New/old Beginnings: I've moved(back); come follow!

CLICK HERE TO REDIRECT TO WORDPRESS BLOG

I'm back to my original, first blog, y'all. I've imported my posts and your comments, and am working on making the new space friendly and comfy. Unless blogspot blogger admin becomes cranky, I will keep this blog up, because . . . just because, one never knows, do they? :-D haw!

I do sincerely hope you will come on over and join in.

KATHRYN'S BLOG REDIRECT: CLICK ON THIS LINK

Moving my Blog back to my old Stomping Grounds & BelleBooks Linky love

Welp, yesterday my blog went bye-bye. A notice popped up that my blog was suspended and there was no explanation other than the link I clicked on that read how I could be seen as spam or did something that was against their rules.

Of course, it was a "glitch;" I wasn't spam and didn't do something against their rules, and they had my blog up again by today.

However, I've decided to return to my former blog where I don't have to worry about that happening. It felt really weird to be suddenly suspended as if I did something wrong even though I knew I hadn't, but I felt rather oogly about it, as if I had dirt on my hands or something.

My old stomping grounds used to be under the window spaces blogger and sometime about a year or so ago it was formed into wordpress- I kept that blog but rarely posted to it. Yesterday I fiddled around with it and am trying to spiff it up for my move there.

I will leave my blog here with a redirect link - I don't want to delete a couple of years of my life I've had here! Lawd no!  I may import my posts over there, if it works out all right, and in that case, I don't know if posts stay in both places.

I hope y'all will follow me on over there! I plan to make it easy as I can to follow the blog and leave comments - soon as I figure out all the whatevers and such and sos - feel free to email me if you have any problems.

Okay, y'all come on over! It's still under construction right now and I've changed the look of it several times (I may upgrade to Pro so I have more to work with), but I hope to have it 'finished' over the weekend  - lawd.

Kathryn's Wordpress Blog

And since today is linky love day, I will do as I planned and link to BelleBooks/ Bell Bridge Books and their authors. This will be my last Linky Love here on this blog.

BelleBooks/Bell Bridge books has been wonderful to me and I adore them. Their authors adore them. And, there is something for everyone to read. I want to give them a big Shout Out today.

BelleBooks/BBB page for writers

BB/BBB Authors

About BB

They made my dreams come true. Three published books and a novella later, and another book on its way in the spring (Family Graces probably will be the title of the last in the Graces Trilogy), foreign rights (Russia so far!), ebooks, print books, audio books soon to come - I just can't say enough things about them. They are a dream to work with and respect and love their authors. Go BB/BBB! Check them out, and as their site says - there really is something for everyone.

Now - y'all come on over and help me to feel at home in my new/old blog home.

Stop. Sit in your chair. Open a word doc (or pull out pen and paper) and Begin

We not only have holiday company for a few days at the little log house at Killian Knob, but I am up against a deadline, or two! The post below is a repeat post from 2009 but bears repeating. And it applies to more than just writing!

As for me, I am right now doing some last minute edits on the final Graces novel in the Graces Trilogy. The contract is signed. A date of March/April is planned for its release, and as well, Bellebooks/Bell Bridge Books is re-doing Secret Graces's cover so that all three Graces Sagas bookcovers are similar, so they look like a trilogy (I had a lot of mixed letters/comments on the original cover for SG-some hated/some loved). I can't wait to see what SG and the third Graces novel covers will look like - I still become excited; I still am giddy about it all.

And as well, Rose & Thorn will go live January 15 - we are busy preparing the winter issue. My New Years Holiday will be busy, but in a good kind of way.

So now -

What someone wrote in a comment one day: “You know all that is what kind of halts me in writing. It just overwhelms me and then I block. I like blogging because I have the feel of freely writing. I guess it is a bit of a quirk.”

Never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never NEVER NEVER NEVER let anything stop you from writing if this is what you want to do and you are ready to discipline yourself to it—no one else on this earth or beyond should stand in your way: no advice from well-meaning writers, no rules, no nuttin’.

 Trust me when I say that if you really want to write a novel, or stories, then you must practice your craft and the only way to practice is to just sit down and write. As you practice, you will figure out what works for you, what your “voice” is, what your “tics” are, what your weaknesses and strengths are, what delights you and urges you on and what frustrates you and makes you want to stop writing. You will find out your own personal style of writing in both how you write and what you write.

 But listen! If you are happy writing blog posts, what is wrong with that? If you write a successful blog and people come to your site and leave happy interested comments, are you not a success? Are you not writing for an audience who loves coming by and seeing what you have written?

 When I began writing Tender Graces, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing; I didn’t even know how to write dialogue! But I had desire. I had discipline. I had want. I just wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote and things began to come clear as to my own style and voice and what made me feel comfortable. I wrote 200,000 words and most of those had to be trashed or re-cast or fiddle-dee-deed, but, boy did I have fun, and boy did I learn much about what kind of writer I’d be. I was writing for an audience of one: Me. That is free-ing, let me tell you!

 Don’t let the “rules” or advice of others stop you or scare you or make you feel as if you are somehow lacking if you don’t write in a certain way—just write and in the writing find out who you are, what kind of writer you are, what you love to write, and how you will write. I can’t stress this enough. Find what makes you happy and do it.

 If the writing feels strained and you want to back away from it, then find out what is hindering you: Are you writing for someone else? Are you listening to too many writers (like me!) give advice and it confuses you? Are you straining towards something that isn’t meant for you?

 Stop. Sit in your chair. Open a word doc (or pull out pen and paper) and Begin. Just have some fun, see what comes out. Who cares if you have so-just-very-little; who cares if there are many adverbs and present participles and dangling participles and similes and blah blah blah blah—how will you know what you want, or where you want to go, or how far you will take things, until you sit down and begin? How will you know what makes you happy until you write it without restraint?

I had to get to a certain point in my writing before the advice I read made sense –Hear that: I had to know how to sit down and write and find out what kind of writer I’d be before all the “rules” began to make sense, and only then could I use them, manipulate them, have fun with them—and I’m still having fun, and I’m still learning my craft—there is always room for growth, never become complacent even if you are a best-seller.

You all would laugh your arses off if you could see some of my first attempts at writing stories. So what? I laugh too! Haw! But I also see how far I’ve come, how much I’ve learned and how much more I can learn.  Lawd, even some of the works I've had published I want to go in and change the heck out of them!

Sit. Breathe. Tune out the voices. Have fun. And, write how and what you want, and where and for whom you want. Be sincere.

Dig it out from the you that is uniquely you.

See y'all Friday for Links Day! Hope you are having a wonderful holiday.

Photos/Video: Hopes for you & Happy New Year

 Hope your Christmas/Hannuka/Holiday Celebration is/was lovely and bright

Hope your travels were safe and beautiful and brought you to where you longed to be

Hope you spent time with friends and family - even if it was via Skype or Telephone, mail or email . . . or even social networking!

And finally . . . to all of you whom I in one fashion or another or all of the above love, respect, admire, and am exceedly grateful for, I wish you a . . .

Holiday Linky Love & Last Day for Sweetie deal

South Louisiana - LSU Lakes - Birds as Ornaments flocking the trees

For the holidays, here is some linky love. I'll be back to "regular links" next Friday, but for today, I am posting those I happened upon this morning that had a holiday theme. I didn't come across any with any other holidays besides Christmas, and if I had, I'd link to them as well - so if you have a different holiday tradition than Christmas, link it in the comments and I'll update my post!

Despite my Grinchy post below, today I am feeling full of holiday cheer - and no, not because of vodka *sigh* oh, I still have not received my Crystal Head Vodka -- I want that skull *laughing* to help my cheer along - dang it all! :-D

Then, there is the annual posting of the link for my Moonshine & Santy Claus - a quirky Santy and menopausal appalachian woman story, published by Vagabondage Press. And how interesting to see my bio then when I was 'in the query process' - well, dreams do come true, y'all *gratitude*

I love this blog - full of Appalachian everything and always positive: Blind Pig and the Acorn - Appalachia through my eyes - Christmas folklore

Michelle Teacress has a short video that made me tear up - *still sniffling* - it struck my heart: The Coat: A story of charity - it will warm your heart.

saw this in South Louisiana near LSU - laughing! love it -you can't see the picture of the LSU coach Miles in that shiny square:-D

Speaking of charity - Every year I do Toys for Tots, and as well, I do the Angel Tree (look for those Christmas trees with "ornaments" hanging that have information on children you can purchase clothing and toys for), and another place I like to give memorial gifts on behalf of my brother, granny, and now my father, is Heifer International - I'm linking you to Nathan Bransford site, for he information there and an incentive. These are the things that take me outside of myself and remind me what this season is about: giving and charity and loving and remembering. It's especially for the children. You may have your own charities, but if not, these are wonderful places to think about giving. But, yes, people need us all year round, no matter the season - however, during the holidays, harder times are oft-times more keenly felt.

And the Pudgy Penguin has on his santy suit  (so cute) and is having a book give-away. Even if you don't enter, just a look at that penguin makes a smile.

And, last time I'll be mentioning my book like a used car salesman (no offense to any car salesmen *laugh*), but it's the last day of the One-Week Deal at Amazon where SWEETIE is discounted for this promo. (Firefly Dance, the anthology, is on that same deal.)


Happy Holidays, whatever you celebrate. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


And now, I will leave you with an oldie but goodie - Christmas Lights Gone Wild

All those whos in whoville and their noise noise noise! Am I a Grinch?

I fear I am turning into the Grinch. You know, scowling about Christmas commercialism and all the Whos in Whoville’s noise wearing on my nerves. What’s happened to me? When Christmas was always the most perfect, most wonderful time of the year? Somewhere along the way I’ve let some kind of magic go, some kind of beauty of the season. I want it back. Lawdy be, can you help me? How? you may ask. Well . . . I’m open to suggestions. Perhaps: leave me Christmassy comments that enlighten and lighten? Email me cute Christmas cards? Post wonderful holiday thoughts and send me the link? Then my heart will grow umpteen sizes too big and I'll be full of Christmas Cheer - whoop!

 I want to look forward to decorating the tree with glee and fiddledeedee. I want to inhale the scents that come only this time of year - spices and sweet and fresh. I want to gasp at the wonders. I will have no child running in breathlessly to tear open gifts, for my son and granddaughter are many miles away in Oregon. Maybe that’s part of it, too—my friends and family are far from me. Oh, I hate whiners! Whos in Whoville and all that noise, noise, noise!

What do I want for Christmas this year? I want that spirit to come back with a big Bam-a-lammo. I can’t force it, so I’m asking you all, anyone of you at all, to help me find that Christmas-Holiday Doodledeedahday. I know it’s somewhere. I must have just misplaced it in a corner, under a pile of sweaters, in the sock drawer, in the hollowed out tree, behind the dresser, under the couch . . . somewhere, it’s here somewhere.

 There is a Christmas special on Lifetime television where this jaded book editor hates Christmas and is grumpy and yada yada the same old; but, as I watch it, I tear up a bit, as if I am seeing parts of myself in this woman. Thing is, at the end of the movie, I know she’ll have found what she is missing—will I find it along with her? Gee, I hope so.

 I think perhaps I will need to do something different, something to take me outside of myself. Yes. That's it. Outside of myself. And, I’ll keep searching those little corners and places for that old feeling—I just know it’s there. It rises up and quickly flies away just out of my grasp. Maybe you’ve seen it? Floating around, my Holiday Spirit. If you do see it, grab hold of it and bring it back to me, and for that, I’ll be filled with gratitude.

Perhaps I’ll fly like the hawk over a jeweled city of holiday shine and there I will find what I need . . . yes, right in Whoville. Yes. There it is . . . just ahead.

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Now, off with my bad elf-self, and I'll see you all on Friday with Linky Love.

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(and SWEETIE is doing well in the Amazon weekly deals - Friday is the last day to find it at this special before it goes back to its regular price - same with Firefly Dance. Thank you all for your support! Hmm, that's something to be grateful for this holiday season! - MY READERS! *heart is starting to grow* After this promo is over, I won't be mentioning it as I have been - you know how I like my "car salesman-free zone" here *laughing* :-D )

Where'd Monday go? Discombobulation abounds. No photos/videos: Bad Kat

Morning y'all. I'm late with my Monday post - I have been out of town to South Louisiana to visit family and friends. It was a quick trip, but here it is Tuesday morning and I don't have my photos/images/videos! *Bad Kat* I even woke up in my iron bed in the little log house in the cove at Killian Knob thinking this was Monday. Lawd.

So pardon my lateness and zippity do dah diggity didn't do-it-ness as I unpack and unwind and decompress. I will see you on Wednesday with my regular blog post!

By the way, SWEETIE is inching up the "Amazon Kindle Best Seller List" - she's at this moment no 29 in literary fiction. I'd love to see her head up to No 1 of course *haw!* but even the top 50 is very nice. THANK YOU for your support. She'll, Sweetie that is, will be on this "Amazon Weekly Deals" for a mere .99cents until Friday and then it's over and she's the regular price. (Firefly Dance is on that same deal.) Appreciate all of you.

See you Wednesday!