Calee M. Lee

It’s 4:17 pm and my heart is racing like it’s on those horrible medications I took to stop preterm labor, but there’s nothing running through my system but pure adrenaline. My book, The Queen and the Cats: A Story of Saint Helena, launched on Amazon this morning and currently sits at #7 on the Children’s Christian fiction charts. (Edited to add: when I finally got to publishing this we were ranked #5!)

Yes, my book is one slot higher than C.S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew.  I know.  There’s a little bit of hyperventilating going on around this place.  I am SO SO SO thankful to everyone who purchased my book this morning and all of the  fantastic people who are helping me spread the word through emails, Twitter, Facebook and their blogs.

Here are the gracious bloggers who have given my book some of their incredibly valuable real estate and I’ll be updating this page as more links come in:

In the Heart of My Home

Good Books for Young Souls

Ancient Faith Radio’s Under the Grapevine Podcast – Listen to a lovely reading of the story

Elizabeth Esther

Charming the Birds from the Trees

If you haven’t had a chance to pick up a copy of The Queen and the Cats: A Story of Saint Helena, it’s available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle editions.  We’re offering a FREE .pdf download coloring book version of the book to anyone who buys it between now and Friday, so don’t wait. Get those kids coloring while they listen to the story of the True Cross and the ingenious way Saint Helena save Cyprus’ churches from a snake infestation.

Thank you all once again.  This has been a wild ride from writing to publication to today.  I’m so pleased with the response we’ve gotten.

The internet is jam-packed with book reviews: GoodReads, Amazon, those venerable newspapers—I bet it would take an eternity and then some to read all of what people have said about books, and that’s without cracking any covers yourself.  I’ve written my share of reviews and honestly, I’m not very good at them. Maybe it all goes back to the only “C” I received in my entire academic career—a 4th grade book report where I had finished the book weeks before the diorama/essay/posterboard (I can’t remember the actual assignment) was due and once it came to put pencil to paper, the details were more than a little fuzzy.  I still don’t like to write reviews right after reading. Rather, if I can still remember the gist of the book several weeks/months/years later—now that’s a book that deserves writing about.
I’m calling this space for book reviews “Books that Have Changed my Life” because those are the books I can’t stop thinking about. Their authors have achieved something significant—even if the change in myself isn’t what they intended and even if I hated their argument so passionately it inspired a transverse reaction than what they hoped—every so often words hold the magical power that David Mamet describes so beautifully at the beginning of his book Writing in Restaurants.  (For the record, that passage is the only part of that book I can describe as life changing, but that’s what I’m talking about—a book that inspires a paradigm shift and not a trip to the recycling bin).

Our schoolyard code of honor recognized words as magical and powerful unto themselves…
“Olley Olley Ocean Free” was our South Side Chicago version of the cry which ends a game of tag. I think the phrase frightened us as children.
We knew that an afternoon of kick-the-can or capture-the-flag could only be positively terminated by the adjuration “Olleyolleyoceanfree” but none of us had one idea what the words themselves meant. We only knew they had magical power to cast off the restrictions of the game (to loose us from our vows) and let us go to dinner. (3,5)

The chapter goes on to relate the story of a man, livid with anger, demanding an apology from a YMCA clerk. Mamet declares, “In his anger he had reverted to a universe where words were clearly magic, in which all things were possessed of spirit and where anything was possible (7).”
I like to believe I live in a world where words still retain their magical properties.

I’ll be posting more about books that have changed my life but I want to know, what books have changed yours?

The Queen and the Cats doesn’t officially launch until September 14th but that hasn’t stopped the Internet.  The Kindle Version is available on Amazon Here and the Barnes & Noble Nook Version is available Here.

I really haven’t told anyone about the book yet so imagine my surprise when I saw this on Twitter:

@keithamassey Keith Massey

Writer @CaleeL brings us “Lives of the Saints 2.0″ magnaliadei.blogspot.com/2011/09/queen-…

3 Sep via web Favorite Retweet Reply

Here’s a bit from his review:

Just to show you that Hagiographa is no dead letter, Calee M. Lee takes an episode from the life of Saint Helena, and turns it into a delightful and beautiful children’s book. The Queen and the Cats: A Story of Saint Helena explores the arrival of the Empress to Cyprus with a piece of the True Cross, only to find the island so infested with poisonous snakes that people can’t safely enter the churches. The story is told through the eyes of a little girl. The illustrations by Turbo Qualls are warm and expressive.

This is starting to get exciting! I can’t wait for our official launch on September 14th–the Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross–a perfect day to celebrate.

While you’re waiting for my book, I highly recommend you check out A Place of Brightness by Keith Massey–and not just because he wrote such a great review.  I downloaded the sample chapters of this spy thriller last weekend and couldn’t order the rest of the book fast enough. It’s that good. Check it out.

My server and I were having issues. We are now on better terms. Also, I am very busy making not one, not two, but five beautiful books happen for this fall.

Here’s a little taste of my latest project:

I know you’re just dying to read what William Wordsworth, Emily Dickinson, John Donne, Christina Rosetti and a whole host of others have to say about bugs.  My junior entomologist is excited too!

Don’t worry. I’m not about to start up a revival tent.

I am, however, less than a month away from the launch of my first book, The Queen and the Cats: A Story of Saint Helena.

I was inspired this evening by Amy Suardi of Frugal Mama who I found through Meagan Francis of The Happiest Mom. (I could get into the details of how I found Meagan, but don’t worry, it ends with Kevin Bacon). Several posts down her blog, she linked to an old post called “Don’t Read This if You Want Your Life to Stay the Same” where she wrote:

What do you love, what do you need, what do you want?  Right now — write it down.  Then place it in a prominent place:  your door, your computer, or inform the world by telling your friends, sending it out by email, Twitter, or Facebook.

But watch out:  you might just get what you ask for.

This year has been one of transition and I’ve spent the last few months thinking deeply about what I want out of the next phase of life. Plans are taking shape and they’re big. Not everything is ready to be nailed to the front door, but universe, here are a few things I’m working towards:

• A Bookshelf of My Books
  They can have my name on the spine or my logo on the back cover. By October, there will be four. Year’s end will hopefully see 6.  Someone can do the math (Ikea Billy bookcases line one of our walls) but I intend to fill a shelf.
• Job Creation
  I’ll be writing my first royalty check to the talented Brenda Ponnay in about a month. I’m a firm believer in giving people fulfilling, meaningful work. I’d like to launch 6 more authors or illustrators in 2012 and hire an employee. Take that, recession.
• Private School for the Kids
  I am eternally greatful for the academic and spirtual foundation my husband and I both received in private, Christian elementary schools. Even though we live in one of the best public school districts in the nation, I’d like my writing related efforts to make private school for our children a financial possiblitity. (And if we choose to take advantage of the fantastic neighborhood public school, then that private school tuition will make paying for college that much easier).

I’m willing to plaster my goals on Twitter, Facebook and this nascent blog.  What about you?

It’s time to get your weekend on again. Like so many of mine recently, this weekend involves sun, work, and trying to sneak in a little adult conversation into the full, full, full days.

Do:  I would say go to the beach except it took me 5 minutes to go 500 feet when I slipped onto a road that leads to the beach when I was headed to the gym.  So don’t go there. Or go before 9 am, which is always my favorite time anyway.  This weekend our family is going to DO Church ( to which we have been arriving rather late in past weeks due to someone’s nap schedule.  He can sleep tomorrow afternoon instead.) Also, I think the 4th of July warrants some of this since we haven’t seen fireworks since having children who insist on early bedtimes.  (spied via Secret Agent Josephine)

Think: Oh man. This woman totally rocks my world.  Also, I’m thrilled her world is not my world, but I’m beyond thankful for the internet and that I can get a glimpse into her thoughts: The Only B-Word You Need to Know

Plan: We are royally bad at planning vacations but this week I finally booked us a hotel for early November. If you, like us, need some motivation to just get out of town, may I present the Living Social Escapes.  I’m not convinced these are the cheapest way to go on vacation, but they are a big enough reminder to say there is no good reason to stay home 365 nights a year.

We still love you. I promise. You are perfect for leisurely mornings. You are fantastic for late night brainstorming sessions. You are still my favorite wedding gift, exactly eight years later.  But French Press, you don’t deserve the abuse we were putting you through. Banging and clattering before dawn? It’s not your fault. Double pressing coffee just to get another cup? I’ve heard some people call that blasphemy.

Life is made up of seasons. There is no reason to wear shorts in December. Unless you live in southern California like we do. Sorry, this is a bad analogy, but you get the point. It’s not your time, but someday when the children sleep past dawn and I’m not cobbling together hours in which to work, you’ll get top billing again. I’ve made great strides to be comfortable with this phase of life. But you, my friend, need to learn to embrace change.
There’s no denying it anymore.  We are now in the season of the programmable coffee pot.

I always hate it when I have downtime on the weekend and my favorite bloggers are not giving me the content I crave. Screen-free Sundays? Come on, people! If your feed reader is a little lonely this weekend, may I present a little segment I’d like to call “Do. Think. Plan.”  Yes, those things are in quite the opposite order of the way I usually operate, but one of the things I’m trying to do is actually do more, and get stuck thinking and planning less.  But some things are good to plan and others are best thought about and maybe not actually acted upon, but others are.  So yes. Do. Think. Plan.

Go forth!

Do: Greek Festival!
Lamb, Baklava, Rides and Church Tours. Come see what 30,000 of your Orange County neighbors are up to this weekend!  If you’re not local, leave a comment telling me what to eat, and I will eat it and think of you this weekend.  Opa!

Think: 6 Ways Busy Moms can make (some of) their dreams come true.
I absolutely love Megan Francis’ blog. So much food for thought. Can’t wait to read her book.

Plan: The Prettiest Family Trees from Design Mom
I’ve been thinking a lot about ancestry since my children were born. Between my husband and I, we have 5 remaining great-grandparents. It’s time to nail down some family history and put together a family tree we will be proud to display for generations.

In the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, saints are a big deal. We see them as the ultimate heroes of the faith and look to their examples of ways that ordinary human beings were transformed by God to live extraordinary lives. On June 23rd, the Church honors Saint Audrey of Ely, a magnificent queen who sacrificed everything she had to live a life of prayer and holiness.  My daughter just happens to be named after her and we’re doing everything we can to encourage her to emulate her patron saint.  You’ll be hearing quite a bit more about Saint Audrey in this space in the coming months, but if you’re interested in her history, Heavenfield is a fantastic resource!

Hymn to Saint Audrey:

Thou, O Virgin Queen, hast suffered the pains of ascetic struggle and thus gained grace through the necklace of thy virtues, to heal diseases of both body and soul, to drive out demons and protect all those that suffer: O venerable Mother Audrey, do thou pray for us that we may obtain healing and great mercy.
From the Akathist to Saint Audrey.

My favorite thing about summer might just be the food:

Note to self: must find missing steak knives