Update on Piro and The Six Chix
There is a lot going on for visual artist and writer Stephanie Piro, and Six Chix, the all-female syndicated cartoon collaborative she's part of. There's an award, a kerfuffle that made national news, a new high-profile placement, and a book release. Lots.
The Chix are currently celebrating their 20th anniversary prompting five of its members to meet up online for a rare gathering a few weeks back.
"It was so nice," Piro says. "We have two new chicks ... and Isabella Bannerman and myself who have been with it for 20 years."
Earlier this summer, the Chix made national news when Bianca Xunise's strip addressing Black Lives Matter and masks caused problems with a few publications. (See https://ift.tt/32Tuuu1).
"Bianca did a cartoon that offended some people and a couple of editors listened to the negativity of a few, rather than the many supporters," Piro says. "Two small papers in California dropped us."
"She's a young African American woman, only the second African American woman in the history of cartooning!"
Xunise came to the Chix with a built-in following, Piro notes.
"She has a viewpoint that's a very valid one. People were offended and shouldn't have been. They just didn't understand the satire," she says. "The (incident) gave the Chix a lot of attention and we've been picked up by other papers since then."
Six Chix recently signed with the Boston Globe, ("That was very big news for us ... pretty major,") and the strip now streams on MSNBC's msn.com.
"We're very happy about it. We're a good team. We're very diverse in style and voice within the group."
In other news, Piro just received the Muse Award for Cartoon, awarded by the Cat Writers Association.
"They're kind of small, but a very powerful group," she explains. "It's a big deal."
Also in August, "Maggie and Barney and the Allergic Photographer" was released, the second book Piro illustrated for writer Marci Kladnik.
"Maggie and Barney and the Allergic Photographer, is part of a series featuring the adventures of Kladnik's pets, Maggie the Scottish Terrier and Barney the cat. Piro is already working on book three.
"It's a wonderful (project) to work on. I have a lot of freedom to play around with the characters," Piro says. "I'm looking forward to more." (For more about Piro, visit https://ift.tt/32RLXTL)
Dagostino’s new book makes NYT bestseller list
"Live in Love" is Mark Dagostino's latest book, this one co-authored with Lauren Akins, wife of country music star Thomas Rhett. Last Sunday, "Live in Love" made the New York Times bestseller list, at No. 6.
Without intent, Akins has become a social media star, surprising herself as much as anyone, Dagostino says.
"She has a huge following, now 2 million Instagram followers even though she never tried to be an Instagram star," he says. "She's just a young wife and mom."
There was an uptick in followers after Akins and Rhett adopted a child from Uganda, then subsequently found out she was pregnant. Another came after she appeared with Rhett in his video for "Die A Happy Man."
"She is no one who had aspirations to be famous. He convinced her to do it," Dagostino says. "She's such a big star, but so down to earth, and has such Tennessee charm."
"Between the adoption story and their love story, it's turned out she has a pretty inspirational story to tell about family, faith, hope and love. - And if you look at the landscape of what's in our media, the timing couldn't be any better. It's a breath of fresh air."
The Times honor and fast-moving sales suggest others agree.
"If you're going to write about something, ... why not make it inspirational, give something good to talk about," he says. "That's been my mission for the last five years, so far so good."
This book marks Dagostino's sixth time on the NYT bestseller's list as a writer and collaborator.
"Live in Love" is also Dagostino's 20h publication, a personal milestone. (Info at https://ift.tt/2DpTVdV)
"It's crazy. I guess I've averaged two books a year, so 10 years. Sometimes I've worked on three books at once, then other times, for months on end, I don't have anything going," he says. "It's an interesting way to make a living, telling other people's stories."
And so it continues. Dagostino has three different book proposals sitting with agents.
It's a good time for books, Dagostino says. "Books are selling like crazy. Publishing is doing very well."
That great news comes with a cautionary tale, he adds. Ninety percent of those terrific sales go through Amazon - a single outlet, "which is scary for small publishers, for sure."
"It's a reason for us to support local bookstores more than ever before," Dagostino says. "You can order any of my books through a local book store and it really makes a big difference."
Bruce Valley publishes third book
And in more book news: Bruce Valley, of Rye, has published "Zen and the Art of Old Car Collecting," his third book.
The only thread through what Valley refers to as his trilogy is location; each is centered in his hometown of Rye, he says. All are published with Grace Peirce at by Great Life Publisher Press. (See www.brucevalley.com.)
The first book was "Rye Harbor, Poems of the New Hampshire Seacoast." Then came "Seahawk: Confessions of an Old Hockey Goalie," about a Rye, post-WWII hockey team composed largely of veterans who went on to the New England Championship.
The latest "Old Car Collecting" addresses the care, patience and effort required to restore vintage vehicles, "buying an old car that maybe you pulled out from under hay, and making it drive down the road again," Valley says. "It takes a lot of problem-solving, time, patience and effort."
This is not a how-to, he adds. There are countless books about restoring cars - fixing the suspension, painting the body, or overcoming rust.
"This is not that kind of book. ... this is the management of taking a car that may not have run for decades, and slowly but steadily bringing it back."
This latest book was in the works for three and a half years. Like all those before it, it was more necessity than choice, he says.
"I didn't really take it on, books tend to announce themselves to me. ... Like poetry they demand to be written. You can try to run, but it will find you," Valley says. "If a book or a story or a novel or a poem wants to be written, it will convince you it's got to be done."
Valley is taking a break from writing right now while he deals with a major life change. But there is another in the works that will explore the histories of specific vehicles in yet another mode of transportation.
"I've run out of gumption right now," he says. "But yes, I'll probably get back to it."
Jeanné McCartin keeps her eyes and ears open for gossip at maskmakernh@gmail.com.
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September 04, 2020 at 12:59AM
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