Just Another....

Another birthday passed.  Another milestone reached.  Another day down.

But writers, you know, don’t ever see things quite that black and white. 

I am one of those people who are both celebratory and reflective on my birthday.  I like to eat and sing and laugh and birthdays are great opportunities for that.  I am always somehow just a little jazzed on my birthday even before I’m hopped up on sugar.  

People say so many nice things to you when it’s your birthday.  The advent of Facebook and Twitter have magnified those opportunities.  People who you forgot you knew throw all kinds of lovely words at you on your birthday.  

I know some people think those internet re-connections are shallow.  I think it’s nice.  And I’m pretty sure that people mean what they say when they are sending a birthday wish.  After all, they make the effort.  That’s nice.  Thoughtful.  Sometimes their words are very generous and they do all sorts of good to my ego.

I even have a couple of friends who send actual greeting cards with handwritten messages in them.  Love that.  To think that they took time before a particular date on the calendar to think of me.  That’s very nice.

There is usually lunch or dinner out on my birthday, too.  Which is fun.  I like any excuse to get together with people I like to be with to laugh and eat.  Presents are totally optional.  But laughter is required.

This year’s “birthday supper” was especially funny to me because I was out to eat with some absolutely fantastic, energetic, faith-filled young people. The fresh generation of leaders who are dedicated to changing the world for good.  They didn’t know it was my birthday until some point during the meal.  I told them they were my party – SURPRISE!  They turned the joke on me by buying my meal and then ordering the chocolate brownie and ice cream with a candle in it and singing to me!  So sweet.  So fun.

I was just trying to not be alone and found myself wrapped up in the kindness of others.  What a great gift.

Reflective is the other side of the coin for my birthday.  More than New Year’s Day, I think of what the year has held and measure where I am compared to where I want to be.  This year held all kinds of public writing since I met the editor of 5ive for Women magazine.  I bought a house, too.  That’s kind of a big deal.  

Some things have stayed the same.  Same job, same car, same quiet lifestyle.  Time seems to go by in flashes of sun and moon and suddenly I’m another year older.

I wonder what my Grandma and Grandpa would think if they saw me now.  Would they be proud?  Would they be comfortable with where I live and who I spend my time with?  What would they think of the focus points of my days?  How would they weigh my actions in light of what they hoped for me?  

More than any other time, birthdays make me think of that kind of thing.

I also think of all the birthday events that have come before.  I don’t compare one to the other.  I lay them out and review them like pictures in a photo album.  Balloons and hugs and flowers and angels and food served in so many places.  And laughter.  Oh my goodness!  Deep, hilarious, soft, chuckling, long and short of it laughter stringing each year’s memory to the next. 

By the way, call me crazy, but God always has it snow a little on my birthday.  I can’t think of a year He has let me down.  It’s like He’s reminding me that whatever the year behind held and whatever time before will bring, He is with me.  That’s nice, too.  

I don’t know how other people see personal holidays, but as for this writer: a birthday is a gift.  As someone told me on Facebook, being older is a gift not granted to many people.  It’s the kind of gift that gets unwrapped, shared, and then tucked away to take out on rainy days.  

I liked my birthday this year.  It held so many quaint moments of generosity.  I hope I am as good to others as they are to me.  

Below zero chill outside.  Frozen stars shimmering in the black winter sky.  Blanket of snow glowing.  

Another birthday passed.  Another milestone reached.  Another day down.

That’s how this writer sees birthdays.

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To order a copy of A Book of Pages About Crossing Bridges or a Friend Named Jesus, 

please visit my website:  Writer's Pages

Facebook:  Author Kris A. Newman

EBooks on Kindle!

The following is an informational post to inform those who are techno-savvy and Kindle owners that the books which I have authored (two, to be exact) are now currently, immediately, as never-before-previously available for purchase or borrow Kindle. 

There.

I said it.

To be more simplistic, I repeat:

The Book of Pages About Crossing Bridges is on Kindle.  Find it here:  Kindle Book of Pages

AND

A Friend Named Jesus is on Kindle.  Find it here: Kindle Friend Named Jesus

Let me know what you think.

Thanks, by the way, for being readers of words.  Without you, where would a writer like me be?

For those of us without Kindle who would like a book or ten, please stop by the website.  
Find it here: Writer's Pages Webstore

Thanks, again.

This message has been brought to you by Kris A. NewMan, A Writer With Too Many Words

Satistically Speaking

Now, you know, I'm not much for numbers.  I always seem to have them in the wrong columns, the wrong proportions or at the wrong times.  From my checkbook balance (which is never quite enough) and my weight (which is always more than enough) and the number of forks versus spoons in the drawer (which is never the same) - numbers elude me.

Mostly that's ok.  I'm a writer.  I live in the realm of adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases and other grammatical building blocks which make my world go round.

Today, though, I'm going to throw some numbers out for you.

420 - people who entered the Goodreads.com Give-A-Way
3 -  people who will get a free book for having done so

177 - Goodreads.com Books To Read Shelves on which my name appear

5,000+ - Times someone in the United States has clicked on this blog page
227 - Times someone in Russia has visited here

572 - References to here from KrisANewman.webs.com
572 - References to here from Facebook
  (Twitter references haven't made it to the top ten .... yet....)

387 - Clicks on Daddy's Hands Post (still most popular)
300 - Clicks on Music Sings the Colors of My Life
124 - Clicks on Another Stone Laid in the Path (aka - Seth and Evelyn's Wedding Post)


Unnumbered - Times I have looked over these stats and wondered who you are, where you are and why you read my ramblings.

If you are interested in a free book, want to talk about books, have books you have written and wish someone would tell you what they think of them - visit Goodreads.com.  There will be another give-a-way there soon involving my humble additions to the bookcases of the world.

Look me up there or on Facebook as Author Kris A. Newman.

Oh, wait, one more set of numbers -
  2013 - Year that will bring brand new blessings to you and yours!

The First Look at Mamie

Every writer has a novel.  Mine is about Mamie.  She has followed me around since my sons were boys.  I began to research her backstory at a kitchen table in Cudahy when I interviewed Irene.  Funny, but it was Thorp Irene described when I asked what a small town would look like. 

After looking at the scraps of Mamie's life that fill notebooks and pages and random swirls of research, I think the reason her story hasn't yet been told is because I'm afraid once her story is in the great big world, no one will read it.

Now, her story is my secret to enjoy.  Every now and again, I take her out of the red binder and add something to her experience, her steps, her world.

When the novel is public, her story will be criticized, judged, panned and discussed.  People will read into her story their own ideas.  They will react, or not, based on what they know.  


So I've decided to test the waters a little.  Sprinkle some phrases into the universe to see what readers might think.  This is a bit from the winter chapter.

She awoke one winter morning earlier than she should have.  Looking out at the pre-dawn chill, she thought of all the seasons that had gone before.  Spring with its unending promise beckoning her to grow.  Summer’s long lazy days pushing her to keep in motion, keep going, keep doing, stop thinking.  Autumn’s spiraling decisions made causing whirlwinds of life to spin beyond her reach.  And now winter.  Quiet, cold, dark days closed inside like a package waiting to be opened.  Mamie didn’t fear winter or shirk away from its closeness.  Rather, she enjoyed the days of solitude and rest.  The tightening from inside, the layers of protection.  

Mamie thought that winter would keep her safe from the outside.  She expected that no one would look far enough inside to see where she really was.  She was wrong.

So.  What do you think?  Want to know more about Mamie?

To order a copy of A Book of Pages About Crossing Bridges or a Friend Named Jesus, please visit my website:  Writer's Pages

Facebook:  Author Kris A. Newman

Christmas Letter from Me to You

 Kris A. Newman Freelance Writer

                                                           knewman@blogspot.com    ***    knewman@webs.com

December 21, 2012

Dear Friend,

If you know me at all, you know I’ve never done a Christmas letter.  I live a quiet life splashed with moments of laughter and love.  Before now, I have always shared my life with those close to me because they were, literally, close to me.  Since moving around these last couple of years, however, I see that my network of friends has spread many miles and it’s impossible for everyone to know what’s going on in my corner of the universe.

So, here it is.  My first attempt to catch everyone up with more depth than a Facebook post, but not as intricate as a blog post.   I apologize if it’s redundant and please don’t mistake it for bragging.  As I sat to consider what in the world I would write, I found myself looking at a couple of huge events that I’ve waited – WE have waited – a long time to see.  I feel compelled to stretch back a bit as there were some major lifetime milestones crossed and maybe we haven’t had coffee in a bit so you might not know.

November 2010 – A Book of Pages About Crossing Bridges published

The first time a collection of my rambly words found its way to print in a real book with a cover and ISBN and Amazon.com listing.  I’d had a blog for awhile and my readers kept asking when I was going to write a book.  The stories and poems that fill its pages simply fit together.  

May 2011 – Graduation from St. Catherine University

Bachelor of Arts, Written Communication is what the diploma with my name on it says.  I wore a cap and gown with an honors chord - the whole kit-and-kaboodle.  I cried from the moment I stood on the steps waiting for my name to be called until I crossed the stage, shook all the hands and walked down the stairs on the other side.  Thanks to all of you who fed me, encouraged me, believed in me and helped me along while I found myself.

November 2011 – A Friend Named Jesus published

A second collection of rambly words.  Some of the pieces of this book had been in circulation many, many years ago.  A little polished, a little spiffed, and a couple of additions made.  Again the pieces fit together as though they had been waiting for someone to come along and get them in a book.

Having two books in print has also afforded me many travel opportunities to Women’s Conferences and District Camps to sign and sell.  That has been a great way for me to meet new friends and reconnect with others.  Blessings come from so many paths.

February 2012 – Bapka’s House bought

It doesn’t seem reasonable to the logical side of my mind that now that I’m alone, I would buy a house bigger than any house I had ever lived in.  Why now when there is no one to share the lawn work, I can’t help but wonder.  But the right opportunity at the right time in the right space opened before me and so I made an investment which I now call home.  About two minutes away from my grandbabies in a quiet little town, I am.

 

July 2012 – 5ive for Women magazine  http://5iveforwomen.com/

A casual meeting with a magazine editor has turned into a steady flow of magazine article writing.  The magazine is smart, trendy and witty.  On their behalf I have interviewed a Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justice, a television anchor, foster parents and pierogi makers.  I count myself honored to be a part of its writing staff.  

See what I mean?  I look at those milestones and realize I have lived a chunk of life all of a sudden!  I have always wanted to be a writer, some of you have reminded me of that.  You told me you remember me saying when we were kids or teens or raising our kids together, “Someday I’ll be a writer.”

I have had long, deep conversations with some of you sharing my self-disdain for my lack of education.  I longed for a time when I could say I had gone to college, exchanged ideas and argued my thoughts.  Life has a way of making us feel as though dreams are for someone else, those luckier people who walk a step ahead of us while we are busy working.

Now at the grand old age of 46 I have something new to tell you, my friend.   If God has given you a dream, keep working toward the dream and it will eventually come to fruition.  The talents you possess are meant to enrich the world.  Give them time to grow, use them where you find opportunity.  Don’t stop dreaming.  Don’t let life steal your calling.

We know my life hasn’t always been easy.  Even in the middle of these milestones are heartache, sadness, challenges.  Long stretches of loneliness when I wondered if God had forgotten me all together.  These things didn’t come easy to me.  In many ways, the books are shouted in the face of my distracters and ride on the heels of the hardest time of my life.  Life is like that.  

Many, many good things are strung between those milestones, too.  Times with you chatting, drinking tea and strolling, laughing at everything and nothing, watching you pray past hurdles and smile victoriously in the face of your hardships. Angelbaby kisses and professional accomplishments hang on that string of time, too.  I see blessings overcoming the hardships when I look behind.

 

I could easily have filled these pages with stories of my grandbabies which would make you smile.  But that, surely, would have been bragging.  I could have told you how fantastically well my sons are doing in their relationships, ministries and professions.  But they are grown so I leave that now to them.

I wanted, instead, to use this opportunity to encourage you and share with you how good God has been to me.  I am convinced God directs my path and has made it so I can see these dreams come to life.   If He would do this for me, He will do ever much more for you.  Yes, I am sure.  

I pray you are enjoying the gift of life today.  Blessings and grace to you and yours this Christmas season.  

Christmas Special!

Just a quick post at the end of this busy day and before I sleep quick and jump into another packed 24 hours.  To answer requests for direct sales, I have opened a tab on my website called the WebStore. (I know, isn't that clever?)  Anyway, you can order directly through the WebStore and pay through a secure PayPal link.  I get instant notification that you have paid for an order and where to send it.

So simple. So quick.

To make it even a little more pleasant, Christmas special pricing is happening as we speak!

Drop over to the website, slip into the WebStore and see what's goin' on!

So grab a cuppa java, wander around the blog a bit, stroll through the website, peruse the WebStore and let me know what you think.

Praying you will find the richest blessings of Christmas grace for you and yours this Christmas season.

I am grateful for your support and encouragement.

Thanks for visiting,
Kris

Here is the link to the website:  Writer's Pages

Here is a link to the WebStore:  WebStore