More Writing

This year I hope to do more writing. I'm going to work on a couple of blogs.

One will be about the books I have published to see if more people might notice them.

Another will be about Bible prophecy. There are so many books about the end times that have been published lately. I want to go through them and put out reviews that help people decide if they are worth reading.

And I might put some articles and/or short stories on Medium.com. It's a pretty cool website with thousands of articles. I mostly read the ones about writing more, writing better, and possibly making some money while you are at it.

So please keep an eye on what I am up to.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

2017 Christmas Letter

Happy New Year to you all and God’s best for your upcoming year.

I completed my last finish-before-Christmas project on Saturday. Phew!  I meant to get this out in time. I even bought the stamps three weeks ago.

Les is well and serving as a hospice chaplain among other ministering activities.

Angela visited us a couple of times this year and I got to talk with her boyfriend Cody for a bit. He seems like a wonderful young man. Thanksgiving is Angela’s usual time to visit and we played around with some vegetarian recipes for the holiday. Everything came out pretty tasty.

About a year and a half ago, I asked several people for their memories of the Great Depression and World War II. One lady started to give me her stories and decided that she was enjoying the process so much that she wanted to work up her own book. I helped her finish it and get it posted on Amazon.

Another lady handed me a box of letters that her father sent home from Italy during World War II. There were enough letters to create a book of her own too.  That one is called Dear Sis, Ans. Soon.

Finally, I was able to work on the book I’d started originally. It came out in print somewhere around Thanksgiving. I called it Uphill and Against the Wind Both Ways. It contains stories from Aunt Miriam, my mother, and Sarah’s uncle Dale Hitzeman among others. Les’ mom gave me a lot of stories that I had never heard before, like letters to the soldiers from “Jane Hathaway”.

I’ve also spent time crocheting for various people and organizations. My garden was somewhat smaller this year. I planted raspberries and something called a honeyberry. I put a small herb garden just outside my front door and the parsley has stayed fresh and good until this cold week. Because I like having fresh salad greens and herbs, I have planted a few pots indoors as my latest experiment.

That’s about as exciting as it gets in my house. Honestly, it’s been a good year and I’m grateful to God for His mercy and generosity.

I still work in the library. It’s still the best job I can think of for a teacher who isn’t in the classroom anymore.

Love to you all,

Kathi

Chance Encounter

Yesterday at the library, I met a personable man from North Carolina. He didn't sound "Southern" so after talking with him a bit more, I found out he grew up in Ohio. His mission at the libray was to scan some documents and email them to his boss.

Once I showed him how our scanner worked and how to drag and drop his documents into his email, he was more than delighted.

"I will come back here when I need to send something! I will cross state lines to come back here!"

I felt good having helped someone who was so grateful.

As the morning progressed, I discovered that this gentleman was still in the building. He was working on a historical fiction novel. I believe it was something to do with the Civil War because he was concerned that the details had to be correct. When we compared notes, and he found out that I also write, we discussed to pros and cons of traditional vs. online publishing. I gave him handouts that I've made up for writing and publishing classes, and he was even more delighted that he'd stopped in our particular library. I told him a couple of ebooks that I have on Amazon and let him read the first few chapters of another story currently in the works. He said he would read Marc's Rebellion.

Then he asked where would be a good place to have lunch. "Just a 'mom and pop' kind of place," he said.

I mentioned a local well-established (with excellent food) restaurant only a couple of blocks away.

After his lunch he was beyond delighted! "I had the bison burger and the cole slaw is great!"

A couple more short conversations turned up the information that he is the same age as my younger brother. Well, how much better can it get?

His interest in my stories has encouraged me to get back to a few that I've started but never finished. And I will check every so often to see if his work is posted.

It was refreshing to have so grateful a patron and to find one with whom I share some common ground. I had a good day yesterday.

Time to get back to my stories.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

Roadblock

Some days you run into roadblocks.

For the last month, I've been writing. Some of it is simply finishing a story or article that I started some time back. In one instance, I put out a picture book that I wrote in college. My professor told me that I should get it published. Tastes have changed since the early '70's and that book is not likely to be picked up by a traditional publisher. So I posted it on Kindle, illustrations and all. I even finally used the pen name that I've been playing with for decades.



http://tinyurl.com/m9np3x8

Well, Amazon has thrown me a loop - which may be a small thing or maybe not. I hope everything goes well. I had my choice of two options when I posted my last article. I may possibly have chosen the wrong one in relation to that article. They emailed me the issue; I responded. If they accept my answer, all will be well. If not, I will learn a new thing which I will probably enjoy just as well.

In the meantime, if you want to see my author page and all of the things I've been publishing for ereaders, here's the link:
http://tinyurl.com/ofo3ydq

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

Query First

According to the rules of the magazine writing game as they have been presented to me, one should send a query about an idea to a magazine.  One shouldn't write an article until the magazine asks for the piece. 

In theory, this saves a lot of time and effort for the writer because they don't have to write anything that hasn't been commissioned.

That's all well and good.  But what if I feel like writing something and no one has asked for anything yet? 

Let's see.  I can write more queries (practical, but not overly satisfying).  I could write short stories for contests and magazines (fun, but no guarantee of acceptance).  I could write just for the joy of it and not expect anyone else to pay for it, publish it, or even read the thing. 

As much as I would love to spend my time replacing my current paycheck with other income, or supplementing what I earn, sometimes I just want to spill something on the page and not worry about who it's for or who else will see it.

Or I could come back to my blog more frequently.  I apologize for the lengthy absence.  I haven't taken a break in my classes for almost a year now and have three more 6-week classes in my immediate future.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

Submitting to Magazines

The writing classes I'm taking are getting ahold of me.  I've started submitting stories to contests and articles to various magazines.  My current teacher says that if you keep 10 query letters in the mail at all times, you can make a living writing for magazines.  It's got to be easier than writing books.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

Surprise!!

I can't say I've NEVER won a contest or drawing or sweepstakes, but I can probably count my winnings on one hand in nearly 61 years.  I still enter contests, and drawings, and sweepstakes - not daily, but when I'm interested in what they offer or because I feel like it.

Last summer, and again in the fall, Buddig meats had little stickers on their packages with a short code meant to be entered on their website.  Les ate Buddig regularly, so I swiped the codes off of the packages and entered them.  I recently entered a contest for Clabber Girl cookie and brownie mixes three times. What can you do with a premade mix?  I figured out enough recipes to win all three top prizes.

I also recently entered a writing contest with a top prize of $500.  Clabber Girl ends tomorrow.  I'm not sure if the writing contest is tomorrow or May 15. 

Anyway, yesterday - Friday the 13th - I was relaxing at home after mowing the lawn (and other chores) when Fed Ex drove up.  The driver asked me to sign for a package and handed me a 7"x9" cardboard envelope.  I couldn't fathom what it might be since I haven't ordered anything in a while.  When I opened the envelope, I found a letter congratulating me for winning a cash prize in the Buddig sweepstakes and a check for a nice amount of cash.  No, I didn't get rich, but it makes me able to donate some of it to a young missionary that Les and I know.

It makes me hope to win in the other contests, too.

P.S.  When I was writing the story for the contest, I first wrote one that I decided didn't hit the age mark.  On Easter, I was going through my Writer's Market when I came upon a small family-friendly ezine.  I emailed them the story which did fit their guidelines.  The story was accepted within three hours.  Does that count as winning twice in the same week?

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

Starting Again

On Saturday, I wrote up a query letter for a new middle grade nonfiction series.  Today I started on a rewrite of a story called Kind of Like Grandma. 

And I'm debating making a move of positions within the library.  I don't know how any of this will pan out, but stuff is happening.