Here I Am

I haven’t written anything on this blog in almost two months. Since I wanted to update you on what writing I have – or more like – have not been doing, I thought it was about time I posted something here.

First, not quite two weeks ago, I had a sale of my books and the bags I sew at the WSMA conference – the Wisconsin Society of Medical Assistants I used to belong to. The sale went okay. Unless you count my hotel room for the night and my mileage, I came out a little ahead. But it was good to see all the other medical assistants I've known for years from around the state. 

I have another sale this Saturday, and I think I’ve decided it will be my last one. I love doing them, meeting new people, and seeing old friends who show up to support me, if only by just saying “hi.”

But it is a lot of work, and since I haven’t published any new books, it’s hard to keep sales going. Believe it or not, a handful of people have all of my books and are waiting for the next one.

Unfortunately, the characters from my last novel aren’t sharing their story with me. Ellen, Kimberly, Michael, and Sam are all just looking at me, arms folded over their chests, clearly telling me to finish writing the book about how they became a team. But it’s their story to tell, not mine. I can’t do it without them.

But even if they have given up on me, I hope my faithful followers don’t. I am working on another memoir. It will be about the family travels I went on as a kid. I blogged about those adventures in the past, but I want to put them in a book. Maybe just for my family or people who are truly close to me.

Forty years ago, I imagined that I would someday make money writing. That will never happen, but it doesn’t mean I have to quit writing. It just means I have to do it for myself, enjoy my time doing it, and not spend any money on it or make myself crazy looking at figures on Amazon or my spreadsheets.

So, there you have it. In the next few weeks, I’ll start sharing those travel stories again. You can read about Mom, Dad, my sister Pat, our dog Mac, and me traveling the country in that old pickup camper. And you won’t need to buy the book when I publish it on Amazon. I will be okay with that.

standing up for ourselves

 I used to post on this blog twice a week. Over time, that goal fell way off the charts. On the first of this year, I committed to posting once a month, but I still struggle with that. Writer’s block continues to plague me like acne on a seventh grader.

But that doesn’t mean the thoughts aren’t still roaming around in my head.

This morning, I posted a political rant on my other blog. I may regret it, but sometimes we have to speak our minds. This reminded me of the protagonists in my last novel, “Prior to Now.” 

Three ordinary women, Emma, Ellen, and Sarah, stand up for what they believe in and fight an uphill battle against forces of evil – and realize that sometimes those forces are their own United States government.

“I don’t think Kimberly’s coming. I think this has her so freaked out that she has left RASA for good, probably left the country already.”

“Sam, we just left her at the office ten minutes ago.”

“We can’t –” Ellen began, but Michael cut her off.

“Here she comes.”

The shortest member of the team entered the tunnel and marched to where they stood. “Not doin’ it.”

“I think we’ve all agreed on that already.”

“What about the other agents? Anybody get a feel for what they think?” Ellen asked.

“I think most of them will get on board,” Michael answered. “I’m not sure if they’re all 100% in agreement with this mission, maybe a few teams will bail, but I think most have at least one member who will push the rest of them into it.”

“So, what do we do?” Ellen hadn’t usually taken the lead in decisions the team made, but on this, she was passionate. She would not work on this assignment. 

Sam took a deep breath. “Well, I propose we act like we are jumping in full force, and instead, when we get to each location, we do the exact opposite of what the Feds want.”

He presented his closed fist to the center of the group. Each of them did likewise until their fists were touching in the middle.

“One for all,” he began.

They finished the chorus, “And all for one.” 

If you haven’t read “Prior to Now” yet, now might be the time. Now might also be the time to see how little it can take to stand up for your rights, but how vital it can be.

what is wrong with me?

How is it possible that I haven’t posted here in six months! What have I been doing, and what is wrong with me? And why haven’t I written a word on my latest novel in eighteen months?

First, I have had total writer’s block regarding that novel. My heroes are all sitting in their rooms staring at the walls, not doing a thing, so I have nothing to write about them. I nudge them, and they just look at me blankly, like, “You put us here, you get us out.” Oh, well, I’ll have to do more than nudge, I guess.

As you probably know, the other big thing is that I finally took my dream trip to Cambodia. I am still writing about it on my other blog. It was such a wonderful trip; I saw so much and did so much. Oh, how I would love to go back!

Instead, however, my friend and I booked our next trip – this time to the Czech Republic. So, the planner in me has been looking up all kinds of stuff about that area of the world, and I anticipate spending much more time over the next eight months researching even more. And, of course, organizing all those facts.

Other than that, not much new. I hope you had a good holiday season and that you, too, are looking forward to a new year full of adventure and happy news.

where have I been

        It certainly has been a long time since I’ve posted anything here. Hubby and I went on vacation the first part of June, so I’ve been busy working on posts to my other blog, "The Dino Chronicles”, sharing all the adventures – and misadventures – we had in the Dakotas. 

I’ve been to South Dakota multiple times since I was a kid. You know, the whole Black Hills / Badlands / Mount Rushmore gig. Dad was especially preoccupied with Crazy Horse. I never saw any progress on it from the time I was six until I was in my twenties. There finally is much progress. 

I never remember spending much time in North Dakota. Hubby and I drove out that way and thought the landscape along the freeway was much more interesting than in South Dakota. 

But I needed to make this short. I have a vendor sale for my books today and have to get ready. 

I also want to get back to work on my next book—the first in the RASA series. Hopefully, you’ve read “Prior to Now” and have been looking forward to reading the first book, where we meet the team and learn how they come together. I’ve just had so much going on, though! I hope to get back to it next week.

Wish me luck with that and today's sale. Send me any encouragement you can. And as always, reviews of my books on Amazon.com are always appreciated. 

Have a safe and happy Fourth. Chris 

This is at the Chapel of the Hills in Rapid City. I love this picture of myself, just because I love my ballerina foot. Before I wanted to be a writer, I wanted to be a ballerina.

Meet Sarah and Visit her Basement

I haven’t posted anything here for a month, and I haven’t shared any excerpts from any of my books in an even longer time. So here is one from chapter 8 of my latest novel, “Prior to Now”.

Sarah had finished unpacking and organizing her possessions in the cozy house. She'd even put a few nails in the blank walls to hang some paintings she had purchased in her various travels. The only place left in her new home for her to put her mark was the basement.

She'd only been down the rickety stairs a few times. She didn't need to store anything there, and her washing machine and dryer fit nicely in the laundry room off the kitchen. There was still plenty of afternoon sun streaming through the windows of the ground floor, so maybe the basement wouldn't be too creepy.

She brought along a flashlight just in case.

The bare bulb at the bottom of the steps illuminated enough of the damp room that she felt a little bit silly carrying the flashlight. No such thing as being too prepared, she thought to herself, shining the light into several of the corners.

The basement consisted of a single room, the furnace residing just past the bottom of the stairs. A set of wood shelves lined one wall. A sump pump sat watch in a sump pit, waiting for unwelcome water to seep through the cement blocks.

Otherwise, the room was bare except for a squadron of cobwebs hanging from the low ceilings. There are advantages to being short, Sarah quipped to herself.

She walked over to the set of shelves, wondering if she would discover anything interesting to give her clues about the home's past. Each of the twelve wooden shelves was empty, revealing no clues to their past. Sarah imagined glass pint jars filled with homemade preserves, canned pickles, apples, and other sorts of produce occupying the space.

She ran her hand lightly over one of the wooden boards at shoulder height. She was wary of slivers, but her hand returned to her unscathed. And empty, except for dust.

She sighed. No hidden treasures.

She shone her flashlight beam along the wall just to be certain. Something with the cement blocks didn't look right. It almost looked as if a section of the wall was newer.

She couldn't tell for sure as the shelves were nearly two feet wide, keeping her from getting a good look at the wall behind them. She walked the perimeter of the room, shining her light on the walls.

She discovered the same discrepancy in the cement blocks directly across from the suspicious area behind the shelving. A section of wall three feet wide and four feet tall had been replaced. The floor afforded her no information. She guessed that the cement floor had been poured sometime after the rest of the house had been built, perhaps when the drain tile and sump pump had been installed.

Well, I guess there's nothing else intriguing about my simple home, she thought to herself.

She flicked off her flashlight and headed back upstairs.

Is there newer cement blocks in Sarah’s basement? And why? Will she find out or does it really matter?

These and many more questions will be answered in “Prior to Now”. If you haven’t read it yet, I hope you do soon. And when you are finished with it, please leave a comment on Amazon.com, Good Reads, or any place else you frequent on the internet.

If you still need to buy a signed copy from me, I will be at the Food Truck-a-Palooza in Merrill, Wisconsin, this Saturday from 11 am to 7 pm. Even if you don’t need a book, I hope you swing by to see me if you are in the area.

Have a good weekend, Chris

where I'm off to now

As you may recall, I attended my first sale of the year last weekend. It was a success, but I was pretty tired at the end of it as it was a two-day event.

And where am I off to now? I’m heading to Neenah, Wisconsin, for the Wisconsin Society of Medical Assistants annual conference. I’ll be attending a luncheon today for the past state presidents (hard to believe, but, yes, I was a state president in 2004. Wow! Twenty years ago!)

Hopefully the weather is nice over there this afternoon as I want to explore a state park. It’s time I get out and take some pictures and hike some new trails.

Then Saturday, I will be a vendor at the conference, peddling my books and bags. 

Hope I don’t have flashbacks to last year. I attended the same conference last year as a vendor and threw my back out hauling my books to my table. The rest is history, as I am still in some sort of pain every day. I’m hoping that returning to the scene of the crime (even though it’s at a different hotel) will suddenly cure me.

 What do you think? A resounding “nice try, Chris.”  

Wish me luck anyway. Have a good weekend, Chris

My Latest Three Books

Tomorrow is the big day—my first vendor event of 2024. And what exactly will I be selling? Well, silly, my books, of course. In case you've forgotten or haven't kept track, here are the most recent ones.  

My newest book is "Bones and Stones and Pain, Oh My." Part memoir and part devotional, it is forty days of entries dealing with various pains—both physical and emotional—that I have had over the years.

Forty days of devotions all about pain does not sound like a cheery book to read. But the idea is to give you the strength and hope to get through those bad days and to turn your pain over to God. You might be disappointed when He doesn't take your agony away, but He is always there and will answer your prayers in His way and His time.

I published two more memoirs in 2023.

"Holding All the Aces: Memoir of my sister and best friend" is the story of my sister's battle with cancer. Sprinkled throughout the book are memories from our childhood and her amazing – and sometimes prophetic – words of wisdom.

Also last year, I published "Chronicles of Chris Coping with the COVID-19Crisis: How one woman survived three years of working in health care during thepandemic." The title rather explains it all.

My other six books have been around for a few years, but you can always still pick up a copy.

Oh, and one last thing—please remember to write a review on Amazon of any of my books you've read. I'd really appreciate it.

(And I don't know why the font randomly changes. Maybe you didn't notice, but it drives me nuts!)

Come Find Me in the Next Two Months

“Well, Chris,” I tell myself, “It’s time to start gearing up. You have a busy two months.”

To which Self looks at me and says, “Just one more old episode of Reba.”

This is my upcoming schedule of places I will be selling my books and the bags I’ve sewn to carry them in.

            April 13, 9 am to 4 pm and April 14, 10 am to 3 pm – Tomahawk Home, Sport, and Travel Show at the Tomahawk School Complex in Tomahawk, Wisconsin.

            April 20, 7:30 am to 4 pm – Wisconsin Society of Medical Assistants Conference at the Bridgewood Resort in Neenah, Wisconsin.

            May 11, 10 am to 3 pm – Creative Spring Showcase at the St. John’s Event Center in Two Rivers, Wisconsin.  

            May 18, 11 am to 7 pm – Food Truck-A-Palooza at the Merrill Festival Grounds, Merrill, Wisconsin.

On Friday’s post, I will share information on the books I’ll have available, but for now here are some of my bags. If you are anywhere near any of these places, I would love to see you.

A Little Truth about God

          Cecil chuckled. “Sometimes it’s harder to do God’s work than anyone realizes.” He scrubbed a little bit on one of the pans he was washing. “What about you? You said you used to go to church, but not anymore. Why is that?”

Teresa shrugged. “I guess I just got busy. I also think that I got tired of all the rules that they gave us in church. I didn’t see the point.”

“If you want rules, try being a monk, or in your case, I suppose, a nun.” He turned the pan over in his hands, guessing that it would have to just be clean enough. “We have rules for everything—what time we get up, when we go to bed, when and how we pray, what we wear.” He lifted his brown tunic a few inches off the ground with both of his hands. “But I do believe that all those rules are to keep us close to God. I think each person needs to figure out what he needs to do to stay close to God.” (From the novel “The Truth Beyond the River”)

I can’t remember exactly what our pastor said during his sermon at this week’s Lenten service, but it reminded me of the lines above.

Sometimes we make Christianity way more complicated than it needs to be. That works for some people, but in general, most people want to keep it simple.

How simple is Christianity? Believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Know that God the Father is always there for you, that the Son died on the cross to take away your sins, and that the Holy Spirit will help you to keep your faith. Love God above all else and love others as you love yourself.  

For it is by God's grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God's gift, so that no one can boast about it. (Ephesians 2:8-9, Good News Translation)

I started this blog years ago to keep track of my writing goals. Seeing as those goals have gone by the wayside, I’m mostly using this blog to unashamedly promote my books. I published “The Truth Beyond the River” several years ago, and it is still available on Amazon.com. Click this link or you can always message me for a signed copy. Chris

Introducing . . .

 

 As you read here just over a week ago, my latest books have arrived. I’m looking forward to my next vendor sale where I can push all my books off on my town’s people, but that isn’t until mid-April. You can get your own copy from Amazon or from me directly. Just shoot me a message.

In the meantime, I see that I never even shared the introduction from the book, even though I’ve told you the premise. Forty days’ worth of pain. How fun could that be?

On April Fool’s Day of 2023, I threw out my back toting a suitcase full of books to a sale. I didn’t think much of it. My back had been “going out” off and on for 37 years. It would be all better within three to four weeks, with heat, rest, and the right sort of stretches, and maybe the chiropractor if my back was stubborn.

            This time was different. Ten weeks later, the pain was still there. Most mornings, it was a struggle to get out of bed. I couldn’t bend or walk normally. Nothing in my toolbox was working, and neither was the chiropractor or the variety of meds my primary care provider provided. Physical therapy gave me a few good days, but that pain kept returning. 

            I blogged about it and then started reading blog posts I’d written over the past thirteen years when I was dealing with various other pain. Yes, lots of back pain, but also migraine headaches, a broken leg, bone spurs in my heel, bursitis in my hip, a frozen shoulder, and the worst one up until now – kidney stones.

            There was also the emotional pain of losing my mother and the mental pain from that COVID-19 pandemic, which I wrote about in an entirely different book.

            How did I get through all of that pain? Yes, my family and friends were immensely supportive, and my medical community gave me everything it could. But at the end of the day, or at one a.m. when I thought I was losing my mind, and I got up to write, God is the One who got me through.

            Forty days of devotions all about pain does not sound like a cheery book to read. But the idea is to give you the strength and hope to get through those bad days and to turn your pain over to God. You might be disappointed when He doesn’t take your agony away, but He is always there and will answer your prayers in His way and His time.

 And if nothing else, you’ll want to read the book to see how many times my weird sense of humor sprung up, even without narcotics in my system.

Click here to order your copy on Amazon. 

A New Batch of Babies Has Arrived

The first shipment of my latest book has arrived. 

It’s always exciting to see that Amazon box on my doorstep and to rip it open, allowing my youngest babies to hatch.

I got the idea for this book several years ago when I was fighting my second kidney stone. That was when I took the picture holding my “kidney stones,” not imagining it would grace the cover of any book. But I was inspired to write about the pain I’d been having, wondering if what pain taught me about life would be helpful to anyone else. 

Fast forward to the pain that started in my lower back the weekend of April 1st last year. The pain that seeped into the fabric of my very being and is still plaguing me today. 

I started putting this book together about that time and began working on edits by fall. The problem was my pain was still shifting, evolving, even some days abating, so that I couldn’t decide when to declare that the book was finished. But what if that never happened?

And it hasn’t. Even though the pain, in general, is much less, I can live normally at least half the days of each week. I continue to adjust to this life – the other half of the week when the pain is manageable, but still leaves me mainly on the couch all day. 

I only pray that I am back to normal before I come up with forty more days’ worth of devotions.

Order your copy online by clicking here or message me to get a signed copy. Chris 

Where my pictures came from.

 In case you haven’t gotten your copy of my latest book, “Bones and Stones and Pain, Oh, My”, here is a little excerpt. It also tells you where the cover photo came from.

 “Be joyful in hope; patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Romans 12:12, NIV)

             We had been having a good time camping in the U.P., until around 4:30 Friday morning.

            I won't go into detail. I did avoid a trip to the ER, thanks to the fantastic people I work with at the clinic back home, who gave me a phone visit by eight a.m. and called in some drugs to the pharmacy near where we were camped. That makes it sound so simple.

            In reality, I was writhing in pain in our truck in the pharmacy's parking lot, waiting for those prescriptions to be filled. The curse of a previous vacation – dratted kidney stone. I feel like such a wimp. I know anyone who has had a kidney stone will tell you it is the worst pain they've ever had.

            But really, Chris? Writhing in pain? Acting crazy, pacing in the parking lot, squatting on the pavement, nearly throwing up (by the way, those doggy poop bags they have in park dispensers can double as puke bags).

            At one point, as I was sitting on the truck's running board, I turned to prayer. My usual – God, I know You have better things to do, but can You please make this pain go away.

            I looked down at the pavement and saw this heart-shaped pebble. Okay, God did not take away my pain. I don't know why; that's His decision, but He let me know that He was still with me.

            That's not the end of the story, though. After several trips into the pharmacy, Hubby came out again to report that they had the prescriptions, but it would take about 20 minutes for them to be ready. He asked if I wanted to ride around town.

            I answered sure.

            There was a picturesque church in town that I wanted to check out, so I asked him to drive there. I barely looked at the building, though, as I kept pacing and squatting and dry-heaving in the parking lot.

            Until I saw a bunch of loose pebbles on the blacktop. I scooped them up and told Hubby I would take them home and tell people they were my kidney stones. This was all before I even took a narcotic pain pill!

            I don't know. To me it is proof again that God answers our every prayer, maybe not how we would like. But He always has an answer. And if His answer is to bless me with a weird sense of humor, who am I to doubt Him.

This, however, is the picture on the back cover of the book. The heart in the pavement in the parking lot was too small and became too distorted when I zoomed in on it. This heart here is from one of the buildings at Kinstone in Fountain City, WI. A much nicer place than that parking lot. 

Click on this link to order your copy of this devotional. 

And here is the latest book

 

 Once again, it has been way too long since I posted anything to this blog. And I even have something to say this time!

As you may know, if you follow me on social media, I finally published my latest book, a devotional / memoir about pain. "Bones, and Stones, and Pain, Oh, My" is available on Amazon.com as a paperback or an e-book. I am also ordering some to sell directly; I'll let you know when they arrive.

The topic of pain sounds like a real downer. Why would anyone want to read this?

Quite simply, each of the forty-one entries is meant to give you hope and lift you from whatever emotional or physical pain you might be in. Hopefully, you even get a chuckle out of some of the entries. I can find humor in some of the most non-humorous situations. I am not sure if that's a blessing or a curse.

But here is one blessing – the back pain that assaulted me in April of last year and then morphed into chronic pain practically all over my body has started to ease. I really wanted to wait and publish the book after the pain was all gone so I could end with a devotion about how faithful God is, and how He answers our every prayer, and how He answered mine.

Here's the thing. God did answer my prayer. He answered it in His way, and I'm thankful that each day, I wake up and can get out of bed, no matter how much pain I might still be in. I can still get out of bed! Do you know how many people worldwide can't get out of bed? Or don't have a bed to get out of!  

Anyway, so this book is set up as a forty-day devotional, with an additional devotion at the end to sum up. But it is also a memoir, as each entry was written from my own experiences. Over the past twenty years, I wrote about each of those incidents on my other blog, The Dino Chronicles.

So that's a little background. Check it out online by clicking here, or keep watching this blog for more tidbits from the book.

Asking for your opinion again

        I am working to finalize my latest devotional/memoir. First I need to choose between the two titles:

“Bones and Stones and Pain, Oh, My – 40 Day Devotional for When You’re in Pain” or

            “Pebbles, Rocks, and Kidney Stones – 40 Day Devotional for When You’re in Pain”

        Let me know which one you like better. Also, below are four more possible covers. When I shared covers previously, the majority voted for the picture of me holding a handful of pebbles I had picked up in a church parking lot when I was suffering from my second kidney stone.

COVER 1

COVER 2

COVER 3

COVER 4

        Not only let me know which one you like the best, but if you like one font better than another or a different color and stuff like that.

        Moving on. The first of November, I finally started posting a list of goals again. Here is what I accomplished:

 Writing:

1)     Finish editing my devotional/memoir about dealing with pain. Done

2)     Finalize the cover for “Bones”. Asking for your opinion

3)     Get my son to work on formatting with me. Done

4)     Reread what I have so far on the second novel in the “Ice Cream Spies” series, in anticipation of getting back to it as soon as “Bones” is finished. Not done.  

 Reaching:

1)     Promote one of my latest works once a week. No, I don’t think I did.

            2)   Promote the vendor sale on November 18. Yes.

3)   Sew three book bags for the vendor sale on November 18. Yes (And by the way, the sale was a huge success 😊)

            4)   Hire someone to do some professional advertising of my books. No.

 Reading:

            1)  Start and finish reading two novels. Looks like only one.  

            2)  Read and study four chapters in the Book of Acts for my Thursday Bible study. Yes.

 Retiring:

1)     Once a week do research on my trip to Cambodia for next fall. I know it seems a long way away, but I gotta keep chasing that dream. Nope, didn’t at all.

2)     Once a week do one hour of research on the family tree. Did a couple times.

3)     Host our annual Thanksgiving dinner. Yes.

         For the month of December, I am only going to work on getting this latest book finalized and published. I have found that getting that done takes longer than it should, or maybe it’s just me being a putz. And Christmas is right around the corner. So I’m not going to put any added stress on myself.

        Have a great day and I look forward to your thoughts on the book title and cover.

Chris

November Goals and More Covers

I have been lax in posting any goals here. Probably because I have been so very lax in keeping any goals. I kind of gave up on any writing goals in September. Now that I’m retired, you would think I have all this time to write, but instead, I don’t know what I do all day, beside scroll through stupid Facebook or watch old reruns of “The Wonder Years” and “Cold Case” on TV.

Let me give it one more shot for this month. I know that some writers do the NaNoWriMo challenge (National Novel Writing Month, where you write an entire novel in the month of November), but let’s not go crazy here.

Let’s take baby steps:

Writing:

1)     Finish editing my devotional/memoir about dealing with pain. The working title is “Bones and Stones and Pain, Oh My – a 40 day devotional for dealing with pain.”

2)     Finalize the cover for “Bones”.

3)     Get my son to work on formatting "Bones" with me.

4)     Reread what I have so far on the second novel in the “Ice Cream Spies” series, in anticipation of getting back to it as soon as “Bones” is finished.

Reaching:

1)     Promote one of my latest works once a week.

            2)   Promote the vendor sale on November 18.

            3)   Sew three book bags for the vendor sale on November 18.   

            4)   Hire someone to do some professional advertising of my books.

Reading:

            1)  Start and finish reading two novels. (I’m in between right now.)  

            2)  Read four chapters in the Book of Acts for my Thursday Bible study.        

Retiring:

1)     Once a week do research on my trip to Cambodia for next fall. I know it seems a long way away, but I gotta keep chasing that dream.

2)     Once a week do one hour of research on the family tree.

3)     Host our annual Thanksgiving dinner. 

And that should do it. My back is doing much better, but I still have days where I am useless. I just gotta power through those times. I can do this!

And here are some possible book covers. Let me know which you think works. 

Chris

Cover #1

Cover #2 ( I do need to highlight the sub-title and my name though)

Cover #3 (the original one I liked the best)

Cover #4 (another one I already shared)

Cover #5 (final one I already shared)