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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..." |
I love how when January shows up we all re-evaluate our lives, make resolutions, get goals, and tell ourselves, "new year, new you." Then it all goes to shit come February if you even make it that far. That's what has happened to me the last 4 years. Right down the tubes come February.  So, it's another January, and I'm trying again. Wish me luck. In 2016, I increased my volunteer hours with the scouts. In order to "right the ship" in my son's cub scout pack, I stepped up to become Cubmaster. The amount of time needed to "do it right" basically took up the time I would have used to write. I did/do enjoy my time scouting. I gave up Cubmaster in June 2018 after 18 months, but transitioned to ASM in my son's boy scout troop, and I've basically as busy as I was when I was a cubmaster. Things have changed a bit. My oldest, Andrew made Eagle and will age out in March. I'm going to do a lot less due to parental dynamics. In 2016 I still taught Religious ed. I haven't the past 2 years because it was too much. Right now I'm just a "volunteer" at his 8th grade facilitated meetings. Every January I say i'm doing weight watchers but fall off the wagon in February because of demanding schedule as the boys' chauffeur. And again, I started the Weight Watchers. Wish me luck. It's only been a week, but I'm tracking and watching portion size. Things must be getting better because last year was my first WDC "Dear Me" letter since 2015. It lasted until FEB but I tried. So I'm going to try to again. Time will tell. One of my new goals is to read "Writer's Digest" every month. This month I read an article about branding yourself. I listed these items as values: humor honesty do the right thing Proverbs 4:23 "Guard your heart" Support Alzheimers Support Charities close to my heart Passions: Writing hiking/being outside watching movies/tv with a historical slant or sci-fi slant like going to amusement parks Baseball Football --Pro/College Archery Bowling Reading (being better about updating Goodreads and Product Reviews on WDC) So I've got the basics. I need to flesh out a plan and get out there more. One of my priorities will be to update my official website with a focus on "branding." Let's not to forget to update my social media, Facebook, twitter, etc... I feel like a jack of all trades? Have any of you made goals/resolutions and been successful? |
| I wanted to get back to this sooner, but this is first chance I've had to get back to it. BTW -- Happy New Year!! 2020 is in the house!! From my last BLOG: WHAT HAPPENED NOW IN 2019? Courtney Milan, a well known romance author of Chinese decent recently tweeted criticizing remarks about another romance author. The other author is Kathryn Lynn Davis who wrote "Somewhere Lies the Moon," in 1999. One of the characters in Davis' novel is of Chinese heritage. Milan called the book "a F*** racist mess." WHY? So who is Courtney Milan? Who is Kathryn Lynn Davis? What's the plot of "Somewhere Lies the Moon?" Why didn't Milan criticize Davis in 1999? Why do it now in 2019, 20 years later? And what did the RWA do about it? It is an organization that is about the writers, the romance writing process? What happened to start this and how can be resolved? WHO IS COURTNEY MILAN Courtney Milan is the pen name for Heidi Bond, an author who grew up in Southern California. She has degrees in math and chemistry. She attended and graduated law school at the Seattle University of Law. She's been a writer since she was ten. Her earliest book was published in 2009. Is a proud of supporter of diversity in the work place. WHO IS KATHRYN LYNN DAVIS She is an author who wrote "Somewhere Lies the Moon" in 1999. As mentioned above, Milan said one of the characters in the book is a racial ".... mess." The RWA has over 10,000 members and over 150 chapters so it is very big. The mission is to advance the business interest of career focused romance writers through networking and advocacy. Boy, does this get complicated! Here's a good blog post about what happened and when it happened. https://www.claireryanauthor.com/blog/2019/12/27/the-implosion-of-the-rwa In a "simpler" world -- Milan has spoken out supporting diversity in romance writing, HOWEVER, how she "attacks" peers regarding diversity is what generated her ethics complaints. (Name calling in tweets) NOV 19 2019, the RWA ethics committee decided to recommend a punishment of suspension of membership for a year and a lifetime band against holding a leadership for Milan. 17 DEC 2019, the RWA accepts the ethics committee recommendation. When Milan's "discipline" has been announced, romance writers go crazy. The RWA takes it on the chin as writers leave the organization and criticize how the RWA handled Milan's issues. RWA Leadership may resign -- judges for the RITA have pulled out. It's madness. I don't know what will happen with the RWA, it's leadership, or the organization. Here's a post by NBC that puts a lot of the controversy in perspective. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/romance-writers-america-racism-row-matters... Milan has a right to criticize others -- not bully them. Diversity should be explored and in the romance genre. Readers are African-American, Asian, Hispanic and White and have the right to read romance with characters they identify with. So here's the food for thought: Did Milan draw attention to racist writing in the romance genre or did she draw attention to poor writing? Can authors handle criticism of their writing? Will successful authors loose money because of Milan's criticism? I am a writer. I've been writing since I was six. I've grown as a writer over the years. The challenge, I've found, when writing a historical or writing about different cultures is to pay history/different cultures respect. Write a quality product and people will read. Write about characters who are different and write about them with respect. ****** Back to my personal prelude --- I'm a writer. I'm not a financially well off author, but I enjoy writing. I always aspired to be a member of the RWA when I was "younger" but honestly, I just want to be a part of a supportive network of writers who give constructive critiques, not criticism. I want to write a good story with interesting characters who are rich in diversity and culture. I want to have fun writing. The drama is too much for me. I believe in treating all people with respect. I may be one person, but hopefully, a better way starts with one. I'm very sad and disheartened to see this happening in the "bigger" writing community around me, and I ultimately, I just wanted to share and vent. Thanks for letting me. |
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I love gyros. We have a Greek church and restaurant in town and a festival. But... I'm not there. 