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 |  It's about adventure! Life, Scouting, Family, writing what else is there? |
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WELCOME TO: GEMINI RISING   UPDATED INTRO 25 OCT 2021: Just a little about me. I've been married for 30 years in NOV this year!! and currently live in Southern California, but I grew up in New Hampshire. I've got 2 boys in their teens. I work as a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. I enjoy my job a lot. I love to write, but since I've been so involved with the Boy Scouts program since 2015 (now Scouts BSA since girls were invited to come on board) I haven't written much. I hope to get back to more writing soon, as I'm scaling back my BSA commitment. Update on this: I was able to get out 2 stories that were previously published. The update/publishing is going slow. I like to get out in nature, take walks around Castaic Lake, drink coffee and watch football. Here's a little bi about my zodiac. GEMINI: Gemini, the sign of the Twins, is dual-natured, elusive, complex and contradictory. On the one hand it produces the virtue of versatility, and on the other the vices of two-facedness and flightiness. The sign is linked with Mercury, the planet of childhood and youth, and its subjects tend to have the graces and faults of the young. When they are good, they are very attractive; when they are bad they are more the worse for being the charmers they are. Like children they are lively, and happy, if circumstances are right for them, or egocentric, imaginative and restless. Their good qualities are attractive and come easily to them. They are affectionate, courteous, kind, generous, and thoughtful towards the poor and suffering - provided none of the activities resulting from expressing these traits interferes too greatly with their own lives and comforts. Geminians can be successful in many walks of life though their general characteristics tend to make them unreliable. They are often skilled manipulators of language, in speech and writing, and may be: debaters, diplomats (though in politics they are more interested in theory than practice), orators, preachers (brilliant rather than profound), teachers, authors, poets, journalists, or lawyers. This is me. I am a Gemini. Pure, Raw, passionate. The NEW focus of this blog is to share my adventures, book reviews, thoughts, opinions, and writing adventures from actual writing, writing/editing tips, marketing, research. I'll get there.  Find me at: WEBSITE: http://www.stephanieburkhart.com FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor GOOD READS: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart YOU TUBE CHANNEL: http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee Previous GRATITIOUS Warning, that I decided to keep in case I post about something that might offend.  WARNING I intend to be open, honest, and forthright. No topic is off limits from religion to you name it, I'm going there. If you think you might be offended...back up now - this blog isn't for you. For those who "dare"  check out the "Gemini Rising..." |
| Wow, that was the fastest 2 weeks ever. GARDENING I planted marigolds, cilantro, sweat pea, summer squash and basil. It's spring time and I'm always motivated to plant something. Oh, I planted some bonzai trees too for good vibes. Well, the marigolds, basil, and cilantro have sprouted! Sadly, my summer squash, sweat pea and bonzai haven't. And the dog knocked over a marigold and sweat planter so I lost them.  But it feels good to see the fruit of your handiwork sprout. I'm going to tackle oregano next. First chance I have, I'll post of pic of my growing flowers and herbs.WEIGHT Weight Watchers is meeting in person again! As I'm no fan of Zoom, I was able to reserve a spot for an in person meeting again. I always do better when I go to meetings. I have been using My Fitness Pal, logging my food on the app (and cardio) for 93 days. I like how MFP has everything and it's easy to fit. Sometimes I can't find what I'm looking for on the WW app. Some ppl who use Noom like it. My friend at work showed me some of the features I liked, but I need a pay by the month program. I can't shovel out 150.00 up front for 5 months. Sounds nice, but my budget doesn't work that way. I am glad that I have such a streak with MFP, and its linked up to MAP MY WALK so it adds my earned burned calories after a walk. I can't say I've lost weight though. I haven't gained any. I saw my doctor the other day, and she suggested try cutting carbs. it's a process but I have increased eating carrots and cutting out mcdonald fries. haha. Allons! Steph |
| I was jamming the other day to my ITunes playlist in the car and this song came on: I've always loved this song. Not sure why. It's about the Reaper coming for ppl. Go figure, right? I try to be a good vibe person. Maybe it's because I discovered the song shortly after Romeo and Juliet in 9th grade. Of course the lyrics refer to that ill fated couple, but if you personalize the lyrics to you, it might mean more. They might give you comfort. They might only tell Juliet's story. They might foreshadow something bad in your life. Anyone else listen to Blue Oyster Cult? Share your favorite song. ***** Still writing my story, "Christmas in Bayeux." I have two more scenes to finish. Can't wait. hehe. But I got some great feedback from my Beta reader and I switched some stuff around, so I'm writing and editing. Hope to finish up the writing by the end of the week. Hopefully I can have it up in 2-4 weeks. I tweaked my blurb a bit: After a rough year in a war zone and losing his parents, Aiden travels to Bayeux, France. There he meets up with Noelle Rousseau, who was an exchange student previously with his family. Noelle is happy to see him again, but faces her own challenges, trying to make ends meet at her estate, Mont Saint Theresé. Can a little Christmas spirt heal their wounded hearts or will family demands keep them apart again? **** Spring cleaning anyone? See my notebook... |
Happy Tuesday to all.  Just some random thoughtsWDC It's my 16 year Anniversary on Writing.Com. I'm very happy to be here and be a member. I can honestly say being a part of the community has helped to improve my writing and I'm very proud of some of my accomplishments. So, this anniversary I'll be sharing some of my favorites. One item I'm proud of is "Spontaneous Decision" which earned 8th place in the Writer's Digest Annual Writing contest. I submited it for Mainstream literary.
My dear friend Sssssh! I'm not really here.   gifted me a Moon Witch MB. ![Merit Badge in Moon Witch
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*^*Star*^* Happy 16th WDC Anniversary, Steph! May you reach the stars by the light of the moon, and enjoy many more years of WDC fun, friendship and creativity!
Webbie *^*Witch*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Moon_Witch-444444_14.gif) I love Astronomy. It's one of my favorite songs by Blue Oyster Cult.What's your favorite BOC Tune? haha.!! And I love real, nighttime Astronomy as well! AND I love witches!! here's one of my favorite witch stories:
I  ♥Hooves♥  who has also gifted me a By the Sea MB. I really do enjoy being out in nature. I love smelling recently bloomed flowers, the salt of the sea, fresh cut grass.![Merit Badge in By the Sea
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Happy Sixteenth Anniversary Week! Thank you for all the wonderful things you do here! *^*Heartb*^**^*Cow*^**^*Heartv*^**^*Tulipp*^**^*Heartv*^**^*Cow*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-By_the_Sea-2040601_14.gif) Here's an early poem dedicated to the sea.
And it's National Poetry Month. Throughout the years on WDC, I've experimented with various styles. Today I'm sharing a Villianelle.
WATCHING TV Well, I have decided that TV is pretty unwatchable as of late so I've been junking on 80's mini series. Just finished watching:
I remember seeing it when it first came on. It really was an amazing story. I thought the casting was spot and I thought Rachel Ward was good in the role of "Meggie." I saw the special features at the end of the DVD and I heard it came down to Rachel Ward or Jane Seymour for the part. Why didn't Jane Seymour get it? Because she wasn't able to tap into the vulnerability the character needed. Anyone else watch the Thorn BIrds? I got the Kindle book from Amazon. LOL!! But I have a ton of other books to read first. |
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| So October, November, December, January, February, and March BLEW by like the wind. Where did the time GO???? WRITING & MARKETING STUFF: I've been striving to keep up with marketing. I don't want to say it's been a grind, but it kinda feels like it. There's 2 marketing sites I use: Fussy Libriarian and Free Kindle Books & Tips. They're affordable, but FKBT requires a min of 8 reviews on Amazon so I can only promo 1 out of 4 books. FL is more affordable. I finally paid off my overs for Praire Rose Publishing and I made some money on the stories last quarter so I'm happy about that. I've been targeting my VTP stories, reviewing, editing, and updating them. I've been focusing on them as they are shorter, but I'm finding that even though they are shorter, they still require a quality review. Right now, I'm working updating my Christmas story called "Christmas in Bayeux." The original story was published in 2011 for the VTP Christmas Collection, Stimulating and was only about 5K long. This update is now at 23K. I've added a lot more meat to the bones. So with that I updated the cover as well. I had some "alternate" covers made as well, which I'll share, but right now here's the new cover:  I'll share an excerpt or two as I get closer to publication. Right now, I have to finish it, and I'm about finished. Hoping to finish within the next 2-4 weeks, then I'll need editing and formating for the Kindle. HOLIDAYS: Holidays in Covid has been tough. For Halloween I dressed up as "Covid". haha. I'll post a pic in a few. November, Knotts Berry Farm did a "Taste of Knotts Berry Farm" where you go to the amusement and walk through. You can't ride the rides but you go from restaurant to restaurant taste testing the food. Then there was the election. I have no comment on the election but to say politics is divisive and I really don't want to go there on my Blog. My Blog is my happy place. December was challenging as it was the holidays and my governor, Good Ol' Gavin locked California down hard. I never shopped so much on Amazon in my life! But I did use some mom & pop places. I found "The Soap Kitchen" out of Pasadena and I love Stonewall Kitchen which is in Maine. JANUARY Work took away Brewed coffee at work so we had to rely on K-Cups. I discovered my favorite K Cups was McDonalds Medium Roast and Costco Medium Roast. I decided to be a bit more active in politics. Not much mind you. But I have been sending my CA Assemblymember and Senator my thoughts on issues that are important to me. I'm very excited to have my Assemblymember coming to visit the dispatch center in April. I also email my Congressman my thoughts. Mind you, I'm very polite. I do support the Recall of Gavin Newsom, but one of the biggest reasons I do is because the EDD (Employment Development) is a hot mess. I loved the Bernie Sanders meme of Bernie and mittens. FEBRUARY Happy Valentines Day. I love reading the Cupid Slam entries for the Bard's Hall
. That was the best part of February. haha.Well, we got a puppy we named Ollie. Ollie is a good dog, but he's a lot of work. No crate for Ollie. It's not his thing.  He was 8 pounds when we got him and now he's up to 30. He's had all his shots and loves to play fetch and go on walks. I started using my Notebook a bit more often on WDC to engage. I kind of like it. I like the "Quickie" aspect of it. MARCH I wore Green on St. Patricks Day. haha. My son, Andy made Crock Pot corned beef. It took FOREVER to cook, but when it finally finished it was lick-lipping good. So Cal and LA County has entered the Orange Tier and so more things are opening up and capacity is being expanded. I'm glad COVID is "shrinking." I'm so over my mask I just want to have a mask bonfire when all this is said and done. We got BREW coffee back at work. Imagine me doing the Snoopy Happy dance! WDC: Well, I turned 16 yrs old today on WDC. That's awesome! The Bard's Hall always keeps me busy. I love passing out the awards!! And Webbie and I have expanded the Bard's Hall Merit Badge Collection which I love. I also like the customized Awardicons for the Bard's Hall. I haven't really added anything new, but photos and notebook entries, but I might do a promo for Christmas in Bayeux when I finish it.
Right now, I'm helping Elle - on hiatus  with the Quills as a Judge for the Blog Contest. And that inspired to catch up my own blog. READING: I'm the kind of person who reads multiple books at one time. Just finished: The Godfather. It's only a tiny bit better than the movies. Currently reading: Family of Secrets -- about the Bush family Licensed to Lie -- by Sydney Powell about Brady evidence Beyond the Keep -- A prequel to the Tearling Fate of the Tearling -- book 3 of the Tearling The Secret Service -- by Ronald Kessler - a look into the Secret Service, their duties and responsibilites. Blessing to all this Easter, from me, Hoppy Bunny, Lily Flower, and the Ukrainian Easter Eggs.  |
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I love gyros. We have a Greek church and restaurant in town and a festival. But... I'm not there. 
