Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

romance writers

What Do Boxing, Romance And Water Have In Common?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                     (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Those are the topics of the current books I’m reading. Seems no matter how I try, I’ve always got a rather eclectic reading list. At breaks at the day job I’m reading “Blows To The Head – How Boxing Changed My Mind,” by Binnie Klein.

Is this a great book cover or what? Girls box too!
Is this a great book cover or what? Girls box too!

Came across the title on Amazon.com while I was doing research on using speed bags. My Dad trained me on a boxing speed bag he set up in the basement when I was growing up. Loved the rhythm and sound of the bag going back and forth. Dad did some boxing in the Army, including aboard a Navy ship on his way overseas during World War II.

He taught me how to hold my arm straight, not bend my wrist and punch the mauve leather Everlast bag. With the onset of flabby upper arms and bingo wings, I’d been researching to try it again. (FYI – Tons of boxing instruction videos on YouTube.)

This non-fiction book is written by a middle-aged therapist who takes up boxing lessons. She explores how it changes her thought processes and views on life. Great read!

Before bed the book I’m reading now is “Life Drawing For Beginners,” by Roisin Meany. Stumbled upon this gem while cruising the books at Target. Love to find new authors on their shelves. It’s fiction about a group of students taking an art class and how their lives intertwine. Only started this last night, but enjoying it so far.

Last but not least on deck is the non-fiction, “Blue Mind – The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do,” by Wallace J. Nichols. How’s that for a secondary title? This is part of my plan to figure out  how to get more trips to Maui and claim it on taxes as research. It’s a goal! Or to fire up that little fake candle water fountain for my office; perhaps more realistic.

So right now I have boxing, romance and water on my reading plate.  To write we must read. What’s on your reading list?

Have You Checked Out A Local Historical Society?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                  (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

The only thing I like better than going on vacation to Maui is to do book research while there. My passion for hunting the quirky was indulged this past week while on the beautiful Valley Isle, even though Mother Nature provided a heat wave too.

The Maui Historical Society has a list of their archive items online on their website. I checked it out a couple of months ago while getting ready for the trip. I spied a group of documents titled World War II and a gem about one Navy ship. Decided I had to check out the file.

Bailey House Museum of the Maui Historical Society in Wailuku.
Bailey House Museum of the Maui Historical Society in Wailuku.

Called the Society when we arrived and made an appointment later in the week to review the file plus two others. Can’t wait to tell you about those gems later this Fall. (I keep saying Fall because I’m not ready for it.)

I felt so official, having my appointment, my notepad and camera along. They provided white cotton gloves to view the items, so not only did I feel like Mickey Mouse, but I was in hog heaven for a good hour. Paid for copies to be made of the items I wanted to take home. Took some non-flash photos of others.

Discovered a gem in the file about the Navy ship and some hand written letters which related to it too. Score! To me there is nothing like original research and archival documents. In this age of digital everything, for me there is true romance in touching paper other human hands used to write letters and communicate.

In the Museum basement reviewing archive documents with my fabulous white gloves. Hair explained by heat wave.
In the Museum basement reviewing archive documents with my fabulous white gloves. Hair explained by heat wave.

Call me old school, but it really gives you a feel for the person and the times when you can touch the photos, see the loops of their hand writing and bond with history.

If you have a certain area of interest, genre or passion, check it out at your local historical society. You may be excited with new inspiration and support the local keepers of the past. It’s a win for everyone!

Are you a history detective? Explore your local historical societies and museums today.

www.mauimuseum.org

 

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/

 

New Feline Friends Are The Best Kind

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by Kimberly A. Cook                   (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

If you haven’t seen this cute video you are in for a treat. Seems a stray cat at the St. Petersburg Zoo in Russia decided the lynx cat’s house looked much better than his, especially with heat. The obviously Spec Ops trained kitty found his way into the enclosure and they soon became best buds.

The zoo has officially adopted the stray cat and you can see he/she looks to be eating quite well. I love a happy ending. Happy Quirky Friday!

Here Comes Summer, So Dance!

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by Kimberly A. Cook                  (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Been trying my best to find the perfect summer video to share and then threw my hands in the air and went with a favorite. Back in simpler times when people went away to resorts for the summer, who were those people anyway, activities and dancing were part of the experience. The closest thing I did was be an aide at Camp Westwind on the Oregon Coast. It involved washing dishes and getting thrown in a feed trough by an albino pony. I learned macrame too, but no dancing.

So the best movie about those “times” for me will always be “Dirty Dancing.” With the amazing Patrick Swayze and wonderful Jennifer Grey, it is still a lifetime favorite. Summer starts tomorrow, so put on your dancing shoes and enjoy the sun! Happy Quirky Friday!

How Many Words Make A Book?

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by Kimberly A. Cook               (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

In my quest to purge paper files in my office, I’ve resorted to drastic measures – I’m moving my craft supplies and tools into the same room. This madness is so I can make my “writing office” feel more like an “art studio” and to corral my ever-expanding craft hoarding.

Banker boxes from hell.
Banker boxes from hell.

This mission is not without peril. When I made the big move of the jewelry/sewing table and the wire rack into the office, something had to go; the banker boxes of paper files which need to be sorted. After tripping over them in the hallway for two weeks, luckily Spec Ops Cat can squeeze by to get to his litter box, I finally started sorting this past weekend.

A piece of paper I could not locate a few months ago for a blog post charged into view. Must be time to use it!

The Romance Writers of America newsletter page from the Heart of Oregon chapter in May 1992 remains in my files for good reason. The short article from the Colorado RWA via the Florida RWA newsletter still has great information.

For those of us who proof on paper hard copy, if we use the standard manuscript format still used to submit to traditional publishers – 1 ¼ inch left margin and one-inch right margin – a double-spaced page will average 24 to 26 lines of text. Don’t count the header and use a 12 point font.

With that format in mind, you can use the following “pages-to-words” guide.

# words                      Pages

50,000                        200

55,000                        220

60,000                        240

65,000                        260

70,000                        280

75,000                        300

80,000                        320

85,000                        340

100,000                      400

115,000                      460

This is one way to get a quick idea of page length without trying to figure out your word/page count all mucked together. These guidelines are critical for romance writers who are writing to a specific category book word length. For instance, for those who love the Avon historical romances, most of them are 100,000 words so it means a 400-page double-spaced manuscript. They truly are big books!

This is also how traditional publishers figure out how large or small a book manuscript will be in a flash. Now with ebooks no such rules apply, unless you print out the hard copy like I do to edit.

Another reason to double-space your writing and print it out on hard copy? It’s so much easier to edit with the extra white space. Happy word counting!