Kai Strand's Blog, page 5

Where Can We Have The Party by Deb Hockenberry

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The Inspiration Behind Kai Strand's New Book, I Am Me

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911! Reader Input Needed!

I'm trying out a new look. What do you think?

I need to simplify my writing world. Even though I love my current website: www.kaistrand.com, I'm thinking about letting it go and point my domains here. So, dear readers, before I make such a dramatic change, does this site fill your needs? If you were to need to look up something - anything - about Kai Strand or LA Dragoni, would this site fill those needs? What is it missing that you generally need/want out of an author website?

I need to make a...

Thoughts on Responsibility

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Cover Reveal for Can Dreams Come True? by Krysten Lindsay Hager

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#MeToo - A Call For No Tolerance

Like so many others, the #metoo news that broke within the last week in the children's publishing arena really surprised/disappointed/pissed me off. It isn't just that we write for children and should know how to better comport ourselves, it's that we are grown ups and should know better than to prey on each other.

Even as it sickens me, I'm so glad this conversation is happening on a huge scale. It is absolutely not acceptable to use your position of power or celebrity to take advantage of so...

Revisiting Defining Moments

I originally posted the following thoughts on my old Live Journal blog, back on February 4, 2010. I'm glad I ran across it again. Especially right now as I try to mine a new story idea that is playing hide and seek within my brain matter, but which I can already tell will be special. What is one of your defining moments? Here are a couple of mine.
defining momenta point at which the essential nature or character of a person, group, etc., is revealed or identified.
–noun 
When I was 13, the...

When the Wolf Whistles Stop

I admit, when the wolf whistles stopped, it made me a little sad.
Even though I knew that being whistled at by some passing guy wasn’t anywhere near the measure of my worth, I had been brainwashed by society and maybe my upbringing to think it was important that my appearance draw positive attention.
Dudes – we need to stop this culture. It makes me so sad when I see Facebook friends post pictures of their pre-teen or teenage daughters and the responses say things like, “She’s beautiful. She’ll...

Why Race Anyway?

As my son wraps up his AA he’s taking a Race, Class, and Gender class. He’s the third child of mine to take the class. Apparently, this teacher requires a weekly wrap up because the past two Wednesday mornings I’ve found a paper on my seat to read. This son likes for me to proof his work, though he hardly needs it.
I have got to take this class! As I read through his paper this morning I was getting all riled up about how (and who) we’ve classified race for census purposes. I wasn’t fully awa...

Christmas Harvest - A Worm With A View

We moved to central Oregon in the year 2000. We've been going out into the National Forest to cut our own Christmas tree since we moved here. We've only missed (maybe) two years. It's a fun, family experience. We get the tree cutting permit, complete with a guide to the types of trees we will find in the forest. The kids always liked to run around identifying the trees. Now they like brandishing the saw.

Some years there's more snow in the forest than other years. I had back surgery in July of...