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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..." |
| If you get a chance, pop on over to Reader's Views and check out my interview for my novel, "The Wolf's Torment." I'd love to see your support! Steph Here's a link: http://www.readerviews.com/InterviewCardinSG.html   |
| I thought I'd start a new series where I would take a look at an online site that helps internet savy authors. To start of my "Taking a Look," series, I took a look at Reader's Views. ***** I was first head about them when I asked for GOOD reviewing sites that I could query on the net on a writing workshop group I belong too. I got a recommendation for Reader's Views. Reader's Views has variety of Review formats that they offer. Here's the opening blurb they have on their website: With nearly 200,000 titles published every year it is sometimes impossible to figure out which book to read next. Reader Views, a volunteer based site, is here to help you. Our book reviews are written by avid readers who love to read good books. They come from all walks of life with a variety of life experiences and interests. Our readers are volunteers hand picked to give you the best review possible. They give their own honest and fair personal opinion. Our reviews appear on amazon.com, on USA Today, Reuters and NBC. They also appear in newspapers and on many online websites and blogs. We review books for well known authors such as James Paterson and those that are unknown, self-published or published by a small press. But, we do more. We provide services for authors such as publicity services and editing, as well as coaching to write book proposals. And, we will act as an agent for you and send your proposal to a traditional publisher on our list. Check our Services for Authors. They do offer free reviews, but I chose Express Package A for my review. It was a very affordable $75.00. I got a review that was posted on Reader's Views weblog and Amazon.com within 2 weeks. Books I chose to have reviewed were "THE WOLF'S TORMENT," and "DESTINATION: BERLIN" "The Wolf's Torment," received a 5 Star review. "Destination: Berlin," received a 4 star review. Both books were reviewed within two weeks. My point of contact was Irene Watson, editor. I loved Irene. She was very friendly and helpful. I highly recommend Reader's View if you have a book that you want a review for. Some of the services offered to authors at a very affordable rate: Review posted on ezinearticles.com (with over 20,000 visitors daily) Review posted on authorsden.com (with over 40,000 visitors daily) Press release written and distributed internationally Author interview conducted and posted on authorsden.com Author interview conducted and posted on ezinearticles.com Author interview conducted and posted on ReaderViews.com or ReaderViewsKids.com Author interview conducted and posted on Reader Views weblog Featured as "Book of the Week" on ReaderViews.com and our weekly newsletter. If publication is childrens/teen/ya , you will also be featured on ReaderViewsKids.com Internet radio interview on "Inside Scoop Live" with podcast stream and MP3. Author page and feature included. Interview posted on BlogTalkRadio and available through iTunes. Reader's Views also hosts an Annual Literary Award Contest. They are still taking selections for 2007. Visit their website for more details. Reader's Views also will make you a Video movie trailer that you can put on YouTube and MySpace. I think it's something unique and interesting - and I just may take them up on it. Here's a link to Reader's Views home page. If you're a self published author, check them out. I'd love to hear of your experiences with them. http://www.readerviews.com |
| Well, it's been busy two weeks to say the least! Baby Joseph had his 1 year check up last Thursday on the 20th. He's 85% for height and 40-45% for his head and weight. He's still a tall, skinny kid. But on that day he started going diarriea (sp?) and didn't stop for 6 days! Even now it's still kinda pasty as opposed to rock hard, but I'm not complaining. There were no other symptoms and he was pretty much acting like himself. Well, we celebrated on 22 Sep but it was crazy. Andrew was suppose to have a game at 12:30 and so I postponed the party from 12 to 1:30. Half the people came at 12 anyway. Sigh... TO BOOT it rained, canceling Andrew's game. We served cake at 2, but Joseph was pistol and arched his back, crying the whole time. I put him down for a nap right after that and he slept until 4:30. He's just not much of a party boy. I will say this - he's totally addicated to Elmo. Haha. As soon as I get pics I'll put them up. |
| Lots of stuff DIY deadline is coming up... Well, I've got a couple of thoughts to hash out here - haha - the first one is the DIY book festival is coming up in Hollywood, CA and the deadline to enter is 25 SEP. If you've got a book that meets the qualifications send it in. It's my year participating - I'm sending in "The Wolf's Torment." Wish me luck. *** Donald Maas Interview. Donald Maas is a literary agent who isn't afraid to work with new novelists. Here's a link to a recent interview: http://www.maassagency.com/lookfor.html He says: Your success isn't up to the publisher it's up to you, the novelist and the fiction you create. I think he has a point in the fact that it is about the fiction you create. You've got to draft a good story. That said, I can't emphasis enough how much I learned working with IUniverse and the editorial evaluation process. My novel wasn't ready after the 1st working draft. I felt like it was, but it wasn't. It needed a good set of objective eyes on it to point out things I could be doing better. I must have went through 4 drafts after that to get the book ready to be published so the lesson I learned was that writing is 10 percent writing and 90 percent editing. Edit, edit, edit. Trust me on this. Maas goes to say the hardest thing is finding great authors. Writing is truly a craft in that regard. I think to get better at writing you've got keep writing and improving on what you've learned. Does anyone have any I worked hard stories they'd like to share? ***** Self publishing I've probably written a ton of stuff on why I like to self publish, but I just saw Jessica's blog over at BookEnds. She's a literary agent over there and had some thoughts about it, saying basically, that you have to evaluate your goal on why you want to self publish because there are some big downsides. If you just want to get your book into the hands of family & friends, self publish. If you want to make money and be taken seriously, go the more traditional route. I would say that about 5-7 years ago, yeah, that was definately a stigma. Now, I think the lines are blurring. One thing I've noticed over the years is that readers don't pay much attention to how a book was published, if they read a book they like, tradtional or self-published, they're going to recommend it. Marketing is so important in the self publishing field. You've got to have a budget to it, and you've got to be committedto it and you've got to have patience. If you don't have those three things than there's a good chance you're not going to sell books like you'd want to. While I do want to go on and write more, I've set aside one day a week to try and just work on the marketing aspects of my books. It's all I can really afford timewise, but it helps. Anyone have any marketing tips they can share? *** On the personal side of the house, if I'm not on the computer, I'm consumed by housework and then it's time to go to work. Joseph's 1st birthday is coming up and we're celebrating on 22 Sep enough he was born on 20 Sep. I can't believe how big he's gotten. He loves Elmo's World. I tried out the Telebubbies on him, but I don't think he's ready for them yet. Haha. ((hugs)) Steph |
| It's been a busy week. Aside from putting the finishing touches on a couple of stories I'm going to send in to Writer's Digest for their genre contest, I've been working on my Lulu Account to post a revision to my book, Across the Fickle Winds of History. I'm very excited about the revision and right now I'm waiting on my copy to arrive. **** Tabloid Purposes IV, a horror anthology is out through Lulu. My story, "The Walkman," is featured. I've been with Tabloid Purproses for IV editions and I'm quite tickled by that. Taboid Purposes I - "Demon's Dance" Tabloid Purposes II - "The Secret Pyramid" Tabloid Purposes III - "Grave of the Devil" Tabloid Purposes IV - "The Walkman" The Tabloid Purposes have a very eceletic mix of authors. If you get a chance, check it out. ***** Finally, I wanted to do a character study of Theresa von Kracken, my female lead from "The Wolf's Torment." Theresa was born in Austria, the youngest daughter of Duke Georg von Kracken. The von Krackens are all witches, Theresa, included, however, she wasn't raised as a witch. Georg had a dream when Theresa was born which counseled him not to raise her as a witch, so he didn't. It was hard to hide the family secret from her, but he did. Theresa is engaged to Crown Prince Mihai Sigmaringen of Moldavia in exchange for her father's financial support of the principality. Theresa has been having dreams of him since she was eight, but doesn't realize it's Mihai until she sees his picture. She formally meets him on the night of her engagement to Mihai and is immediately taken with him. Theresa's thoughts of happiness are shattered when Mihai's mistress announces herself to Theresa in a cafe. Theresa knows then that it will be an uphill battle to win Mihai's heart, but she's determined. There are a lot of obstacles for Theresa, but one of them is Mihai's best friend, Viktor. Viktor has been bitten by a werewolf and finds his attraction to Theresa harder and harder to suppress as he begins to lose his humanity. A wolf needs a witch which only heightens Viktor's desires for Theresa. Will Theresa remain true to her principles, or will she do something she is loath to only to make her dreams come true? Will Theresa learn that she's a witch? Those are the questions for her in Torment. |
| Here's a sample of the Reader View's review I got back for Destination:Berlin S.G. Cardin iUniverse (2007) ISBN 9780595164196 Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (09/07) Ms. Cardin’s “Destination: Berlin” takes the reader back to 1988, when Germany was still a divided country and Berlin Wall still stood strong. In the days of the Cold War espionage was a well and alive, and numerous people engaged in it – some willingly and some much less so. The story begins on a duty train, where U.S. Army Corporal Sharon Cates, headed to Berlin for an orientation tour, meets Russian Junior Sergeant Dimitri Nagory, an assistant to a high-ranking Soviet officer in USSR embassy in England. The two engage in conversation while in the dining car, but that is soon interrupted by an explosion. Sharon has no clue that she is carrying some top-secret documents in her briefcase and that Stasi, the Eastern German secret police, blew up the train to recover them while killing her in the process. The explosion goes badly wrong. Sharon and Dimitri are thrown out of the dining car. Dimitri decides to help Sharon make her way to the West to return the top-secret documents and the chase begins. Sharon realizes her country probably thinks she stole the documents. This is a shocking realization for the honorable person that she has always been. She tries to figure out who planted those documents in her briefcase and why. Dimitri goes against everything that he was taught about the Americans being his enemy and risks his life on several occasions to protect the young woman that he clearly is beginning to care for more than he though possible. But all is not what it seems on the surface. Who are the truly bad guys? And who are the honorable ones? Will Sharon make it alive to the West? Will Dimitri come with her? It is clear that Ms. Cardin’s personal military background enabled her to write a book from the uniquely personal perspective of a female in the U.S. Army. Her knowledge of the day-to-day operations and army procedures adds an interesting layer to the story, as do the very directly expressed views on the role of women in the military as well as some quite frank opinions of the past political situations. I enjoyed those parts greatly. 4 stars on Amazon.com To read the complete review visit Amazon.com |
| I just wanted to take some time out to remember Sept. 11th, 2001. In Rememberance: Saddened hearts, a nation mourning. Yet out of a tragedy, heroes are born, and heroes we must never forget. Sept. 11th, 2001 found me in front of the computer like I am today. Back then it was 9 am PST time and I had the TV on in the family room. My husband was upstairs sleeping. I was three months pregnant with my first child. As I was typing away, updating my internet sites, the background noise caught my attention. I raced out the family and watched the TV, stunned. How could this have happened. I went upstairs and got my husband up, so he could see what was going on. We were wondering what kind of world was this turning into? Several firefighters and police officers from LA went out to New York to help. There was so much kindess down in the dispatch room. Hopefully, another tragedy can be avoided. Like Dec 7th, for my grandparents generation and Nov 22nd for my parent's generation, Sept 11 will forever be with me. If anyone would like to share their thoughts and comments, I'd love to read them. Steph |
I was so tickled pink. When I checked my WDC inbox today I found out that I won SECOND place in the
 for my story,
So I just want to thank Erika   and all the JUDGES of the Stake & Garlic Contest for all the hard work they do. They've got a great contest with great prizes and it's well worth considering entering.Mind you, I don't have much time to write for contests these days, but I know I have to simply because it helps to keep you sharp as a writer and it helps you to improve on what you've learned and it you build on what you've learned. I don't think I could have written "THE WATCH TOWER" a year ago. I didn't quite have the chops then. One thing that's important to writing is the RESEARCH. I did a bunch of internet research on the topic & prompt which was to write about Dracula's castle being on sale. I downloaded pictures of the castle so I could see what it looked like and visualize it in the writing. I took a chance making my main character a famous gothic vampire writer, because I thought that would be the best character fit for the story. I was surprised what my research about the building uncovered and I tried to incorporate that into the writing. Writing the story was fun and I was glad I wasn't on a word count restriction but I did try to be long enough to tell the complete story. Word count restrictions can be very challenging. Sometimes 3000 words isn't enough. It took me about a good 3 week to get the story together. Once I wrote it, it took about two weeks to EDIT it before I felt it was ready for the contest. So short story writing can be time consuming for me. Anyone else want to share a good contest they've entered lately or the steps they take to put together a story?  & ((hugs))Steph |
| Here's another review I'm really excited about - it's from "Reader Views" on the Wolf's Torment. ***************** The Wolf’s Torment S.G. Cardin iUniverse (2007) ISBN 9780595417339 Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (9/07) “The Wolf’s Torment” takes you into Moldavia in the 1800s. Crown Prince Mihai Sigmaringen is engaged to wed Theresa, a woman of royal blood, whom he has never met. He has also just discovered that his lover is pregnant. When he learns that she has been deceiving him about her feelings for him, he tries to shut his emotions off. Returning home to Moldavia, and trying to do the right thing, he takes her with him to live near the castle. He also brings his trusted friend Viktor with him. When he meets his future bride, he realizes that she is a true treasure. Neither he nor his bride is aware that she comes from a lineage of witches. Still she seems to have some magical talents. This disturbs Mihai, because his mother was killed by a witch. When Viktor is bitten by a werewolf, he turns to Mihai for help. Viktor complicates matters by having feelings for Theresa. At times he finds himself unable to control the animal in him. He also begins losing his humanity. He is no longer someone to be trusted. S.G. Cardin has created a wonderful werewolf story. She also involves witches and vampires. In this book, werewolves have special and complicated ties to vampires and witches. Moldavia is rich in supernatural lore. Placing this story here, adds to the mysteriousness of the country. The plot involves intriguing elements that include deception, greed, lust, and betrayal. The key characters Mihai and Theresa are honorable and have good hearts. What makes the story really interesting is how the people around them commit heinous acts to try to deceive them. They catch themselves falling into traps set for them. Sometimes it is too late. I really enjoyed “The Wolf’s Torment.” It is refreshing to read a novel that is different from the standard supernatural tales. Taking away the supernatural elements, the underlying story is still really interesting. Cardin puts you inside the heads of her characters and makes you feel their torment. I look forward to the sequel. Do not miss this one. |
| National be kind to Editors & Writers month I was surfing the net for unusual September holidays and I found it was national be kind to editors and writers month. Well, I'm all for a little kindness. Spread those smiles around I say. How about another character profile? Here's some insight into my character, Olga Romanov from "Across the Fickle Winds of History." As the story opens, Olga is 17 and it is 1913, the last glory days of the Romanov Czar. Olga is bright and smart, and a little shy, but she definately knows her mind. When her younger sisters, Marie & Anastasia can't be found, her and Tatiana find them in the woods with 3 strangers - Paul, Ian, and Stephanie who are just a little bit older than Olga herself. Olga is attracted Paul. After making arrangements to have Paul escort her to a ball, her and her sisters, orchestra an elaborate lie to have Paul and his friends stay in the palace so they can get to know their new friends. Then, to Olga's surprise, her father announces he's changing the laws of succession and that he's going to allow her to come to throne if Alexis, her brother, can't. Olga is stunned by the revelation, but is very prepared to assume the task - the Duma allows the change to the law. As the story goes on, Olga comes to question the Prime Minister, who is the driving force behind the change to the law and her friend, Paul. When tells her that his favorite is "The Time Machine," by HG Wells, Olga goes on a quest to find who he really is. The answers are surprising. |
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I love gyros. We have a Greek church and restaurant in town and a festival. But... I'm not there. 
