Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff's Blog: #42 Pencil: A Writer's Life, the Universe, and Everything, page 61

Cherishing the Outcome

This is a thing my yoga teacher talks about fairly frequently. How we get invested in a “cherished outcome”–a thing we want to happen, a goal we want to reach, a dream we want to fulfill.

All of which are good things for the most part, and we should have goals and dreams because that’s how we progress. The problems start when we get so fixed on a particular outcome, and so bound and determined to Make It Happen, that we lose sight of whether it’s really the right thing.

This applies to everythi...

BVC Announces Perfect Pitch by Mindy Klasky

Perfect Pitch

Diamond Brides Series

by Mindy Klasky

$0.99 (Novel) ISBN 978-1-61138-352-2

A hot, contemporary short novel by best-selling author Mindy Klasky.

Reigning beauty queen Samantha Winger is launching her pet project, a music program for kids. All she has to do is follow the pageant’s rules—no smoking, drinking, or “cavorting” in public.

That’s fine, until D.J. Thomas—God’s gift to baseball—throws her a wild pitch. He slams her in an interview, and the video goes viral. Sam’s no shrinking v...

Story Inspiration Sunday

I blog about inspiration both here and over at Book View Cafe. Feel free to comment either here or over there.

I haven’t been doing a lot of writing this week. Instead, I’ve been focused on covers for books my press is releasing next week, as well as a new home page.

Revamping the web site has been daunting. I’m redoing all the book pages, adding buy buttons, and generally slicking up the place. (An example of a new page: The Popcorn Thief page.)

I just have to keep reminding myself that I only...

What Kind of Cookie Do You Write: A Cookie for When You Need Power

These Peanut-Caramel bars are the weapon of resort when you seriously need persuasion but it has not quite risen to the level of firearms. They will, I assure you, make strong men kneel and grouchy teens smile. They freeze like a dream, cut neatly, ship well, and are wonderfully durable. I have never yet kept a batch for more than 8 hours or so. The ones in this photograph, after their Kodak moment, are going into zip-loc bags and making a one-way trip to Afghanistan, where our armed forces w...

Living With Dogs: A Sense of Order

Oka herding ball

We used to joke that one of the jobs our old German Shepherd Dog, Oka, had taken upon himself, was to break up any disputes – real or imagined – between the cats. One of our cats tends to bully the others, pushing them out of their favorite sunbathing spots and persisting in playing “wrestle” when they very clearly are not interested. Both are usually accompanied by hisses and yowls and small furred bodies moving very quickly. Oka would immediately place his very considerable...

Writing Retreat, Part 1: Getting Away!

Pondering my first draft

In the last few years, I’ve learned that nothing lifts me out of a writing slump faster than going away on a retreat.

Usually it’s my wife Allysen who recognizes the signs and sets it up for me. (Everyone should have a wife like that.) She doesn’t mind spending the money, which I am always reluctant to do. She’s smart, that one.

My current writing project, which sometimes seems as if it will never reach its destination, is a novel called The Reefs of Time, the fifth book...

Legal Fictions: What Are Lawyers Good For?

I was reading an article in the New Republic about ageism in Silicon Valley. Extreme ageism: It seems the 21st Century update on “Never trust anyone over 30” is “Never hire anyone over 30.”

As I read, the instances of blatant age discrimination – “We don’t want anybody’s parents in here” – become obvious. If any lawyers out there are looking for a new gig, I’d say Silicon Valley would be ground zero for an anti-discrimination practice. In fact, if anyone can figure out a way to sue venture cap...

WWW Wednesday 3-26-2014 — Cat Kimbriel Reads and Reviews

WWW Wednesday. This meme is from shouldbereading.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

• What are you currently reading?

I’m finishing up Carousel Sun by Sharon Lee. If you liked Carousel Tides (here’s my review over at Goodreads) I think you’ll definitely enjoy this one. Kate’s return to Archers Beach, Maine has changed the luck of the town for the better. You’ll...

Pillow Fights, Oysters, and Changes of State

This blog is not really about pillow fights. Nor is it about moving from Nebraska, say, to California—although, I’ve actually done that … twice. And any seafood involved is metaphorical.This blog is about key reasons that many of the stories I read for writers’ workshops and in my editing work just miss connecting with me as a reader.

Sometimes the connection fails at the storytelling level. I’ve read any number of stories in which the author has given us a good setting and even a good setup f...

Grief in Real Life and Fiction

My best friend died last October, and I spent 7 weeks taking care of her and her family. I just finished a draft of a memorial for our college alumni magazine, to be reviewed by her husband, so I’ve been thinking about loss and grief. Because we haven’t lived in the same state for — oh, 40 years, I think — I didn’t see her on a daily basis. Our contacts were more along the lines of picking up the phone to chat or convey some noteworthy news or ask for support. So periods of time will go by in...