Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

recess

Time To Climb A Tree?

By 1 Comment

by Kimberly A. Cook

This week I decided to take a break from the tv news. I still have the newspaper and online, but I wanted a mind recess. Seems like Takoda might have been thinking the same thing when he took off up a tree at the Oregon Zoo.

Actually, he’s after tasty snacks. I can relate. But fifty feet up a tree? I’m not built for that. So if life gets crazier than it already is, go climb a tree! But pack your own goodies.

Have a great, safe weekend and Happy Quirky Friday!

P.S. Hugs to all the folks on the Big Island and Kauai.

A Photo Interlude?

By 1 Comment

by Kimberly A. Cook         (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

I can’t seem to get my act together with a trash compactor these days, so today’s late post will feature some oldie but goodie photographs. Have a ton of new photos to share from recent adventures, but can’t get on top of things. Stay tuned, some day I might get organized. Maybe.

IMG_6337
You can never go wrong with good food and drink. Two of my favorites here. Perfect for rainy cold weather.  

Then we need to add some beauty to our visual break.

IMG_7608
One of my favorite roses, the Double Delight. Yes, Spring will come again and while a few roses are still blooming now, this gives me hope!

And last but not least, every writer needs a wingman, so here is mine, Spec Ops Cat.

IMG_6942
And I wonder why the paper jams in my printer; must be the cat hair. Spec Ops Cat doing his impression of a paperweight. Good boy!

 

Got Favorite Spring Break Memories?

By Leave a Comment

by Kimberly A. Cook               (Twitter@   WarriorTales)

The traffic on the way to the day job yesterday was light, the parking lot half full and the phones quiet; must be Spring Break! For those of us who don’t get Spring Break, it does bring back happy memories and carefree days of Beach Boys songs and the promise of “Fun, Fun, Fun.”

Had two teasing days of sun the end of last week, but sure as can be the rains are back for the school break vacation. So while it seems this gray cloudy weather will never leave us alone, I don’t want the record breaking temperatures of last summer either. Let’s go for a middle, normal type summer this year okay?

So with that in mind, I want to jog Mother Nature’s memory with reminders of what great summers look like. Here are a few pictures to give her some summer ideas.

IMG_3647.JPG
The beachfront at Lahaina, Maui. Always a winner!

 

IMG_4261.JPG
The red Veteran’s Honor and pink Fairy roses, two of my all time favorites in bloom.
IMG_2891.JPG
Taking the time to enjoy a spectacular desert sunset.

So note to Mother Nature; feel free to repeat any of the above this summer. Spring break dreams just might lead to summer days of happiness. “If everybody had an ocean……” Got fun Spring Break memories?

 

When Is A Box Or A Drawer A Good Thing For Your Book?

By 4 Comments

by Kimberly A. Cook                                               (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

True confessions time. Last weekend I put my book in a box. Literally. I took it off my desk and put it in a plastic container with a lid and stuck it in a corner. We both need a time out. Now some writers might think I am avoiding hard work or procrastinating or all of the above. Probably.

My book in the box. (I keep all my manuscripts in 3-ring binders.) Back away from the box.......
My book in the box. (I keep all my manuscripts in 3-ring binders.) Back away from the box…….

However, when I am avoiding my entire home office because the manuscript is in there, it’s telling me something else is going on with the book. Like, maybe I don’t want to write this book at all. Forget the fact it is a second edition, originally published in 2006, it’s almost done – except for all the final grunt work.

A big part of this is the “been there, done that” where’s the new hot spicy fun stuff part. But a bigger part I am coming to realize is after specializing in my military niche for 16 years, its wearing a little thin on me or I am too thin in the creativity department right now. Think both apply.

Rather than slog through the grunt work and produce a second edition book with mediocre updates, I decided to give both of us recess time. Immediately felt better. Yes, the siren call of my other fiction and non-fiction manuscripts are luring me, but right now my right brain wants to do one thing; knit.

So that is what I am going to do for a while, be a creative knitter, write my blog posts, take pictures and see what happens. Maybe my muse needs a sabbatical summer to get itself in gear again. Or maybe there are bigger shifts afoot here in writer brain land. It’s been a bumpy eight months for me for various reasons and I think all the parts of my brain want a summer sojourn.

Warm summer evenings spent swinging in the lawn swing and knitting up a storm may be just what my muse needs to refresh and reinvigorate itself. Or maybe it is making grand plans I have no inkling about. One never knows.

Have you ever put your work in a box or drawer for a time and then gotten back to it? Was it fermenting or decomposing or growing in there? My quirky mind would like to know!