Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

veterans

Pumpkin Gratitude and Thanksgiving Wishes

By

Just took this out of the oven. Should have stirred the drops in the middle of the pie before baking, but regardless, we’re eating it tomorrow. Bring on the whip cream!

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Food, family, and friends.

The best things in life.

I wanted to send a quick wish of happiness and gratitude to everyone this Thanksgiving Eve. I have so many things to be thankful for and I try not to take them for granted.

With that in mind, please remember our troops serving around the globe defending our freedoms at this minute. Having spent holidays away from home in the military, I know the troops make do and celebrate the best they can, but it is a sacrifice, part of the mission. Keep them in your thoughts.

To my fellow veterans, thank you for your service and know I recognize the challenges after service. Please seek help if you need support. You’re important to your warrior sisters and brothers.   

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving with family, friends, and fur babies.

Spread kindness.

Hugs,

Kim

 

It’s Holiday Hustle Time! Or Not

By 5 Comments

Holiday hustle
Walked into the big box store on October 17 and was greeted by this. Gah! But isn’t the penguin cute?

Everybody still full of turkey? Not me. Due to my sister’s dental surgery, we opted for spaghetti take-out this year. With garlic cheesy bread. I’d give up the keys to the kingdom for that amazing delicacy. Since I figured spumoni ice cream did not go with pumpkin pie, I adapted and made brownies instead. Worked like a charm. No complaints.

I’ve made my holiday gift list and pulled down the box of Christmas cards to mail. No idea when that will happen. The shoemaker elves appear to have gone to the North Pole for better wages, because they’re not in my house.

My current work in process has moved out of town with my editor, who sold her house and had to move in two weeks flat. It’s a miracle the manuscript isn’t in their storage PODS waiting for delivery. Yes, we are old school. She edits on actual paper. So do I. Computer screens are tricky and can disguise and change words without your knowledge. That’s my excuse and I’m using it.

Then this past week, I decided to rip my home office apart and purge and reorganize books. Do not attempt this without massive amounts of chocolate on hand. Everything was going great until I realized the cable connection would be behind the tall bookcase. Sigh.

A five-day craft project ensued to move the cable box using a sheetrock saw, drill, tape, mud, sanding, and texturing from my construction Ninja friend. My desk and office were draped in pink sheets. Dusting and vacuuming happened. Then I applied two coats of paint after hunting down the original color chip and getting it matched. 

Today the books go in the bookcase!

I think that epitomizes the past couple years. No matter what you start out to do, something is going to make it a challenge. For those of us not quite ready to go prime time with naked faces, heading outside to be with people seems like a complete Indiana Jones type adventure. More snakes and rolling rocks than fun treasure. And that’s okay.

I’ve always walked to a different drummer, expect during Army basic training, but every person on this planet has a story about this pandemic. We’re all doing the best we can, except for the usual outliers who prefer crazy all the time. I’m going for boring.

We’ve had enough drama. With all that is going on in the world, you have my permission to hide under your bed until 2023. I plan on doing that myself.

But I bet I will find dust bunnies I need to clean.

First world problems.

Know there are others out here with anxiety issues, holiday stress, lockdown syndrome, and obsessive-compulsive office rearranging impulses. I’ve got all of those on any given day. Reach out for help when you need it. That makes you a mental health warrior and a badass. Trust me.

We don’t know how to do all the things all the time.

That’s why coaches get big bucks to teach the rest of us how to do things from football to writing.

Same goes for mental health; get a coach if you need one. That might be a friend, a pet, or a professional counselor.

Last time I checked the majority of us were not around during the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic, so this pandemic rolling dumpster fire is new for all of us. And apparently relentless. Nobody make a song about Covid, flu and RSV unless the Minions sing it.

For those of us in the sexy senior category, it does feel a bit like we have targets on our butts. But don’t count us Baby Boomers or our older scouts out. We grew up without seat belts, bike helmets, the Internet, and cell phones. We have vintage skills, survival know how, and power tools.

And we are happy to welcome the Zoomers, aka Gen Z born 1997 – 2012, to the table who have gotten a baptism by fire and appear up to the challenge. Whatever the cool word is now, you folks are that. I salute you.

As we move into holiday central, be kind to yourself and others.

And feel free to make brownies. It helps.

Thank you to all our veterans, active duty, reserve and guard military members, hospital and medical staff, law enforcement, and fire fighter personnel for keeping us safe 24/7 around the globe.

Santa has you on the very nice list.

Digital hugs to all and to all a good night!

P.S. There are never enough cat videos and this month our local feline celebrity is my favorite! I give you OwlKitty!

 

“It’s Holiday Hustle Time! Or Not,” copyright © 2022 by Kimberly A. Cook. Image at top of the blog copyright © 2022 by Kimberly A. Cook

 

Romance Books? Especially In Pandemic Times

By 4 Comments

When last we chatted, my goal was to get my next book out pronto. Nothing happens fast during a pandemic, except transmission. Bollocks!

But with dogged determination, lots of cookies, and too many donuts in the house, my new book is out. Only about seven monthsMission: Canine Hearts behind schedule. I’m giving myself an A for effort. Because I could write like a wild woman in lockdown, but not edit. Brain fade, fog, or avoidance. Let’s assume all three.  Then family medical issues, not Covid. Focus can be a challenge. Right?

Please check out my new book, Mission: Canine Hearts.

Enough marketing. Back to our regular programming.

It seems, for some unknown reason, I can upload pictures again. Priceless! Through the power of procrastination, somebody in WordPress-land fixed that debacle from several months ago. Thank you so much. I hope it lasts. So, to celebrate before I lose that capacity again, let’s look at some pics!

@#$%^ Spoke too soon. I have to make my pics smaller. Argh! I’m sure it’s a pixel issue. Let me hunt down the frozen chocolate donuts first.

In that case, let’s look at some videos! This Oregon Zoo video made me howl a few weeks ago because it is exactly what’s been happening in my fiction critique group Zoom meetings. Someone’s tech is always going sideways. For no rhyme or reason, but we plow on. And look a lot like these humongo Hornbills in front of the webcams. Either Claudia’s smoke alarm beeps when we meet, never at any other time, or we can’t see Cindy.

She has tried to get us to see her face. Halfway through our last meeting, Cindy’s face popped up from a black screen and startled the rest of us. I’ve had to hack in from the main web site when the prior meeting email worked fine. Such are the times we live in. I like everyone’s creativity and the willingness to adapt.

Soapbox alert. The Army and Air Force taught me that masks save lives. Mine and others. Whether it’s a gas mask or an oxygen mask, they work. It’s an educational moment to be standing in the gas chamber in Army basic training. You can feel your skin crawl when they pop the gas. You learn to trust your mask in the chamber.

Then they make you take off your mask to really appreciate it. You have to repeat your name, rank, and something else unimportant, to keep you inside long enough to take a fine whiff of chemicals before getting permission to leave. Very educational.

Our scientists, healthcare personnel, and essential frontline workers have become our modern day fighter pilots, like in the movie Independence Day. As ground support crew to them, our cloth face masks are one crucial tool to fight this global enemy and support our new pandemic fighter pilots. Mask up America!

Off my soapbox. Where was I? See, this is what happens during these times. Squirrel!

I’d like to close with a few items I’ve been doing to keep me from going nuts. (And I bet you think it’s not working!) 

  1. Taking walks.
  2. Listening to Great Meditation on YouTube
  3. Following The Minimal Mom on YouTube to help edit out the clutter in my home.
  4. Watching way too many YouTube videos.
  5. Major League Baseball. (I’m an NFL gal, but I’m enjoying their efforts. Calms me down.)
  6. Giving myself a break. If we only get one thing done a day, bloody brilliant!
  7. Taking flower pictures.
  8. Laughing with friends on the phone and on Zoom.
  9. Filling up my local Goodwill with donations.
  10. Writing things in my After Pandemic To Do booklet.
  11. Being grateful to write the stories of my heart.

Hope you are all healthy, safe, and coping. Hugs to all. We are in this big earth SUV together, so let’s quit fighting in the backseat and get along.

Moving forward together is the best way to defeat this damn virus. Onward America! 

We’ve got a lot of work to do.

Right after I chomp on a frozen chocolate donut.

Blessings.  

And because we need it. The Red Panda cub at the Oregon Zoo!

 

 

Need A Break From The Holi-Daze?

By 4 Comments

Kimberly A. Cook
Spec Ops Cat offers his holiday advice. Including letting me know it’s time to scram with the camera, so he can nap.

It’s official. The holiday crazies are here. At a time of year when life is normally hectic, between crazy weather and a quick-turn between Thanksgiving and the holidays, coping is required. No matter how I try to slow down the days, get organized, and stay on top of things; life happens.

So here are a few tips for my fellow crazed humans trying to survive this time of the year. Heads up. If you’re visiting Costco from now until New Years, it’s official combat shopping season in that arena. Be prepared, take your patience, and pack protein snacks.

At any point in the day, except while driving snowplows or piloting the space station; sit, stay, breathe, blink, repeat.

This is a hectic time for family pets too. Make sure you give them the required cuddle time to calm their nerves. And yours. A two-fer!

Making memories doesn’t require money. A visit and laugh with a good friend does make the world go round.

Everybody has hard times. Reach out to others you know who could use a boost. Positivity is catching.

Get some rest. I saw a USPS truck being towed away yesterday. Obviously it had given it’s all for the busiest season. Nap like a champ.

It’s okay to buy pre-made cookie dough. I have three rolls in my refrigerator right now.  Remember, Martha Stewart has 300 staff. We don’t.

As long as Christmas/holiday cards are mailed before or after the holiday, they count. Friends understand and are just glad to hear from you.

There are no calories in December. Just know they rollover to January, like a cell phone plan.

Cozy is a good four-letter word. Practice it.

We miss folks we have lost this time of year, so let’s revisit a favorite happy memory to be grateful they were in our lives.

The Winter Solstice arrives this weekend. Shortest day of the year? Done! We get another minute of light! Wear your Hawaiian shirts!

If you missed National Chocolate-Covered Anything day on Monday, feel free to celebrate late. It’s all good.

Need more light this time of year? I switched my light bulbs from soft to daylight in the bathroom and about fried my retinas. I may be seeing things I’d rather not, but my body thinks its Maui in there. Wear sunglasses if necessary. Who needs makeup?

Send good wishes and prayers for all the folks dealing with family and health challenges this time of year. And all the first responders and medical staff working to support them. There are angels amongst us.

Buy yourself a present. There are tons of cool and fun things at Dollar Tree. Like my pink paper clip holder in the shape of a mini to-go coffee cup. Cute, functional, and cheap. Three of my favorite words.

Hugs are power transfers from one person to another. Ask permission first when it comes to strangers.

Greet the bell ringers and wish them happy holidays. Thank them for their volunteer time. Give a buck or two if you can.

Take time for yourself. Even five minutes. Take a walk, watch the sunrise, or refill the hummingbird feeder.

Say a wish of gratitude for all our troops serving around the world and their families who support them, whether they are home or far away.

Keep an eye out for Santa. The North American Aerospace Defense Command is on the job clearing his air space. The NORAD Santa Tracker launches in six days.  Rudolph on point.

Hugs and happiness to all my blog readers. You guys are fabulous and extremely good looking.

Let’s gear up for 2020!

Right after I eat all the cookies and finish the eggnog.

 

“Need A Break From The Holi-Daze?” Copyright © 2019 by Kimberly A. Cook. Image Copyright © 2019 by Kimberly A. Cook.

Confessions Of An Author Tortoise

By 4 Comments

Mission: Purple HeartsDreams do come true. I wrote my first romance book at age ten. This week I published my first romance novel, fifty-two years later. A dream deferred, but not denied.

Wanted to give you a quick synopsis of the years in between. In Junior and Senior High School, I worked on the school newspapers and took tons of writing and literature classes. Entered the Army with the idea of writing a book, so I kept notes, letters and continued my love of photography.  Getting out of the Army I used my G.I. Bill to attend community college. Seems the consensus of my two career choices of writer or marine biologist were not the largest job pools, so I chose a business degree.

Graduated in the middle of a recession, couldn’t get hired, worked temporary jobs. After six months decided, screw this, I’m going back to college. Since I had overloaded on coursework for my business degree, I still had four terms of benefits. Enrolled in the Journalism Arts Technology program at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon, and earned my Associate Degree.

During my last term, my internship at The Gresham Outlook newspaper led me to apply for a job with the Newport News-Times on the Oregon Coast. I became the feature section editor and proceeded to write and photograph for eighteen months in what turned out to be an invaluable school of its own.

Next I moved on to Public Affairs Officer at the Portland VA Medical Center. While I built the first public relations program at the hospital, I enrolled in Dee Lopez’s beginning and advanced novel writing classes.  There I adapted my journalism skills into the fiction world, not an easy transition from “just the facts” of journalism to the “how does it make you feel” galaxy of fiction.

I met Cindy Hiday, my fellow aspiring student, and we became good friends. I joined Romance Writers of America and Willamette Writers, went to many local and national writing conferences. My first romance novel was titled Wings of Ice, about the world of Air Force Reserve Aerovac, which I’d joined in 1989. Because I wasn’t busy enough, obviously. But, still I wrote.

When my first novel was sent to Dee’s agent in New York, and I ended up being mobilized for Desert Storm, life got tricky. Romance publisher Silhouette requested my first and then second novels, but both were rejected with very nice letters. After a year of Desert Storm impacting my life state-side, I went to work for the feds again. Then I enrolled in Cindy’s novel classes, now an author herself, taking over from the retired Dee Lopez.

In Cindy’s course I saw the need for a writing class for my fellow veterans. Using Dee’s course as a guideline, I developed and taught Writing War Stories for three years at Mt. Hood Community College. Life is a loop. When I quit teaching, I wrote Do Bar Fights Count?, the non-fiction book on how I taught the class and self-published it in 2006. Before Kindle. It’s still on my Amazon author page in paperback. (June 2024 only used print books available, second edition in progress)

Right after that life got nuts on all levels. We had family challenges, I changed day jobs, and tried to save an aircraft carrier, the USS Ranger, to become a museum. All while working full-time, but now for a local government agency. In the meantime, I started a writer support group, because I really needed one. We still meet. And, I wrote when I could.

Fast-forward to December 2016, I retired two years earlier than I expected from the day job. I hear that happens to forty-one percent of us. It’s been a roller-coaster ride of helping move my Mom, clean and sell the family home of fifty-seven years, dig out my own house and try to figure out a new schedule. The fiction critique group Cindy and I started in November 2016 still meets and helped keep me honest on my writing and grounded. Plus there are fabulous snacks.

Along the way I’ve written one screenplay, (while taking several terms of Bill Johnson’s screenwriting class at MHCC) attended tons of writing conferences and classes, read volumes, kept working on my craft, and learned about the ins and outs of today’s indie publishing requirements. To make this book happen I’ve used at least nine different computer software programs, moved my legacy web site to this one, and almost threw my computer out my home office window. Many times. I refrained. Barely.

But this week I finally uploaded my first romance novel, my fifth one written, and pushed publish. I can’t even explain how good that feels to send my little book on its way. And you know the best part? After all the editing, proofing, beta readers, formatting, and business side of things is mostly set up, I can get back to the real fun.

Because to keep me kinda sane, I wrote two more books and they now need to be edited. Plus, it’s time to start the next book in the two series. I still consider myself a rookie fiction writer, but it is truly my joy, not a job. 

Don’t give up. Don’t deny your dreams, no matter how long they take. Grab life and hug it!

For the curious, Mission: Purple Hearts, a military romance, is available in ebook at  https://amzn.to/2YztBT7  You can get the free Vintage Veterans series prequel, Desert Devils, at https://www.kimberlyacook.com/signup 

How about those covers? I picked the artwork and my cover designer rocked it!

I may sleep with them. Seriously.

Desert Devils

March 2021 Update: And the quest continues. Since posting this about my first book, I have published three more fiction books with two more on deck, plus nonfiction on the way. My Amazon author page http://amazon.com/author/kimberlyacook

Since an indie author’s life resembles trying to tap dance while scrubbing the decks of a floundering ship in high seas, here are some things which have tried to impact my writer determination.

October 2019. Published Spec Ops Pig – The day I published this book my mom was delivered to my front porch after a neighbor saw her fall while on her daily walk. The concrete won. Mom was okay, after we cleaned her up. Hard to take down a former Marine, no matter the age. But keep your eyes open for ambush curbs.

March 2020. Pandemic lockdown. Right after we moved mom into assisted living. Trying to provide tech tv remote support from outside the building is not one of my best skills. But I’m good at delivering bags of stuff. Life is logistics!  

July 2020. Published Mission: Canine Hearts – I only check the news, social media, and turn on my cell phone after lunch. I carve nine to noon for writing time five days a week. Getting ready to upload this book, the news said the city the book is set in had blown up. That day. Again. Could not believe it. What are the odds? Hard to fathom more loss of life in that town. Said a prayer, then pushed publish, and moved forward.

September 2020. Wildfires hit and my entire family was on evacuation notice. Packing the car and preparing to flee screws up your writing schedule. We didn’t have to bug out, but the killer smoke inversion tried to make breathing optional. Humans need oxygen. Semper Parrot was delayed and Merry MisMouse, holiday book, bumped forward for the second year. It’s half finished! But the holidays keep getting jammed up.

December 2020. Published Semper Parrot – As far as I know, no parrots were impacted by this book’s launch. I’m getting a bit nervous about pushing publish these days. Who knows what havoc my books might unleash?     

February 2021. Massive winter storm power outage. Four plus days without heat, but plenty of outside ice. Balmy twenty-six degrees out. Launched an extraction mission to get my mom to my sister’s house, since they had gas heat. I will only own a Subaru. And my dad’s hard hat prevented me from a concussion when I got clocked with falling ice. Proper gear people!  

At some point, you just go with it. Flying vampire zombies must be next. One looks skyward and yells, “Bring it!” The Army and Air Force Reserve taught me valuable lessons. People first. Eyes on the mission. Zig. Zag. Gas. Go around. Evasive maneuvers.

But since I’ve broken every book marketing rule known to women, I march on. Perseverance. And a ton of Dove dark chocolate. Peanut M&Ms for backup. And cookies. Always cookies.

The only constants are change and chaos. To quote Marine slang; Semper Gumby – Always Flexible. Or something like that.

Now my marketing plan is to study the Ads for Authors course I bought last year to learn about Amazon ads. If the entire Amazon web site goes down, it’s not my fault. Caveat emptor. If they let me pay to use their system, I’m not responsible for what happens.

In the meantime? I keep writing. Because when the world gets too crazy, I can hide in fictional Hat River, Oregon. I find out what my characters are doing and how their lives are going. Writers escape inside their heads. So do readers. Stay tuned for more crazy.

Books ahoy!

February 2022. Published Mission: Disabled Hearts.  

October 2022. Where was I? Lost a lot of the last year when my mom went on hospice, then died in September 2021. (She hated the term “passed away,” so not using that!) A journey of grief and transitions is tricky, but one day at a time usually works. Writing was my anchor and therapy these past years, however editing was beyond me until earlier this year when I published Mission: Disabled Hearts. 

And because I never do what I’m supposed to, I wrote a book in a new connected series this year, which is with my editor. Because that was the book I needed to write. I should take Vegas betting odds to see if I finally get Merry MisMouse, the holiday book, finished this year. Who knows? Stay tuned! 

November 2023: Published Forbidden Biker, which I’ve come to call mom’s book. It started a new series, Moonstruck Makeovers, and I kept writing. I wrote it to avoid working on Merry MisMouse, truth be told.

December 2023: Finally published Merry MisMouse! Miracles do happen. Started writing this book in August 2019, and life kept shoving it past the next Christmas. For years! But finally, I prevailed. Note to self, write all future holiday books in July. 

December 2023: Published my first novella, Gingerbread Gorgeous, in the Single Santa’s Club series. Because I wrote this novella to also avoid working on Merry MisMouse. Which means I ignored all of my notes to myself and somehow published three holiday books in a row. I’m still digging out my office mess from that escapade.

July 2024: Getting ready to publish Mission: Runaway Hearts, due back from my editor any minute. Plus, I’m editing the Writing War Stories nonfiction writing book for veterans, published in 2006 titled Do Bar Fights Count? Give me chocolate! Shouldn’t I be writing a holiday book too? It’s July! And I am up to my eyeballs creating a streamlined series bible to keep track of all my characters in Hat River, Oregon, where ALL of my connected series are set. I’ve built an entire town, people, it’s a lot. In a fictional small town, not so far away…

November 2024: Published Mission: Runaway Hearts. Don’t ask me what happened to the fall. It was a blur. Pretty sure there were some tech issues which I have banished from my brain. 

December 2024: Published Chef Gorgeous. A holiday novella out before the holiday. Imagine. Miracles do happen! I must write the next one in July. Seriously. And since I can’t write a series in a straight line to save my life, next up is book two in the Moonstruck Makeovers series. Because I am not the boss of my muse. Plus, the series bible is turning into an octopus. And I am doing a fabulous job of avoiding the final edit on the nonfiction book. Romance books are so much more fun to write….

The adventure continues…     

 

“Confessions of an Author Tortoise” Copyright © 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 by Kimberly A. Cook. Cover images Mission: Purple Hearts ID 62380801 © Sashkinw at Dreamstime.com and Desert Devils ID 140447199 © Ag042d at Dreamstime.com  Cover Designs by Robin Ludwig Design Inc.

Memorial Day – Never Forget

By 2 Comments

Last week I was watching a YouTube video where widows of service members were being brought together to make new friendships and heal. The Gary Sinise Foundation hosted their visit to Los Angeles, California.

One widow voiced the pain of all families and friends of fallen service members: their worst fear is their loved ones will be forgotten.

That is why this Memorial Day, pause and take time to remember, reflect, and respect the sacrifice of those who gave all when asked to by our country. This holiday is to show these families we will not forget their loss and their loved ones service, whether man, woman, or military working animal.

Let us also remember the families who still don’t have answers about the fate of their missing loved ones.

World War II  72,719

Korean War  7,661

Vietnam War  1,589

Cold War    126

Gulf Wars   5

El Dorado Canyon   1

Enjoy the holiday weekend, be safe, and never forget.