{"id":369,"date":"2010-04-16T04:57:45","date_gmt":"2010-04-16T09:57:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jessicaleader.com\/blog\/?p=369"},"modified":"2010-04-16T08:40:44","modified_gmt":"2010-04-16T13:40:44","slug":"some-friend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jessicaleader.com\/blog\/2010\/04\/some-friend\/","title":{"rendered":"SOME FRIEND!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend<\/em> and a good writer. Zu is\u00a0 both.\u2014\u00a0 adapted from E.B. White<\/em> (Charlotte’s Web)\"\"<\/p>\n

When Jess asked me to guest post on her blog I admit a little thrill went up my spine. Nice? Mean! How fun to expose bad deeds and ill will… but as the date for my post approached I knew there was only one topic I could write about – the genuine embodiment of a true friend and a good writer- the nicest person I know- Zu Vincent<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Zu and I met at Vermont College<\/a> and became fast friends. Her prose is spectacular, her yoga poses divine. Her novel THE LUCKY PLACE<\/a> is not to be missed. But most of all I can count on my friend Zu, not just to do the right and good thing. Zu consistently goes way above and beyond, to do the very best thing.<\/p>\n

Three weeks ago the impact of Zu’s kindness came around again… a story that started long ago and far away… once upon a time… when my picture book biography Soar, Elinor! <\/a>was just a twinkle in my editor and my eyes. “Go to California and find Elinor Smith! Comb through every photo! Find something great!” my editor commanded and I was quick to comply. But there were yards of scrapbooks, and photo albums, and mementos. Boxes and boxes. I needed help.<\/p>\n

Zu lives hours- time zones, practically- from Santa Cruz where I found Elinor’s son and her treasures, but Zu was there at the airport to pick me up, to drive me, and to help me comb through the pioneer aviatrix’s belongings. We scanned every scrap, then Zu filmed hours of interviews while Elinor and I talked and talked and talked. Elinor and her son loved Zu on first sight. Of course.<\/p>\n

Is this woman nice? It was just the beginning.<\/p>\n

I knew from the start that this book would take a long time. Picture books work that way, especially when the art is exquisite. I also suspected Elinor Smith didn’t have a lot of time. She was a spry 95 when Zu and I visited her, but 95 is, well, 95. Finally last summer I received the mechanicals (sort of a preliminary color proof of a picture book) It was gorgeous. I couldn’t wait to show Elinor.<\/p>\n

But I couldn’t leave my ill mother in Vermont. By this time Zu had become as close to the Smith\/Sullivan family as I had. Without skipping a beat she insisted I mail the picture book to her so she could drive half a dozen hours to Palo Alto and present it to Elinor herself. This seemed like a crazy plan, but I mailed the package, and Zu made the drive, and she read the book, leaving a framed copy of the cover she made for Elinor. They both cried. I did, too, hearing their report, back at my house in Vermont. It was Elinor’s 98th birthday.<\/p>\n

Of course, we hoped Elinor would hold the real hardcover in her hands- when I’d first contacted her she insisted she’d be ready for a book tour when it was time! Sadly, that won’t happen. The book will be published this October 12, but Elinor passed away on March 19, finally receiving the press <\/a>and fanfare she deserved, attention she’d been denied in the eighty years since her many record breaking flights. Attention that Zu gave her, spontaneously and with no self interest. That’s the kind of nice that’s deep and good, genuine and true.<\/p>\n

E. B. White was right. It is rare to find someone who’s both a good writer and a true friend. In my book, Zu Vincent is one of a kind.<\/p>\n

~Tami Lewis Brown<\/a><\/p>\n

These days, Zu and Tami are part of a group blog that focuses on the craft of writing for children and young adults, Through The Tollbooth<\/a>. Zu’s posts always inspire Tami to be a better writer and a better person. She’s not saying they always work!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Zu is\u00a0 both.\u2014\u00a0 adapted from E.B. White (Charlotte’s Web) When Jess asked me to guest post on her blog I admit a little thrill went up my spine. Nice? Mean! How fun to expose bad deeds and ill […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-on-the-scene-with-nice-and-mean"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/jessicaleader.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/jessicaleader.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/jessicaleader.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jessicaleader.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jessicaleader.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"http:\/\/jessicaleader.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":379,"href":"http:\/\/jessicaleader.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369\/revisions\/379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/jessicaleader.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jessicaleader.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jessicaleader.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}