 93 pieces that were previously published in national magazines and newspapers. The book has been dubbed “a love letter to home and family life,” and won several non-fiction awards, including one from Writer’s Digest and another from Midwest Independent Publishers Association.
Mixed-media art by Cindy La Ferle
Join me at the Royal Oak Public Library on Wednesday, May 2 (7:00 – 8:30 PM) for an evening workshop focusing on how to identify and describe the colorful specifics that editors look for in personal essays, columns, and feature stories. Discover how to make your writing sparkle and stand out from dozens of other submissions. This free program is designed especially for new writers. Registration is required to reserve your space: 248-246-3715 or visit the Royal Oak Public Library web site for more information.
It doesn’t happen as often as I’d like, but sometimes my work gets published in a magazine without much effort on my part. Late last year, for instance, I received an unexpected letter and a contract from an editor at Ideals magazine, requesting my permission to reprint an Easter essay from my book, Writing Home.
This week, I received my advance copies of Ideals Springtime 2018. My essay in this issue is about a surprise gift (a box of ducklings) that I received one Easter when I was a kid.
Ideals is a soft-cover anthology of stories and poems by a variety of nationally published authors. Owned by Guideposts and known for its wholesome family content, the magazine was launched in 1944 with a Christmas issue and has published seasonal editions ever since. (Several of my essays from Writing Home have been selected for publication in previous editions.)
The new issue will be available at Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, ChristianBooks.com, Amazon.com, and other retail stores.