C.K. Combs's Blog, page 2

Adventures with Words, June 2023

Happy Pride Month!  

Yesterday, Mol and I were in downtown Olympia at the corner of 5h and Washington for the dedication of two crosswalks painted in trans flag colors. I was part of the speaker line up and though the mood was celebratory, I felt it necessary to bring some #realtalk to the event. You can see what I wrote at the end of this newsletter.

June Writers Chat – June 6th.  The rest of summer – July 18th, August 1st.

It’s also Manuscript Review Month

On May 30th, I sent my ma...

Adventures with Words, May 2023

Hello from the wet side of Washington State where it is finally warm enough to wear shorts sometimes, the itch to garden has become irresistible and we’ve even had to wear sunscreen a couple of times. 

Writers Chat

I will be hosting a social gathering for introverts on Tuesday, May 9th. We will be at Northwest Beerwerks – in the ‘game room’ just off the front entrance. This month I’m excited that Lisa, one of my writing partners, will be joining us. I’m excited to finally see her in the fl...

Adventures with Words, April 2023

Hello from sunny, now breezy with cloud cover, wait now it’s raining, no now it’s hail, back to sunny… Olympia Washington. Mol and I have set up our seed starting area in the garage and popped in 50 tomato seeds (5 varieties), cabbage and a mix of seeds we’re gonna harvest as microgreens. Update: Because I started writing this newsletter a couple of days ago but haven’t sent it, I can report that on Wednesday, 4/1, only 3 days after sowing the mixed greens and cabbage, the greens are up along wi...

Adventures with Words, March 2023

Hello friends. A lot has happened and is happening, so grab a comfy seat and I’ll catch you up

Clocking Out to Concentrate on the Work

On Friday the 3rd, I logged off of my work computer, shut down the monitors and began a two week writing retreat. For the first week of my retreat, I’ll be at home. For the second, Mol and I will be traveling to Chewelah to stay with mom. As mom puts it, it will be like I’m going to a fancy writing retreat without having to pay. 

The last time I had two ...

Adventures with Words, February 2023

Sad News

As many of you know, tragedy struck my household about a week ago. Percy, our sweet fluffy boy, was hit by a vehicle and killed. We only know that because of the kindness of strangers who gathered him up and took him to Animal Services. Because he had a chip, I got a call. He’s been laid to rest with other cats our family has loved and mourned. In the wake of this horror, I’ve decided that Tyson will be an indoor cat from now on. He does not like it, of course. And I can put up with...

Adventures with Words, January 2023

Adventures with Words, January 2023 – from CK Combs, Author

I used to do New Year’s Resolutions, back when I was younger and hadn’t learned to choose my battles well. I piled up goals and ambitions, listed anything I could think of that I believed would improve my life. And every year there would come a time, not far into the spring, when I’d surrender to the reality that I wasn’t doing the work necessary to lose the pounds, keep a regular exercise schedule, learn a new language, etc. I did t...

Adventures With Words Newsletter, Bonus Issue

In this bonus edition of Adventures with Words, I will share what I’ve been reading. 

I set a goal to read 50 books in 2022. On December 31st, I finished number 81.  I use Goodreads to track my booklist. Goodreads (like many other platforms) creates a year in review and from it I have my reading stats for 2022:

81 books read in 2022, for a total of 20,325 pages

10 books about writing
12 other nonfiction books
6 memoir
9 anthologies
2 anthologies I was published in
5 mysteries
1 volume of comi...

Adventures With Words, December 2022

Adventures with Words, December 2022 – from CK Combs, Author

Hello! Welcome to the second newsletter. Thank you for coming along for the ride. I hope you’re doing well. I’m keeping my head above the water, though the pace of December activities and the dark and cold make me want to hibernate under cozy covers with my cats.

How do I stave off the seductive call of fleece blankets and felines? 

Doing Things with Other Writers

I hosted the third Writer’s Chat on Monday, 12/5. This time ...

Adventures with Words, Issue 1

Hello!

I’m going to try this newsletter thing. All the cool kids are doing it and I want to be cool.  Also, I want to build systems to connect with readers that aren’t dependent on fascist billionaires. I’m planning a monthly schedule, with occasional short announcements if they are time sensitive.

Making space for creativity is a motivating force in my life. I want this for everyone. I want everyone to have space for creation of some kind in their lives. Even if you don’t consider you...

Oly Arts Feature on Mud Flat Shorts

Local magazine, Oly Arts, has an article up about the Mud Flat Shorts (mostly fiction) anthology. The reporter spoke to a few of us and included brief profiles and a portion of our conversations.