Tag: One Brave Thing;

BOOK REVIEW: A Couple by Peter Raymond UPDATED

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.

a couple

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

SPOTLIGHT ON: Nonesuch Books, Biddeford ME

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.

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

This and that at nonesuch

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.

Nonesuch my book

Just sayin’.

Selling my books at the Kennebunk Community Market

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

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 Kimberly Suekind 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. 🙂

 

 

I give it three months

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.

photo by Patrick Maffeo
Take the leap

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

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 secret musicbook 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

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!’

library talk 4

And you know what? It was!

My First Farmers Market Book Sale

by Karen, posted in author, books, local fun, no fear, writing

Today was my first day selling my book, One Brave Thing, at a farmers market. The Saco River Farmers Market, to be exact. I’d been there saco farmers marketbefore, but not for a year or two. I had planned to scope it out ahead of time, but work and family commitments prevented me from doing so. It worked out fine though. It turned out that I picked the one Saturday that there was a big art sale going on down the street, for which they were closing Main Street. You know, the street that the farmers market is on.

DOH!

So, it wasn’t packed. That turned out to be a good thing. There was plenty of room for me to set up my table (thank you, Steve, for helping me get it open!). There was plenty of time for me to arrange my books and flotsam and jetsum on said table. There was plenty of time to talk with some of the other vendors.

I didn’t have time to get any flowers this time, so early this morning I headed out to see what the garden could offer up.

I chose peppermint, spearmint, lavender, lemon thyme, oregano, Nepeta, and rosemary. It looked and smelled amazing. I realized just how much positive energy that the jar of herbs brought to the table when I gave it away…my table was diminished! ‘You don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone’.

herb flower jar

I had a fun morning. I sold some books. I made some friends.
I highly recommend it!

 

How to post a book review on Amazon

by Karen, posted in author, books, Brave books

If you follow my author page on Facebook, then you know I have been asking people who enjoyed reading my book to put up a review on Amazon.com. I never stopped to think that maybe not everyone knows how to do this.
Sorry!

So here’s a quick tutorial:

  1. Find my book on Amazon.com

amazon cover

 

 

 

 

 

2. Scroll down to the Customer Review section

how to post a review 1

 

 

 

 

 

3.  Click on ‘Write a Review”

how to post a review 3

 

 

 

 

 

4. Click on the stars to rate it (Hint: 5 stars is good… 🙂 ) and then write whatever you want in the “Write Review Here” box. You can put a photo or a headline if you want, but it’s not necessary.

5. Hit SUBMIT!

That’s it. There is a short delay before your review goes live and others can see it, so don’t worry.

P.S. I found out that Amazon only considers 4 or 5 star ratings good. Any rating 1-3 is NOT considered good, so please remember this when you are composing a review.

THANK YOU!

 

You want it? You got it!

by Karen, posted in author, books, Brave books, local fun, writing

If you go to your local book store to buy One Brave Thing and you don’t see it, here’s an idea…JUST ASK! Currently, several of the shops OBT Sanibel by C Robinsonare down to their last copy, and what if you stop in to buy my book before it’s been restocked? Again, just ask at the counter, or call and ask if they still have any left before you go. That way, they can call me and I will expedite delivery to the shop so you can get your book as soon as possible.

Here’s a fun fact about the book: Bebe loves to go to the beach! Pick up a copy and take it to the beach with you and make everyone so very happy!

Thank you! And if you enjoy my book, please consider leaving a review on Amazon.com. Oh, and tell two friends!

Note: The ‘You want it? You got it!‘ title are lyrics are from the song, Bust a Move by Young MC. Feel free to take a 5 minute break from your day and move your body! Have a 5 minute dance party! One, two, three…GO!