Once more, with feeling

 Ok, so...last week I offered "Bright Lights, Money & Show Biz, Honey"  free on Amazon .  The day before that momentous event, I had e-mailed Amazon regarding my Kindle version and paperback versions not being linked on the site.  About mid-way through the free day, they corrected it, and the link changed! So, some of you got it and some of you got a broken link. For those of you who may have tried and failed, I'm offering it again, free, today :)  It doesn't cost me anything to do it, Amazon offers the advertising free to me.  I wanted to make up for the change in the middle of the day for those of you who didn't get to download it.  I hope you enjoy and I would very much appreciate your "like" and a review would be welcome as well.  Paperback sales from my site have been brisk of late and I'm always happy to autograph a copy and of course, include "LifeLoveLust" for your reading pleasure.

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As for "Random Encounters"  I mentioned previously it was sitting on a publishers desk for consideration.  I'm always thrilled when a complete manuscript is requested after my query and sample chapters.  To date, I've not received any offers past that, only rejections, so I was both saddened by another rejection, but pleased there was a complete manuscript requested. I shall persevere! Meantime, it is available at Amazon in Kindle or paperback, or order from my website and get my ramblings as a bonus. Enjoy!

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On a rare far too serious note...

Two weeks ago, on a cold dark North Idaho wintry night an unarmed wanted fugitive was shot dead after eluding police on a chase that involved an Idaho state patrol officer, two local city officers, and a county sheriff's deputy. One man in a car cornered on a cul-de-sac who was blocked in by all of these law enforcement vehicles. I won't take space here to go into all of the particulars, but the end of the story leaves me with too many unanswered questions. Four law enforcement officers with batons, tazers, and their vehicles were blocking the fugitive from leaving the scene.  Seems a no brainer that some commands and if necessary the use of tazers would have him being taken into custody without the ultimate result of death.  Four law enforcement officers who should have been trained well enough that death would have been the absolute last resort, but what did they do? As soon as the fugitive was cornered, they opened fire. I'm not even sure if to date anyone knows which bullets or all, killed the cornered fugitive.  This appears to be a case of fueled adrenaline by four men who probably had never seen this type of incident in their training. They were angry the fugitive took them on such a long chase and that they were not able to stop him before now, and he had several outstanding warrants and was a known drug user, so in their snap judgment in the heat of the moment they decided for him, that his life wasn't worth living anymore.

With that picture, my question is...where is the outrage? He was a white man killed by white officers in a situation that handled by cool heads and not by macho men who believe they are the only ones who are always right and just, might have lived.  Battered by the attempts of physical assault while being taken into custody, but alive and worth at least attempting to help him with his drug addiction.

Another scene much publicized this week, a black man was killed under questionable circumstances in Florida and the entire country is outraged and has decided in the heat of the moment, that it must be a hate crime. The race card is immediately played and there are riots and protests everywhere in support of the dead black man.  I don't know who was in the right or wrong, but my point is it was immediately turned into a race issue.

There are no protests or outrage in North Idaho for a white man killed under questionable circumstances.  Where is the outrage?  Who is being racist in this comparison? Because he was a white man killed by white officers, everyone just walks away and says, well...that's how it is.  That doesn't happen in black communities.  Why is that? That's what I'd like answers to today.  

My heart goes out to the families of both of these victims.  In each case, it appears that cool, clear heads with not so trigger happy fingers would have ended much differently and less violent. 

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It's a nice sunny spring-like day in North Idaho and I'm determined to do something productive and will get outdoors to invigorate and clear the darkness of winter from my foggy brain. There will be hugs all around, so hug everybody today!  Things aren't always as they seem and when you meet up with someone, you don't know the struggles they face. They could be in need of compassion and hugs, so don't be stingy! 

Affectionately yours,

~ K

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

Do you love when life throws you a curve ball and you were expecting a fast ball, high and inside? It means you have to adjust your stance. Hold your elbow in a little closer to your body, bring your hips in, and aim a completely different direction. And, you have to do it all in the blink of an eye! That pitch comes so quickly there's little time to adjust all of those mechanicals that go along with being an ardent hitter.  Life is like baseball.  Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose, sometimes the game is really in the tank and there's nothing you can do about it but accept it and get up again the next day and make a clean start, with a fresh new attitude. I've had some sudden changes lately that have me switching directions in things I didn't anticipate, so I've had to shift my stance a little and adjust.

                                                                                              

The thing for me is, as I get older I find it more difficult to accept those changes and adapt. Age is supposed to bring us wisdom. Learning from past mistakes, not repeating them and all that jazz. Patience. The ability to sit, nod, agree or quietly disagree and watch others as they stumble through the maze of life.  Hogwash! I want to be stumbling, too.  I'm not ready for a rocking chair and cup of tea.  Ok, I'll take the cup of tea from the Keurig anytime, but even with my physical limitations I'm just not one to sit, accept, and be placid. One thing my illnesses has taught me vividly...life really is shorter than we think. I try to prioritize my time. Do the things I really want to do, but always get bogged down in the things I have to do. It's a juggling match I never seem to win. The Lhasa isn't much help either. His training to retrieve the Keurig cups isn't going as planned. He's as obstinate as I am.

How do you do it? What's your priority in life? I try not to get too overwhelmed by looking too far into the future. One day at a time, do what I can, don't worry about the rest. But, I'm anal about getting things done so I do end up worrying. It's a cruel circle I can't seem to escape. So, what do I do? I write. I work on short stories, sporadically; poetry is a really good outlet for stress and confusion that surrounds me. I'm still putting together my next novel to come out...and it is a novel, not a novella.  It's a finished story; I'm in the editing stage which is an exasperating step of creation. I'm hopeful it will be ready for an audience by April 1st. I must give myself a deadline or I'll keep revising and editing forever. For me, I can always find more or better ways to tell the story so I have to force myself to let it go as it is. I think I've even settled on the perfect title.  More about that when I see the proof copy and it gets closer to unveiling.

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There is much conversation in the blogosphere about Amazon and the first ever quarter of the KDP Select program. It was Amazons first attempt at exclusive e-books from self published authors like me. Readership was certainly up, by the hundreds for me, but most of that happened during the free advertising periods that Amazon offered.  I haven't worked very hard at promoting lately either, it's been a tough winter with all the crud I've been trying to recover from. I'm going to renew for the next 90 days again, so you'll still be able to get "Random Encounters" and "Bright Lights, Money & Show Biz, Honey" as a KDP Select member for free and there will be a free download day for everybody in the near future.  I'll announce that in about a week, so if you haven't had the opportunity to read either, you will very soon for free.  I'd very much appreciate if you could go to my Amazon listing pages for both and click on the "like" button.  What that does is put my books up in the Amazon rankings to get mention on the main pages of selections.  All help for a struggling self pubbed writer is much appreciated. If you prefer the paper back version(s) or just want an autograph, order at my website and as always you get "LifeLoveLust" as a bonus. More for the rambling.

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What's changing in your world? Are you writing about it? You should be. Write it all down, everything. Keep track of your life, your ideas, your fantasies. It's a labor of love I couldn't live without.  It's time to refill from the Keurig and the Lhasa is snoring, so looks like I'll have to get it myself.  Hug everybody today! Those curves life throws you just might take someone out of your life and no more opportunities for hugs.  Get 'em while you can  :-)

Adjustingly yours,

~ K