LK Hunsaker's Blog: News and Ponderances, page 4

Authors Dropping Out Like Flies

I run a small local book festival. Its original purpose was to help promote all of our local literary talent because there are a lot of us. It grew into that, plus promoting overall literacy and supporting community in all of four years. This month was year four for the West PA Book Festival. Any idea how much planning time, detail, funds, and stress it takes to bring in 20-some authors, do

Read, Kid, Read!

Time to fess up: Who else was a Hardy Boys fanatic back in the 70s? Okay, we're showing our age, but that's fine, since we apparently grew up knowing the value of a good book and losing ourselves in a good story. I just picked these books up the other day from someone local who posted them on a sales page to add to my small collection that does include a handful of first editions (like the

For Authors - Formatting Your Print Books

[I wrote most of this post a few years ago, but since it's been a few years, I decided it's time for an update.] As part of my quest to help indie authors, I'm often answering questions about formatting books. I also read a lot of books by local authors, who are mainly indies doing or paying for their own book setups. Too often, I can tell they did. That's not an insult. This self-publishing

January Reclamation

Some people are big on spring cleaning. Me? In the spring, I'm ready to end my winter hibernation and get out in my gardens that first have to be cleaned up since, once it gets cold in the fall, I'm entering hibernation mode and browning stalks and faded flowers in their pots have to simply lie in wait. So, I try to do my spring cleaning in the fall in order to leave time and energy for outdoor

Starting with a Clean Desk

I'm not good at change. Seriously. After all of the military moves into brand new unknown places, new houses/apartments, even new weather patterns over 20 years, I'm still not good at change. Even planning a two week trip is emotionally strenuous.So, when it's time to change my work space, specifically the desk I've used for the past 10 years since we moved in here, my emotions act like the

Fantastical and True

"Production was moved to Mexico City as New York City union regulations wouldn't allow Chagall to paint his own sets. In Mexico, Chagall tackled the backdrops while his wife worked on the costumes, which he finished with hand-painting."  Few, if any, true artists are only good at one kind of art. Many writers also paint or sew. Many dancers also write. Several big name singers are known for

The hardest part...

"The hardest part about writing a novel is finishing it."  Hemingway Writing a well-constructed novel is much like putting a river-spanning bridge together. If you miss a piece, your reader is likely to slip through your grasp and be disconnected from your virtual world. It can be hard for an author to know when we've missed a pertinent piece since we know the story backward and forward.

Up and Away

Sketch in progress for the next Thoughts & Sketches journal: Music & Motion I don't know how others can make and stick to a regular schedule. Honestly, I don't. Stuff happens. Constantly. Unexpectedly. It just happens. Yes, you can often plow through the stuff and just stay on that schedule, and often I do, but often I don't. I get waylaid. My every weekend blog posts were going along

Flitting and Waiting

As I watch my 2- and 3-year-old grandchildren play, I marvel at their differences. They are opposites in many ways and yet each represent their own parent well and still show sides of their parent's sibling. They're quite the mix and match of my own babies. (Of course they each have traits of their other parent, as well, but I saw my babies grow up and naturally find it easier to pick up on

The Sale After The Big Day

⇐ Hey, I'd be just as happy with it for 50% off. Who doesn't love a good deal?AKA I didn't do the Valentine's Day Romance Books push this year. I'm not sure I've ever bothered, actually. Probably, I have. After all, I've been at this a while.I'm not a big Valentine's Day fan. It's fine. I don't mind it at all and I'm glad people, at least some people, have a lot of fun with it, but it's