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THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, MAy 8, 2021
Bend author and publisher
balances motherhood, career
By DAVID JASPER
The Bulletin
For more than 20 years,
Bend author, editor and pub-
lisher Kim Cooper Find-
ling has devoted herself to
a literary path. From hum-
ble beginnings as a free-
lancer and blogger, Find-
ling’s accomplishments to
date include writing memoirs
(“Chance of Sun”) and travel
guides (“Bend, Oregon Day-
cations”), serving as editor in
chief of Bend Magazine for
the past 3½ years and pur-
chasing the small publish-
ing company Dancing Moon
Press 2½ years ago.
Now, with the impend-
ing Mother’s Day publica-
tion of “The Magic Egg,” a
children’s book from Danc-
ing Moon Press, Findling,
50, will have accomplished
another feat: bringing to pub-
lication the second of two
books featuring the work of
one of her daughters.
First, Findling and elder
daughter Libby, 16, co-wrote
the thriller “The Sixth
Storm,” published by Danc-
ing Moon Press two years
ago. On Sunday, Dancing
Moon will release “Magic
Egg,” written by Shauna
Nicholson-Kelly and illus-
trated by Findling’s younger
daughter, 14-year-old Maris.
In the book, Nicho-
las-Kelly shares the story of
her difficult journey to start-
ing a family, which eventu-
ally occurred with the help
of an egg donor and surro-
gate. When it came time to
illustrate her book about the
path to parenthood, Nich-
olas-Kelly selected Maris.
That may not sound surpris-
ing — after all, the publisher
is Maris’ mom. But Find-
ling took a less intervention-
ist approach to matching the
author and illustrator.
“I gave her a portfolio of
Maris’ work without saying
who it was,” Findling said.
“Because I didn’t want her
to feel pressured. We’d had
some trouble finding an illus-
trator, and my husband said,
‘You know, we live with a
pretty amazing illustrator.’ I
was like, ‘Oh jeez, but how
do I handle this?’”
She handled it by letting
the author assess the work
for herself.
“She loved it,” Findling
said. “When she found out
it was my daughter, she was
actually even more stoked
because the whole book is
kind of a mother-daughter
situation. She created it for
her own daughter, to explain
how she came into their fam-
ily from a surrogate and
donor.”
Maris grew up paint-
ing with her artistic grand-
mother, and told The Bulle-
tin that her part in the project
“was a lot of fun. I learned a
lot about graphic design and
teamwork, and it helped me
feel connected, not only to
my family, but to the art and
writing world.”
Mother Findling has kept
busy through these long
months of quarantine, revis-
ing the 12th edition of Myrna
Oakley’s popular “Oregon
off the Beaten Path” guide,
coming June 1 from Globe
Pequot books.
But this period of time is
special for Findling because
of another soon-to-pub-
lish tome that addresses the
working — or more specifi-
cally, writing — from home
conundrum: “Bad Mommy
Bad Writer: Writing from
Home While Keeping the
Kids Alive,” releasing June
8 from Dancing Moon Press.
The book’s origins go
back to the late 2000s.
“The back story is that I
kept a blog during that time,”
Findling said. “I was stay-
at-home momming with the
girls, but really trying to get
my career — I was already
writing professionally, but
I really wanted to publish a
book. I started blogging just
as a way to get my voice
lubricated and just get some
stuff out there.”
The blog ended up being
“a whole lot of writing about
writing,” she said, along
with a lot about parenting
and being at home with her
girls. It makes sense that’s
where her mind went as an
On Sunday,
Dancing
Moon Press
will release
‘Magic Egg,’
written by
Shauna
Nicholson-
Kelly and
illustrated by
Bend author
Kim Cooper
Findling’s
daughter,
Maris.
emerging writer concomi-
tantly raising two daughters.
Staying at home with kids
while trying to pull off a full-
time career isn’t necessar-
ily an easy pairing, as many
who may have been unfamil-
iar learned quickly this past
year — but Findling made it
work.
“People had suggested
that I try to make that into
a book,” Findling said. “I
looked at the material many
times and just couldn’t really
see it. Like, how does this all
go together in an actual plot-
driven (book)? Even though
it’s nonfiction, I certainly
believe there has to be a plot
arc and all of that, even in
nonfiction. So I’ve looked at
it, and never seen it.”
Then last year happened.
“Probably this exact time
a year ago is when I just
opened that Word document
again, and suddenly, I could
see it,” Findling said. “Partly
because we were all home
again, I just realized that my
whole career and parent-
ing have always been inter-
twined, and that I’m not the
only one, right? Last year,
everyone was living that life
suddenly.
“I thought, ‘OK, I can
see this now. I can see how
this is could be relatable and
even, hopefully, inspiring
too,’” Findling said. “I know
women now who are doing
the young parenting thing,
and sort of feel like their
career might be dead.”
Flower growers scramble to meet demand
By SIERRA DAWN
McCLAIN
Capital Press
Western U.S. flower
growers say demand this
spring has reached “expo-
nentially higher” levels.
A few days before Moth-
er’s Day, growers across
California and Oregon said
they were overwhelmed
with orders. With COVID-
19 restrictions loosening,
many anticipate big sales
for events this summer.
“There’s
definitely
an uptick in demand for
fresh flowers this year,”
said Steve Dionne, execu-
tive director of the Califor-
nia Association of Flower
Growers and Shippers.
Industry leaders say the
American consumer’s rela-
tionship with flowers has
also changed. In the past
year, more shoppers have
bought flowers for “ordi-
nary days” rather than just
for special occasions — a
trend that’s continuing.
But flower farmers
continue to wrestle with
COVID-related challenges,
including labor shortages,
transportation disruptions
and over-consolidation of
the industry that will likely
result in a flower shortage
this year.
This spring stands in
bold contrast to spring
Gratitude
With
for all the ways
you care
As we celebrate special recognition
weeks for nurses and other health care
workers, Providence is immensely proud
of the outstanding ways our caregivers
rise above challenging times. At every
turn, you step up and excel. Despite
enormous pressures, you never waver
from offering compassionate support.
In recognition of
National Nurses Week and National
Hospital and Health Care Week,
THANK YOU.
California Cut Flower Commission
An employee at Joseph and Sons Inc. in California carries flowers.
of 2020, which Dionne
described as “a time of ter-
ror through the industry.”
During 2020’s tough-
est months, the domes-
tic flower industry under-
went major consolidation.
Many florists, wholesal-
ers and growers went out
of business. Some farmers
switched flower acreage to
other crops.
The industry made a
U-turn during the sum-
mer as Americans bought
more flowers to adorn
their homes and to give to
friends.
Flower demand in 2021,
growers say, is “exponen-
tially higher.”
In the lead-up to Moth-
er’s Day, marketers and
florists say they’re seeing
record sales.
Julie Ortiz, a second-gen-
eration flower farmer and
sales manager at Califor-
nia company Joseph and
Sons Inc., said she’s fortu-
nate and blessed customers
have recently shown non-
stop interest in cut flowers.
Dionne said it’s still a bit
premature to predict wed-
ding sales because many
couples are still watching
state restrictions and scop-
ing out venues. But grow-
ers, he said, are already
being flooded with wedding
inquiries.