Kathy Bell's Blog, page 6

Does this make me a jerk?

Gas prices are going up around town, so I pulled in to the gas station which still had the lower price. There was the typical line up of people waiting to fill their left hand side tanks. And there were three empty slots, because there are fewer right hand tanks than left and the station is supposed to be uni-directional.

Does it make me a jerk that after sitting for a few moments, I turned my van around, backed in to the available pump slot, and filled my van full before the other people had ...

Memories and Ironies

I was digging through boxes and found an old photo album, the one with all my school memories. I glanced at my report cards…whoops, looks like I almost failed a few classes in Grade 9! A fairly typical experience for many students since Grade Nine is a transitional year and the changes can be overwhelming.

What is ironic about the fact I had failing grades during the first term in Grade Nine Science and English is now I TEACH Grade Nine (and ten, eleven, and twelve) Science and write fiction. ...

I write like I live

I'm not a detail person. This shows in my composition, as I only build the world and characters as much as needed to tell the story. I dislike the tedium of minutae and cannot be bothered to include them when writing. I suppose this may alienate those who wish to find a fully fleshed supporting cast and a meticulously detailed world, but you cannot please them all!

As I go through my day, I only notice enough of the world around me to complete whatever tasks I am doing. Not tunnel vision, but ...

Thank goodness for acclimation…

I breed bulldogs, have done so since 1995. Anyone who knows the breed will tell you that summer can sometimes be a bulldog's worst enemy. Yet, I've always done my own thing with our dogs, and been censured because of it at times. They're outside every day in the summer unless a smog advisory (drifting our way from Toronto, no doubt) hits the Grey Bruce shores, or if the temperature is going to be over 30 C. Then, the dogs are inside. The other day, this practice ended up being a life saver...

Ooops – a note to the person who bought Evolussion when it was mistakenly posted!

Yes, that's right…the sequel to Regression was mistakenly posted to Amazon's Kindle store and before we could pull it someone purchased what amounts to an unfinished, unformatted early draft! I'm gratified someone enjoyed Regression enough to search for the sequel, and just happened to do so in the twenty-four hours when it was available to purchase but would like to offer them a signed Advanced Reader Copy instead of the incomplete version they ended up with. You…yes, you, you know who you a...

OK, I'll admit it…

I am a chain-coking chocaholic overachiever with an inferiority complex who cannot delegate a single thing because I'm controlling to the point of neurosis. There. I've said it. Phew. Happy to get that off my chest. Now, I can get back to work doing everything.

Oh, by chain-coking, I am referring to the red cans with waves on them, not the white powder. Ugh. That's nasty stuff, no thanks. Every morning I crack open a can of pop. To those who say 'Ewww' I reply…'And how much sugar and caffeine ...

Finding Time

Everything is always a rush, so much to do, so little time. This is especially true in a large, busy family with animals to care for. People repeatedly ask me how I manage it all, and I suppose it all comes down to prioritizing. There are things that need to be done, things which should be done, things that could be done, and things which would be nice to have done. Those responsibilities will vary depending on who you are, because I know my 'need to be dones' are not always the same as my...

Driving Peeves – Passing

I like to drive. I like to drive fast. No, I'm not talking drag racing or anything, but I do drive at a pace that gets me places in good time, without too high of a ticket price attached should I have to pay the price for driving fast.  I don't get angry with those people who are driving slower than myself, except when they do stupid things as I pass them. After being on the road for a lengthy drive yesterday – since I only commute 4 Km to work one way, my days rarely involve any trips...

"I don't like the way you are being…"

The day started out poorly – Trinity (2-y-o) woke up around 5:30, which isn't that bad if she hadn't done it the night before and Hunter (4-y-o) the night before that; they're teaming up on me. That seemed to set the tone for the day, as I was a little behind on everything. Dogs were unsettled because I was late letting them out, horses were grumpy because they had cabin (barn) fever, and so on from there.

Tonight while getting the grumpy and tired little ones ready for bed, I was tired and...

School Visit

So I spent thirty-five minutes, times three, with groups of students today, discussing my book, the Kindle reader/ebook technology, and the publishing process. Not that I'm an expert or anything, but I did have some experience to offer.

I started out with the Kindle because this generation has such a strong affinity to technology. Instead of having blankies and soothers, they have cell phones and ipods. I know some of them suck on the antennae!  So I asked how many of them had cell phones...