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 |  Life, Adventure, Family, Writing what else is there? Random thoughts. |
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WELCOME TO: GEMINI RISING   UPDATED INTRO 28 MAY 2024: Just a little about me. I've been married for 32 years this past NOV and currently live in Southern California, but I grew up in New Hampshire. I've got 2 boys who are young adults. I work as a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. I enjoy my job a lot. Still. If you can believe that. I love to write. Thankfully both of my boys achieved Eagle Scout. My Scouting days are over and I'm back to focusing on my writing. I like to get out in nature, drink coffee and watch football. Here's a little bio 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, travels, random thoughts, 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..." |
The California Strawberry Festival is Back!! One of my favorite festivals here in my neck of the woods in California is the Strawberry Festival. I think I started going when the boys were little, I want to say about 2010 around that time. I enjoy a good festival, and there's a little bit of everything at the Strawberry Festival - food, arts & crafts, strawberries, music, kiddie rides, and would could forget: The Strawberry Smoothie! In the past, the festival was held at Oxnard College in Oxnard, but every year it grew and grew and this year was the first year it was held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, a venue that fit the growing event. One of the first things I would do would be to buy the boys a smoothie and I would hunt down a margarita. This year, my son shared a margarita with me. How the time flies! After out smoothies, we were usually on the hunt for Arts & Crafts. You can usually find some great gems at Arts & Crafts and this year was no exception! I found some "dangles" earrings - my favorite was Grinchy earrings and mini flip flops, but they had everything under the sun. I also discovered lemoncello chocolate almonds. They were delicious! I didn't even know they were a thing! Now I know I can find them on Amazon! One year I got a really top with stretchy material that had a Paris theme.  After visiting A&C, it was time to find a snack. Usually I go for the Garlic Fries, but there's a whole variety of items such as strawberry tamales, nachos, turkey legs, corn dogs, and hamburgers. Garlic fries are my favorite because you can't get them all the time. If there was space, we'd sit down and listen to the music. If we had an opportunity, we'd take the kids to the kiddie area and take pictures with the mascots. After that, it was time to find some flats and head home. This year we had the cool opportunity to find Tony's Pizza in Ventura - it was a local place with live music and the pizza crust was the best I've had in ages! What I like about festivals is that it gets you out of the house, gives you an opportunity to explore and relax with no time constraints and you can always enjoy the strawberries! What's your favorite festival? My story, Arrow Through the Heart is now available on Amazon unlimited. EXCERPT: Logan couldn't deny Ella was a stunner, but there had been something else – a quality he couldn't quite put his finger on. Was it loneliness? Sadness? She had to be in her twenties. So why was she alone on her working vacation? He definitely wanted to spend time with her and get to know her better. "You're quiet all of a sudden," Ella remarked. "It's nothing. Say, you never told me what you do." She coughed. "Well—" "Don't be modest." She cleared her throat. "Spit it out." He flashed her an amused grin and playfully tapped her arm with his fist. Her cheeks turned red. "I'm a professional tennis player and I'm here to play in the invitational." AMAZON LINK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5ZWD28D/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3OT77BTTTW3XG&keywords=step... FIND ME AT: WEBSITE: http://www.stephanieburkhart.com/ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor/ AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Stephanie-Burkhart/author/B003R00R5I?ref=ap_rdr&st... 4RV PUBLISHING PAGE: https://www.4rvpublishingcatalog.com/burkhart.php YOUTUBE BOOK TEASER PAGE: https://www.youtube.com/@botrina   |
| Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've had an opportunity to update my blog. Forgive my absence. Most of the time I was busy supporting my boys with Scouting, but that chapter of my life is over and I'm ready to open a new chapter with getting back to my writing, blogging, and marketing, with some occasional posts on personal growth, recipes, flowers, traveling, and general overall fun things I like to do. WRITING UDPATE: I hope to have my short story, "Arrow Through the Heart" on the Amazon Kindle Unlimited format soon. I did a bit of an edit, but I didn't touch it up too much. It's summer based and focused on the 4th of of July, so it's a great read for summer and nice compliment to my other summer story, "Journey of the Heart." BLOGGING: Hope to be back on a more regular basis. A couple of weeks ago, I visited the local Cowboy festival. It was nice to get out again. The day was a bit sunny and a tad hot and I didn't really go prepared, but just getting out raised my vibes. The actual festival was compacted into a couple of blocks and it was a tad crowded, but I was happy. They had a Dutch oven peach cobbler booth, but the line was a forever line. I loved watching the blacksmith and the cowboy twirl his ropes.  SELF PUBLISHING: I hope to self-publish my back catalog in a more timely manner, starting with Arrow of the Heart. If anything, I wish there were 3 more hours added to the day. If you have any marketing tips, send them my way. Right now I use Fussy Librarian to get the word out, but I'd love to learn more. SHARING A LITTLE TEASE from ARROW THROUGH THE HEART:  Ella's a tennis pro who wants to win. Logan's an easy going guy who loves his rural lifestyle. When a stranger threatens Ella, will danger bring her closer to Logan or drive them apart? EXCERPT: Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire Ella strolled along the boardwalk next to the lake, exploring the shops. A store that sold beach gear caught her attention. Outside the door were several flyers and brochures in a display. After studying the flyers, she picked one up, and began reading it. Ella gnawed on her lower lip. Could she steady herself enough to allow the parachute to lift her? She stared at the parasailing brochure. The man on the front made it look easy, but if it was one thing she learned about life, it was that nothing came easy. "Hey, you want to try it?" The deep, masculine voice startled Ella. She placed her hand over her chest to steady her heart. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." He walked around to her side so she could see him. "I'm Logan Donovan." Ella's breath jammed in her throat. Logan's wide smile and kind sky-blue eyes sparkled in the sun. Tall, broad-chested, and well-muscled, his stance radiated confidence. Men rarely snuck up on her, but Logan had, and he'd taken her breath away. FIND ME AT: WEBSITE: http://www.stephanieburkhart.com/ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor/ AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Stephanie-Burkhart/author/B003R00R5I?ref=ap_rdr&st... 4RV PUBLISHING PAGE: https://www.4rvpublishingcatalog.com/burkhart.php YOUTUBE BOOK TEASER PAGE: https://www.youtube.com/@botrina |
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I love gyros. We have a Greek church and restaurant in town and a festival. But... I'm not there. 