Passing (holiday) thought

Posted on by K. M. Herkes

Speaking of problematic (weren’t we? Was I arguing w/myself again? Whatever. Here be the thought.)

Thanksgiving.

Family. Politics. Obligatory travel. Racist origin story based on lies…all that. In the United States there’s no getting away from the trappings and pressures of “Third Thursday In November.” Not even the relentless seasonal creep of Christmas season can stop it. 

Holidays are stressful enough, and this one kicks off Consumer Frenzy Month ™ so I support spending it however you like within the boundaries of your necessities & eating whatever you want, and be damned to all the Every Proper Celebration Needs and Thanksgiving Must-Haves not to mention the Do This For The Best Thanksgiving Evers. 

Starting a long weekend off & big traditional turkey feast you cooked all by your own self?  Great! AMAZING, even. ENJOY!

Day of peaceful solitude w/video games, boxed rice & beer? ALSO GREAT!

Working in a hospital, firehouse, or police station, on the front lines of an emergency or serving in a military unit today? THANK YOU! You’re a part of what’s worth giving thanks for every day–social institutions and support through sacrifice.Bolting down a meal with family before racing off to work retail overnight with barely a break for a sandwich and a dive into the bathroom? THANK YOU TOO (and I’m sorry. See postscript below.)

Spending it on the road for work, at a restaurant, or in a rest stop? SAFE TRAVELS and may you find something of goodness and joy during your working day. 

Me, Imma go enjoy the rest of my quiet day, writing more about the mayor of a ghost town. Football on the TV, all the easy holiday foods & the turkey prepped & ready to go in later, Spouseman puttering about the house, friends online..I have so many reasons to give thanks. Far more than a single day can hold.



cranky postscript: I am NOT thankful I live in and time & place where transporting & selling consumer goods is considered a critical job on equal footing with emergency services, military duty, and law enforcement…but not considered worth a critical job’s pay on holidays, but hey, that’s me.

HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY!

Posted on by K. M. Herkes

Today is the one-year release anniversary for Rough Passages.  Never has a book been more aptly named, for oh, so many reasons. Read on to get the details.

3 years ago today: I was struggling with a novel I eventually set aside, building my author website, & coping with various health troubles. Barely treading water, creatively.

2 years ago today: I was struggling with Spouseman’s major health troubles, working on a frustrating short story, and coping with the aftermath of painful dental surgery. Ugh.

1 year ago today: still mostly struggling, and I let down a lot of people, but support from friends, fellow authors, & readers kept me going. Rough Passages happened because of that support. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I went on to finish the story-that-turned-into-a-Rough-Passages follow-up novel, and THIS year? This year, that follow-up is in revisions, I’ve completed 2 new short stories, and I’m 3/4 done with a novel draft in a different, brand-new series.

It’s a happy day indeed.

Here’s my pretty baby:

Rough Passages-Digital 1600Cover
Super-powered grandmas, doomed teens, and monster Marines.

A buy link in case you want one: get Rough Passages here

Achievement Unlocked

Posted on by K. M. Herkes

Got a fan email last week. Imma write that again so it feels real. I got fan mail. Someone bought Rough Passages at Cleveland Concoction & loved it enough to reach out personally. Yeah.

I am still processing the euphoria.

This isn’t the first vote of confidence I’ve received, far from it. That’s why I’m surprised by how much it’s affecting me. I’ve never been someone whose creative endeavors have faced massive disapproval. I’ve been tremendously lucky in my support circle.

I’m grateful for that support. That is a thing I often forget to mention because it’s so fundamental, so necessary, it’s like gravity or air to me. But I am grateful. This feels like a good time to spend a moment or three expressing that appreciation.

Some of my friends online and off have always been encouraging and supportive, and many have delivered more than their share of compliments. Thank you all! You’ve kept me going during many bleak creative droughts.

I’m even more grateful for all the friends who have taken the huge leap from telling me,  “Yeah, I liked it”  to saying “I recommend this.” I’ve made a lot of great new friends through other friends sharing their enthusiasm, and that’s a special happiness to be cherished too.

Two even call me their favorite living author  (as far as I know, I am the only living author they know personally, so take that with a grain of salt or three)  and my library asked me to get them copies to review & buy, and to keep them updated on new releases.

All big boosts. All hugely encouraging. All immensely important to me.

But an email from a total stranger, connected to me only my words alone? It deserves special mention too. I mean, I publish to reach readers, but to be gifted with PROOF that my words made someone–someone with absolutely no connection to me–laugh, cry, think?  That’s boggling.  Humbling. Exhilarating, too.

So it’s getting its own line on my list of Authorial Achievements.

**why is there a chicken in the post image? The idea of a hen mothering kittens made me smile. No other reason.