The Smartest Member of the Family. (Don’t tell Kimber I said that, okay? I’ll never hear the end of it.)
Mom and I were nosing through Draft Posts That Never Saw The Light of Day recently. (Well, I was nosing. Her Momness was … um… snoozing.) Anyway, we found this post that we thought deserved a second chance. It’s about being a writer. Kind of.
So here ya go. You’re welcome:
“I Chose You” author Carmen Leal.
By Carmen Real
Author of I Chose You, Imperfectly Perfect Rescue Dogs and Their Humans.
Winner of our first-ever Pawsome Book Award.
Take it away, Carmen:
***
On June 18, 2015, an inattentive driver in a large SUV slammed into our small Subaru leaving me with a concussion and moderate frontal and temporal traumatic brain injury. As cliched as it is, everything changed in an instant. I went from loving my job as a concierge in Hawaii creating dream vacations for guests to dreading having to deal with people because of the never-ending level ten migraines.
Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
“I know these dogs!” saith Kimber the Magnificent. “They’re my BFFs!”
Her Momness: “Okay, Kimmi. But everyone’s your BFF.”
Kimber: “So?”
So…. You’ve heard of the Pulitzer Prize? The Newbery Medal? The Nobel Prize? Small potatoes, bub. They’re nothing next to the Official Mom-Tested, Kimber-Approved Pawsome Book Award.
“What’s a Pawsome Book Award?” you ask. Good question. It’s like sunshine on a cloudy day. Birthdays. The first day of summer vacation. Christmas morning. BFFs. All rolled into one.
Reserved for the top one percent (that’s 1% for those in the back) of all books read, the Pawsome Award is our highest honor.
I Chose You is the first-ever recipient of this prestigious award. Here’s why:
Kimber here. Reminding some of you newbies about a Totally PAWsome new author we found last year-ish. Name’s Rogers. Rick Rogers. (Works best said with a tux and a martini. Shaken. Not stirred.)
Wait. Where was I? Oh yeah. New author.
Rick Rogers, author of “Walking Home.”
About a year ago-ish, we posted a review of Rick’s memoir, Walking Home: Common Sense and Other Misadventures on the Pacific Crest Trail. Since we’re such whizzes at original titles, our post was entitled, Walking Home Charts an Unforgettable Trip on the PCT. It’s our favorite PCT-ish read ever.
So when Rick contacted us recently with a guest-ish post, we jumped at it. Like:
Prompted by a recent author interview with Sharon Brubaker, Rick’s post is all about writing and the writing craft. You’ll love this. Trust me. Have I ever steered you wrong? (Well. Okay. There was that one time with the prime rib. But I think Mom’s forgotten about that by now.)
Anyway, just swipe the nearest burger off your human’s plate when they aren’t lookin’ and settle in for an insightful and engaging read. Take it away, Rick!
Congratulations! The weekend is in sight. So today we’re doing something a little diff. We’ve had a lot of inquiries from authors about “building a platform.” How do you do it? What does it take? Ideas? Dos and Don’ts?
So here, at no extra charge, is The Official Mom and Kimber Guide to How to Build Your Platform. You’re welcome:
“The Boss.” (But you already knew that.)
boss
[bôs]
NOUN
Kimber here. I’m explaining what a “boss” is. In case you’re wondering about who’s in charge around here. And ya know what? Mom takes orders pretty well. Most of the time.
So about how to write a book review. We’ll show ya how in five easy steps. But first, let’s determine what is and isn’t a “book review,” okay?
We’re doin’ something a little diff today. A little bookish. A little music-ish. A lot cool-ish. (Kimber: By the way, whaddya think of my new pic featured on the blog header? Am I like Totally Pawsome, or what?!)
Have you read James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans? Seen the 1992 movie starring Daniel Day Lewis as Hawkeye? If you’ve seen the movie, you know that it doesn’t bear any particularly close resemblance to the book. (Cuz, yeah. We’ve read it. Twice.) But the movie has a great musical score.
So you’re in for a treat today.
Here’s the main theme from The Last of the Mohicans as performed by 40 Fingers. This is the first all-guitar performance of this score we’ve ever heard. It’s a little bookish. A little music-ish. A lot… Well. You know.
Just under two minutes. Enjoy! And have a great weekend!
Kimber the Magnificent here. Telling you about this poster we got awhile back: 100 Books Bucket List. Mom and I? We’ve read 81 of the titles listed. The rest? Who cares? And some titles on this puppy? They’re on our Super Duper Over-Rated Duds and Disses and Total Waste of Time, Off You Go to the Kitty Litter Box List*. (Mom’s version. I just call it our Yuck List.)
See?
Anywho. That poster thingy got one of us thinking. Mom, says I, Kimber the Genius. We can do better. Let’s make our own Bucket List. So we did.
Below is our Mom Tested, Kimber Approved, 100% Unscientific, Totally Subjective 100 Books For Your Bucket List. As in, Good Stuff Here. Enjoyable. Enlightening. Inspiring. Entertaining. Thought-Provoking. Great writing. And Just Plain. Fun. Both fiction and nonfiction.
Note: We’re not talkin’ all Hoity-Toity here. So relax, okay?
Some titles are newer than others. Most have been around awhile. Stood the test of time. You’ll find some well-worn “classics” that are probably on everyone’s “Best Books” list. Some might surprise you. And a few are… Well. Hi, Mom.
You know it’s a lotta work doing a book thingy blog, right? Maybe not as much work as grilling up a nice, thick burger all juicy and sizzling and…
Wait. Where was I?
Oh yeah. Book blogging.
Well. Some intrepid soul recently asked why we do book blogging? After all, it’s a ton of work. For free. (“Intrepid.” Isn’t that a great word? No idea what it means. But Her Momness likes it. So I do, too.)
So, Mom and Me? We put face and fur together on that one to round up a response. You know. Something other than, “Chocolate!” (For one of us.) Or, “We’re World Class Bibliophiles and can’t help it!” But really. The main reason we run this blog comes down to one word:
It’s that time again, friends! Time for another rip roarin- edition of Big Kitty Litter Box in the Sky Awards. Cuz, holy Meow Mix! (Note: We received complimentary copies of these titles via Reedsy/Discovery in exchange for honest reviews.)
Here’s the short list of qualifications for a Big Kitty Litter Box in the Sky award:
Cuz ya know Mom and me, we like to be helpful. As in, save you some time. By avoiding lousy snoozers that make fish wrap look delish. Like, we already did the fish wrap thing. So you don’t have to. You’re welcome.
So here, without further ado, is our BKLBITS Awards, Part IV:
Pages & Paws 