Kip Koelsch's Blog, page 6
December 11, 2018
BOOKS MAKE GREAT GIFTS!
Adventure, conspiracy, mystery and dolphins—that’s Wendall's Lullaby.
Give the gift of reading.
My first novel is available as a paperback or an ebook: https://www.amazon.com/Wendalls-Lulla...
November 25, 2018
I Cried…
[image error]I cried in the woods today.
It would have been easy
to blame
the droplets sliding down my cheeks
on my eyelashes
overburdened
and saturated with dew
from the heavy morning fog.
But that would have been
a half-truth.
Mixed with that moisture
was the salt of my fears.
It would have been easy
to blame
the droplets sliding down my cheeks
on the sting
of hanging smoke
from early morning campfires.
But that would be
a half-truth.
Mixed with that sting
was the salt of my burdens.
It would have been easy
to blame
the droplets sliding down my cheeks
on a grain or two
of sand.
But that would be
a half-truth.
Mixed with that irritant
was the salt of my shortcomings.
It would have been easy
to blame
the droplets sliding down my cheeks
on any
of these things.
But that would be
a half-truth.
I simply cried in the woods today.
[image error]
* I don’t write much poetry anymore. But for some reason I was moved to put most of this down while in the woods running and biking at Starkey Wilderness Park this morning. Luckily I was out there working on a course for an event I produce, so I had pen and paper with me for jotting down notes on distance and trails.
I completed the poem here at home.
November 15, 2018
MEET ADAM REICH: WENDALL'S LULLABY
Prodigy. MIT grad school dropout. Finds his way to Dolphin Towne in the British Virgin Islands. Swore off Red Bull.
Learn more about Adam Reich for just 99 cents when you order the Amazon Kindle edition of the thought-provoking Wendall's Lullaby.
On sale for a limited time at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
November 14, 2018
ANOTHER NEW 5-STAR REVIEW
https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...
MEET BEE: WENDALL'S LULLABY
MEET BEE: WENDALL'S LULLABY
Tursiops truncatus--bottlenose dolphin. Female. Beached and injured in a hurricane. Nursed back to health at Dolphin Towne. Soulmate to Jasmine Summers?
Learn more about BEE for just 99 cents when you order the Amazon Kindle edition of the thought-provoking Wendall's Lullaby. On sale for a limited time at:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
November 12, 2018
Not So Amazing: KRESKIN JUNK MAIL
[image error][image error]This is more of a quick RANT than a reasoned blog post as I deal with another scammer trying to dupe my father from his mailbox. Yes, The Amazing Kreskin managed to find him at his new address and send him his deceptive, elder-baiting junk mail.
It’s just unconscionable what the elderly have to endure every time they go to their mailbox. And The Amazing Kreskin is just one exploiting his “celebrity” (especially with the senior crowd) to take advantage of those living on fixed incomes and still dream of greener pastures.
[image error]Like so many of these scam mailings there is no contact information in their materials–just a return envelope for your check or credit card number. And, lucky for me, I managed to intercept this crap before that return envelope was used by my father.
I did find an email address on the Kreskin webpage. First, I asked them if this junk was really coming from their organization. If it was, I requested my father be removed from any of their mailing and phone lists. If it’s not coming from them (hahaha–not likely) I suggested they find out who was mailing it and sue them for fraud.
I’m still waiting for their response. If I hear nothing or if they admit to this heinous act, I’ll be sure to publish their email address so that you can deluge them with complaints about their deceptive mail campaigns. This type of abuse–against the elderly or anyone–needs to stop.
Thank you for listening to me rage.
November 11, 2018
VETERANS DAY: Remember the History, Remember the Hope
[image error]Sometimes when I’m working on my fiction writing it’s so easy to become absorbed in the world you’ve created or, in the case of my current project, the history of the time period in which you are writing, that current events actually seem more distant.
My newer work-in-progress deals with the last year of World War I and the year or so following the end of that conflict. So, I’ve been absorbed in books, online articles and documentaries about the war–exploring everything from it’s causes and impacts on the world to innovative killing technologies and their severe impact on the men and women involved.
[image error]While most wars tend to generate evolutions in defensive designs and offensive weapons technology, the historical timing and global nature of this war saw the rapid production and development of weapons on an industrial scale. Unfortunately, it took some time (if ever) for the tacticians to adjust to the killing power of the new technologies and casualties in single battles were often of a number rarely seen across entire wars.
Chemical agents were used for the first time. Bombardments often used tens of thousands–and sometimes hundreds of thousands–of shells. “Shellshock”–what we now refer to as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)–was more pervasive and debilitating than in any previous conflict.
Because of the enormity of the loss–the enormity of the suffering–it was commonly dubbed ‘The Great War” or “The War to End All Wars.” With the end of the war, some world leaders saw an opportunity–a chance to create an international body to support alternate, non-violent means of conflict resolution and to punish nations that did not abide by the new normal. The lofty dream of the League of Nations fell apart almost immediately and was but a distant memory by the eve of a much larger conflict just twenty years later.
[image error]So, while doing my book research I was struck by how relevant this may be for today–especially since the date for Veteran’s Day in the United States is what many in Europe and the UK refer to (and what our holiday was originally called) as Armistice Day. Our American holiday is typically clarified as a celebration of living veterans–with Memorial Day being the holiday with which we honor those who gave their lives for our country. Yet still, I could not shake the historical link to Armistice Day, the men and women sacrificed and that brief dream of hope.
What an honor it would be for veterans–living and dead–for the world to renew that hope with a vigor befitting their sacrifices–to choose peace, negotiation, consensus and compromise as the preferred solutions to international conflict. What an honor to the millions–the lost generation–that gave their lives if we could truly remember the “War to End All Wars” as the historical genesis of something current, something positive and something larger.
November 7, 2018
Delphys Rising Update: In the hands of beta-readers
Once I review their suggestions and do a little more editing, the next draft will be going out to a copy editor for meticulous scrutiny. At the same time I'm working on book cover concepts.
Delphys Rising is the follow-up to Wendall's Lullaby and the bulk of it takes place about ten years after the events of that story. Many, but not all, of the characters from Wendall's Lullaby will return.
Stay tuned for further updates!
November 5, 2018
Giveaway Ends 7 November!
Sign up for the contest here: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
October 30, 2018
TRANSFORMATIONS: Evolution of an Environmental Ethic
https://kipwkoelsch.wordpress.com/201...
