Kyle Pratt's Blog: Musings & Rantings, page 6
March 9, 2019
Matt Redman’s 10,000 Reasons
I enjoy singing 10,000 Reasons.
I’ve sung the hymn in church for several years, but other than enjoying the music and lyrics, I’ve never given the song much thought.
Matt Redman
Then my wife found this video of it being sung in a packed Royal Albert Hall in London. For me, the performance, setting, music, and words all blended together to create a spectacular event. I would have loved to have been in that crowd and joined in the singing. Since that didn’t happen I at least wanted to know more about the song.
In the video, the co-writer of 10,000 Reasons, Matt Redman, performs the song with a full orchestra. Born in England, Matt had a tough time growing up. His father committed suicide when he was just seven, and his abusive step-father landed in jail. Through it all Matt found both his talent and Christ.
Based on the opening verses of Psalm 103, the hymn reached number one on the Christian chart in 2011.
Bless the Lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship His Holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I'll worship Your Holy name
The sun comes up
It's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass
And whatever lies before me
Let me be singing
When the evening comes
You may have heard 10,000 Reasons before but, take a moment, and hear it again.
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March 8, 2019
A Conference with Carrie
On February 23rd I had the pleasure of speaking at the Oregon Christian Writers one-day winter conference in Salem, Oregon.
Carrie Stuart Parks delivers the keynote address
I arrived about thirty minutes late due to an accident on the freeway but, after checking in, I entered the main auditorium and listened to the keynote speaker, Carrie Stuart Parks. Carrie is an award-winning, internationally known forensic artist and author. I had read about her before the conference. She taught classes for the FBI, Secret Service, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Her awards include the Christy, Carol, and the INSPY.
Kyle Pratt, Cornelia Becker Seigneur, Carrie Stuart Parks. and Julie Zander
She talked about her progression from artist to writing books on drawing and on to her fiction novels. I enjoyed the way she mixed art and writing in a talk about growth. Evidently, I missed how she met Frank Peretti and came to be mentored by him. As a longtime fan of his novels, I would have taken eager notes on that.
Fortunately, I wasn’t late for my class on Finding and Forming Critique Groups. I’ve attended critique groups for more than a decade and through them learned many valuable writing lessons and formed lasting friendships.
As authors, we spend many hours alone while writing, but sometimes we need the perspective of others. That’s where the critique group comes in handy. Getting out of our comfort zone and letting others read and comment on our work is hard, but that is what we do as published authors.
I hope to expand upon the talk and give it at other events.
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March 1, 2019
Please don’t colonize me
Bill Maher thinks I’m angry.
I first heard of Bill Maher as the host of Politically Incorrect on Comedy Central. I watched a few shows but soon moved on. Like so many comedians, Bill struck me as someone who thinks they’re funny and knows for certain they are the smartest person in any room.
Bill Maher
Such people annoy me, but I’m not angry.
I would have happily continued to ignore Bill, like that pesky relative that says stupid and cringe-worthy things. But then, Bill had to go and make up things about me and my neighbors.
Recently on his HBO show Real Time, Bill said, “We have orchestras and theaters districts and world-class shopping. We have Chef Wolfgang Puck, they (red state America) have Chef Boyardee.”
However, Bill was just getting warmed up. Over the course of the next few minutes, he said, “The fly-over states have become the passed-over states, that’s why red state voters are so pissed off. They don’t hate us, they want to be us. They want to go to the party.” He concluded the tirade with, “If liberals are serious about winning elections, they have to recolonize the parts of the country they’ve abandoned.” You can view the entire rant on the embedded video.
Bill, I know this will come as a surprise, but I don’t want to come to your party and I hope you don’t come and try to colonize my part of the country. I’m not pissed-off, as you put it, but clearly, we value different things.
You see, my home isn’t surrounded by buildings, pavement, and traffic. I have neighbors but I can’t see them from my house. All I see as I look out any window is grass and trees. If I look through the trees along the south side of my property I can just make out the nearest road. If I’m working outside, I tend to notice the occasional car that travels it.
In the morning I wake up to the sounds of chickens, horses, and cows. A host of birds including hummingbirds, swallows, hawks and an occasional bald eagle frequent the nearby forest. Almost daily, deer stroll through my yard and as dusk falls they sometimes settle down for the night in a nearby meadow. When the snow is deep my wife will often leave them apples.
On warm summer nights, I usually leave the window open and fall asleep to the sound of frogs croaking in the nearby pond.
You’re right Bill, I don’t have access to world-class shopping or Wolfgang Puck, but those have never been high on my list of life’s perks. I appreciate orchestras and theaters but have given up being close to them for what I get in return—beauty, peace, and solitude.
I know all of that probably sounds horrible to someone born and raised in the New York City area, but I like it. So, please don’t colonize my area. I’ve lived in big cities and I left them.
I’m just a conservative, red state republican who loves the simple country life and doesn’t want to be like you.
Click on the following links to read my author bio, or read more about my political views.
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February 19, 2019
Five Signed Copies
I’m giving away five signed copies of Through Many Fires!
Click here to enter!
You could be one of the winners. Just click on the Rafflecopter graphic to enter and win. Enter your email address to open even more chances to win. It's all FREE!
Through Many Fires is the 72,000-word first book in the best-selling post-apocalyptic adventure series, Strengthen What Remains.
America is under siege.
Terrorists smuggle a nuclear bomb into Washington D.C. and detonate it during the State of the Union Address.
Army veteran and congressional staffer Caden Westmore is in nearby Bethesda and watches as a mushroom cloud grows over the capital.
The next day, as he drives away from the still burning city, he learns that another city has been destroyed and then another. America is under siege.
Panic ensues and society starts to unravel.
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February 18, 2019
Race to Refuge Available for Pre-order
My first book of 2019 is available now!
Pundits say that the second-best promotion an author can have is finishing their next book. Well, the graphic design and editing of Race to Refuge flew by and my first release of 2019 is now available for pre-order for only 99 cents.
I’ve agreed to give Amazon the exclusive right to sell the book for ninety days. After that, I plan to offer the book on all the major platforms.
In Race to Refuge, college student Ryan Palmer wakes up to his girlfriend Amy pounding on the door. She snaps on the television and he learns that the tense world situation is spiraling toward war. As the news grows worse, they decide to bugout of Seattle and go to his parent’s home in Idaho. But panic buying makes finding gasoline impossible and chaos soon follows.
The best promotion an author can have is readers that tell other readers. Please, click on the book cover and order Race to Refuge and, when you’re done reading, please leave a review!
Click on the following links to read my author bio, or read more about current writing projects.
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January 29, 2019
Race to Refuge Cover Reveal
Race to Refuge will be released in March.
I received the cover back from the graphic designer, Domi, of Inspired Cover Designs, yesterday and I’m showing it here first.
In this story, University of Washington students Ryan Palmer and Amy decide to bugout of Seattle when world tensions threaten to boil over into world war. In normal times their journey to Ryan’s childhood home in rural Idaho would take less than a day. But these aren’t normal times. As they travel supplies become scarce, gasoline becomes impossible to buy, people panic and nuclear war erupts. Together they must confront their worst fears as they fight to reach home and refuge.
Race to Refuge is in final editing. The exact release date hasn’t been set but this standalone novella will be available as a 99 cent ebook on Amazon in March. In the summer the story will be released on other platforms.
Click on the following links to read my author bio, or read more about current writing projects.
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January 28, 2019
New Year Resolutions
I believe in setting goals at the beginning of the year.
The SMART method of goal setting works for me. I make my goals Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. I also believe in making goals public so that friends can hold me accountable and motivate me toward achieving them. I admit that sometimes when they do this I think of their encouragement more as nagging, but it does help. So, with that in mind here are my goals for 2019 and a look back at how I did on my goals for 2018.
We don’t have a cover yet for Facing the Storm.
The Solar Storms Saga
My 2018 goal for the Solar Storms Saga had been to release both a novella and a full-length novel. I released the novella as The Storm Rises, in September of 2018. However, time ran short for completing the next full-length book in the series. That next book, Facing the Storm is now my primary novel to complete in 2019.
At the end of 2019, this is how I want the series to stand.
The Storm Rises, book 0, released 2018
Through the Storm, book 1, released 2017
Facing the Storm, book 2, scheduled for 2019
You can read more about the next book in the Solar Storms Saga on the projects page of my website.
The Guardian Knights series.
As 2017 began I had completed the first novel in this series Seekers of Earth, a 39,000-word novella that ends in a cliffhanger. I wanted to finish the second, longer, book, Recall the Earth, and have both available near the same time. I succeeded in this goal. Seekers of Earth was released in March of 2017, and Recall the Earth was released with much fanfare and marketing in April of that year. While both books have had good reviews, sales have been slow.
Then in 2018, the Solar Storm Saga books did very well and this drove me to allocate time and effort to writing and marketing of that series. I had to push back the third book in the Guardian Knights series to 2019, but this is the year that I will finish Return to Earth.
I planned the Guardian Knights as a five-book series and this is my plan for completion.
Seekers of Earth, book 1, released 2017
Recall the Earth, book 2, released 2017
Return to Earth, book 3, scheduled for 2019
War for Earth, book 4, scheduled for 2020
Farewell to Earth, book 5, scheduled for 2021
You can read more about Return to Earth on the projects page of my website.
Completing both Facing the Storm and Return to Earth will mean writing over 110,000 words. That’s a significant, but achievable goal for 2019.
Click on the following links to read my author bio, or read more about current writing projects.
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December 23, 2018
The Reason for Christmas
During this time of year, there is a great deal of talk about the reason for the season. I often hear people say Christmas is about family and friends, love, peace, sharing, or hope. All those things are good and should be a part of this time of year, but they are not the reason for Christmas.
The book of John, written about 1,900 years ago, informs us that, “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Son of God, full of grace and truth.” In another verse, we are told that God sent Jesus because he loved us and wanted to show us the way back to Him.
I’m not a theologian or even a pastor, but those verses tell me that Christmas is about Jesus and the love of God.
Last year, I discovered an a cappella group called Pentatonix. They’re not a Christian group, but they are talented and seem to like singing Christmas songs. This one, Mary, did you know, is one of my favorites, because it asks such interesting questions. I hope you enjoy it.
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas. Immanuel hallelujah.
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November 19, 2018
Busy and Talented
They say if you want something done ask a busy person.
Amy and Kyle Pratt
One of my friends, Amy, works at the Chehalis Library near my home. She writes in her free time and has been the local liaison for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) for the last few years. She also serves on the board of the Lewis County Writers Guild which, among other things, organizes a one-day writers conference each year. We often sit next to each other at weekly guild critique sessions. At one of the guild board meetings, Amy showed a large diamond painting she had been working on. I wondered when she had the time to work on such an intricate creation.
I’m not sure if Amy considers herself a busy person, but it seems like it to me. A few days ago I taught a class, So, You Have a Manuscript, Now What?, at the Chehalis library. It has often been said that authors write because the page is blank, painters fill a canvas because it’s empty. When my Library talk was done Amy removed the poster and later made it into a bow. Why? For the same reason climbers summit a mountain—it was there.
The bow looked like a complex weave to me, but as Amy handed it to me she said it took only a couple of minutes to make.
I’ve often heard it said that you can tell a lot about a person by their friends. In my case I have a lot of busy and talented friends.
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November 15, 2018
A New Podcast
I’m going to co-host a new podcast!
The weekly twenty-minute show is titled, All Things Indie, and will be aimed at authors. My co-host, Jennifer Vandenberg, and I will provide tips to hone the writing craft of our audience, introduce them to knowledgeable indie authors, and provide new insights into book marketing.
We’ve already begun lining up interviews, writing and recording. The podcast will be available on Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, and other sites. Our first show is scheduled for release on December 7th and I’ll have more information then.
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Click on the following links to read my author bio, or read more about current writing projects.
