Kip Koelsch's Blog, page 8
September 6, 2018
Morning Wake-up Call
To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own beauty, and in the same fields, it beholds, every hour, a picture which was never seen before, and which shall never be seen again.
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
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For a long time, I’ve been a morning workout person. When I’m not injured many of those morning workouts start pre-dawn, on the water–paddling. I’ve posted hundreds of photos from my morning paddles–reveling in the warm colors and wonderful optical effects. Each morning, each sunrise is unique–some more magnificent, some more subtle.
Many times the dawn not only creates spectacular sights in the east, but also in the west–typically an orange glow on storm clouds offshore in the Gulf.
This morning, as I started my return walk to the east, the sky brightened and the fiery glow of the sun below the horizon was obvious–and beautiful. Orange rays from the sun and shadow rays from the clouds burst from that expectant focal point. It was a phenomenon I had seen on countless occasions. And, because of that familiarity–as I walked–my eyes wandered. They wandered to the water–to the north, to the south and finally over my right shoulder to the west.
[image error]What I saw over my right shoulder to the west stopped me–orange and shadow rays emanating from a focal point in the west. In the west?
I couldn’t recall ever having seen this before–not at sunrise. Never at sunrise.
Was it from the light of the setting moon? No. The moon was still high in the sky and but a crescent. I was stumped. I kept walking.
My mind wandered in all sorts of directions–a crashing meteor, an oil rig fire, an alien spaceship.
Of course, there were two pauses to take photos. And during the second pause I moved my gaze from horizon to horizon–from west to east. I wondered–could they be the same rays originating in the east? Could they be converging on a perspective point due to the curvature of the earth? This possibility seemed the most logical–most scientific–explanation I could fathom.
I kept walking and from that point on my thoughts shifted from explanation to wonderment. All the years I’ve spent experiencing sunrises and today I saw something magnificent that I had never seen before–something new.
The realization jostled me just enough–shaking me out of a bit of a mental slumber. Admittedly, I’ve been wallowing in a grey funk. Sad about not being able to do my normal fitness routines. Stressed after cancelling my upcoming triathlon event due to the Red Tide outbreak in Southwest Florida. I was having a hard time moving forward–looking forward.
This morning I took some steps–literally and figuratively–reminded by those rays in the west that each day is something to look forward to–something never seen before.
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August 28, 2018
Blue Life: Water Therapy
https://kipwkoelsch.wordpress.com/201...
Blue Life: Water Therapy
I’m missing my regular morning workouts on the water–paddling my surfski or outrigger canoe. The shoulder surgery I have scheduled for mid-September has limited what I can do (exercise-wise) with my upper body.
Yesterday, I decided I was going to stop wallowing indoors and went for a wonderful five-mile beach hike at Honeymoon Island State Park. To say I was reinvigorated would be an understatement.
I took my writing journal along just in case I had any story ideas or other inspirations along the way. I stopped at the half-way point–the north end of Honeymoon Island– and jotted about a paragraph. It was nothing earth-shattering. Just a few words. I was having a hard time thinking about anything other than just being out on the beach, close to the water–immersed in the skittering of the sanderlings and sandpipers along the waters edge, the gentle lapping of the calm Gulf and the sweat running down my face. I was content with being in the moment.
My return hike took me along a mostly similar route–though I did walk closer to the dune vegetation and made a few detours to a backside of the island tidal lagoon. Still, I was mostly retracing my steps along the water’s edge. It was then that I noticed the dark shapes in the yellow/green water of the sandy shallows. At first I thought they were cloud shadows on the surface–but they morphed continuously below the surface with the subtle undulating flow of small waves. Liquid edges changed and the shadow clouds moved towards shore–dissolving in silver bursts of baitfish.
That was my supreme moment of wonder on the hike.
I stopped and wrote a few descriptive lines in my journal while I stood–water washing over the toes of my sneakers. I tried–unsuccessfully–to capture the phenomenon on video with my phone. I carried on with my hike–content with reconnecting with the marine environment that gives me so much joy by continually filling me with wonder.
August 22, 2018
THANK YOU!
It was very exciting to see the sales and interest push my epic thriller to a high of #156 (that I saw) in its category.
I hope you know how much that means to me as an author! It helps not only with future sales and promotions, but also just keeps me motivated as I work on the follow-up novel--Delphys Rising.
Thank you again for your support.
August 21, 2018
LAST DAY 99 Cents for the Kindle Edition
This is an amazing deal on my epic thriller--winner of a silver medal at the Florida Authors and Publishers Association 2018 President's Book Awards.
https://www.amazon.com/Wendalls-Lulla...
August 18, 2018
FB Page Reaches 3,000 LIKES
I post updates about my epic thriller and the sequel, videos and photos of dolphins and whales, and information on upcoming author events.
It's a nice achievement to reach that mark, but I'd really love to see my book reach the "3,000 sold" mark. You can help me inch closer by purchasing the paperback or the Kindle ebook.
Right now (for a limited time) the Kindle edition is just 99 cents! That's right! Just 99 cents for an award-winning read: https://www.amazon.com/Wendalls-Lulla...
August 16, 2018
Help Wendall's Lullaby Climb the Kindle Rankings
https://www.amazon.com/Wendalls-Lulla...
August 15, 2018
NOW JUST $0.99 FOR THE KINDLE EDITION!
NOW JUST $0.99 FOR THE KINDLE EDITION!For a limited time you can buy, download and read the award-winning epic thriller Wendall's Lullaby. Kip Koelsch blends terrorism, hundreds of beached and dying dolphins, political conspiracy, black ops and science into a mystery that reads like a film!
Order it at bargain pricing today: https://www.amazon.com/Wendalls-Lulla...
August 9, 2018
LAMENT FOR A TREE
[image error]There is an empty lot in our neighborhood that is now much emptier.
Located at the end of our street, the vacant lot was almost park-like because of the large, oak tree that grew close to the edge of the canal–overlooking the water. The property must have always been “undeveloped”–at least since the neighborhood and canal were built–as the oak tree seemed too large and old to have ever shared the space with a dwelling.
I never enjoyed the shade of that tree. I never sat and looked up at the epiphytes living within its branches or looked down at the ants crawling over its roots. I never got closer than admiring it while walking, running, biking or driving by. But, there were few times in passing that I did not notice–and admire–the grand old tree and smile.
Today that tree came down in a crashing collapse of branches fracturing on the hard ground–shockwaves coursing through the streets–mighty limbs dismembered by chainsaws and deep roots ripped from the ground by a backhoe.
The vacant lot will likely be developed–soon. It is private property after all and the position and size of the tree made the placement of a house (particularly since the norm is really too overbearing for any waterfront lot) impossible.
Regardless of how the lot is filled, that space (and the neighborhood) will always be a little bit emptier without that magnificent tree.
August 5, 2018
SILVER MEDAL for Wendall's Lullaby
I was excited to be recognized and honored by my peers!
