Kim Megahee's Blog: Vacation to Port St Joe, Florida
October 7, 2025
Jen Twimom Exposure
Hi, folks,
Jen Twimom was kind enough to include my book TIME LIMITS in her Saturday Snippet column. Many thanks to her.
Here’s the link to the Snippet: https://twimom227.com/2025/10/sunday-...
Check out Jen’s excellent snippets and book reviews here: https://twimom227.com.
Jen Twimom was kind enough to include my book TIME LIMITS in her Saturday Snippet column. Many thanks to her.
Here’s the link to the Snippet: https://twimom227.com/2025/10/sunday-...
Check out Jen’s excellent snippets and book reviews here: https://twimom227.com.
April 29, 2024
A Croatian Recognition
Dear Friends,
I was searching through old photos the other day, and I found two that reminded me of a strange and funny occurrence.
Martha and I traveled with friends on a Viking Ocean cruise. We started in Barcelona, Spain, and went east along the Mediterranean shoreline. We visited ports in France and Italy, then popped across the Adriatic Sea to Greece and Croatia, then back across the Adriatic Sea to end the cruise in Venice.
One of our ports of call in Croatia was the lovely city of Dubrovnik. Part of the city is a walled town known as, well, Old Town. Old Town’s claim to fame these days is that it was the site of the castle scenes in the Prime video series “Game of Thrones.” It’s a very cool place.
As we toured the Old Town with our friends, we stopped at a little sidewalk cafe. It was on a narrow street paved with flat stones. We quickly learned that the part of the café was indoors on the left side of the street and they used a storeroom on the right side of the street. While it was a sidewalk café, there was no sidewalk—we were sitting on the edge of this medieval street.
While we enjoyed some ale and snacks, I noticed some weird activity by the staff. I saw people sticking their heads out the café door, looking at us, then popping back inside. That wasn’t too strange, but sometimes it was two or more people at the same time. It reminded me of the old Looney Tune cartoons and a comedy routine from the Three Stooges.
The definitive event was when a young man strolled “nonchalantly” across the street. It took several seconds for him to make the journey, and he kept glancing at me.
Our cruise buddies noticed it, too. My friend Tim McElderry from California turned to me and said, “What the h--- is this all about?”
I must tell you, I secretly hoped I had stumbled across a group of my book fans, who were amazed to find their favorite author in their hometown. Ah, but it was not to be.
I called our server over to our table. “Do I look like somebody’s brother or something?” I asked.
“Oh, no,” she said. “You look like general / war hero / politician here in Croatia. Everyone wanted to see you.”
“Well,” I said, “Would you like me to pose for a picture with you and your café?”
“Oh, yes!” she said, and laughed out loud.
It was fun to take pictures with her, and we cruisers had a great laugh over it.
Do I really look like this guy? Sorta. You be the judge. Google “images of Zoran Milanovic.” Let me know what you think. Do you see it?
Cheers and Regards,
Kim
I was searching through old photos the other day, and I found two that reminded me of a strange and funny occurrence.
Martha and I traveled with friends on a Viking Ocean cruise. We started in Barcelona, Spain, and went east along the Mediterranean shoreline. We visited ports in France and Italy, then popped across the Adriatic Sea to Greece and Croatia, then back across the Adriatic Sea to end the cruise in Venice.
One of our ports of call in Croatia was the lovely city of Dubrovnik. Part of the city is a walled town known as, well, Old Town. Old Town’s claim to fame these days is that it was the site of the castle scenes in the Prime video series “Game of Thrones.” It’s a very cool place.
As we toured the Old Town with our friends, we stopped at a little sidewalk cafe. It was on a narrow street paved with flat stones. We quickly learned that the part of the café was indoors on the left side of the street and they used a storeroom on the right side of the street. While it was a sidewalk café, there was no sidewalk—we were sitting on the edge of this medieval street.
While we enjoyed some ale and snacks, I noticed some weird activity by the staff. I saw people sticking their heads out the café door, looking at us, then popping back inside. That wasn’t too strange, but sometimes it was two or more people at the same time. It reminded me of the old Looney Tune cartoons and a comedy routine from the Three Stooges.
The definitive event was when a young man strolled “nonchalantly” across the street. It took several seconds for him to make the journey, and he kept glancing at me.
Our cruise buddies noticed it, too. My friend Tim McElderry from California turned to me and said, “What the h--- is this all about?”
I must tell you, I secretly hoped I had stumbled across a group of my book fans, who were amazed to find their favorite author in their hometown. Ah, but it was not to be.
I called our server over to our table. “Do I look like somebody’s brother or something?” I asked.
“Oh, no,” she said. “You look like general / war hero / politician here in Croatia. Everyone wanted to see you.”
“Well,” I said, “Would you like me to pose for a picture with you and your café?”
“Oh, yes!” she said, and laughed out loud.
It was fun to take pictures with her, and we cruisers had a great laugh over it.
Do I really look like this guy? Sorta. You be the judge. Google “images of Zoran Milanovic.” Let me know what you think. Do you see it?
Cheers and Regards,
Kim
December 9, 2021
Learning to change
Hi, my Friends.
I'm learning something different this month. I have been toying with expressing my fifth Marc McKnight Time Travel Adventure story as a group of shorter, serial episodes rather than a standalone book. I decided 25K would be a reasonable size for an episode (still not certain, though).
It's my understanding that a serial of 6-10 episodes should have an overarching plot to resolve over the series, but each episode should have a subplot that gets started, executed, and resolved within that episode. Or, at minimum, there is enough resolution in each episode that the reader gets a sense of fulfillment and closure, but still wants to pursue the big plot (i.e., the remainder of the episodes).
What's challenging me right now is that I'm accustomed to chasing a plot over a book of 100K words, but now, I must set up, execute, resolve a plot in the 25K words of the episode. I find myself building a scene with action and dialogue and realizing that not much is going to happen per episode if I don't learn how to pare the story down -- express the story in much fewer words.
I need to do more study and thinking on how to do this.
If you have any advice or suggestions to offer, I'd love to hear from you, readers and writers alike.
Cheers and Regards,
Kim
I'm learning something different this month. I have been toying with expressing my fifth Marc McKnight Time Travel Adventure story as a group of shorter, serial episodes rather than a standalone book. I decided 25K would be a reasonable size for an episode (still not certain, though).
It's my understanding that a serial of 6-10 episodes should have an overarching plot to resolve over the series, but each episode should have a subplot that gets started, executed, and resolved within that episode. Or, at minimum, there is enough resolution in each episode that the reader gets a sense of fulfillment and closure, but still wants to pursue the big plot (i.e., the remainder of the episodes).
What's challenging me right now is that I'm accustomed to chasing a plot over a book of 100K words, but now, I must set up, execute, resolve a plot in the 25K words of the episode. I find myself building a scene with action and dialogue and realizing that not much is going to happen per episode if I don't learn how to pare the story down -- express the story in much fewer words.
I need to do more study and thinking on how to do this.
If you have any advice or suggestions to offer, I'd love to hear from you, readers and writers alike.
Cheers and Regards,
Kim
November 10, 2021
Anxious to get started again
Hi, all.
Martha and I just finished up a couple of weeks of company and traveling.
Martha planned a birthday party for me and we decided to do it on Halloween and do a costume thingie. It was a blast. My band performed as did another band of friends. We had some seriously creative costumes.
Our Viking River Cruise buddies stayed with us for a couple of weeks. As much as we enjoy them, it's good to get back to writing again.
It feels weird to turn 70. I never thought I'd live this long, much less be in good health. I don't feel old very often. What I think most of the time, is that I don't have enough time to do all the things I'm interested in. I guess that's the way life works.
All this aside, I'm looking forward to writing the next book. Time's a-wasting.
Cheers and Regards,
Kim
Martha and I just finished up a couple of weeks of company and traveling.
Martha planned a birthday party for me and we decided to do it on Halloween and do a costume thingie. It was a blast. My band performed as did another band of friends. We had some seriously creative costumes.
Our Viking River Cruise buddies stayed with us for a couple of weeks. As much as we enjoy them, it's good to get back to writing again.
It feels weird to turn 70. I never thought I'd live this long, much less be in good health. I don't feel old very often. What I think most of the time, is that I don't have enough time to do all the things I'm interested in. I guess that's the way life works.
All this aside, I'm looking forward to writing the next book. Time's a-wasting.
Cheers and Regards,
Kim
September 30, 2021
Social Club and the Visual Arts
Hi, Friends.
A lot has happened since I last posted.
First, please forgive any typos I might miss today. I just had surgery on the middle finger of my right hand, so I'm typing with one hand. At least I'm left-handed, so it's not too bad. I'm managing.
I mentioned before that we started up a social for authors here in Gainesville. Nothing special and no agenda - it's just authors talking to other authors about whatever is on their mind. The final verdict on it isn't in yet, but there's a core group that always shows up and asks good questions. We'll see how it goes.
A fellow author and good friend Renee Propes engineered an event called "An Authors' Evening" at the Quinlan Visual Arts Center here in Gainesville. She and legendary author William Rawlings talked about their books and their motivations and gave solid performances. Later this week I'm going to run by there and see if I can get a slot to speak to the patrons. Should be fun and maybe create a few book sales. We'll see.
Cheers and Regards,
Kim
A lot has happened since I last posted.
First, please forgive any typos I might miss today. I just had surgery on the middle finger of my right hand, so I'm typing with one hand. At least I'm left-handed, so it's not too bad. I'm managing.
I mentioned before that we started up a social for authors here in Gainesville. Nothing special and no agenda - it's just authors talking to other authors about whatever is on their mind. The final verdict on it isn't in yet, but there's a core group that always shows up and asks good questions. We'll see how it goes.
A fellow author and good friend Renee Propes engineered an event called "An Authors' Evening" at the Quinlan Visual Arts Center here in Gainesville. She and legendary author William Rawlings talked about their books and their motivations and gave solid performances. Later this week I'm going to run by there and see if I can get a slot to speak to the patrons. Should be fun and maybe create a few book sales. We'll see.
Cheers and Regards,
Kim
August 10, 2021
COVID killed our Authors’ Club!
For many years, there was an authors’ club in our little town of Gainesville, Georgia. When I found out about it, I enthusiastically joined and got involved. I eventually took the VP position in charge of programs and enjoyed talking to quite a few authors who showed up at meetings, gave talks, and signed and sold books.
We met during office hours at a local bank on Wednesday afternoon at 1:00PM for two hours. Consequently, the majority of our membership was older – After all, what young adult or student is available at that time and day of the week?
The impact COVID had on our club was significant. Most of our membership fell into the age range of the most susceptible to the virus. We explored a few options, including online meetings. But many of us chronologically challenged folks aren’t that great with computers. In the end, there was really no choice – the club discontinued meeting for the duration.
In the fall of 2020, we attempted to get the ball rolling again. We set up meetings in an outdoor pavilion and did the appropriate amount of social distancing. But we just couldn’t get the people back out.
So, we’ve organized an authors’ social event next Thursday evening at a local restaurant that offers good food and killer Margaritas. The RSVPs are promising, so maybe it will be a long-term thing. And maybe a “phoenix” club will “rise from the ashes” of the old club.
The North Georgia Writers Club (aka NEGAW) was the first experience I had with being in the leadership of a writing-oriented club. Here’s a few things I learned:
A club is like a church. If you don’t get young people involved in it, it will eventually die of old age. You might say we killed ourselves with our meeting time and COVID came along and put us out of our misery.
Another thing that kills a club is having the same people be the leadership year-in and year-out. Our leadership got exhausted from doing a lot of work without relief over several years. You need new blood and new energy to keep the membership energized with new ideas and new direction.
You need to take the pulse of the membership frequently to find out what they need. I did programs for a whole year before I did that. In my ignorance, I brought in some great (and sometimes funny) authors from the North Georgia area to present to the membership. A win-win, I thought. The author gets to sell books and practice speaking, and the membership get to hear the story of someone who is successfully writing. Don’t misunderstand me – it was a good thing, but it was incomplete. One day, a speaker canceled at the last minute due to a accidental broken bone, and I had to “wing” the program. We did a Q&A session and did I get my eyes opened! I found out the membership wanted to learn about editing… and manuscript formatting… and advertising… and plot structure… and genre tropes… and publishing… and mentorship… and navigating Amazon. We learned this right before COVID, so we didn’t get a chance to test it out but I believe now that having a rich mixture of programs is probably a better idea.
That’s my top three lessons. I’d better close before this becomes long enough to be my next book.
Let me hear from you with your comments, suggestions, and ideas. We’d all love to see them.
Cheers and regards,
Kim
We met during office hours at a local bank on Wednesday afternoon at 1:00PM for two hours. Consequently, the majority of our membership was older – After all, what young adult or student is available at that time and day of the week?
The impact COVID had on our club was significant. Most of our membership fell into the age range of the most susceptible to the virus. We explored a few options, including online meetings. But many of us chronologically challenged folks aren’t that great with computers. In the end, there was really no choice – the club discontinued meeting for the duration.
In the fall of 2020, we attempted to get the ball rolling again. We set up meetings in an outdoor pavilion and did the appropriate amount of social distancing. But we just couldn’t get the people back out.
So, we’ve organized an authors’ social event next Thursday evening at a local restaurant that offers good food and killer Margaritas. The RSVPs are promising, so maybe it will be a long-term thing. And maybe a “phoenix” club will “rise from the ashes” of the old club.
The North Georgia Writers Club (aka NEGAW) was the first experience I had with being in the leadership of a writing-oriented club. Here’s a few things I learned:
A club is like a church. If you don’t get young people involved in it, it will eventually die of old age. You might say we killed ourselves with our meeting time and COVID came along and put us out of our misery.
Another thing that kills a club is having the same people be the leadership year-in and year-out. Our leadership got exhausted from doing a lot of work without relief over several years. You need new blood and new energy to keep the membership energized with new ideas and new direction.
You need to take the pulse of the membership frequently to find out what they need. I did programs for a whole year before I did that. In my ignorance, I brought in some great (and sometimes funny) authors from the North Georgia area to present to the membership. A win-win, I thought. The author gets to sell books and practice speaking, and the membership get to hear the story of someone who is successfully writing. Don’t misunderstand me – it was a good thing, but it was incomplete. One day, a speaker canceled at the last minute due to a accidental broken bone, and I had to “wing” the program. We did a Q&A session and did I get my eyes opened! I found out the membership wanted to learn about editing… and manuscript formatting… and advertising… and plot structure… and genre tropes… and publishing… and mentorship… and navigating Amazon. We learned this right before COVID, so we didn’t get a chance to test it out but I believe now that having a rich mixture of programs is probably a better idea.
That’s my top three lessons. I’d better close before this becomes long enough to be my next book.
Let me hear from you with your comments, suggestions, and ideas. We’d all love to see them.
Cheers and regards,
Kim
July 21, 2021
Starting a new book - The Anubis Gates
A friend suggested this book to me:
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
My friend was enthusiastic about the book and assured me I would like it.
I love the anticipation of getting into a new author. I am totally unfamiliar with Mr. Powers, except that I noticed he works in several genres. Jumping across genres is supposed to be bad for book sales because it confuses the Amazon algorithm, but I admire someone who does it unabashedly (i.e., without a pseudonym(pseudoname?)).
I have considered moving from Sci-fi / time travel to mystery and/or computer crime (my one claim to expertise). After I see what Mr. Powers had done, I'll have to revisit this idea and perhaps make the leap across genres.
What do _you_ think?
Cheers,
Kim
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
My friend was enthusiastic about the book and assured me I would like it.
I love the anticipation of getting into a new author. I am totally unfamiliar with Mr. Powers, except that I noticed he works in several genres. Jumping across genres is supposed to be bad for book sales because it confuses the Amazon algorithm, but I admire someone who does it unabashedly (i.e., without a pseudonym(pseudoname?)).
I have considered moving from Sci-fi / time travel to mystery and/or computer crime (my one claim to expertise). After I see what Mr. Powers had done, I'll have to revisit this idea and perhaps make the leap across genres.
What do _you_ think?
Cheers,
Kim
July 13, 2021
Billy Quick - 1951-2021
This past weekend, Martha and I attended a memorial for Billy Quick down in Warner Robins GA. Billy was one of my high school classmates.
I didn't know Billy very well. We weren't really what you would call friends. I attended the service because another friend confided that Billy's early life had been, well, less than ideal.
I came away from the service wishing I had known him better. I learned there was a gentle and kind soul within him that I never suspected was there. There were many men and women at the service who knew him much better and I was impressed by the stories they told.
To me, the moral of the story is that most of us are quick to judge when we are young, and slow to change our minds.
I, for one, am sorry I didn't get to know Billy Quick better when he was alive.
My fervent hope is that I learn from his example to be a better man going forward.
RIP, Billy, and God Speed.
I didn't know Billy very well. We weren't really what you would call friends. I attended the service because another friend confided that Billy's early life had been, well, less than ideal.
I came away from the service wishing I had known him better. I learned there was a gentle and kind soul within him that I never suspected was there. There were many men and women at the service who knew him much better and I was impressed by the stories they told.
To me, the moral of the story is that most of us are quick to judge when we are young, and slow to change our minds.
I, for one, am sorry I didn't get to know Billy Quick better when he was alive.
My fervent hope is that I learn from his example to be a better man going forward.
RIP, Billy, and God Speed.
July 5, 2021
TIME PLAGUE eBook on sale now
What are you reading right now? I'm reading a thriller by Matthew Quirk, HOUR OF THE ASSASSIN. I'm about 80% of the way through it, and I'm sure I'll be looking into his other books. It's been fun and a very fast read.
I'm also reading a book by my good friend Jameson Gregg. His latest book is called UNCORKED & OFF THE CHAIN. Jameson is a recovering attorney who writes in the style of Ludlow Porch and Jeff Foxworthy. It is a fast read and full of fun (not to mention politically incorrect). I can't stop laughing. Check out that book.
I wanted to mention very briefly that my new book TIME PLAGUE (eBook and paperback) will be released on July 19th, but the eBook is on pre-order now at the reduced price of $2.99. On release day, the price will go back up to the regular price.
Have an amazing day!
Cheers and Regards,
Kim
I'm also reading a book by my good friend Jameson Gregg. His latest book is called UNCORKED & OFF THE CHAIN. Jameson is a recovering attorney who writes in the style of Ludlow Porch and Jeff Foxworthy. It is a fast read and full of fun (not to mention politically incorrect). I can't stop laughing. Check out that book.
I wanted to mention very briefly that my new book TIME PLAGUE (eBook and paperback) will be released on July 19th, but the eBook is on pre-order now at the reduced price of $2.99. On release day, the price will go back up to the regular price.
Have an amazing day!
Cheers and Regards,
Kim
June 29, 2021
Help! I'm buried under a pile of reference books!
Last night I started on the research for my next book/series. I won't reveal the story idea yet, but I'll say that it's a time travel story that involves the US Constitutional Congress and what our Founding Fathers intended.
I should have been prepared for this, but last night I was struck by the sheer volume of research I'll need to do. I've found a lot of resources and I hope I can stitch it together into a coherent story that is less than a million pages (not kidding).
The problem is that there are so many interesting characters and ideas that were floated at the convention. Plenty of books have been written about George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, not to mention a Broadway show about Hamilton.
I think it's going to have to be a series of short episodes so there's a much shorter time between releases.
I have my work cut out for me.
I should have been prepared for this, but last night I was struck by the sheer volume of research I'll need to do. I've found a lot of resources and I hope I can stitch it together into a coherent story that is less than a million pages (not kidding).
The problem is that there are so many interesting characters and ideas that were floated at the convention. Plenty of books have been written about George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, not to mention a Broadway show about Hamilton.
I think it's going to have to be a series of short episodes so there's a much shorter time between releases.
I have my work cut out for me.
Vacation to Port St Joe, Florida
Martha and I just got back from a week's vacation with Martha's son and the Grands.
Port Saint Joe is an interesting place, It's on the Florida panhandle, but the coastline runs north/south. So you ca ...more
Port Saint Joe is an interesting place, It's on the Florida panhandle, but the coastline runs north/south. So you ca ...more
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