Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

Kimberly A. Cook

What’s Your Favorite Word Game?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Back from a quick mini-vacation to one of my favorite places, Sisters, Oregon. While hunting in a resale shop my friend dragged me into, I came across this treasure – a Yahtzee Word game. Now, my family is a big fan of Yahtzee, we always played it at the beach for New Year’s Eve while stuffing our faces with Chinese take out food.

My big score for $2, complete with all the parts!
My big score for $2, complete with all the parts!

But, I had no idea there was a Yahtzee word game. In these days of plug-in everything, it was fun to find a new old game with a familiar name. After we frisked the box to make sure it had all the parts, I ended up the big buyer with several other treasures added to the game purchase.

We got to talking about the games we played as kids and with family; like Chinese checkers and Go Fish, Tiddly Winks and fifty-two pick up stix. Ah, the good old days of a zillion parts to every game.

While I own three Scrabble sets, it’s never seemed all that fun to me, not sure why. I’m still a complete chess rookie, but ever hopeful. Heard about the Words with Friends app on folks phones, but I like the tactile sensation of moving pieces around – call me old school game girl.

With summer approaching and hopefully some fun down time for all, imagine what it would be like to unleash your inner old school gamer and replay some favorite games to treat your brain. It just might unleash fun and happy memories of the games you played and may want to share with new friends and family.

I remember the wicked Crazy 8 card games we used to get into while out camping with friends – too fun. Maybe you can stumble across an old favorite in a resale shop or online; there is a big market in collectible games now. (You can buy Tiddly Winks at www.fatbraintoys.com) But I’m good to go, I’ve got my Yahtzee Word game! What was your favorite game?

Taking Time To Remember Those Who Gave All

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by Kimberly A. Cook              (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

We head into the Memorial Day weekend, a time for remembering those who gave the greatest sacrifice so our nation remained free. With respect for the families and friends who have lost so much, please take time to remember our fallen warriors this weekend. Freedom isn’t free.

How Much Bad News Can Our Creativity Handle?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

(UPDATE: This post was written before the tragedy outside Oklahoma City. All the people of that great state are in our thoughts and prayers. We’ve got your back. Donate at www.redcross.org Today every American is Oklahoma Strong.)

When I’m going through a stressful time, I tend to be very careful about what I read, which music I listen to and what I watch on tv. We writers are influenced by everything in our world and sometimes the planet gets too pushy and freaks out our creative muse. That’s when it’s time for a crap curfew.

Very scary movie, as you can tell from the poster.
Very scary movie, as you can tell from the poster.

Don’t ask me how horror writers keep sane, or if they even are sane, but when the going gets tough I head for funny romance fiction, HGTV, the Food Network and my cable easy listening music channel without any commercials.  My muse needs good input to stay happy and creative. Positive brain food it might be called.

For folks who think it’s fun to get scared, more power to you. I still haven’t recovered from seeing the movie “Jaws” in the 1970s – amazing what I would do for a date. The Walt Disney movie “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” scared me as a kid. Maybe it still does today. Those of us with active imaginations do not need any help conjuring up weird things that go bump in the night; we’ve got a full-time freak-out factory in our heads with tons of odd characters running amok.

So how do we tame our internal jitters and not venture into the dark basement? Why do they always do that in the movies, by the way? Nothing good ever happens down there – where is Darwin’s theory of adapting when it comes to dark basements? But I digress. Give your muse a break when times get tense. Take your brain over to Animal Planet’s “Too Cute” show with kittens and puppies for recess.

The muse you save may be your own!

P.S. Link to first ten minutes of said scary movie below, don’t say I didn’t warn you! (You can actually watch the entire movie on YouTube. How odd.)

http://youtu.be/-VffXZ44_LQ

Are You Ready For Some Football?

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by Kimberly A. Cook          (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

The rain is back here in Oregon and it seems more like Fall than Spring. So that must be why I’ve gotten the hankering to watch my favorite football movie again. This beauty has everything; tackles, has beens, second chances, romance, John Madden and Donna Summer disco music. Keanu Reeves is easy on the eyes too.

I’ve been a football fan my whole life, must be something about those bare biceps and tight pants, and it is the ultimate turf game without military weapons. So of all the football movies, take a look at the one I love because it’s so quirky! Have a great weekend and Happy Quirky Friday!

Are Reference Ebooks Cool Again In The Digital World?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                   (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Read a fascinating article in Publishers Weekly magazine about the changing world for reference writers and publishers. Seems the demise of the Oxford English Dictionary and Encyclopedia Britannica print editions did not spell the end of reference works, just the paper format.

Reference books are making gains online in the digital ebook revolution.
Reference books are making gains online in the digital ebook revolution.

The long and short of it is that non-fiction or reference writers need to cater their content delivery vehicle to the age and target market of their reader. Now this has always been true in publishing, but even more so now with the digital publishing revolution as it relates to reference works, which includes how to write books.

But some reference titles are still selling quite well in print, so as the saying goes, there is never just one answer to a publishing question. Some reference publishers are targeting parents of college students and the students themselves according to the article. So once again a niche market divides into smaller niches by need and age group.

For the non-fiction author this is another great source about markets to study and trends to watch when considering how to publish your how to or how not to book to readers. The article talks about the importance of libraries in the digital reference migration and how libraries have pushed the reference publishers to adapt to their needs as library users demand more online resources.

The only thing constant in publishing is change and right now we keep seeing the rise of the author and that readers are Queen. Take the time to consider the best way to have your non-fiction work meet your readers and do some research, you might be surprised!

Read the article here: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/new-titles/adult-announcements/article/56795-the-changing-world-of-reference-focus-on-reference-2012.html

Cats Rule The World!

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by Kimberly A. Cook                (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Heard on the radio this week that the largest quantity of videos on YouTube are of cats. Spec Ops Cat feels this as it should be, cats rule. With gorgeous weather this week, Spec Ops Cat enjoyed lawn swing time. He feels being comfy and watching birdies from the lawn swing is the best thing in life. No hunting for him, he’s retired.

Figuring we can all learn how to enjoy life and slow down for some quality nap time, here is a quick cat tutorial on how to relax. Happy Quirky Friday!