Kim's Ramblings

  If you've enjoyed any of my writing, I hope you'll hop over to my new website  here. You'll find some of these posts, plus some new stories, essays, and some reviews I've done of books you might want to check out. 

  My first sensation is the smell. Every time. The scent of salt tickles my nose before I’m even close enough to hear the rhythmic pulse of waves meeting the shoreline. Then the noise grows louder as I move closer, walking down the boardwalk that crosses over the rise of the dunes. Suddenly, a gust of breeze whips my hair across my face or knocks the hat off my head. And I don’t care. This is my happy place. My eyes sweep the beach, taking in the expanse of white sand, foaming surf, dark emerald water, and brilliant blue sky. Home. Absorbing the entire scene before me, I then allow my eyes to focus on the individual details that make up that whole. A boat far out near the horizon, wispy clouds hanging low over the water, white caps breaking against the sand, sea birds circling and diving into the churning waves. My bare feet sink into warm white sand as I begin my trek toward the water. I want to rush, but I also want to linger and savor every step. As I get closer to the water...

  The Great Unboxing (The Long and Winding Road From a Story to a Book.)     Yesterday, I received a box containing my children’s book, Toolshed Surprise. Although I had self-published a poetry collection a few years ago, this box of books felt remarkably different. I can tell you I was over the moon excited! This book is the product of a two-year long wait, because of illustrator changes, pandemic shutdowns, paper shortages, and other random things that most of us wouldn’t think could affect publishing time frames. For those who may not know the history, I wrote a children’s story in 2019 for a contest that called for stories about Bigfoot. It was a fun story. It received an Honorable Mention, and I filed it away. Then, in 2020, a different contest called for a children’s story on any subject. On a whim, I polished the Bigfoot story and submitted it. That second contest was sponsored by Young Dragon’s Press. My story won, and the judge, Clarissa Willis, who ...

  Thanks to our dear friend Ellen Withers, Gary and I belong to Facebook group Writers Unite! The group is publishing an anthology of stories with the theme Love. We were fortunate enough to have a couple of stories included. It is available on Amazon, and through these affiliate links. To purchase volume 1:    https://amzn.to/3U3dgEr To purchase volume 2:    https://amzn.to/3QyUMsm As an affiliate, I may be eligible to earn a small fee on qualified purchases at the above links.