Erzsi Deak

Bonjour Baby! The urban guide for kids traveling with their parents (and vice-versa).

From the opening pages of the URBAN CRAYON CITY GUIDE TO PARIS: Given the number of skinny women roaming “The City of Light” in little black dresses and heels, busily discussing Sartre and the Delaunays, an average mother isn’t likely to think of Paris as the top choice for a family vacation. It tops the list for a romantic weekend, but the thought of a weeklong jaunt would probably get a firm non. And while the narrow streets and general lack of ramps and elevators indeed seem stroller-unfriendly, this city of “perspectives” and gastronomy is home to 2.15 million humans (many of whom are children) and can in fact lend itself to be a memorable vacation for kids. More people visit Paris (about 44 million annually) than any other city in the world. The city is a storybook setting waiting to be read by both parent and child.

Lines in the Sand: New Writing About War & Peace, Frances Lincoln, 2003 and coming to the US in November with The Disinformation Company. Available on www.amazon.co.uk.

PERIOD PIECES: Stories for Girls, edited by Erzsi Deak and Kristin Embry Litchman. PERIOD PIECES include the Erzsi's story, "Hurry Up and Wait."

Short stories & Essays

Urban Crayon Paris: The City Guide for Parents with Children
Urban Crayon Paris: The City Guide for Parents with Children By Sheridan Becker, Kim Barrington Narisetti and Erzsi Deak Paris city guide for families traveling with kids. Family-friendly and budget conscious, this city guide reveals how to have fun with young children in France's famed capital city. Conveniently organized in 12 sections, this sourcebook features fun things to do outdoors; activities geared for boys, girls, and the whole family; the locales of the best free playgrounds; the most kid-friendly sightseeing; hip inns that offer real value for the money; and great places to eat. A handy tips section provides a range of helpful tidbits such as embassy locations, seasonal temperature ranges, key phone numbers, listings of babysitting services, museum and store hours, which electrical adapters to use, and a conversion chart for children’s clothing sizes.

Read Before You Go (Family Travel Forum)

PERIOD PIECES: STORIES FOR GIRLS

What's it all about???

PERIOD PIECES
Have you fallen off the wall? Seen George lately? Had the painters in? Does Auntie pay you a visit? Do Little Bears make you growl?

No matter what you call it, or what you say about it, getting your period is a big deal. What's it like to have one? Is it scary? Embarrassing? A pain in the neck? Exciting? A huge yawn? Can you hardly wait to "become a woman," or do you hope the day will never come?

PERIOD PIECES: Stories for Girls
Selected by Erzsi Deak & Kristin Embry Litchman
ISBN: 0066237963
HarperCollins Children's Books US

"Wild Strawberries," a short story by Erzsi in the book, LINES IN THE SAND: NEW WRITING ABOUT WAR & PEACE (Frances Lincoln, 2003)
We wanted to lay a wreath of heather for Thea. The Dogwood trees were in bloom, their elliptical leaves casting wavy shadows across the trail winding above the city. Blossoms of white burst forth; shut tight for the long years. Trunks blackened and straining out from the hill like a crooked old man reaching for the sun. . . But Jez had stalked the enemy, unraveling their defenses. And now she was back. I hoped she'd stay... "Wild Strawberries," by Erzsi Deak

"Hurry Up and Wait" from PERIOD PIECES: Stories for Girls
Check-out the excerpt from Erzsi's story, "Hurry Up and Wait" -- now!

PERIOD PIECES: Stories for Girls

Girlfriend.
Aunt Flo.
Doña Rosa.
That time of the month.
Being on the rag.
The curse.
Monthlies.
Womanly time.
George.

You might have a different name for it, but all of these words mean the same thing: your period. And the number of nicknames you can make up for your period is nothing compared to the number of ways you can feel about it.

You may wonder if you're the only girl you know who doesn't have her period. Or you may feel excited about growing up. Are you confused about what's happening inside your body? Or do you feel silly as you giggle with your mom or friends about the pamphlets you're given in school?

In these frank and often poignant new short stories, twelve stellar authors explore the anxiety and excitement of "becoming a woman." Engaging, empowering, and sometimes hilarious, these stories show us girls who couldn't be more different -- and yet ultimately reveal that, in many ways, we are all the same.

THEY ONLY LAUGHED LATER -- includes Erzsi's essay, "Envelope Thief."
This collection of essays is the product of a series of 'Women On the Move' conferences, which brought together expatriate women from over twenty countries. Their concerns were mutual : to share experience in meeting the challenges that confront women who move to strange lands in pursuit of their own or their husbands' careers.

Some of this experience is resumed in this collection of essays, many of them written by published authors, all of whom were fresh from one or more assignments abroad. While there may seem precious little to laugh about in the midst of so much mobility, the truth is that hilarity lurks in the corners of most moves. Aspects of expatriate life evoked in the book include general culture shock, homesickness, language confusion, change of climate, adaptation to cultural differences, and repatriation.

They Only Laughed Later is a pat-on-the-back and a keep-up-the-good-spirits to all the women who have made and are making the most of living abroad. It is a gentle prod, an outstretched hand, a go-for-it to those who find coping abroad scary and insurmountable.

Each of the 30 essays is a heartfelt cameo taken from the real-life experience of an expatriate.

216 pages
Europublic Press
ISBN 90-74440-12-6
Price: €14.95

Erzsi Deak = writer. scout. editor. agent. for reasons that even escape her, she is somewhat obsessed with fowl play & urban farms. And cannoli in season.

non-fiction

Selected Articles from Children's Book Writer's & Illustrator's Market

non-fiction, travel

Urban Crayon Paris: The City Guide for Parents with Children
Urban Crayon Paris is a recommended "Read Before You Go" on the Family Travel Forum Web site. The first of an upcoming series of hip city guides from Urban Crayon

short stories

Fiction

"Wild Strawberries," a short story by Erzsi in the book, LINES IN THE SAND: NEW WRITING ABOUT WAR & PEACE (Frances Lincoln, 2003)
A short story in the collection of stories put together by Mary Hoffman and Rhiannon Lassiter to benefit UNICEF's Emergency Appeal for the Children of Iraq.

short stories about girls coming of age

"Hurry Up and Wait" from PERIOD PIECES: Stories for Girls
"Hurry Up and Wait": Zoe is desperate to grow up and 'get there,' but what's the hurry?

essays

THEY ONLY LAUGHED LATER -- includes Erzsi's essay, "Envelope Thief."
The life of an ex-pat. . . What's love of language got to do with it? And why is that woman screaming at me? I'm not an envelope saleswoman. Is there such a thing as an envelope saleswoman?