Updates and Ditherings

This summer has been filled with loads of work and play, writing and research. Ok, more research than writing. I have been reaching out to many other enthusiasts of the time period and events that my book is set in this summer, and have received fantastic responses.

It is amazing at how others who have a passion for a topic will reach out to those that have an interest in learning more about that topic. Those that have leant their guidance and wisdom have come from no fewer than 22 states in the U.S. and 11 countries outside of the U.S.

Also, I distributed the opening chapter to a handful of trusted readers, from which I received good feedback. I am definitely on the right track with this project given how everything is falling into place. I have a ton of research left to do on the book topic, but this will only serve to better the authenticity of the setting, the characters, and the plot. The character sketches are completed, as is the general outline of the book. This winter will be full speed ahead!

On some other topics, the “Hike for Play” (http://www.hikeforplay.com) redesign is going well, and I am planning on launching the new version of this site for the holidays. My next article in “Wisconsin Natural Resources” magazine (http://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/) is slated for either the February 2013 or April 2013 issue, editor article selection pending.  I haven’t had much to post on “Raising Our Humans” (http://www.raisingourhumans.com) or “Sports Profiles” (http://sportprofiles.wordpress.com/), but updates and new articles are in the works for this and should be out by mid to late fall.

This has been a great summer, despite the heat and the drought. We have spent a lot of time at farmer’s markets in the area, and joined a CSA that has been a great experience. I highly recommend a CSA for anyone that is into good quality food. Our CSA costs us about $20 a week for a bushel full of organic goodness. When we compare what we get in our basket at the local grocery stores, we’re seeing an average of a $55 for the same items we get for $20. The food we get from both the farmer’s markets and the CSA lasts 3-4 times as long as the food at the supermarkets. This is something everyone should look into doing. In our area, there are a handful of winter farmer’s markets to fill in the gap until next spring. These markets have tons of choices, lots of cellar storable veggies, as well as greenhouse thriving foods. Just a suggestion…

Flash Fiction

A flash fiction piece that I wrote on a whim...

Presence

She sits with a resounding thump on the tree stump that is too familiar in her life. In tears, in confusion, in pain, the common theme of her trips to this place. She always is here alone, always in fear, surrendered to the feeling of wanting to no longer feel anything anymore. Numbness is the welcomed state of bliss in her world; heaven on earth. 

The clouds and coming rain are perfect for her on this day. Rain washes away the old, dirty emotions and leaves everything clean. The rain will wash the tears from her cheeks, wash away the pain, and wash away the emotions, leaving only the numbness that she so desperately seeks. The dirt at her feet, darkened by the mist that has started to fall, will absorb it all.

A clap of thunder sounds in the distance. A brisk wind slaps a stray brown leaf into her forehead, suddenly draining her of all emotion and making her startlingly alert of her surroundings. As she jumps to her feet, the electricity of an unseen lightning strike raises the hair on her neck and arms. “What is going on”, she wonders. “This is a thunderstorm but yet…”

A resounding crash interrupts her thoughts. She swivels around to see a large branch now covering the stump she was occupying just moments ago. Smoke rises from the now broken junction of the branch and the tree from which it fell. She moves her arm under the branch and tries to move it…ZAP! She jumps back…the energy from the lightning remains in the branch. Through the leaves and twigs, she sees the remains of her precious stump. The shards and pieces of what used to be her stump extend in all directions, crushed by the impact and weight of the branch. She tries again to move the branch….ZAP! Still charged, still unyielding is the branch. 

She stands staring at the scene in front of her, silently, surprised, grateful. “The leaf saved me”, she thinks to herself. She does not notice anything around her, nor does she realize the time passing by her. What made her sad, caused her pain…made her come to this place…no longer exists. The rain has long since stopped, the clouds have moved on, and the sun is warming and drying the earth around her. She stands there still, not moving, not thinking, not blinking.

The warmth of the sun on shoulder made her glance to her left where it was gently setting. No thought entered her mind, but no feeling escaped her. Time has ceased to exist for her, just as her problems and her past have ceased to exist. Her present is all that she can see. Her feet partially in the mud, the softness of the suns last rays on her cheeks, the light evening breeze guiding her to where she would next be. She will be here, and only here, for this present moment.

Spring Cleaning and Time

Now that spring has nature in full bloom, this is a great time for clearing out some of the old writing projects. Which ones should I continue to pursue? Where should I focus my attentions? Focusing attention and time is perhaps my biggest challenge. I work a full time job, I put in a little work at this point for Sharp Thinking Communications, have a wonderful girlfriend with which to spend time with, have a large assortment of cats needing attention, family to visit, plus all the day to day things that life brings. Twenty four hours divided by 1..2..7..8..12…you get the picture. This is something that we all contend with though, isn’t it? Adding to this was a week long illness that took me away from my keyboard, and the week prior was spent helping and assisting my girlfriend in getting ready for her portfolio presentation…which was a smashing success. In the end, I did not have the heart to cut any of my ideas, but instead reprioritized them a bit.

My first piece of news is my upcoming debut in Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine (http://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/), which is due to hit newsstands later this week. I am very excited about this, as my article covers one of my “hot” environmental topics, and perhaps one of the more difficult ones to overcome. I am excited to be able to contribute to raising the awareness of this issue to others.

I have been focusing most of my writing time on “Hike for Play” (http://www.hikeforplay.com), and will have a couple of trail write-ups posted in the near future, along with some great things to do to make your hike more enjoyable and rewarding. I have been blogging on this site more as well.

My writing for “Raising Our Humans” (http://www.raisingourhumans.com) has been the most affected in my time shuffle, and I am looking forward to the day when I can begin to share more stories, as well as more tips and holistic pet health information. The list of upcoming postings remain unchanged from last month’s blog post; to declaw or not declaw, dealing with scratching issues, and a “holistics-101” cat care guide. 

“The Brewer Nation” podcast is humming along, even though we have not had an opportunity to record in the last 3 weeks (my illness, some chicken pox, camping for the Wisconsin fishing weekend opener). Adam and I will be back at it soon…in the hopes that the Crew start playing better.

There is nothing new on the book front, as I still need to send out those chapters for editing and feedback. This is my first fiction work, and I am not fully comfortable with character dialogs as of it. Once I feel I am in a good place with those, this book will practically write itself. 

Sharp Thinking Communications (@STC) is rolling on. Founder Sadiqua Hamdan has been gathering research, information, and contacts at a tremendous rate.

That’s it for this time. You can follow me on Twitter (@carykostka), look me up on LinkedIn, or add me to your circle on Google+. I will be setting up a page on Facebook shortly, and will post the details of that once the page is ready.

April Showers = Spring!

As March prepares to leave like a lion, the cleansing and invigorating rains of April are upon us. Spring cleaning abounds, both indoors and outdoors, as people and nature prepare the world for a fresh start. What better way to start off fresh than by writing a new blog post?

Leading off, I have some new information on my current book project. Through a connection on LinkedIn, I was able to connect with a history professor that had some good quality journals on the subject matter that makes up the back drop of the book. He graciously has made these available to me for reading, which has already provided a number of new directions for the story to take. On the little bit I was able to read I have already re-written chapters 2 and 3, which will be sent out soon for external (non-Cary) editing and feedback.

Traffic on “Raising Our Humans” (http://www.raisingourhumans.com) has slowed, but that is mainly due to time constraints getting in the way of new content. I have a number of items I am wrapping up that will be posted in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, swing by to check out the latest post, in which I do a quick write up of each of our cats’ distinctive personalities. The upcoming postings still include those items mentioned on my previous blog post: to declaw or not declaw, dealing with scratching issues, and a look at holistic cat care. Just a few I’s to dot and t’s to cross.

April brings with it baseball, which means that “The Brewer Nation Podcast” will be recorded and posted on a more regular basis. Last year we were receiving about 800 downloads per episode, and are looking to further expand this. The new music for the podcast is not yet ready, but should be before long. The featured artist for this year, Prote-J, is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on his next release. Our next expected recording of the podcast is Sunday, April 1^st.

I have been posting more on “Hike for Play” (http://www.hikeforplay.com) in the blog section, with a number of pending articles waiting for publication on the site. Some of the articles I am planning to put up on this site have been delayed as a magazine has expressed interest in picking up some of these for publishing. Once they have decided what they want to publish, I will post the remaining on the site.

The launch of Sharp Thinking Communications (@STC) is drawing closer and closer. More details will be coming as a launch date is set.

That’s it for this time. You can follow me on Twitter (@carykostka), look me up on LinkedIn, or add me to your circle on Google+. I will be setting up a page on Facebook shortly, and will post the details of that once the page is ready.

Early Spring Blooming

I mentioned in my last post that things would be blooming soon. When I wrote I did not imagine just how quickly things would move. Spring has come early, and everything is moving at full speed! Although the burst of activity has not enabled me to add any new projects, the time I am spending on my current projects have been fascinating and rewarding.

I will lead things off with my longest running endeavor, the “Raising Our Humans” website (http://www.raisingourhumans.com). The traffic to this site increased 62% in the last month! The funny stories that I have been posting have been decreasing as a result of the kittens all getting a little older and developing or exhibiting fewer new funny behaviors as time passes. In a way this has been good. I have been able to bring the media gallery up to date, and I have been able to focus more attention towards the other aspects of cat ownership. A few articles that I am researching for future posts involve dealing with cat scratching, my take on the “declaw or not” controversy, and a look into the world of holistic cat care. The funny stories, pictures, and videos will still be coming but will have a less emphasis on the site.

My new site, “Sports Profiles” (http://sportsprofiles.wordpress.com), is live and running. The opening post is an in-depth look at new Milwaukee Brewers 3B Aramis Ramirez, which was posted this past Sunday. The initial response has been positive, and I am looking forward to the challenge of promoting and creating more material for this site. The next player I will be profiling is Marquette G Todd Mayo.

“Hike For Play” (http://www.hikeforplay.com) has taken up the majority of my writing time lately. Most of the content I have created is interlinked, which is why it has not yet been posted. Once this has all been completed and posted, a pleasant surprise is in store for all the fans of the site. My goal is to have all of the material up by the middle of March.

In the podcast world, the changes to the “Brewer Nation” are coming to fruition. I am finalizing some odds and ends with our new feature artist, who will be announced on the pre-season edition of the “Brewer Nation” podcast towards the end of March. We are looking to have a bit more formalized outline of the show, and to bring you more interviews than ever before. We have one potential interview candidate in the works that may surprise you.

Sharp Thinking Communications continues to move forward as a full launch is not too far away. STC will provide a very needed and vital service to the international business community. It is exciting and exhilarating to be part of this venture and to watch STC founder Sadiqua Hamdan bring her vision to life.

Otherwise, many query letters have gone under the bridge since my last post and I am largely playing the waiting game on most of these. I’m not in too big of a hurry though, as you can see from the above work has not been hard to find. I have been renewed to continue my Big East basketball and MLB baseball scouting reports through the 2013-14 seasons, and am in the process of renewing my deal with Microsoft. My book has been slow, but I was able to connect to a historian who has brought me a fresh direction in the plot of the book as well as to help the events become even more authentic.

One last bit of housekeeping before I go. You may (or may not) have noticed a third tab on my blog, called “General Ramblings, Mischief, Etc.”. This will more for as a place for me to post anything and everything random that I come up with from time to time. No categories, no purpose, just words flowing from the top of my head when I feel like.

I hope you all have a great February, and feel free to send an email my way or comment on the blog. I will post, probably in the summer when I am a little lighter with my workload, some of the better questions I have received. You can follow me on Twitter (@carykostka), or look me up on LinkedIn or Google+.

Until next time…

Hitting 2012 Running

Now that the holiday rush has come to a close, the time has come to dive into 2012. I am approaching this year with eager anticipation of great things to come. Much of the ground work laid last year has sprouted up and should be in full bloom very soon.

I have started posting more on my “Hike for Play” website (http://www.hikeforplay.com) and have a ton of content coming up that will have you going even more stir crazy this winter. “Raising Our Humans” (http://www.raisingourhumans.com) continues to explode in readership; it has seen a 40% increase in traffic since October. More is expected to come as I will begin a partnership with two other cat lover websites this spring.

Remember the sports player/profile site I mentioned in the past? The site is now up and rolling, with the first profile expected to be up by the end of next week. It is called “Sports Profiles” and can be found at http://sportprofiles.wordpress.com/. I will also be hosting the “Brewer Nation Podcast” here in the near future. For now, you can find the podcast at http://www.hikeforplay.com/partner-podcasts.html.

Speaking of the “Brewer Nation”, we are close to announcing a featured artist to provide podcast music clips, intros and outros for the 2012 season. We are looking to have everything finalized in time for our 2012 season preview podcast.

The book has been coming along pretty well although sometimes at a maddeningly slow pace. A number of changes to the first two chapters needed to be made in order to ensure accuracy, and a handful of minor edits were needed in the first chapter.

Query letters will continue to fly in 2012 to open up new avenues for my writing. I have a couple of articles coming out this spring and summer in “Wisconsin Natural Resources” magazine which were very exciting and thought provoking to write. It is funny at how deep the rabbit hole can go when researching for articles within the topics of these two. What are the topics? Hmm, I’ll let you know when the issue is out so you can pick one up at the newsstand.

Ok, so you may be wondering what the two big announcements I mentioned last month were? Well, I can tell you one of them now. I will be working for a startup called “Smart Thinking Communications”. The founder, Sadiqua Hamdan, is a great writer with an incredible pulse on the meshing of Arab-U.S. cultures (and was also kind enough to edit the first chapter of my book). I am very excited to be a part of this venture, as not only do I know the amount of determination and time she has put into this, but can see the passion and strength of her vision. The website is being developed, but you can follow STC on Twitter (@SharpThinkingCo) for the latest and greatest that is going on.

I hope all of you out there had a great holiday season. Feel free to drop me a message or comment. You can also follow me on Twitter (@carykostka), or look me up on LinkedIn.

Until next time…