Summer

Well, it has sure been a bit since I posted last. I blame Summer, for we have been living in the light these past few months. It has been a pleasant time spent in the sun having fun, but, also a tumultuous time. So much going on and projects that are being planned out. Changes that are going to be happening as well. I am one of those people who fear change. I don't know exactly why that is, but fear of the unknown is part of it. I have been working more to try and change that as I try to evolve into the person I want to be. It has been a road of introspection and it has also been long, lol. Is it working? I cant say right now, all I do know is I am putting in the effort to spot things that need changing and I am trying to enjoy it. Who knew I would be starting this journey this late in the game, lol.  

As for the projects, I have not decided which will come first as that will depend on my place in the line, but good things are up none the less. I am happy to announce that the coffee table is in the planning stages finally! That is exciting as I have been thinking and gathering photos for it for a long time now. My website will be getting a little revamp soon too. I also realized that I have been lagging on my legging postings. (see what I did there, lol) Sorry about that. After this coming week, I will be around more and be able to post more. We are currently launching our Halloween leggings. They are super cute! As follows and the link is right over there ------->

 Many customers and Lala Family members requesting Halloween designs, My Lala worked around the clock to get these out as quick as possible!!!! These super cute designs will be out today (Friday) by 9am pst.
Halloween……………………….OS, Curvy, EC 24-32, Kids
Phantom…………………………Yoga Band Curvy
Pumpkin Knit………………….High Heat 3-9
Trick or Treat…………………OS, Curvy, EC 24-32, Kids
Candy Corn…………………..OS, Curvy
Creepy Crawly……………….OS, EC 24-32
Hiss……………………………….OS, Curvy, EC 24-32
Full Throttle………………..OS, EC 24-32. Kids
Dead Man Party………….OS, Curvy, EC 20-26, Kids
Pumpkin……………………..OS, EC 24-32, Kids

Wishing you all a very happy and healthy weekend! Hope you are able to get out and live in the light!
Artfully Odd

New Release Day

New release day! #lalaleggings available at 9 am pst this morning! Be sure to get yours! https://www.mylalaleggings.com/#TheyCallMeLola

Leggings...We've got them!

So, I am trying something new. I don't usually do ad posts like this, but I just became an affiliate with these guys after owning several pairs and really believing in their product. Have you heard of LaLa Leggings? If not, you should get to know them. I am what you might call a legging aficionado. They are the perfect "go to" when you need something comfy, are working out or just want to go casual chic. LaLa leggings can meet all those needs with their buttery soft feel and perfect fit! The range of motion you get with them is pretty fantastic too and they come in all sizes (3-32),  so you will be sure to find your perfect fit. I own quite a few pairs myself, just ask Buzz, lol! Give them a try! You wont regret it! 

I can't wait to hear what you think of them! Questions or comments...message me.

Writing Prompts

Well hello there! I hope thins finds you all doing well? I, myself, am trying to settle into spring here in upstate. That is, if  Mother Nature will let me. The weather here has been so odd. We did not get any real snow until February of this year and now we are expecting another snow storm tomorrow! Yes, you read that right. This after spitting snow at us all this week. Easter Sunday was nice, but that's really about the only spring day we have had here. Makes a girl think about moving to a warmer climate. Will we ever get the warm weather? Who knows, but I hope that wherever you are, the weather is fine. Cheers to surviving spring 2018!

On another note, I am taking up something new. Writing prompts. I have done a few of these here and there. I belong to a group that asks for 6 word prompts and I do participate occasionally. Today was my first real try at a paragraph prompt. I went a little longer than a paragraph just to tie it up and I am pretty pleased with it. Maybe there is something to prompting after all. Feeling pretty creative today because of it. I am really looking forward to how this progresses. What new things are you trying this year?

For those of you that have been waiting for the new paperback version of The Find of Her Life, you will be happy to hear that I received word last night that a reformat is in the works. I will keep you posted on its progress as soon as I can.

Wishing you all a wonderful Thursday! Stay warm or cool out there....whichever it may be :)
Artfully Odd World
Anna

Paerback is Back!

Hello there! I hope this finds you doing well today and excited that spring is just around the corner. I know I am! Not that this winter was a bad one, but I have to be honest...I have been dreaming of summer for weeks now. I miss my flip flops. However, we are almost there and that makes me happy. 

On another note, The Find of Her Life is back in paperback after having undergone a formatting overhaul. I have seen an advance of it and I think it looks great! Be sure to get a copy today. I am keeping my fingers crossed that my reviews come back over, once amazon adds it back to my author central page. I would certainly welcome new reviews though, even if you have already given one. Keep me posted on your thoughts on the new format too. Looking forward to hearing from you!

I hope you all have a wonderful day and if you are in the path of this nor'easter coming, be safe out there.

Anna
Artfully Odd World

Linkville Press Anthology

I am so excited to share this news with you!!! The Linkville Press author anthology, themed New Year, is almost ready and will be posted on Amazon in the next couple of days. This anthology will feature seven plus stories from various Linkville authors, including myself and the proceeds for this short story collection will go to charity. I am very happy to be a part of this project. Be sure to check back for the final details. 

***The Anthology is LIVE on Amazon now!***

From Our House to Yours~Happy Holidays!

Boy, this year flew by! I can't believe that 2018 is around the corner. The holidays are here again, and for us this season, it's all about family and love! I certainly am blessed with mine! So from our house to yours, we wish you a very happy holiday season, blessings and a healthy new year! Here's to 2018! May it bring wonderful experiences and things to us all! Jingle-Jingle!

(Patten-Gemberling family photo shoot 2017/ArtfullyOddPhotos (C))

Sorry for the Absence

Thank you for being patient with me these past months. I am trying to locate my mojo...it's around here somewhere, lol and I think I know where to look. Sunday begins a new chapter. More to follow!

Updates and Good Reads

Good afternoon friends. I hope that this is finding you all doing well, happy and healthy. It's been a bit since my last post...I am sorry for that. Up until yesterday, I am not afraid to say that I have been struggling a bit. It's been a difficult road for me to put the events of the last month behind me. I just have not been able to find a way to let go of my sadness over my Dads passing, but something clicked yesterday. I am actually not sure what it was, however, I am feeling better. This is not over by a long shot, I know. My Mom reminded me that this is all very fresh and we all grieve in different ways. I have found that to be true in the last few days. I haven't been alright...not by a long shot. Having said that, I really haven't told anyone that except for a small group of people. By small, I mean, 3. So, I am sure that I have looked odd to most in the past few weeks.

I actually shut myself in the house for the past 2 days. I have backed away from friends. It was so bad on Tuesday night, that I actually had to take matters into my own hands. I knew I had to find a way to get past this part in the grieving process. So, I wrote all my feelings out. Everything...out there. It seemed to help. I woke up yesterday and felt lighter. Today, much lighter and I came up with a plan. I have to do something to pull myself up and out. Besides going to work every day which is just basically going through the motions, I have to expand on my art. I have to find new projects, plan new shoots, work on new photos, finish my own edits on my 2nd manuscript. I have to.

So, I am beginning today. I have ordered a new camera and I am going to be offering a special on mini sessions. I will post those details soon. I have plans to work on my edits starting next week and I have started working on photos again. I know that I will never get over this, but then neither will my family or my Mother. I have faith that it will get better though. I am posting some photos below that I have been working on. Let me know what you think. Also, my book was added to Good Reads. This  is a great place to share your love of reading and books. It's a great place to rate, review and recommend books to your friends and others on the site. So, check it out!

I will sign off for now, but keep your comments and emails coming. I would love to hear all about your goings on...how you are enjoying fall. Even if its to tell me how much you love pumpkin spice anything, lol. Life is short my friends. Connecting to our fellow human is what keeps us alive. Enjoying new experiences. I have found that shutting ones self off, starts to kill your soul. So, lets connect! The topic is fall anything :) Go!

Have a wonderful evening!
Anna
Artfully Odd

Lost Files-Words & Things

I am always scribbling on paper. I have reams of it all over the house. There are notebooks in a bin by my desk that I write in. When I am gone, someone, (Maddy) will go through all of it and think...what the heck? She was the pack rat of paper, lol! Today, as I was looking for one said notebook, I stumbled onto a poem I had started last year sometime...I think, lol. I never date these things, but none the less, there it was.

Who would have thought? Well, actually, I would have because you never know with me. As I said, always scribbling. So, in the spirit of this new moon and retrograde period...in the spirit of trying new things and opening ourselves up to all the universe has to offer, I am going to share what there is of these scribbles on paper. It has  no title, no form really. Just some ideas that I must have jotted down in between edits this past winter. I have noticed though, after reading this, that I usually write about one thing, lol and it's like this. A working title would be good though....

She walks those darkened hallways

Alone

Barefoot

Red is what she sees the most

It is warm and wet and envelopes her like the embrace of  a lost love

Wet, she feels it on the tips of her toes

The hem of her skirt

Red, like the color of love and life and the blood that she tastes

Wet, with the possibility of a future she could not even imagine

Blood in the silence of cast shadows

She dreams

Red

Wet

Open to the universe

Hmmmm....Definitely needs a title! Need to file this under my Words and Things category and the Lost Files. It's nice to find surprises while flipping through my notebooks. That's probably why I am a serial scribbler. I will be jotting down some more lines to this I hope. Perhaps then I will share how it has turned out. Anyway, I hope that the day has treated you well my friends. Here's to being open to all of this wonderful creativity in this retrograde period! What has been keeping you busy? How are you using this energy?

Have a great evening!

Anna

AO 

1 Snap for 30

Welcome to the 1st of September! As promised, today starts my 30 snaps for 30 challenge. Today finds me running errands. I know, boring right? It must be done though as we have family coming into town tomorrow. So I thought this a fitting that this be my first snap for thirty. Now you all know what kind of car I drive, lol. I hope I have had some takers on this challenge. I am going to use the tag 30snaps and 1snapfor30, feel free to use them too.

Have a great day my friends! Let's see where our eye leads us :)

Anna
Artfully Odd

One Snap for Thirty

Well, hello my friends! I hope that this finds you all doing well and enjoying the last few weeks of summer. We have been fairly active this summer and I have been glad for it as a few weeks ago, we lost my Dad. His death, while I am glad he is not suffering anymore, has affected me deeply. My Dad was a happy, funny, wise and loving individual who always had some wisdom to share. He did amazing things in his lifetime, like working for NASA...No, really...he did! He raised a son and then took on the task of being a wonderful father to me and my brothers. He made my Mother happy. He enjoyed camping, poker and he disliked anything that could not be explained rationally, lol. We once had an argument over the movie The Ring, because of that very thing, lol. Can you imagine? He was never far away and even though we had not talked over the phone much this past year, I loved him. I know he loved me.

I have been very blessed with a very strong support system and while I am not over this hurt by a long shot, they have kept me in the life of the living. Kept me busy. They have not allowed me to lay down and give in to my sorrow. Today, as I write this, I am very thankful for that. I am loved just as my Father was loved...he saved me more times than I can count and that's what it is all bout in this life. Forming lasting relationships in this big and scary world. Giving and being loved...well, I had that and will continue to have it. I was a very lucky girl to have him be a part of my life and I will miss him for as long as I am here on this plane. So, I have had good days and bad. I am sure that will stay with me for a while, but I still have to move forward. Even if there are days that I don't want to. I know that we as humans almost always say this when tragedy touches us, but it rings true. Tell those that you love, that you love them. Not just now and then, but EVERY single day! You just never know... 

In that spirit of things, a challenge has been lay down. Something to keep me from wallowing. Yes, I have decided to take on a little creative challenge. I am going to pursue some inspiration and shoot something every day for the month of September. That will mean that I will never be away from my camera. I will be looking for inspiration in everything I do. Even the boring stuff. I am pledging to post a snap for every day and I am kind of excited to see where I end up then. Just picture it...a snap shot of something every day. What will my life look like in photos? The possibilities are endless!

So, here it is. I am not only challenging myself to do this, but I am challenging you too! Imagine the things we can create or see or do in 1 month? What will all this creativity look like? How and where do we find inspiration? I don't know the answers, but I am excited to find them out! Are you with me?

Let's fill our news feeds and walls with something beautiful every day, just by living our lives!

Anna
Artfully Odd

Rock and Roll Photo Shoot Prints

Here are a couple shots from my recent photo shoot. Looking forward to sharing more information with you soon. Prints available

Model: Bettina Martin
MUA: Bettina Martin

Hair: Anna Patten
Styling: Anna Patten
Guitars: Fender/Bettina Martin/Brian Green
Grip: Buzz Patten

Words and Things-Wednesday Edition

Words and Things Wednesday Edition:

"My only mistake, throughout this long and hopeless existence, has been looking for love." she wept

Now there's a mouthful, huh? The strangest bits of dialogue are always coming to me and since my phone is littered with quick notes of them, I thought I would start sharing more of them. I posted a driving edition a couple weeks ago that might actually turn into something. Only time and my brain will tell.

Wishing you a a wonderful Wednesday! The weekend is just around the corner :)

Artfully Odd
Anna

Dreaming of Gloss

Hmmm Butter Gloss! NYX Blackberry Pie. Getting my Morticia on this afternoon. Ok...Love the texture and it has a cake batter taste to it...but it is a tad messy to get on. It's a true gloss, so it will smudge on contact. Don't give up on the first try of application. The color is extremely dark, as the name suggests...but I kind of like it. Makes me feel mysterious, lol. Perfect for that inner bad-ass I know I have! Wearing it all day though? Or on a night out on the town? I am not so sure that would work without some sort of sealer being applied to it. As I stated above, this gloss will smudge on contact. Having said all of this though, I would most certainly recommend! Go on! Give it a try and have some fun with it! After all...We need more fun in this crazy world we live in!

Dreaming of Gloss!

Maggie-The Find of Her Life

I don't know...kinda looks like Maggie, don't you think? This was a mock up for the cover before we finally settled on the final image. Thanks to my friends at Evil Genius Group for helping me make Maggie come alive!




A big thanks goes out to Linkville for producing the cover on the book now. A lot of hard work went into it and I have received a lot of compliments so far. If you haven't gotten your copy yet, visit me on amazon.

Thoughts on a Monday Night

Beauty is where you find it! Those words became really real this past week. So glad I kept my eyes open and my wits about me. When you open your eyes...really look at the world...What do you see? Just look through the lens...

Artfully Odd
Anna

Press Release is Out!

• Subscribe
• Share
• Past Issues
• RSS
• Translate

The Find Of Her Life by Anna Patten View this email in your browser The Find Of Her Life Digging For Love Contact: Giana Elenterio               The Evil Genius Group               giana@evilgenius.nyc               347-228-0180 New York, NY-- Today, Anna Patten debuted her first romance novel, The Find Of Her Life. The book, currently available on Amazon, is the perfect mixture of love, lust, and a life recreated. "This book was ten years in the making, I'm so excited for readers to dive into the book and fall in love with the characters just as I did," said author, Anna Patten. "Between the passion, the mystery, and the erotic ending, I know the audience will be hooked from beginning to end." This is the first book by author, Anna Patten and her writing partner Timothy Lasure. Anna is currently independently working on her next romantic novel with a bit of a historical fiction included. The book is currently available for purchase on Amazon in Kindle and hardcopy form. A hardcopy form of the novel is available to be mailed upon request, a PDF version of the book is available via the link below. "The story shows how even after a great tragedy you can be reborn and find romance.  That we all can persevere and find love even after life hands us a dark moment. I hope the readers enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.  You never forget your first,' concluded Patten # # # Anna Patten is an author, a photographer and lover of all things odd. She began her quest to complete her newest novel, The Find of Her Life, nearly ten years ago. A writer since childhood, Anna now fuels her passion for writing into sexy and romantic novels.  Anna currently lives in upstate New York. Copyright © *2016* *Artfully Odd*, All rights reserved. *Anna Patten* *The Find Of Her Life|* Our mailing address is: giana@evilgenius.nyc Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list End

Random Dialogue thoughts While Driving Home

I am a thinker. Anyone that knows me even a little, knows that my mind doesn't shut off. This is very true when driving. On my way home today, this random dialogue thought popped into my head. Don't know what I will do with it yet, but here it is:

"Would you bleed to love me?" Macy questioned with all the seriousness she could muster. Love was not something she was willing to play around with. Her guy had to be in it all the way or it was time to move on. You know, that all consuming, crazy kind of love. The kind that has you breaking off a piece of your kitchen counter every time you see him.

Macy looked across the table at the man who started back at her. Reaching up, she grabbed a lose chestnut curl and began to twirl it around her finger as she waited for an answer.

He reached up, taking his glasses off and meeting her gaze with a smile. "No, but it's a great song!" With a snicker, he began to clean his glasses with the linen napkin that lie at his side. Once finished, he placed them back on his face, looking at her. The smile faded. "Oh my God, your serious?"

The bell rang, signifying that it was time for him to leave her table. Macy new she wasn't going to find Mr. Right here, but it was sure fun to torture Mr. Wrong a bit.

"Next!"
Anna Patten
2016

Of course it's rough and I am not sure if it will go anywhere or not. Just jotting it down. Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend :)

Anna
Artfully Odd

(Photo Credit: the internet)

 

One Sheet Press for the Book

One sheet preview!
Click me

Imagine my surprise, when after years of toiling in the publishing world, a wonderful house took me in and said, "Yes, we believe in you! Yes, we like your book!" It was novel day, (see what I did there? lol)  that had me doing back flips down the hall of my apartment. Ok, not actually doing back flips...those that know my apartment, know that I could never do that in there as the ceiling in my apartment looks like this:

 (It's cozy though) However, this gal was pretty excited to say the least. This is all the culmination of a very long journey. There was blood, sweat and even tears that went into the making of this book. Most of all though, there was determination. If I learned anything at all from this journey, it would be that no matter what...NEVER GIVE UP!!! YOU CAN DO IT IF YOU BELIEVE!!! I think that's the single most thing I am proud of. Not just for me, but I showed the ones I love just how much heart I have. Anyway, that's enough about me, lol. Please check the book out. Read it and give it a review. You will have this gals, undying gratitude foreva!

One more note, let's talk about some fine people  I am blessed to have a wonderful team behind me in both PR and Publishing! THANK YOU to Evil Genius Group and Linkville Press for all the support and hard work and dedication! No matter what my anxiety level has been throughout this whole process,  you have been right there with me. I could not ask for more! Friends, I highly recommend them if you are looking for the services that they provide! Team...You raise me up!