Category Archives: Blog

Blog, What Kate's Reading

Women’s March Reflections

I saw this post and had to share it.  Poetry, photos, and writings from participants in the Women’s March on Washington on January 21, 2017 are highlighted in this blog.

 

Millions of people marched on January 21, 2017, to oppose the new Trump administration in the US — and wrote about (or photographed or sketched) the experience.

via Why We March: Reflections from Women’s Marches — Discover

Blog

A Community of Writers

Today, I’m saddened. After being a part of the Write On by Kindle community since 2015, Kindle announced it is closing the forum. Many say it was time, but I wanted to express how important a role it played for me.

I loved to write when I was younger.  As I entered adulthood, I had other responsibilities which took precedence over my writing.  Decades later (four to be exact) I received an email from Amazon Kindle about a new website they were developing.  I went online to check it out and began to read some of the posted stories.  Reading the stories and comments left by other writers and readers inspired me, I knew I needed to take a chance.

I began to write Exodus.  It took ten months to write, proofread, revise and edit.  In August of 2016, I self-published my first novel on Kindle.   During the months I wrote I also messaged back and forth with various authors helping them proofread and suggest possible edits of their works in progress just as they had helped me.  Without their support, I wouldn’t have gone through the steps it took to finish the book.

Encouragement between writers played an important role in the forum.  I learned to take constructive criticism with more grace than I would have before I was a participant in the forum.  While writing and rewriting paragraphs and chapters, I discovered I was my greatest critic.   Through this journey on Write On, I have become a better writer.

It saddens me to know this forum will not be available for others in the future.  Yes, there are other forums, but Write On was special.  The bonds we’ve formed with our fellow indie authors will hopefully last.  The books we have written are proudly published on Amazon so others can enjoy them.

I may never be a best-selling author, but it’s nice knowing my book has entertained those who have read it and hopefully will for years to come.

Blog, Uncategorized

Football, Facebook and Family

Families.  So many words describe them — loving, supportive, close-knit, and warm.  In January, some families can be described in less than flattering terms as the countdown to the Super Bowl begins.

Our family isn’t any different.  My husband, sons and myself are avid Green Bay Packers fans while several other family members are Minnesota Vikings fans.  My younger brother is such a fan, he has a large Vikings insignia tattooed on his upper arm.

Facebook has become Ground Zero for jabs, trash talk and a whole lot of crowing when someone’s team is doing well.   My feed gets blown up with every snide meme about the Packers on the internet.  The closer it gets to Super Bowl Sunday — the crazier the antics become.  The dinner table is surrounded by purple jerseys and green and gold t-shirts. Conversations go from current events to stats, game plays and predictions about the outcome of the next NFL game.

Plenty of beer, pizza, mini tacos and a boat-load of appetizers make the rounds as all eyes are zeroed into the action on the TV.  We even have soft miniature footballs we throw at the television when we are unhappy with the play-calling or disagree with a penalty the referees have called on our team.

The competitive spirit between all of us ends with the end of the football season; at least until March Madness begins.  But that is another story…

Blog, Uncategorized

Sticking By Your Resolutions

Each year millions of people make their New Year’s resolutions vowing to lose weight, get rid of clutter, etc.  I am definitely not an exception.

Yet by the end of January, most of us have given up on those future endeavors.  Again, I’m not the exception to this statement.

So what can I do this year to change my past behavior.  This is also a resolution…  This year I kept my resolutions simple, and only focused on one resolution instead of two or three.   dumbbellsMy resolution is to utilize the quiet hour from 6 am – 7 am on fitness or writing.   Seemed easy to do when I made the resolution.  Not always so easy to do when you live with an energetic Labrador retriever.

I tend to exercise more in warm weather because I love walking outdoors.  Over the last few weeks, I’ve dusted off my unused exercise equipment and worked up a sweat on the elliptical and my Airdyne bike.

Writing early in the morning is more of an issue.  Our pup leaves me alone during the time I work out, but if I’m sitting in front of my laptop, all bets are off.  Apparently, our dog doesn’t respect my literary efforts.

Some folks will say our dog is untrained.  I agree to that assessment but only to a certain degree.  He is very well behaved most of the time.  But labs need a lot of attention and sitting at my feet while I write about Clare Thibodeaux and her adventures isn’t the same as playing ball.

I have my work cut out for me, but I hope to keep my resolutions this year.  Hope all of you are having a great 2017 thus far, and if you haven’t kept the resolutions you made…you still have time to start again.

 

Blog, Uncategorized

Devastated

Earlier in the week, I laughed at a terrible proofreading mistake I’d made when I forgot to remove a sentence I’d reworked.  It resulted in two sentences using variations of the word “Devastated”.

Tonight, I feel the word acutely.  I just accidentally deleted my almost completed Chapter 27 in Winter’s Icy Caress.  I’m using a new program and despite the backups the program makes and its constant self-save feature.  I’ve lost the file forever.

I’m going to bang my head against a typewriter (I don’t want to destroy my laptop) and cry.  I will also curse, but I refuse to write the words I will think and more than likely say.

Wish me luck!

Blog, Uncategorized

Christmas Is…

December 25.  One of my favorite days of the year.  Yeah, yeah, almost everyone loves Christmas.  I hear you.  What’s not to love?  Sparkling lights, Christmas trees, Christmas stockings, Christmas cookies — the list goes on and on.  And who doesn’t like presents?  No one.

Christmas is about family.  Gathering together to celebrate the holiday and the family.  Mary, Joseph and their tiny baby, Jesus huddled together in a stable.  Now each year we travel near and far to be with the people we love and care about during this special time.

Christmas is about children.  Santa Claus, his elves, and that crazy red-nosed reindeer were the subject of stories, cartoons, and some pretty terrible photos with Santa.  Don’t even say you didn’t have certain Christmas programs you couldn’t miss — Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (to name a few).  Parents wrap gifts on the sly while the kiddos are asleep.  Most parents have experienced the early, early  A.M. construction of a bike or a wagon.  It’s followed by two hours of sleep because the kids are up at 5 A.M.

Christmas is about doing good works for others less fortunate than ourselves.  Donations to Toys for Tots and food pantries are synonymous with the season.  Inviting people to your celebration who would otherwise spend it alone with a microwave dinner.  It should be a time of peace and harmony.

Christmas is about our spirit, our soul, and our faith.  A Midnight Mass with the church packed full of the faithful singing the beautiful hymns and carols with real joy.  It’s standing in the cold night outside of St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome waiting to go inside to Midnight Mass with the Pope.  A couple of voices join together singing a carol to pass the time.  Before long, a diverse group of people from my different countries add their voices to the song.  This memory from twenty-five years ago can still make me cry with the beauty of humanity.

I wish you a joyful, peaceful holiday where love is the order of the day.

And, I pray for compassion and kindness in abundance this day and every day.