When Did I Love Reading?

After 51 years on the planet and thinking about when stories and books first hit my life... it dawned on me that it was always there. My mama read to me and my sister from a young age, before we ever started school, each afternoon while we waited on my Dad to get home from work for supper. She would let us pick two storybooks each. Much to her dismay I am sure, we picked the same books a lot of the time. I was fond of DONKEY DONKEY, a story about a sad little Donkey finding his way home, and HOW FLETCHER WAS HATCHED, a story about a hound dog that gets neglected when his little girl owner falls for the newly hatched chickens so he and his friends on the farm plan an egg for him to hatch out of so his little mistress will love him again and it works.

When I started school, the weekly trips to the library opened a whole new world. I went through 3 to 5 storybooks a week most often about animals. And I believe around third grade Santa Claus brought me the whole set of LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE. The television series was new then and my family and I watched it every week. These books brought me the whole pioneer world that matched my love of camping and fishing as a child. I pretended to be Laura Ingalls Wilder when my friends and I played what we called "Old timey house."

Summer Mom carried me and my sister to the library and book stores, which was a perfect way to spend time for me. I brought home stacks of books every two weeks and was always sad when summer ended.

But I remember distinctly in 5th grade picking up my first novel type book. It was fairly thick according to me at that time and was called SCRUB DOG OF ALASKA. I had read lots of books but never one that I got so lost in the story I forgot I was sitting there reading it. That might have been the real beginning where I then always had a book in my hands.

Middle school brought bigger, better books and it was about that time I started sneaking the romance novels off my Granny's shelf every time we visited. Those books ,while educational in more ways than one, spun stories of adventure along with the romance. I fell in love with the historical novels especially the cowboy, pirates and highlanders. Sigh...

And high school became full of the stories we had to read in English. While the other kids moaned and groaned, I only pretended to and enjoyed many of those required stories though I always crept back to romance. Every woman needs a hero and I found them in those stories all the way through until college when nursing school put a halt on reading for fun. Nursing school was classes all week with two eight hour clinicals and more reading required in a week than possible in a month. Becoming a registered nurse is not for the meek!

And eventually college was behind me but it was probably a year or more before I would read a novel for fun. But once I discovered there was life after nursing school I picked up a few more books and, of course, went back to romance thinking...yep I remember how I loved this. And the rest is history.

It surprises me since I have started writing how many people are quick to say "oh, I don't read romance" like someone will think less of you because romance stories often get the "trash" or "not real writing" labels. My guess is most do or have and aren't willing to admit it. Walk down the beach and a lot of folks are reading...check out the titles...romance will be every other book. And for those who think romances aren't written well try to write one and get it passed an editor. People's reading preferences differ that is for sure but I kinda get tired of the instant reaction to the idea of defending oneself against the idea of a romance novel...just what is it you are afraid of? Me? Not a darn thing when I choose my reads.

And now my girls are reading novels and that is cool! I might suck a hard breath in when I see them with a romance in the future but unless it's off the chain filthy I will probably not say a word. Love is found in most of the romances I have read and I think that is a good thing! Read on!

Happy Halloween! 5 Things That Scare Me

It's Halloween Time and as I plan to go out pumpkin shopping with my girls this weekend, I was thinking on the five things that have scared me most in my lifetime:



1) Spider spiders spiders....(shivers)... I have a long history with not squaring off well with spiders. I was maybe 5 when my back was itching and I had my sister age 3 take a look. She screamed "a fider, a fider." That set off a series of screams from me crying to my mom and while it was a tick and not a spider, I never did recover. The other most terrifying moment relates to these creepies was living alone and not having my Dad to take care of them. Lets just say Aussie spritzer goes a long way and freezing them where they are. Worked for me for years. But then there was that moment as I watched my two year old daughter, at the time, climb on her tricycle and a massive spider was hanging on the handle. In those brief 3 seconds I had to face my fears with 2 choices....leave my child at the mercy of hoping the creature would drop a web and fall away or become Mommie Spiderslayer. I jerked my daughter from the tricycle kicking it across the room, making my daughter cry and the spider scamper away to hide. I couldn't make my voice work to warn her and afterwards I had to sit because the adrenaline in my body had surged. I DON'T DO SPIDERS AND THE QUICKEST WAY TO YOUR OWN DEATH IS TO BRING ONE NEAR ME.

2) Scary Movies. I loved the scariest of movies as a teen though at the time I wasn't allowed to watch R rates movies. Since when do teenagers always follow the rules? So one night when my parents were gone for the evening and my sister was at a friends for the night, I turned on THE SHINING. That was not a wise decision and I had never been so happy to see my parents come home though I couldn't tell them why I had every light in the house on and every bolt locked down tight. I believe on of the scariest movies I ever saw was TERROR TRAIN with Jaime Lee Curtis. My sister and I watched this one too...when we weren't suppose to and it scared us out of our minds for weeks. So I continued my trend of scary movies until I lived alone in my own home. Then it got real. No more scary movies for me.

3) Interestingly enough another thing that scares me to death is public speaking. I taught nursing classes for over 28 years but teaching what I know is not like speaking to a crowd. I have always avoided obligations where I am asked to speak unless it was very important to me or I was given no choice. Those moments I can stress over for weeks and I have been told I am silly over and over by people who do not understand the true terror for me. I am a total INTROVERT. My cup is not filled by being around people. I have had to work at that for years. Those who have no true understanding of being Introverted have often told me " to just get over it"...it doesn't work that way. My first experience of true terror was at 4 years old when my parents had me a birthday party for the first time with neighborhood kids. I cried when they sang Happy Birthday and I think tried to crawl under the table. I am 51 and I have never had another birthday party like that again. My mom would ask me about a birthday party and I would say no. My husband and kids know I want Mexican food for my birthday supper but they had best not have the waitress bring cake and slap a sombrero on my head. They know I will walk right out the door if it is too intense. For real.

4) FLYING. I will fly because sometimes it is the only way to get to places I need to go. Before I board a plane there is always a sheer moment of terror that can halt me from functioning  normally or thinking right. After spending a small non-refundable fortune to get to an event I must attend it would be difficult to back out. Each time I get to my seat and I do make sure I have an isle seat near an exit I feel claustrophobic enough to think of bolting no questions asked. I have once given up my seat to take a later flight but the terror was still the same. I am not a drinker but there have been times when I was waiting to board that I have thought about a couple of shots of tequila though that might truly worsen the effects. Lets just say when I must fly, my relationship with God grows stronger to say the least.

5) Finishing the next book. Yes, this is a real fear and I have even heard seasoned authors speak to this. I have completed through publication two books and as I spend time now working on book three of the series I sometimes go through moments of panic that maybe I won't finish the story and if I do will it be good enough for my readers. I glance at the print books I have completed and remember when writing them I went through the same thoughts of not thinking I could complete them. Sometimes as I read back through them I panic even more...DID I REALLY WRITE THIS? Because it always seems my current story will never get there or until it is finished the moments of panic can be crippling. I suppose this can be self defeating but maybe for me that edge of fear pushes me to write a story better or give it more than I knew I had. Not sure but this is a true fear.

So there you have it. 5 things that frighten me. Have a great Halloween!!

From the Chuck Wagon

The South is finally getting some cooler weather for fall.  This Pinterest inspired Olive Cheese dip is the perfect indulgence to welcome in the fall colors and cooler temps.  Hope you enjoy it if you give this recipe a try.

Ingredients:

• One (1) can of sliced green olives
• 16 oz. of cream cheese
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1 cup of cheddar cheese
• Crushed red pepper

Directions:

1. Drain the can of green olives
2. Mix the olives with the cream cheese, mayo, and cheddar cheese
3. Sprinkle with a taste of crushed, red pepper
4. Bake at 350 degrees until golden bubbly (approx. 25-35 minutes)
5. Serve toasty warm with chips or crackers

From the Blog...

Hi everyone,

It has been a couple of weeks since we have had a new post so wanted to provide some quick updates on things going on with Kim's writing.  Be sure to leave a comment if you have any questions or just want to say Hi.

eBook Sale

Kim's eBooks of Sawyer's Rose and Wyatt's Bounty will be on sale for $0.99 now through October 20th.  If you haven't had a chance to check out one or both of these books, this sale would be the perfect opportunity to get your next great read.

Blog Follower Give Away

Kim had a great time at the recent Moonlight and Magnolias RWA conference in Atlanta (blogs and photos coming over the next few weeks).  She was able to come home with quite a bit of swag so she will be doing a give-away each weekend from now through the end of the year to lucky blog followers.  If you have not done so already, be sure to sign-up as a blog follower before Sunday and you will be eligible to win.  The prizes that will be given away each week will be announced after the first winner is randomly selected on Sunday from all blog followers.  Until then, you have to sign up for the blog for your chance to win.

Upcoming Blogs

Kim will be sharing with us some about what she has been working on recently and she will tell us all about the Moonlight and Magnolias event.

Kim and her husband love to try new dishes in the kitchen when they find recipes that sound interesting.  We will get a Chuck Wagon entry on a recent family favorite of Olive Cheese Dip.  Stay tuned.

If there is something you would like to hear about, please leave a comment below.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week.

Christie

KTW Staff

A Lot of Good Things On The Horizon

Catching up on what is going on with my writing, it looks like there is a lot coming along and a lot to look forward to in 2018.

First, Sawyer’s Rose continues to sell little by little and Wyatt’s Bounty has been out since April and it seems people are already excited about more from the McCade brothers. No fear there as I am currently working on Dawson McCade’s story. The Indian Agent, quiet brother, seems to be a story everyone is anticipating and I promise that this McCade brother takes the cake one being a lover and not a fighter! (Well until he must fight for what is right.)

At the same time, I have pulled out an older contemporary manuscript and tweaked it for a few months now to get it in shape. My hopes are that everyone will love Aaron and Jenna’s story once I have it fine tuned and ready to submit. The gist of this story is: Horse Stuntman meets Nurse Consultant on the set of a western television series. She’s running from her past and he is running to her…but that’s all I can tell you for right now.

And little known news that I am mentioning here for the first time is that The Wild Rose Press has allowed us authors to expend our books into narrated books for Audible. I have been working with the narrator on Sawyer’s Rose and next will be Wyatt’s Bounty. I have to tell you that there is nothing like hearing a narrator read your own story. I sit and listen just shaking my head in amazement that dreams really do come true and I wrote this stuff! Who would have ever thought? So if you are an Audible fan, I am hoping we get these out soon! (If you are unsure of Audible it is an app you download and pay the monthly fee to listen to narrated books. I have been an Audible fan for some years now!)

And I believe I will also have an ad in the WESTERN WRITERS OF AMERICA magazine coming up in October. Seems I have some folks out west in this day and time reading the stories. Excited about that!

Presently I am gearing up and getting ready to attend Georgia Romance Writers Moonlights and Magnolia’s conference to also attend the Maggie awards. It’s an exciting year given Sherrilyn Kenyon is the Keynote speaker and I have been asked to do her introduction. Excited and a basket of nerves at the same time to say the least! A couple of friends and I will also be presenting a workshop on STORYBOARDING FOR WORLDBUILDING which will help aspiring and established authors plan out there books on a movable board to gain faster planning on book order and mapping. And another exciting moment will be that my husband, Chuck Turner, will be sitting on a panel of Husbands who are going to chat about what it is like to live with an author. There is a book signing at the event that is open to the public so check it out on the Georgia Romance Writer’s website or message me if you need more information.

I am sure a lot of you have noticed that my blog is getting a lot done these days and I owe that all to a friend named Christie who is helping out there, so I have more time to write. Christie has been huge in coming up with ideas ant new things for my blog to stay active and attract readers! If you are reading take a minute to enter your email over to the right so you will get a message any time we post anything new. And click on follow for the blog and when we have a few more contests you just might be a winner! The current winner of a $25 gift card was: Tanja Dancy. Congratulations Tanja! So look for more contests soon and you will win a small package of cowboy goodies from the McCade brothers which will make you the envy of any cowboy reading fan!!

Stay tuned….

KIM

From the Blog...

A quick blog update for Sunday afternoon...

Blog Follower Give Away Winner

Please join me in congratulating Tanja as our August blog follower giveaway winner.  We are so appreciative of all of the blog followers, both the long-time followers and those newest to our group.  Be sure to stay tuned for future giveaways.

Upcoming Events

Moonlight and Magnolias

As a reminder, Kim will be attending the Georgia Romance Writers Moonlight & Magnolias 2017 from September 28 – October 1.  The event will be held at the Hilton Atlanta Northeast (5993 Peachtree Industrial Blvd, Peachtree Corners, GA 30092).

Kim will be introducing the keynote speaker, Sherrilyn Kenyon on Saturday, September 30th.  In addition, there is a book fair and autographing session from 3:30 - 5 PM ET. Come say hello to Kim and the other members of the Georgia Romance Writers (GRW).

eBook Sale

Kim's eBooks of Sawyer's Rose and Wyatt's Bounty will be on sale for $2.99 for two weeks starting October 6th.  If you haven't had a chance to check out one or both of these books, this sale would be the perfect opportunity to get your next great read.

Upcoming Blogs

There will be some fun blog posts coming up in the next several weeks, but here is a sneak peak.

We have some exciting Author Roundups coming soon for CiCi Coughlin and Sheila Hollinghead.  Sheila has also shared a post about Kim's writing recently, so please make a stop on Sheila's blog to check out her post on Kim (link).  

Kim will also be sharing with us some about what she has been working on recently and she'll tell us all about the Moonlight and Magnolias event.  Stay tuned.

If there is something you would like to hear about, please leave a comment down below.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week.

Christie

KTW Staff

Wild Women Authors Blog Feature

So excited to announce that Kim will be featured on the Wild Women Authors blog from Sept. 6 -Sept. 10.  Stop by to check it out if you get a chance.  As a special treat, Sawyer and Wyatt will be making a guest appearance to answer a few interview questions.  Can't wait to see what they have to say.

Christie
KTW Staff