Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

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For The Love Of Fiction Writing?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Seems I’ve been overdosing on Hallmark Channel movies lately. Saturday’s preview “Stranded in Paradise” was pretty fun. The usual fired from job, what makes you happy dilemma. Since this last year has been all about what the heck do I really want to write, the “what writing makes you happy?” popped in my brain from the movie.

Fiction is and always will be my first love. Yes, I’m a control freak. Able to orchestrate all my characters and events, I get to make happy endings happen. New acronym! HEH! That doesn’t always happen in life and the news.

When you wish upon a super moon....... writer dreams can come true. Taken Aug. 10, 2014.
When you wish upon a super moon……. writer dreams can come true. Taken Aug. 10, 2014.

Then I read author Bob Mayer’s latest blog post about what 10 things he was grateful for as a writer. That hit home too. One big one for me is all we need is our imagination and pen, pencil or crayon and paper or keyboard to write down our dreams/stories.

Widget manufacturers do not have this luxury. They have to do business plans, get loans, build factories, hire people, get widget making products, make the widgets, package the widgets, ship the widgets, on and on. While writers do those things when we indie publish on a different scale, it’s all very craftsman type of work, boutique manufacturing if you will.

So while we physically have to create our books/widgets, we can get started with very little equipment. Plus if you dive in the recycle bins you can find used paper and if you visit places with free pens you are set with minimal start-up costs. Not a lot of capital outlay.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle is figuring out what you want to write. Spoiler alert; it will change as you gather experience in life. That’s okay. VHS tapes are gone too, so some things last a certain time and then morph into something else. Same with what we choose to write.

So is there one certain part of writing fiction that makes me happy? Yes, it’s the “I’ve got a secret” part. I know what’s going to happen next in the story. Most of the time. Tried a new creative writing exercise last week. Getting back into my fiction book has been a challenge so I reviewed the last couple chapters.

For several months my characters have been in an airplane ready to land, but I’ve just left them up there. Quite the feat if you think about the fuel supply issues. Well, last week I told myself, “I’ve got to go home and land a plane in Afghanistan.” On Sunday that’s what I did. Gave my brain a task and it worked on it while I was doing the whole daily life thing.

Thinking about my writing “to do assignment” in such a personal way made me quite accountable too. I had characters almost Lost In Space for heaven’s sake!

One of the fun clandestine things about being a writer is we get to live the adventures we create. We write from the security and comfort of our writing hidey hole and explore the universe. We get to do research too, which is a blast. And make Happy Endings Happen in my case. How cool is that?

Have you left your fiction characters up in the air? Writers, rescue your characters!

Bob Mayer’s Blog Post: http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/2014/08/05/an-authors-attitude-of-10-gratitudes/

 

To Zoom Or Not To Zoom?

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by Kimberly A. Cook             (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

On a recent backyard safari to another house, I brought along the Canon Powershot SX200 with the longest zoom I have, 15x. I was hunting baby robins.

The industrious pair of robins who built a nest in the crook of the patio cover really knew how to pick real estate. The location was covered with a yellow sunroof and surrounded by a clematis bush for camouflage. On top of that, the metal struts to hold the roof to the post were perfect underpinnings for the nest. These robins are engineers!

Baby robins waiting for snacks.
Baby robins waiting for snacks.

The goal was to try to get pictures of the small fry, since it was hard to tell from the occasional waving beaks we’d seen who was where and how many there were in the nest. The kids were growing up and we wanted to make sure we got a family portrait or two before they left for flight school.

Not to disturb Mom robin, over the course of a couple of hours I would pop out on the top step to the patio from the house and take pics. About forty shots later I had a few keeper photos.

Using the smaller point and shoot cameras required me to learn new techniques after using 35mm film cameras for so long. I now become a human tripod in order to steady the camera, finding someplace to lean against in order to prevent motion distortion. The sliding glass patio door and the door frame both worked great. I used to prop my left elbow against my chest while holding the bottom of the camera and lens to focus and snap the shutter button with the right finger.

The most important camera equipment to have is any kind of camera period. I’m still old school enough that I want the variety of focal and zooms length I can get from a camera, so I only use my cell phone camera as a last resort. Cell phones are hard to hold and I’m always losing a shot because I hit the wrong spot on the touchscreen at the wrong time. Simple is better.

Distance from the patio step to the nest at the top of the pole. Zoom!
Distance from the patio step to the nest at the top of the pole. Zoom!

So while summer is hard on us and the birds and bees are definitely out and about, grab your camera and venture out into the wilds.

Take a risk and explore away from your backyard and familiar surroundings and forge across the great unknown to an adventure of epic proportion – like you’re neighbor’s backyard.

When in doubt, zoom! You too might find some rock’in robins!

P.S. The birds left the nest two days later, so timing was perfect!

How Do You Keep Cool In August?

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by Kimberly A. Cook            (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

This has been one wacky and weird weather year around the globe. While folks are dealing with all kinds of storm challenges, we are in the middle of a two-week heat wave that was supposed to be only one week-long. Obviously we have an overachieving weather pattern.

Since us Oregonians freak when the big round sun thing comes out and really freak when the humidity thing shows up, it’s a good bet everybody is inside; except for the young folks floating the rivers. So this is how our Oregon Zoo animals are keeping cool. Happy Quirky Friday everybody!

Have Any Keeper Cards?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

In last week’s post about requesting military records I showed a picture of letters we discovered which my Dad wrote home during World War II. My author/editor buddy Cindy Hiday made a very astute comment, she always does, but this one got me to thinking. She wondered how we would be remembered when we are using email or blogs instead of hard copy physical paper.

This is how the "keeper cards" addiction started......
This is how the “keeper cards” addiction started……

So this is where I confess to my stash of keeper cards. Think I can blame this on my Mom who gave me a School Days memory book to store my school pictures and odds and ends like report cards and the occasional greeting card. Over the years I have kept special cards which catch my fancy or mean something to me. (I’ve had to move up to plastic shoe boxes)

In today’s digital publishing world with fiction books heading steadily in the exclusive ebook direction and textbooks ending up as ebooks, is there still a place for paper?

Yes. I think greeting cards are coming back. I know crafters and teenagers alike are buying typewriters, yes you read correctly, to make words standout on jewelry pieces and to have typing contests. Seems the fact you can’t get an instant message or text on a typewriter is a plus for concentration these kids say.

Some of the fun things I have in my home office are quotes on plaques; words displayed with art. Wonderful combination. Like greeting cards.

I’ve only had time to look at a few envelopes in the stack of war letters my Dad wrote, but I did find one very interesting card. It was a Christmas card mailed from relatives in Gold Hill, Oregon in 1930. It was addressed to the Cook family in Troutdale, Oregon. Period. That was the entire address. My Dad would have been seven-years-old. It was special to him and he kept it. Words on real paper still rock!

Do you have any keeper cards?

 

Happy Birthday Beatrix Potter!

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by Kimberly A. Cook             (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

In honor of Beatrix Potter’s birthday on Monday, July 28th, I thought it only fitting to highlight a talented rabbit. Her little bunny book “Peter Rabbit,” as she called it, made it possible for her to save hundreds of acres of English land for the National Trust. One impressive bunny accomplishment!

I own a copy in French, “Pierre Lapin,” which sits on my desk.

Check out how talented this little bunny is getting his treats. Have a great weekend and Happy Quirky Friday!

 

 

Know How To Request Military Records?

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by Kimberly A. Cook              (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Sent off my snail mail request on Saturday to get copies of my Dad’s military and medical records. Have been meaning to do it for a couple months now, but finally made it happen. It’s a pretty simple process, but most folks won’t realize they need to deal with the National Archives, not the military branches.

New treasure! My Mom and sister discovered this bunch of letters my Dad wrote to his Mom during World War II tucked away in his dresser. More projects for me!
New treasure! My Mom and sister discovered this bunch of letters my Dad wrote to his Mom during World War II tucked away in his dresser. More projects for me!

Couple of things to know:

  • If the veteran is living, they have to request their own records.
  • If the veteran is deceased, only next of kin can request the records. Next of kin is limited to unremarried surviving spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, sister or brother.

Proof of death must be provided by a death certificate or obituary or death notice, coroner’s report of death, funeral director’s signed statement of death, or verdict of a coroner’s jury.

If you want to request military records for service completed before World War I, National Archives Trust Fund forms must be used to request those records. You can get the forms by email.

While there is a way to file electronically for the records if you’re next of kin, I went with old-fashioned snail mail. Filled out the pretty simple one page form, then figured out based on Dad’s service time where to mail it.

So that envelope is on its way to the National Personnel Records Center in St Louis, MO. They receive between 4,000 and 5,000 record requests a day, so they say not to even ask about status until 90 days have gone by. I will let you know what happens!

Link to National Archives veteran service records – http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/

Link to SF180 Request Form – http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/standard-form-180.html