Back From the Future and From the Ashes Announcement!

Back From the Future Blogfest hosted by M. Pax, Suze and Nicki Elson

You’re up before dawn on a Saturday when the doorbell rings. You haven’t brewed your coffee so you wonder if you imagined the sound. Plonking the half-filled carafe in the sink, you go to the front door and cautiously swing it open. No one there. As you cast your eyes to the ground, you see a parcel addressed to you … from you.

You scoop it up and haul it inside, sensing something legitimate despite the extreme oddness of the situation. Carefully, you pry it open. Inside is a shoebox — sent from ten years in the future — and it’s filled with items you have sent yourself.

What’s in it?

My future box would hold:

A letter to myself telling me not to worry about my kids' future, because they all turn out to be great adults enjoying their lives, so relax and just enjoy every minute spent with them. There are even pictures of their beautiful families.

News clippings of a disaster that occurs in 2020, with a list of names of people I should attempt to save and instructions on how to save them.  A pink Post-It-Note is stuck to that pile, in big black Sharpie marker it says, "Don't trust Robert Terrance, may be involved." 

Another letter telling me that my future self wanted to put in various other pictures and items like a completed copy of my bestselling novel, but "future me" thought I needed the whole long and agonizing journey of 10 drafts and decided instead to simply tell me, "KEEP WRITING, remember it's the journey that counts!"   

"Argghh", I curse "future me", but get back to my computer and take up editing with a renewed energy.   

What would be in your box?

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FROM THE ASHES BLOGFEST

Jess, over at Write Skate Dream, is announcing the blogfest to celebrate the launch of her debut novel, From the Ashes.  Here are all the details:  

1. Sign up on the linky list below
2. Grab the blogfest button above
3. On Friday, March 8th, tell us about a time when you or your character was thrown into a trial by fire situation. What biggest fears did you or your character have to face? What sort of situation would test you to the fullest?
4. Post the pre-written info I will send you by email with the cover and a few more details about From the Ashes

(If you only feel like doing #4 that's fine, too :)

If you can't make the blogfest, that's okay. If you'd be willing to help me spread the word with an interview on your blog, that would be perfect! (You can email me at jessicamckendry@icloud.com) Or you could just help me announce that I'm actually published now.

Healthy Writers Club

The Healthy Writers Club

Spend too much time sitting?  Then maybe the Healthy Writer's Club is for you.  Come join us.  The Healthy Writers Club was started by Shallee McArthur as a way for us to support each other's efforts to get out of our chairs and get healthy.  

Setbacks

Some days things go smoothly and other days no matter what you do, how well you train, or how prepared you are there are setbacks.  Whether you are exercising, writing, or just trying to get through the day there are times when you hit a major roadblock. 

Lately, I have been feeling really good with my workouts/skating practices and I was getting stronger.  Things were going great. Then Wednesday night I hit a roadblock.  I was practicing off-ice jumps with Jess and Alyssa.  It all happened so fast...yet in slow motion I felt my ankle pop, then I was writhing on the floor in pain.  

Maybe I should have known better, maybe I should have acted my age, then I wouldn't be sitting here with my ankle swollen to baseball size, propped up on the couch.  But I don't want to shy away from things just because something bad might happen.  That wouldn't be a very interesting life.  I've been lucky to have never had any major injury in 30 years of figure skating, I guess it was bound to happen.  Roadblocks have to be expected and you just have to have a good alternate route.

I'm lucky my alternate route is writing.  As soon as my ankle is healed and strong enough I'm getting right back out on the ice, but in the meantime, I'm devoting my time off to working on polishing Hidden Truth.  It may be just the concentrated time I need to get it to where I want it.  I'd love to have it ready for some beta-readers in the near future.  So even though my exercise has taken a back seat, this might be the perfect detour to really jump start my writing.  

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Exciting Things

There are so many good things going on right now.

Talli Roland's new book the Pollyanna Plan is out and I won a copy!  I can't wait to read it.  Jess is super psyched about receiving her cover and getting one step closer to being a published author.  Christmas is right around the corner and Monday is the Cheers, Cavanaugh Blogfest, celebrating the awesomeness that is Alex Cavanaugh.  It's hosted by  Mark Koopmans, Morgan Shamy, David Powers King, and Stephen Tremp.  It will be a lot of fun to pay homage to a guy who has given so much to all of us.  

And don't forget the Holiday Spirit Blogfest Dec. 12-21, hosted by the Romantic Friday Writers.  They are looking for pieces of fiction or non-fiction which capture the essence of the holiday spirit.  

Have a great weekend!

Kathy :)

Feeling Thankful

Thanksgiving is my favorite time of year.  I love the crisp fall days, the crystals of frost coating everything, and  the plethora of people that swarm my house.  Every year we host Thanksgiving because our house is the most central location for everyone coming from N. Carolina and Michigan.

For four crazy wonderful days, we have 17 people in our house.  Of course there is not really room for that many, so all the kids "camp out" together on our family room floor.  My girls are the oldest of the group so they have fun leading the pack and their cousins simply adore them.  This year Alyssa is planning on leading the kids in lots of fun activities like the Sweet Baking Club and Story Time (where they are going to write short stories together and then act them out).  It's a great bonding time for all the kids (and allows us parents to catch up).

This is the one time of the year where our entire family, including my husband's parents, can get together and just enjoy each other.  Despite all the hard work, I feel extremely thankful to be able to have everyone together and I'm thankful my husband enjoys it too!

I probably shouldn't be sitting here writing, I should be planning this year's menu and running to the store.  But I wanted to let all of you know how thankful I am for you as well.  You are what makes all this hard work of blogging so rewarding.  It seems the older I get the more grateful I am for all the wonderful people who have touched my life.

I hope all of you have a Thanksgiving holiday filled with love and of course great food. (I may not be posting again until after turkey day as I'll be in the kitchen!)

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As far as exercise goes this week for the Healthy Writer's Club, I did my usual skating practice. Then the kids and I decided we needed a little extra workout so we ran up and down our stairs about ten times.  It was fun but my legs felt like jelly afterward!

Don't forget today is Alex Cavanaugh's, Oh I Miss You Blogfest. I didn't officially sign up for it because most of the people I've met blogging seem to post more than I do.  But I definitely notice when someone is absent for a while and I miss their witty posts and comments.

Also coming up are blogfests hosted by L'Aussie Writer and Stephen Tremp  along with some of his buddies.

I'd also like to ask people to send positive energy or prayers to Jess's best friend Kate who is having heart surgery today.

Kathy