Okay, so the Wings didn’t win

I’m not sure if it’s because our son plays hockey and we know that feeling oh so well – final game of a tournament or championship, and then the team doesn’t show up. I mean, they are there physically, but mentally…no way. We weren’t upset last night when the Wings lost. Okay, that’s not entirely true; we were upset, but we let it go. Today, however, non-hockey families have emailed or called, wanting to commiserate with us and we’re like, whatever.

Each game is different, no matter what the team is playing for. Yes, of course, our son has never played in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but ask if him two years ago, playing down at Joe Louis for the division championship game, how he felt after he lost that game? He was so close to getting the “big” trophy and his team didn’t show up. Again, I’m not discounting the Wings, the Stanley Cup, or the Holy Grail. What I’m saying is that there is a lesson to learn, and it’s very simple: the Penguins wanted this more than the Wings. It totally showed in their play, and in our lack of play.

Sure, we’re disappointed. That’s a given. After the clock wound down and it was evident that the Wings were not going to be able to pull this off, we all sighed. As soon as the clock was 0, we turned the tv off – unable to see the Penguins raise Lord Stanley – and we all stood up, said good-bye to our guests, and went to bed.

Oh well. There’s always next year.

 

It’s been forever

My writing time has been spent on either quick updates on Facebook or actually sitting down and writing the middle-grade novel I’m working on at the moment. My writing comes in spurts, but when it does it just flows out. It’s such a strange feeling when that happens. You know what I mean – you sit down, write, get up, leave. you open it up a few days later, read what you wrote to catch up and continue, and then realize you don’t remember writing those words at all. Freaky.

But I also feel like I’m writing in unknown territory, and I keep wanting to ask someone – am I doing this right? Should I be joining some sort of new writer’s organization, one that has middle-grade authors in their community? But I’m getting ahead of myself. I need to get the book finished, and then I’ll worry about those things.

It’s also a fantasy, which is weird and wild and crazy for me to be writing. I’m so women’s fiction, and here I am writing fantasy. Ack! But I’ve had a beta reader look over it and she loved it. My agent likes the idea too, so that’s a plus. Still, though, it’s easy for me to lack self-confidence, so I’ve been basically telling myself to shut the F up and write. I can write this story. I can write middle grade, and I can write fantasy.

Maybe I’ll post a chapter once I’ve done a final edit and see what you all think. We’ll see.

~Peace, Kris

 

Yeah, yeah…I know…it’s been awhile

Life in the Yankee household has been crazy, crazy these last few months. My oldest turned 10, and it’s gone downhill ever since.

No, just joking.

But seriously, I have been very busy. I’m working with 11 authors at the moment, while still trying to carve out time to work on my own ideas. My YA hockey story died for the moment. Not because it’s not a good idea – but because I sure as heck don’t know how a 15yr old male speaks, thinks, acts, you name it! No matter how many books I’ve read or how many tv/movies I’ve watched. I’ll wait until the older one is closer to 15 and revisit that idea.

I am working on a story that I came up with a few years ago about a 10yr old, but stopped working on it because – you guessed it – I didn’t know how a 10yr old spoke, ate, acted like – you get my drift. BUT with my very own 10yr old, I sure know A LOT about how they act, speak, and especially how they treat their younger brother.

So….when I’m not working, I’m trying very hard to get this story written. It’s a middle-grade fantasy. Yikes! Did I say fantasy?!?!?!? Something completely new for me, but I’m having fun with it.

Peace,
Kris

 

April 4, 1968

Tomorrow will mark the 41st anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assasination.

Since I am a member of iStock, I received an interesting email. It seems that Life and Getty images have created LIFE.com where thousands of images are available for view – even some that have never been publicized.

Follow this link and you’ll be able to see photos from the night MLK was shot. They are somber and a good way to remember what the world lost.

Peace,
Kris

 

Living a slower life

These past few months, I feel like I’ve been living on pure adrenaline. Author meetings, manuscript deadlines (not my own, though), orthodontist appointments, Cub Scouts, hockey games, PTO meetings,  on and on and on. Last week the bulb in our tv went out and my husband and I got sick – again. With these two things, I was forced to slow down. Now, I know, not having a tv made me slow sounds strange. But I think it was the lack of noise in our house that made me realize that I have to stop rushing through life. Even when I shower, I rush. At the grocery store, the library, back and forth from work – rush, rush, rush. It has got to stop. Sometimes when I look in the mirror, I’m surprised to see what stares back at me; I expect to see some hunched over OLD lady, when in fact it’s a young(er) face with few wrinkles. I certainly don’t feel as young as I look.

I’ve decided that in this rush of a life, I need to stop, relax, smell the flowers, listen to the birds chirps, walk the dog slower, go 5 mph less, stop rushing!

Maybe, just maybe if I slow down, my health will get back to normal and I’ll stop getting sick.

Makes sense, doesn’t it?

~Peace, Kris

 

They did it!

Okay, so I’ve updated my Facebook page – I’m still so addicted to that site – and my husband asked why didn’t I update my blog.

Fire 99, the team that my son plays for out of Farmington Hills, won their division Championship game down at Joe Louis Arena yesterday. It was a pretty good game; our team dominated most of the play and won, 4 – 1.

The best part was when the director of LCAHL (Little Caesar’s Amatuer Hockey League) asked for our team captain and assistant captain to come get the trophy. Our team captain, Tyler, waved to the entire team to join him, rather just getting the trophy alone. We don’t have any assisants. The boys converged on the trophy and then skated as one, holding the trophy above their heads, toward us parents with their index fingers raised. It was as if they’d won the Stanley Cup.

These were great memories for all involved.

Now that this season is almost over, we’ll head into a fast and furious spring season. N will have one month off and then will start training again in June. Never a break for a serious hockey player!

~Peace, Kris

 

They Did It!

I wouldn’t be a true hockey mom if I didn’t post that my son’s team made it through the Little Caesar’s playoffs and are now heading down to the Joe next Sunday to play in the finals.

Here’s N just about to jump after scoring a goal. He was so excited!

Here’s my son (the back of him) right after he scored. He’d been a little dry in that department lately, so this was a big one for him. He’s high-fiving our captain.

This was one of the most intense games we’ve had with this team. N scored the 2nd goal – and garnered two assists – in the 4-3 win. The team is elated that they’ll be playing at the Joe. We, the parents, couldn’t be prouder.

With more hockey on my brain, I should have no problem working on the new novel….

~Peace, Kris

 

New novel, new playlist

One the the things I enjoy most about starting something new is the fact that I need to create a soundtrack that I’ll listen to while writing. I pick the songs based upon my characters. And while I may not be fully listening to the song while I write, the music does influence how the characters develop.

Since the women’s fiction market right now is flat, my agent suggested that I think about another genre. I already had a few ideas roaming around my brain, and now I’ve been given permission to let them run free!

My new novel is about a young hockey player, new to a  junior AHL team – what a surprise, right? So…for this new novel, I need “hockey” music – pumping, hard-rocking, blow-your-brains-out music – essentially, music I used to listen to when I was much younger. I’m having fun creating this list with songs from The Cult, New Order, Linkin Park (okay, they’re new!), Joy Division, The Killers (new again!), The Doors, P!nk, Depeche Mode – just to name a few. Yes, I know that not all of those are hard-ass artists, but they have the beat that I’m looking for.

So if you happen to hear “Bleed it Out” by Linkin Park or “When You Were Young” by the Killers, you can think of me and my new characters!

~Peace,

Kris

 

King of Dilly Dally by Michael Scott

King of Dilly Dally Cover

I’m so happy to report that one of my authors, Michael D. Scott, has finally had his book published. It’s hot off the press and ready for all to read.

This project, although it took quite a long time to complete, is one that I’m truly proud of from my work at Nelson Publishing & Marketing. The main character, Bill, is a relunctant king because he’d rather spend his day chasing butterflies, watching lightning bugs, and learning from the world around him.  His mother isn’t too sure of his motivation and believes that he’s not fulfilling his kingly duties. When the two communicate their two sides of viewing life, Bill gets it. In the end, he no longer dilly dallys around.

This is a great book for all ages. It’s beautiful illustrations, by Megan D. Wellman, and the lyrical manner in which the text flows will have the reader want to read it again and again.

Check it out at the author’s website.

~Peace,

Kris

 

My new addiction…

is Facebook. I can’t believe how much time I want to spend on that site, connecting with new and old friends! It’s amazing.

I’d really shied away from joining FB. I thought MySpace would be good enough, and I’m even on LinkedIn and Twitter. My Lord, how many places I can be virtually?

I soon realized that MySpace is really boring. Sure, I’ve got some “friends” on there, but most of them I don’t really know. I suppose it’s a good networking tool. But I have such limited time these days, that it’s difficult for me to keep everything updated. Do you see how long it’s been since I’ve written here? Way too long.

But…if you’re on Facebook, you’ll see that I’m on there every day! It’s crazy “meeting” up with people I went to grade school with – OMG! That was so long ago. It’s neat to see what everyone’s up to and to see what they look like. Yeah, sure, MySpace has that capability too, but for some reason FB seems so much easier. I like the simplicity of it.

So, even though this is really an advertisement for Facebook, at least you know where I’ve been lately.

~Peace

Kris