Karen

BOOK REVIEW: A Couple by Peter Raymond UPDATED

July 21, 2016August 4, 2016 by Karen, posted in author, books, Brave books, family, Grace, local fun, my one word

There are so many wonderful books that have come into my life as a result of my book, One Brave Thing.

This book, a couple by Peter Raymond, I discovered at the Kennebunk Community Market. I brought it home and stood it up on my kitchen table. I then began emptying my car of all the flotsam and jetsam from my author table at the market (note to self: streamline this author table deconstruction process already).

My daughter came in and right away she made a bee-line for the book. “What’s this?” she said, and then plopped herself down in a chair and began reading it. “It’s a picture book,” I said.

“It’s a nice book,” she said.

I stopped what I was doing and sat down to read it with her.
There is a picture that includes the word “GRACE“, which is ‘my one word’ this year. That got my attention right away. It felt like a sign that I was supposed to be reading this book, at this time, with my daughter. Next, I saw a picture of a heron. Hello? I have been seeing the heron everywhere lately. When you see a symbol of any kind repeatedly, that means there is a message there for you.

I’ll stop there, because I don’t want to tell you the entire book before you get to read it yourself! Come to the Kennebunk Community Market and get your own copy!

UPDATE: Peter’s work is also available at his online shop here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/peterraymondimages

Dancing keeps you young

July 16, 2016July 16, 2016 by Karen, posted in family, local fun, teens, the beach

I went to a local concert last weekend with my daughter, part of the Wells Harbor Concert Series. Every Saturday evening in the summer, rain or shine, there is a free concert (rain venue is the junior high school).

The band for the second concert of the season was a new one for us, The Party Starters. They were SO MUCH FUN! One thing they did which I’d never seen before was they asked everyone in the room to form a circle, join hands, and sing “I’m Proud to be an American”, followed by The Pledge of Allegiance. They then asked us each to hug the person next to us. I know, right? Hug a stranger?

But we did.

This is a family friendly event! And did I mention, FREE? There will also be a food truck there this year every week, I believe, which is a new and welcome addition to the festivities. There is often a table with baked goods being sold by local teenagers raising money for something important. So buy their stuff.

On good weather days, the show is at the Wells Harbor Pavillion. If you are local, come this Saturday! The Bel Airs will be playing. Bring your dancing shoes! Lots of people will be dancing…why not you?

If you’re not local, check out your own town website and see what free events are being hosted in your own town!

SPOTLIGHT ON: Nonesuch Books, Biddeford ME

July 15, 2016July 15, 2016 by Karen, posted in author, books, Crystals, local fun, shopping

There is a great book store in Biddeford: Nonesuch Books. They have books for sale, of course, both new and used. They also have a lot of interesting magazines along the left side wall of the store, complete with strategically placed chairs, to aid and abet your magazine perusal.

🙂

What you might not know is how many other cool things they sell.

Some of the best little greeting cards I’ve ever seen; I buy them in lots.
Himalayan Salt Lamps! At a very good price!
Lots of wind chimes and prisms!
Engraved stones…I found one with myoneword for 2016 on it! Grace!
Tarot card decks! As if you can ever have enough of those…
Stonewall Kitchen products!
Candles!
Chocolate!

And of course, the best thing they sell is my book, One Brave Thing! I stopped by last night and they still have 2 copies left.

Just sayin’.

Selling my books at the Kennebunk Community Market

July 9, 2016July 9, 2016 by Karen, posted in author, books, Brave books, friends, local fun

Today was my debut at the Kennenbunk Community Market at The Waterhouse Center. I picked a good day to start: high 50’s (Hello, July? It’s me, Karen. Where are you? I miss you!), with rain and wind. And just like at the Saco River Farmers Market, I had to ask a fellow vendor to help me get my tablet open (thanks, Peter!). {Note to self: really do practice doing this before the next market!!!}

photo credit: Patti Austin — Me with my book, ONE BRAVE THING, at the Kennebunk Community Market, photo taken by my friend, Patti Austin

Freezing cold, rain, wind…I know, right? Great weather for books.

Fortunately, this market is covered.

Also, you can pull your car right up to the center to unload your stuff, and then go park and come back. There are bathrooms. II heard a rumor that usually there is a food truck that has great sandwiches right next door, which I will have to investigate next week because, sadly, it was absent today.

But I am going again next week! I want to see what it’s like when the weather is more, you know…conducive. When it’s not freezing cold with driving rain.

(Is that wrong?)

My friend Patti stopped by and took this wonderful picture of me (above) today. My friend Jane stopped by to bring me a much-needed third cup of coffee. I made some new friends today, too! I had some great conversations with the people who stopped by my table. I got a couple of ideas of new spins on the marriage topic to write about.

I made some reminder notes for things to bring next time, just like I did at my last book sale in Saco, but this time, I’m going to actually read them before I go again.

Learning from others

July 8, 2016July 8, 2016 by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, Animals and pets, author, Brave books, local fun, writing

I went to the Kennebunk Community Market a few weeks ago, and I saw another author selling her books. Hello? Great idea! She was very kind and answered all of my (zillions of) questions about how she got started and such.

I loved how she set up her table, how visually appealing it was, and spent several minutes admiring it. I am always looking for ideas for how to arrange my books and paraphernalia, and I take my inspiration where I find it.

This is Kimberly Sue McLaughlin, author of Come Running When I Call. I know this book is about a girl and her horse (because I talked with the author and read the cover!) but I haven’t yet read it myself. It is on my list! I love reading books by local authors, especially those that I’ve met.

You’ll know when I’ve finished reading it because I will post a review of the book right here on my blog.

You don’t have to wait for that though! You can come down to the Kennebunk Community Market on Saturday morning and buy your own copy, signed for you by the author! While you are there, stop by my table, where I will be selling and signing my book, One Brave Thing!

P.S. I will have chocolate. 🙂

Cooking class at Stonewall Kitchen: A Sensational Supper with Jane St Pierre

July 8, 2016 by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, education, family, local fun, teens

My daughter and I went to a cooking class at Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School. We’ve been there before, and it’s always a treat. This was the first class taught by Jane St Pierre that we’ve been to, but hopefully not the last. She is a wonderful teacher, warm and funny, but most importantly, she knows what she’s talking about. In addition to treating us to her delicious original recipes, she shares lots of cooking tips and tricks, and also welcomes them from the audience.

How do I know? Because I offered one! I got a little jam for my trouble.

The only challenging aspect of attending classes here is the seating. The seats are high aluminum (I think) chairs that are hard to pull up to the tables and very cold on bare legs. Leave the flip-flops at home; it’s work to keep them on when sitting on the tall chair. You can request handicapped seating, which will get you regular size chairs that are lower to the floor, hence easier to get in and out of (but still that cold aluminum). Also, the front row fills up early. We got there almost an hour ahead of time and the front row was already taken.

Coffee, tea, and water were free. Wine and beer were available by the glass, but cost extra.

Our class cost $60, and was three courses, and the recipes for all were given to us in a handout.

I loved everything she made.

Bottom line: Go, at least once. They are so much fun!

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BOOK REVIEW: LIVING AND WRITING ON THE COAST OF MAINE by Lea Wait

July 4, 2016July 4, 2016 by Karen, posted in author, books, Work from Home, writing

I have read a couple of Lea Wait’s fiction books, so when I saw her latest book was memoir-y, I was so excited ! I am always interested in how other writers pull it together, how they structure their lives around their craft.

Lea’s book follows the seasons, and is a series of essays describing daily life at home with her husband, her writing, his painting, and their cats.

What comes through very clearly is her love for all of these things. Her four daughters and her grandchildren are also front in center in her heart and in her book.

There are some stories in the book that echo my own life, and I was happy to be reminded of my own memories about my tea-loving grandmother, walking in the beautiful Mt Auburn Cemetery in Watertown, MA, and adopting a kitten. Like Lea, I have also experienced the gut-wrenching occasion of seeing a completed written piece somehow get deleted from my computer–however, unlike Lea, I no longer have a cat to hold responsible. I only had myself to blame!

That’s the first part. The second part of the book tells us a lot about her writing process. I loved reading about the ‘how to sign a book’ quandary, as she grappled with the same issues I did prior to my first book signing last April for One Brave Thing. She generously shares with us the elements she includes when writing her own (very successful!) books. I will be starting my own character journal immediately!

But the best thing I learned from this book is that Lea was 53 when she published her first book…just like me! And she has written many, many books since then.

Hope (her favorite word!), people! It’s a beautiful thing!

This is a fast read that will appeal to anyone who loves Maine and anyone who loves their own family and town, as well as any writers. So buy Living and Writing on the Coast of Maine by Lea Wait and put it up on the shelf next to your copy of On Writing by Stephen King (whom she has met!).

**If you like my reviews, please like my author page on FB: K.M Creamer

I give it three months

July 3, 2016July 3, 2016 by Karen, posted in He and me, love and marriage, Marriage, relationships

When my husband and I first became interested in each other, I wasn’t all in. I thought he was too good-looking, and that we’d have fun for a while, and then he’d get tired of me. Where did I get this idea? Oh, from many (many, many) of my past relationships.

Me: “I give it 3 months, and then you’ll be on to your next girlfriend.”

He: “No way! That’s not going to happen!”

Me (to myself): Yeah, right.

Anyway, now, there have been one hundred three months. He encouraged me to take the leap, and we got married 25 years ago. This is a picture that my brother took of me and Bill in 2014 when we renewed our vows to each other at St Ann’s Episcopal Church.

Does it look familiar? It might if you’ve seen my book! Pat took a lot of photos that day, one of which I used for the cover of One Brave Thing.

So, it just goes to prove that sometimes, if you trust what you’re feeling, everything will work out okay.

🙂

BOOK REVIEW: A Secret Music by Susan Doherty Hannaford

July 1, 2016July 1, 2016 by Karen, posted in author, books, Brave books, writing

I read this book at the recommendation of my friend, Melissa. This is another one of those books that came to me because of the book I wrote, One Brave Thing. I took a picture of the cover and then forgot about it for a few weeks. I’m so glad that I remembered! I thought this book was wonderful. It’s about a family of five in the early 1900’s that is seemingly well off during hard economic times. Dad works long hours, mom has an illness that is shrouded in secrecy for years, as does one of the children. Two of the three keep it hidden from the adults in their lives, which include their clergy and their aunt, who is a second mother to them all. Many of the family members are gifted musically, Lawrence most publicly of all. I didn’t want to put this book down, even though it deals with difficult subject matter, because I always wanted to know what was going to happen next.

There are some wonderful sentences in this book, so true that I copied them down many of them in my journal.

The author gives one of the most excellent descriptions of mental illness I have ever read on page 195: “It’s like in the broad daylight, it’s still dark… There is a wall around her and she can’t get out and nobody can get in.”

Another poetic quote from page 196: “… people don’t understand how a place like this fills up that empty space you didn’t know was empty.” And this from page 201: “The more he said things out loud, the lighter he felt.” And this, from page 235 from the aunt: “It has always been my preference to live in the brightly lit side of my life.” I’d better stop now, or there will not be any book left for you to read!

I loved all of the characters in this book. I had the clear thought when listening to Father McMahon speak to Lawrence that if he had been the priest at my church, I would probably have stayed a practicing Catholic.

Definitely read this book! And when you finish it, read my book, One Brave Thing! And tell two friends! Thank you!

My first public reading of my book

June 27, 2016June 27, 2016 by Karen, posted in author, books, Brave books, Disney, local fun, no fear

I was at the local library recently to read some passages of my first novel, One Brave Thing. It was my first time reading aloud from my book in front of other people. I am not someone who loves public speaking. Actually, I am someone who hyperventilates at the thought of public speaking. Most of my life, I have avoided speaking in front of a group with focused determination.

Until now. I wasn’t over-the-top nervous at first, because it was booked so far in advance. When I thought about it, I thought, oh! Plenty of time! Breathed a sigh of relief, and stopped thinking about it. Suddenly though, the day loomed large. I was feeling distressed. I tried Bach’s Rescue Remedy gum that I found in my desk drawer, left over from when I took my daughter to Florida last year (don’t ask). It helped a little, but I was still feeling so very nervous.

I confided in my friend Stephanie about my angst. She said, “Just tell yourself: ‘This is going to be fun!'”

Could it really be that easy? I had nothing to lose, right? So I tried it. Every time the ‘OMG! OMG!’ thought popped into my head, I stopped, took a breath, and replaced it with ‘This is going to be so much fun!’