Weather
I’m concerned about climate change, no matter who’s at fault. As I write this post, Fred has made landfall along the Florida panhandle, passed over GA, threw some at East TN and now heading north. Grace has been upgraded to a hurricane, but hoping no US impace and so far this year, my friend and critique partner Diana has not been forced to seek refuge inland from the Atlantic coast. As the hurricane season continues to become extremely active and breaking records, we on the east coast fight torrential rains and tornadoes while those on the west coast are ravaged by fire, drought as floods overwhelm countries around the world and it has become difficult to keep up with all the news.
No matter your view on Climate Change and who’s responsible, we can all make a difference by small nuances in our lifestyle. Me? I don’t use plastic straws. I carry metal ones with me, and when asked if I’d like a straw at a restaurant- I whip my prism-colored straw it out like a gunslinger. Now, in parts of Tennessee, I get looks, eye rolls, why do you do that and I explain to lower my carbon footprint. When they get that glazed look that tells me they’ve stopped listening, I smile and say it’s for the turtles and place my order which, at that point, probably will include alcohol. Then I turn my attention to my companion, my audiobook or my laptop and my current WIP (work-in-progress). Here’s hoping you will do at least one small thing to minimize your footprint for the world. What harm can it do?
Sitting is the new Smoking
Here’s a random question – do you have an ergonomic desk or chair? I don’t, but I have been thinking it’s time to upgrade as I spend more and more time in front of the computer. Paying job is a Realtor and believe it or not, there is a lot of grunt work behind the screen looking up property, arguing with Zillow or hoping to find the perfect home for my client. As a writer, once the words begin to flow, I fall into a rabbit hole of an alternate reality – there is no time passage, only the sore shoulders, numb ass and dry eyes after hours of words flying from my fingertips onto the page. As I’ve been working on this article, my chair keeps lowering and my table is an old kitchen table I refinished; neither are good for you and you must watch this – afterall, to fix issues now will avoid possible serious calamities down the road. If you’re spending four hours or more in front of the computer, watch your posture. Shoulders back, sit straight with feet flat on the floor. Blink!! Protect those beautiful eyes. Self-health is not selfish, it should come with everyone elses, spouse, children and you. You’re important to me, to others, and to the world. Take care of yourself and have the best equipment to turn out the best product/story/homesearch. It matters. You matter.
My Thriller, Mystery WIP’s, Shameless promo of Critique Partners
My critique group partners are knocking it out of the park. Monica McCabe has recently rebranded her award winning Jewel Intrique Series, entering the world of self-publishing. Watch for an interview soon! Jody Wallace is my prolific partner in snarky Sci-FI Romance and everything feline. Another partner in crime is Dr. Dana Sieders, writing as D.B. Sieders and fun paranormal romance. As icing on the cake, Jody and Dana also work together on their Dragons of Tarakona series from S.E. Smith’s world of Magic, New Mexico. As a side note, Dr. D has a non-fiction release on 02/08/2022 from a Vanderbilt Research Scientist who is also a breast cancer survivor.
Here’s a writing video so that Google will like me, share me in searches and know that I’m real. 😀 From the master himself.
As always, thanks for stopping by and I wish you good health, prosperty, calm seas and kindness in this challenging world.
See you in the bookstores!
~Kolin
This made me LOL – When they get that glazed look that tells me they’ve stopped listening, I smile and say it’s for the turtles and place my order which, at that point, probably will include alcohol.