Many writers dream of fame. It looks so glamorous, doesn't it? Your pen name larger and more important than the book title. New York Times Best Seller printed on the paperback cover. Six figure advances on books you haven't written yet from publishers your mom has heard of. Soon-to-be-famous cousins back in 2003: Kim Johnson, Paula Price, (Paula's husband) Joey Naber and Karen One of my first book signings, years ago, was at a family reunion (I have an extra-large extended family). Two of my cousins, Paula Price and Kim Johnson, were also on a soon-to-be-famous path. I remember them being more seasoned in the celebrity realm, so…
Being that it's July, I've been thinking lately about independence. Not so much about independence of a country as celebrated in the US with all our fireworks displays. But independence as a person. I greatly value my independence. For example, I'm grateful to be a healthy person. Most of us have some health challenge to deal with, mine being Celiac. I didn't have a choice, but if I did I would choose that over more challenging situations like blindness or a physical disability that may limit my personal independence. As we grow up and grow older, we all deal with…
Good storytellers know where to begin telling a story. The first line, first paragraph, first page draws us in, makes us care, lures us into the rest of the story. Where does your story begin? I had the pleasure recently of reading my friend Julie's draft of her first children's novel. She has a nice voice, but the story started slowly, with lots of backstory. I suggested she cut the whole first chapter and start the book with chapter two. That was the real beginning of the life-changing event for her coming-of-age character. My friend Meagan is writing a magazine…
My son became a teenager a couple weeks ago. The transformation took place over time, but it sure seems like it happened overnight. I wanted to do something meaningful for this milestone. So I looked up “gifts for boys, 13th birthday” on the Internet and one idea, deep down in a stream of listserv messages, stuck out: share wisdom. I believe in the saying “it takes a village to raise a child,” so I sent an email to a long list of people who have been involved in Alexander’s life. I asked them to share what they wish they had…
Karen’s life experience is intertwined with her roles as a wife, mom, stepmom, writer, publisher, photographer, traveler, and woman of faith. All these elements tend to make their way into her blog posts.
“Writers have to write. It’s something deep inside us that pushes and pushes until we let it out. It’s part of the air we breathe, this need to make sense of the world around us and to somehow find the right words to express and influence the way we each feel and interact and love and live.”—Writing is Risky Business
© 2018 - Karen M. Pavlicin-Fragnito