Vicki Atkinson's Blog, page 26

Loving Lisa: “They’re All Together Now”

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Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Publisher Q & A

Hello, friends!  This week’s “Peek Inside” shares more from the interview with my publisher, Rick Kaempfer, plus a wonderful new review.

I shared a post about the promo process recently because I know many of you are curious about the ‘behind the scenes’ aspects of publishing. Learning to talk about yourself, your book, your motivation, the hits and misses.  It’s no small thing.  I’m grateful to many writer friends here on WordPress for sharing their insights and expertise.  So very helpf...

Back to School – With Love

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“Surviving Sue” – On the Road!

 

I am so excited!  I’ve been invited to participate in the Midwest’s largest literary showcase, “Printers Row Lit Fest” coming up on September 9 in Chicago.  The Lit Fest is held in a historic neighborhood, once known as the bookmaking hub of Chicago.   

The two-day event is in its 38th year and typically boasts attendance of more than 100,000 visitors.  I’ll be there as the event opens on Saturday, September 9 from 10 am – 12:30 in the Chicago Writer’s Association Tent. 

Thank...

Friends are Like Songs in Your Heart

Wynne and I shared a giggle the other day.  She gifted me a fabulous book of quotes a few months ago and it’s on my desk…overstuffed with snippets of wisdom.  Quotes, bon mots, websites, post-it notes – see the pic above.  It’s a hot, hot mess.  Notice I’m not giving you the broad shot of my desk in the photo.   No one needs to see that, but I don’t mind sharing my Wynne bucket…err…basket.

I like the nearness of it.  It reminds me of a friendship – deep and true – and the unspok...

Two Treasured Calls

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Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Heal, Grow, Help

Hi there! I have a little inspiration to share with you today. I love this anonymous quote:

In four super-short sentences and a mere eleven words, that quote describes my current state of being as a writer.  Heal. Grow. Help.  Yep.  Maybe that should’ve been the drastically abbreviated version of my mom, Sue’s story. (For those of you who know me, even a teensy bit, you’ll know that would’ve been impossible.  Even after writing nearly 300 pages, I still left a boatload of poignant, ...

Protecting the Potential for Joy

I think I’ve crossed over to another phase in life.  My adoration for vintage films (and I’m talking my own form of vintage – films popular from my youth) is a new-found source of entertainment happiness. Maybe it’s because I can’t tolerate much from broadcast television or cable news.  I don’t want to be an ostrich, but I need to be cautious about what I consume when the news is 90% dark, dank and painful.

The imagery, the intensity, the pain and senselessness.  I’m hardly the first to make ...

175 Sleeps

It’s been nearly six months since we said goodbye to our seven-pound wonder dog, Sadie.  Twenty-five weeks ago last night, the hubs and I had a fretful, sleepless night as our little girl’s health declined rapidly – waking at midnight with tremors and neurological issues.  Those eight hours that we spent cuddling her, comforting her, trying to assess her health and dreading the looming options were horrible in the moment because we felt so helpless.  But you know what?  Time – and 175 “s...

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Weight of Lies

Never did I imagine writing a post that would link my mom, Sue, with Dostoevsky, yet here I am.  Doing just that.  Let me explain, by starting with a quote from “The Brothers Karamazov”:

“A man who lies to himself, and believes his own lies, becomes unable to recognize truth, either in himself or in anyone else, and he ends up losing respect for himself and for others.  When he has no respect for anyone, he can no longer love, and in him, he yields to his impulses, indulges in ...