Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 1/12

The marathon of airport runs has come to end, as I saw my great niece Carmen and her boys off this evening. Carmen commented on how her 20 days here had flown by. Valentino turned eleven yesterday. We all had a piece of his strawberry short cake before leaving. Little Yuri whined in the back seat. Buckled in, he could see nothing but sky out the window. What a contrast to when I'd picked them up, when both kids were so tired from the all-day excursion they immediately conked out. Carmen had to keep warning Yuri that his zio would get in trouble with the cops if he didn't remain strapped in. Buon viaggio, belli.
The floating bookshop was rained out today, so it's a perfect opportunity to ballyhoo the work of another of our All Things That Matter Press family of authors, a world traveler.

Just who is Elizaveta Ristrova Anyway?
 With her balance of misanthropy and anthropological curiosity, author Elizaveta Ristrova travels around the world in search of interesting material. Her books consider the significance of religion, clashes between races and culture, the relationships between humans and the environment, and the creation and unraveling of human relationships. She keeps a day-job as a lawyer, focusing on environmental and international development issues.
 We in Pieces, Tales from Arctic Alaska, arose from her years living 500 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. There, she interviewed community leaders regarding traditional knowledge, cut and served whale despite being vegetarian, and read every issue of the local newspaper dating back to the 1960s. Writing was a great way to fill the three months of darkness each year.
Ristrova hails from south Louisiana and currently finds herself in Makati City, the Manhattan of the Philippines. She likes singing the blues, dancing tango, making soy brownies, creating kindergarten-style art, and proselytizing about the environment. Her previous books include Taking off My Sweater, Something Short of Salvation, and Small Fish in a Small Pond.
 We in Pieces is available at  http://www.amazon.com/Wee-Pieces-Tales-Alaska/dp/0984651756 .
 Pictures of the nineteen characters in the book and a diagram of the relationships between them are at www.facebook.com/ristrova.