Tag Archives: WANA

Birds of a Feather…Really?

First of all, I want to thank everyone for the wonderful support you gave me in my reentrance into the Blogosphere. My last post had the largest participation of any post that’s appeared on my blog, ever.
 

Why did that happen?
 

I prefer to think of it as the old Birds of a Feather adage.

birds_in-_flight

(Image Credit: AlicePopkorn/Flickr.com)

You know. We flock together.
 

No, I’m not talking about the Pelican, although we’ll get to him in a moment.
 

See, I think this goes far beyond people who are drawn to others who have similar interests.
 

If you’ve ever watched a flock of birds in the sky, there’s no doubt you’ve noticed they usually fly in some kind of formation. Rare is the bird that flies alone.
 

It’s interesting that flocks of birds may differ in size, occur in different species and seasons, yet it is customary that flocks have special names such as a raft of ducks, a charm of finches or a horde of ravens.
 

It seems that birds flock together for many reasons. They congregate to forage, to protect, for camaraderie, to produce and raise a family, for warmth and aerodynamics.
 

Wouldn’t you say that as writers, we can relate to all of the above?
 

We forage together for craft and publishing information. We protect and look out for one another. We form a close alliance with other writers. We nurture our creativity when we produce our books. And we would never consider leaving one of our fellow writers out in the cold.
 

Yet, we are also aerodynamic. We assemble in groups and organizations that allow us to sense a change in wind patterns that enable us to make changes in our life or in the publishing world. We flock together, thus we gain the support to weather any change within current conditions.
 

When we gather together, we use our energy in a more efficient way. It becomes an act of survival, thus none of us are left flailing, floating aimlessly alone. Perhaps if we adopt the custom of naming our own specie of flock, we could call ourselves a gaggle of wanas!
 

I kind of like that, don’t you?
 

So again, thank you for all your support. Y’all gave me a huge lift and an immense feeling that I am not flying solo. I’m truly a member soaring in formation along with the flock.
 

Because Birds of a Feather. You know. We flock together!
 

Really.
 

Now about the Pelican.
 

Jennette Marie Powell related the short version of a rhyme that her grandfather used to say that I thought was apropos. “A strange old bird is the pelican. His beak can hold more than his bellycan.”
 

Well, I sure received a belly full of suggestions. Some were rather inventive. Who knew a Pelican could be so popular. Although, I have to say there were a few of you that were leery of him. While some thought it would be a good idea to wear a hat, others found him to be professorial. And that of course had an influence on your recommendation for his name.
 

Yet, in taking into consideration everyone’s suggestions, be it here on my blog or on Facebook, the name that was submitted most was, believe it or not, “Murphy.”
 

It looks like I now have an Irish Pelican named Murphy!
 

And you know what? I think it’s a good fit. I like it!
 

Oh, by the way. Let me reassure you that Murphy and I had a chat. And he has promised to be on his best behavior and has agreed to act like a perfect gentleman. Since he and I just met, I have no choice but to take his word on this. But if you should notice him getting out of line, please let me know. What can I say? I now share this blog with a bird! Who would’ve thought?
 

So what do you think? Has your life, like my blog, gone to the birds? Do you prefer to fly alone or would you rather soar with the flock? If you were to compare yourself to a bird, what kind of bird would you most likely be? What is your latest project that you are trying to gain liftoff?
 

I want you to know, you guys really Rock!
 

Cheers everyone! Thank you so much for all your support and wonderful comments!
Karen

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Boot Scootin’ Re-Launch Party!

Howdy!

Welcome to the party everyone!
 
Y’all might want to grab a glass of the bubbly before we take a look around.


(I only bring this picture out on special occations!)

Yes, I thought we were due for a blog party around here. It’s been six long months since a post on this site has hit the Blogosphere. And we’ve got a lot to celebrate!
 
Well, what do you think? Do you like what you see? It’s a big change, isn’t it?
 
As you know, change doesn’t always come easy. In my case, or should I say in the case of my old theme, it was dying a slow death. Plugins refused to play nice with widgets who refused to play nice with the theme. It would send your comments to spam, yet spammers were allowed to leave a comment. You have no idea how many times I’ve saved all of you from the trash.

Time for a fresh start and a new beginning!

So I called the illustrious Wana Web Techie Guru, Laird Sapir.

But I had to wait. Yes, it seems Laird is a pretty popular web techie gal. Yet, just in time for spring, she became available. And as I found out, if you’re willing to wait, you may even be serenaded by her three year old daughter. “I love you, you love me.” Yep, she’s that precious!
It always pays to be patient. And as you can see, Laird was so worth the wait!

Let’s scoot to the top of the page shall we and take a look at the new header. You may have noticed that my tagline “Life Happens” went missing. I wasn’t quite sure where to put it. So it is my hope that these pictures will say more than words. They are the backdrop of my life and the stomping ground for the main characters of my future books.

Yes, life will still be happening around here! :)

You’ll notice as you scroll down the left sidebar, there’s the usual About and Contact page. And right below is my picture. Now we, as in Amber West and Lynn Kelley, graciously tried to play with a new picture in Photoshop. Thank you Amber and Lynn! Well…my picture looked quite frankly…Photoshoped. Lol! So I opted to leave the old picture in place because it’s the same little ol’ me. Besides, a new picture gives us all something to look forward to in the future.

Now directly underneath is my “Follow” information. If you haven’t already subscribed to my blog, you are more than welcome to join us at any time. As you can see, I am not a blog maniac. I do not blog five thousand times a week.

Then of course, you may also Follow Me on Twitter, Facebook or LinkIn. How cool is that?

Scootin’ right along, next you’ll find my Facebook Author “Like” and Twitter feeds, archived posts and then if you scroll down just a little bit further, you’ll notice something kind of special at the end of the sidebar. Do you see it?

Yep, it’s the Pelican. He’s a pretty handsome dude, don’t you think? I thought he’d make a great mascot. But there’s only one problem. He has no name. I had thought of naming him Alfred. Don’t ask me why. There is no rhyme or reason to my madness. But hubby hated it. “No, don’t name that poor bird Alfred!” I know, he needs to get his own blog. Lol. Then I thought, why not ask all of you what you think might be a good name for him. He can’t just not have a name. After all, he deserves some recognition since he plans on staying for a while.

So what do you think? How do you like my new Digs? Please do that poor bird handsome Pelican a favor and suggest a name for him in the comments section before you Boot Scoot your way out of here. And of course, you know I’d love to hear how y’all are doing!

Cheers everyone! It’s great to be back. Thank you as always for all your support and wonderful comments! See you next week!
Karen

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If You’re Missed and You Know It, Clap Your Hands!


(Do you know who those hands belong to? Is it a plea for help? Is someone missing? If so, could it be you or me? Thank you Lynn Kelley for volunteering this picture via WANA Commons.)
 

In any event, everyone Clap Your Hands!
 

Some of you may have noticed that I didn’t blog over the summer. It wasn’t planned. It just happened. I succumbed to burn-out, an aftershock from all the turmoil that happened over the last couple of years. I couldn’t move. Days would go by and I literally could not move.
 

Was I depressed? No, not really. More like exhausted. Beyond exhausted.
 

When you are deluged by difficulties that are out of your control, when necessary, you will rise to the occasion, then afterwards you collapse. I think it has something to do with that old adage, what goes up must come down. And I crashed. It’s just that simple.
 

At first I thought I’d take a month off. That sounded reasonable. With so many of you at home with your children or gone away on vacation, I would go unnoticed. Then another month went by and then another. It got easier not to blog. I mean, who would really miss me?
 

But I was wrong.
 

I tried to connect on Facebook because it’s a great way to stay in touch. Then, in mid-August, I saw a post on my feed that mentioned a WANA classmate who was recovering from major surgery. Don’t ya just love that about Facebook? It gives us an opportunity to support and root for our family and friends. The WANAite was none other than Anthony Tuscano. And he apparently had a serious issue that required major surgery.
 

Ding, ding, ding, off went my radar. I, of all people, know about the recovery process from major surgery. So I left a cheerful “Get Well” message amongst many others. Well, don’t you know, dear Anthony leaves me this reply, “Karen, I’ve missed reading your blog; and I miss you!”
 

Moi?…Really?
 

I was taken aback by Anthony’s kind words knowing HE was the injured party. It was HE who no doubt suffered from major surgery. And he thought of me?
 

I clapped my hands.
 

At the beginning of September, I heard from another WANA classmate, Pat O’Dea Rosen. Do you see a trend here? Pat, it seems, has an art for direction. She, in her own gracious, complimentary manner, gave me a nudge. Why, this writer remembered the very first post I ever wrote. She, in a nutshell, told me that I had “set high standards and put too much pressure on myself.” Her comment actually mirrored something Jenny Hansen had said to me over a year ago.
 

Call me thick headed, but don’t you hate it when people are right? Did they nail me, or what? I have come to realize there is no hiding behind what you write. It’s there for all to see in black and white. But this was Pat’s way of telling me that I was missed.
 

I clapped my hands.
 

Then I thought about others who are struggling. Or those of you, who out of the kindness of your heart, come by and leave a comment on my blog. Do you know how much you’re missed? Yet, it is possible that many of us may feel like we are blogging out to the Universe and are never missed. Now, how sad would that be?
 

There’s been a lot going on over the past few months. Fires, tornadoes, floods, illness, yes, most of us are dealing with quite a number of challenging issues. Yet, we keep pressing on. Why not take a look around you. See who might be MIA and send them a message. You’d be surprised how little it takes to encourage another.
 

I leave you with this thought that came across my Facebook feed the other day…

“If you find someone who makes you smile, who checks on you often to see if you’re okay, who watches out for you and wants the very best for you, don’t let them go. Keep them close and don’t take them for granted. People like that are hard to find.” (Author unknown.)
 

So if you’re missed and you know it, Clap Your Hands!
 

Thank you so much for the encouragement Jenny, Pat and Anthony! Well all of you actually! 🙂

And we hope you have a speedy recovery Anthony!
 
 
So what do you think?

How did you enjoy your summer? Were you able to re-arrange your schedule and get some rest? Did you and your family get away on a much needed vacation? Were you affected by one of the crazy climatic disasters that have struck our globe? If so, I hope that you and your family are safe!
 

Thanks everyone for stopping by and for all your upbuilding comments!
Karen
 
 

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Appreciating Our Precious Gifts!

Hi Everyone!
 

Whoa…
 

What’s that smell?
 

Wait just a moment while I open up a window in here to let some fresh air in so that we can all breathe. There, that’s much better! Can you feel it? Can you feel that fresh salt infused ocean breeze from the Pacific rolling over the page?
 
 
 
Ah, yes…Refreshing!
 

Don’t mind the surfer. He’s just playing around in my backyard. 🙂
 

Now where was I?
 

Oh yes, that’s what happens when you get sick and leave a blog unattended. Things around here got mighty stagnant over the last couple weeks. Silence blazed through the pages of this ghost-like blog leaving it shattered in quiet desolation in the blogosphere. Why I’m still cleaning up all the cobwebs and dust bunnies.
 

Yet, with all the talk and the worry while I was away, life went on. You all kept connected, busy with your blogs, tweeting and posting on Facebook with others. I on the other hand felt like I was locked away in a cold dark dungeon and was finally set free to wreak havoc see the light. And what do I find? Myndi Shafer had her baby girl minus a gall bladder, August McLaughlin sang on her blog with a guitar (very nice by the way) and Tim L. O’Brien posted on his blog.
 

Say what? Tim’s blogging again? Is this still the year 2012? 🙂
 

When you’re forced into solitary confinement, a la infection, you make a choice as to how you might spend your days. At first you are too sick to care. Then as time wears on, you make a conscience choice: do you wallow in self-pity and depression or will you look at things in a more positive way.
 

I was inspired by all the wonderful encouraging posts that my dear WANA friends wrote while I was incarcerated. Because of weakness I left very few comments, but yes, be assured, I did read them. What a fine group of talented people who are willing to share a part of their lives, their world, their dreams or a splice of nature —a part of their many precious gifts.
 

Then I thought about how outstanding and versatile we all are and just how much our many differences make up the truly magnificent world that we live in. Some have a gift with an ear to hear and compose whimsical music. Some have a gift with an eye to see images capturing them in photos and canvasses. Some have a gift with a nose to smell and develop seductive scents and fragrances. Some have a gift of taste with a talent for preparing delectable dishes. Some have a gift with a mind able to calculate astonishing logical equations. And then there are those who have the unique capability to harness all those senses to create bright new worlds to share with the rest mankind.
 

Ah yes, the writer.
 

And for this, I am forever grateful. Grateful because if not for the writer and my new found love for my kindle, I would’ve completely lost my mind! Instead, I was able to indulge myself through the passage of wonderful stories. Stories that took me to another world, to far away places. First I spent time on a farm in northern Florida and then in a small country town in South Carolina. Then I found myself stranded on a deserted island to be finally rescued by helicopter after nearly drowning in a historical tsunami. Whew, that was a close call!
 

Not to mention all the new releases on Amazon over the past recent weeks from all my multi talented WANA friends. And I’m afraid that I may have missed some of them. So because I appreciate all your many precious gifts, here’s what I would like you to do. In the comment section below, please leave the name of your present novel and a brief description of your latest endeavor so that none of you will be missed. And just to even the score, let’s open this thing up to everyone, whether you’re writing a first draft or for those of you who have already published a novel.
 

Let’s have some fun with this. We’re all anxious to know what you’ve been working on! You all deserve the recognition! So bring it on and let’s appreciate our many precious gifts!
 

So what do you think? Did you miss me? It’s okay, lie if you have to! LOL! I missed all of you! 🙂
 
 

Would you like to see more great posts like you saw today? Then I encourage you to go now! Run up to the top right hand side of the page and click on the Follow button to receive your personal copy of future posts!!!!
 
 

Thank you everyone for dropping by and for all your wonderful comments! 🙂

Karen
 
 
 

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