Announcing the New Turkish Translation of Anahita's Woven Riddle by Yakamoz Books

I am pleased to announce the Turkish translation of my novel Anahita's Woven Riddle by Yakamoz Books under a new title A Warm Love Tale.

I am thrilled to have this translation because I love Turkey and have been traveling there since 1985. In fall 2008 I studied the Turkish language through the University of Ankara at Istanbul. This week I am returning to promote the Turkish edition of Anahita and to take another language course.

In the next several weeks I will be posting blog entries from both my previous trip to Istanbul as well as anecdotes about my experiences this spring. If you are in Istanbul and would like to attend a book event, please check my "Author Appearances" page on my website for an updated list and/or this blog.

Istanbul Teachers and librarians, please contact me at this website if you would like me to visit your school.

I will sign books at Molly's Cafe, Galata, Istanbul on May 7th at 4:30 pm.
I will be reading in the Grand Bazaar at Adnan and Hasan's Carpet Shop on Thrusday, May 19th at 1 pm.

A big thank you to Anatolia Lit and Yakamoz Books for making this translation happen! And more thanks due to my friends in Turkey for helping me to plan book events as well as thanks to the cafes, bookstores, carpet dealers, schools and organizations who have invited me to speak.

Medical Doctor Becomes Wetlands Doctor

Earth Day was celebrated around the world yesterday. To read more about it check out this link:
http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2011.

The book cover featured in this blog post is one of my own The Shape of Betts Meadow: A Wetlands Story. Today I'd like to honor the man whom the book is about, my friend Dr. Gunnar Holmquist. Gunnar and his mother Lavina Holmquist both gathered a large part of their savings to buy Betts Meadow, a 140-acre dry pasture, ringed with a forest of tall, old pine trees. It was a beautiful place but it seemed that it had been changed from what it had once been: a wetland. Gunnar, a medical doctor soon became a wetland doctor.

Aerial photographs of the meadow showed that about one hundred years ago three streams had coursed through the meadow, and beavers had been at work there. Later, someone had blocked the streams to dry out the land for cattle to graze. Many species of plants and animals had left with the water.

Gunnar worked on restoring the meadow for ten years and he continues to monitor it today. His work has been recognized by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wetlands Conservation Awards to the Private Sector.

Hats off to Gunnar! He has shown us that one person can make a difference.

New Photo Contest & Fairy Tale Fortnight

Can you guess which country this carriage comes from?

Misty and Ashley, two book bloggers, are hosting an online book event called Fairy Tale Fortnight, where you will find instructions for entering my photo contest! The winner will receive a copy of Anahita's Woven Riddle.

Click here to find out how to enter!

Click here to see the Fairy Tale Fortnight schedule and list of events, which includes author interviews, guest blog posts, book reviews and giveaways.

Fairy Tale Fortnight is organized by Misty at The Book Rat blog and Ashley at Basically Amazing Books blog.

Exploring Middle Eastern Fashions

Spokane residents Joy and her daughters Ella (left) and Marlena joined me for Persian Tea, storytelling and show and tell of material culture from the Middle East at the Tin Man, Too Bookstore and Art Gallery.

Joy is wearing a traditional Qashqa'i nomad headpiece, which was sewn for me by Naheed Dareshuri, a former Iranian nomad who lives near Philadelphia. Ella is wearing an "everday headscarf" worn by many women in Iran and Marlena is wearing a headscarf made by friends of mine in Sultanhani, Turkey. These are manufactured scarves, which they embellish with lacework trim.

For a glimpse of the rest of a traditional Qashqa'i outfit check out this link:

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/tools/story_pf.asp?ID=152146

Meet Me at Tin Man, Too Bookstore

Please join me this coming Saturday, April 9th, 1 pm at Tin Man, Too bookstore in Spokane, Washington, for a for Persian tea (chai), a reading, show and tell, and a discussion about my travels to the Middle East for research on my young adult novel Anahita's Woven Riddle.

For further details check out The Spokane Books Blog:
http://spokanebooks.blogspot.com/2011/03/meghan-nuttall-sayres-at-tinman-too.html

I look forward to seeing you there!

Genre For Japan

While the headlines seem to focus less and less on the Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, writers on wordpress, Authors for Japan, and this group of science fiction fans, Genre For Japan, have been busy raising thousands of dollars of relief funding.

Authors for Japan: http://authorsforjapan.wordpress.com/

Genre for Japan: http://genreforjapan.wordpress.com/

Check them out, perhaps there is still time for you to donate.

There has been talk among elected officials to increase the number of nuclear power plants in the United States. I would hope that what happened in Japan would be a lessen learned and that we turn our minds toward safer, sustainable sources for power.