Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Goodreads *Goodreaders* thanks so much


Dear Goodreaders on Goodreads.com,
I really do not think that anyone has the time to read this blog.
Understandable. But just in case....
I really am not quite certain about the level of communication that I should be establishing with the 'kind individuals' who took the time to read my book description and either entered for the give-a-way, added 'Kevin' to their 'to-read' shelf or in any other way took a minute to consider my story. It was suggested that 'too much' is a push and the push may be in the wrong direction. I get this ! It was good advice. So although I am so tempted to communicate with a few of you already, I will take the advice (paraphrased) to 'sit back and give it some time'. In that, I will patiently wait for your feedback on 'Kevin'. As you know, I have a few very specific questions that I hope some of you will respond to - regarding the story. As I has said before - my goal it to write books that you want to read! You should know that my instinct is/was to reply on the goodreads site by clicking on the 'comment' link and typing 'thank you - sincerely' to each of you.

It has been suggested that I join some goodreads groups and begin a dialogue outside of the context of my own book - to establish connections and friends. I do feel something - something that moves be to share in this interface of cyberspace - every so often (blogging). This morning I started to explore 'groups'.'Fiction and Literature' has 2800+ groups. Navigating among these - well let's say it is a work in progress. For now.... I will add the link to this blog on my 'goodreads' profile.

There were several motivations today that I will get to - but in only in brief because I am in *writing mode*. (The concentration level is in the current project.) And 'you' are busy.

About two weeks ago, I came across a Barnes and Noble link that invited authors to send copies of their 'books' not manuscripts to their 'The Small Press' p.o box. This department evaluates books and decides if they would like to include the book on their physical bookshelves. This week, I received the generic response that said in part (paraphrased) 'self-published authors need not apply' and that we as a contingent have our books made available on-line. This was not stipulated on the website when I decided to send 'Kevin' to Barnes and Noble Small Press.
C'est la vie.

So since this is a blog, I suppose that is something that I should report on. It is setting in - seriously - that there is ONLY ONE way for me to survive as a writer - 'word of mouth' via interesting, caring people like you. I believe that this is possible. I have to have faith in this....

This evening, I watched 'The Blind Side' with my daughter upon her request. It was mother-daughter time that we don't have the chance to share very often. While she was in high school, at times this same child would ask me to 'read' a specific book or watch a movie with her. It was an underlying way of communication. Things touched her. She wanted me to know. I was not aware that 'TBS' was a true story until the end. A wonderful story - or so I thought. Is it too political to say this ? People who have the ability to help other people .... I wish that I were able to do something so 'real'. Possible with my writing I can contribute in a small way....
that's it for now. when the time is right....


Thursday, February 4, 2010

February 4, 2010

Updating after quite some time.
- still unknown. still transitioning into this medium.
- several positive things have happened over the past days.

- on
January 25th 2010, i posted this on shanekaelle.com.

Thank you to whomever the individual is who has read my book - to the end - and gave me **** 4 stars. Sincerely. Shane
http://www.hotbooksale.com/p1599766/Kevin-My-Military-Man.html
Please email me. I'd love to give you a second copy.

- if one were to search on Amazon:
books 'military fiction'. Kevin My Military Man shows up as 32
books 'contemporary military fiction'. Kevin My Military Man shows up as 7.
books 'military romance'. Kevin My Military Man shows up as 15
books 'military romance books'. Kevin My Military Man shows up as 17

- the letters that i sent to amazon corporate level individuals did arrive. i have not heard back from them but the 'tags' that were a concern have indeed been removed.
- on that same day, 2.2.2010, an email came from amazon.com - information about a breakthroughnovelcontest. after reading the heavy guidelines, waivers, releases, 'rights issues' etc.etc. and then the idea that this was back to square one - a manuscript submitted and among some 10,000 others to be critiqued (scanned) and evaluated by a handful of people....

-a beautiful moment. i was in the store. a shopping cart with a baby in the seat was just inches from me as the mom stopped to look at something. the baby's hood was up and the biggest pacifier was plugged into their mouth. i couldn't help but smile softly. the 8-10 month old baby lifted their left hand and the four fingers folded flat over in a wave.
-it has stayed with me. i have always loved children - all flavors and colors but this was renewing for me - that such a young being could communicate in such a way.
- and days later i still think of this, mention it here and there and then think of children in the world that aren't of this understanding. is it really true that 25,000 children die each day from poverty etc. etc. ??



Tuesday, January 5, 2010

05.01.2010 (international date)

- today and yesterday i worked on shareyourpeace.info - i am still dealing with a troll but 'i will not feed the trolls'. - from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_%28Internet%29 In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response[1] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[2] - as my 20 year old daughter wrote to me "It's really a shame that there are rude and mean-spirited people out there, but that's the way the world is." a reminder of a lesson that i learned about the first time when i was her age. - i've tagged 'kevin my military man' to give further hints about the 'subject matter' that fills out the story - some things that are not referred to within the description nor the shanekaelle.com website: 'military career path', 'military education', 'chat on-line', 'chess', 'college life', 'dedicated man', 'football', 'language acquisition', 'letter writing', 'nutrition', 'ocean dead zones', 'shakespeare', 'tell kids the truth', 'true romance'. - although some very efficient and conscientious amazon employees have seen to it that the inappropriate and dangerous remarks were removed, the tags still reside on the paperback bookpage. - the following is 'not' 'feeding the trolls' but 'information' - it is too bad that amazon does 'not' verify that an individual has actually made a purchase of a book and does not autocheck time stamps to verify that a reasonable amount of time has passed before 'customer reviews' are posted. these individuals absolutely did 'not' purchase nor did they read the book. i have the amazon seller report. they lashed out in anger because i innocently responded within discussions and suggested my own story (as i noticed other authors were doing), when it seemed applicable to the question at hand. example(paraphrased): looking for an author without the 'alpha male'; want to read a book with romance but not with suspense; something totally different needed; guy realizes they are in love first etc.etc. i was unaware that this is outside of the community guidelines and subsequently sent amazon an apology. - there are 2000+ running discussions within the 'romance' community alone. - my book is really 'contemporary fiction' but the title sounds romantic. - 'kevin my military man' might have been entitled 'kevin military man' what then ? - it also does not make any sense to me from a financial standpoint. createspace is an amazon company and facilitates self-publishing. why not use these forums - within reason - to get the word out about our books. if our books sell, amazon makes 'most all' of the money. this question has been posed within the 'email contact amazon method' and is still pending. see 'why self-publish' on shanekaelle.com for the reasons - references - why i chose to self-publish. - it is interesting to watch 'kevin my military man' show up on websites. - thank you to the distributors who have included my isbn - thank you to any individual or group who has taken the time to link my book up. - thank you to the these people: k, j, b, p and b, e, d, d, v, m, t, j, t, k, g, k, r, who have copies of my book and who may or may not find it of interest, who may or may not give it to someone who might, and who may or may not provide real descriptive feedback. it it will take a bit of time though. the book is long. i wanted to make certain that if one went out on a limb with a bit of faith and took a chance in reading my book that they felt it was worth it. that they didn't read it in 2 days. how long does it take a person to read a 588 page book during the busiest time of the year, if they are working, taking care of a home or a family, in school, etc. etc. ?
-if a person likes ncis, the unit, (i will think of the other references) i believe that they will like 'kevin my military man'.
- that is it for today.

Friday, January 1, 2010

begin.
2010 or twentyten ? hum.


- and i write this at the risk of confusing any potential reader of my book
'kevin my military man'.
- the below is extraneous and 'off' topic to the subject matter in my story.

-11.52 am. [now 2:12 due to interruptions] u.s. east coast.
- initially i was going to leave it 'all' alone today.
- but then....as i finished picking up
- i lifted from a pile of scrappy papers that needed sorting and recycling, the yellow car pass to gillette stadium.

- i walked to the drafting table where our tickets to U2 9.21.2009 lived.
- i lifted 1 of the 2 masks of 'aung san suu kyi' and a chill ran up my spin.

- and it came 'front and center 'the reason why i am publishing'.
- the goodness in our world
- the potential to fix things for everyone now and for future generations
- the communication that is needed to facilitate this
- and to try and connect and link in with those already on this important 'band wagon' (a pun of sorts- that just ran out as i naturally typed this sentence yet it has double meaning here.)

- it does so now again (that chill) as i recall this minutes later.
- one of the paper masks was badly damaged and then i recalled more of the concert. during the song 'walk on', we were asked to lift up our masks. i looked down onto the floor. i have two hands and looked for a second mask to lift up high. the floor was scattered with masks and i gathered as many as possible and handed them to the people around me.
- i admit. i did not know anything about 'aung san suu kyi'.
- what i did know was that it was important to 'support this concept' - 'standing up for what is right etc.etc."
-
**
- i am 'not' a groupie and i have never been a groupie although i have been to 100+ concerts in my life (98 % of them before the age of 24). i want to make that clear.
- i waited patiently for a very long time.
- u2 tickets were 'out of our budget' while raising children.
- 'please don't get me anything for my birthday, etc.etc. when u2 comes around (again), i really want to go.' i said this for several years to my husband. i had never been to u2.
- friday afternoon 9.18.2009, my counter-part called to say 'they released tickets.
'i can get general admission or the side of the stage' ?
'do general admission on the floor. we stand up anyway.'
- late or so i thought, we enter the football stadium at the far end. stretched in front of us is a metal floor. only a hundred or so people are gathered near the front of the stage against the boundary to the inner circle'. we look at one another but don't say anything.
- we settle in front of the barracade but then i am alone.
- my cell phone rings; "walk to your left.'; 'what ?"; "walk to your left. keep walking to your left".
- i enter the 'inner circle'. 4 rows back from the stage.
- i engage in conversation with 2 young girls the age of my youngest child 19-20.
- how interesting this is. it is always interesting for me when i speak with young adults about the[ir] world.

- i admit that i did not know the 'new' songs. it didn't matter. i've felt it before - that unique energy that transcends an audience during a musical experience
- but this was different.
- maybe it was - because we were so close.
- probably not.

- it lasted for a few days. something.
- and it was also special that this entire thing took place unexpectedly and with my counterpart. we've been on that 'life wavelength' in our relationship.
- this did something - at least for me.

- not a frequent 'utube' user, i did take the time to listen to u2 songs during the next few days but almost immediately i came across the many, many 'interviews' that go all the way back to the late 1970's.
- and it hit me. i had always been connected....
- 'their philosophy'. 'not conforming' - (at least philosophically -

for the most part - but i understand the business word etc.etc.)
- and i understood 'this' instinctively.
- it held me up for years. not wanting to conform. we all conform in some way - to survive.


- amnesty, greenpeace, things i connected to from the beginning.
- do you know about data = [debt aids trade africa] ?
- that u2 (among *many other things*) raised conscienciousness about an economic and accounting problem that continues to contribute to subsevience for millions of people because 'interest payments' are so high.
- from the website one.org ....
- $93 billion of debt has been canceled in sub-Saharan African countries since 1996.
- 3.1 million more Tanzanian children enrolled in school after the government used its savings from 'debt relief' to eliminate school fees in 2001.
- .... among many other things that are facilitated, communicated and worked on....
- reading the utube comments - u2 touches people all over the world in a very 'spiritual' way.
- in their interviews, they discuss (from early on) how the audience is a part of the entire 'thing' for lack of the descriptive 'inclusive' word, and that 'they' are there for that reason.
- some sort of connection.
- the above is completely subjective and 'paraphrased' and not well-worded. i will edit this post and put up the real quotes at some point.

http://www.one.org/international/
- you should join one.org
- you don't have to give them money. just join the millions of who
'think about the future'. all you are doing is adding your name to a list.
- you will get an email - but 'not' too often. you will 'not' be solicited.
- you don't even have to read the emails but it will remind you that 'you are involved'.
- we can fix this !

[do not know where the below fits in but it where i started the post.

- it had to do with this small span of time whereby it didn't matter what a person's subjective feelings were about religion, politics, life, what is going on in the world - that for some reason people in the audience were connected for those couple of hours. (paraphrased from u2 and people who were interviewed.
- they 'called people out' on the same subjects that are still pending - still trying to defeat a sect of humanity. oh that sounds so political. i want to get off of that right now because i do 'not' want to get political.
- i am a humanitarian though.
- let me fix that comment. first of all, i have no right to 'put words in their [u2] mouths.'
- they are very 'diplomatic' and that has been my personal objective anyway and always.
- always to stop and think and put myself in the other person's shoes which really 'eliminates judgement'.
- but on the other hand - what is 'right is right' and what is 'wrong is wrong'.
-*this does indeed come out in 'kevin my military man'

okay - i 'absolutely' did not have any of this in mind when i started today but this is where i ended up. i know you care. i especially know that young adults care. all over the world.

all of the above from ** to here is a digression. so 'again ' back to where i started.
- minutes before i picked up the masks, i walked past the nativity scene in our bay window.
- a tradition that i have brought forth from my mother, camille.
- and i noticed the 'baby jesus'.
- whenever i think of the jesus and christianity - i always concern myself with 'turning off individuals on our planet that do not get it. of course that is because they were not born into christianity or what have you.
- and i worry about turning people off. but with 6.4 billion of us, some people connect and some do not; some connect about some things and do not connect about others. c'est la vie.
- that is fine with me. 'good and ethical people exist in all flavors and colors'.
- in my book, i try and integrate other cultures, religions, life styles to bring everyone in.
- christianity is just something that i was born into.
- and there is more for me to say.
- but in a very generic sense - i equate jesus with peace (or humility or compassion - or how about just down to earth tolerance and love)

- yesterday surya, a kind individual who works 'with' amazon, helped me (more on this but not today) and i cannot mention surya without mentioning a balance 'brandon' who helped last week....thanks again b.
- and i believe but i am uncertain that surya resides someplace in india.
- if i have this incorrect - no matter - it does not matter where he lives
- tav a main yet secondary character in my book is from india.
- i asked him what his name means and now i have looked it up. of course cross-referencing will give me options. SOOR-yah. unisex (used for males and females); sanskit for sun (or sun-god) and for that matter, i now understand why when i asked surya if he knew the meaning of his name - he passed by that question - i get why. do you ? why he did not respond - his humble being.

- and this about my yoga teacher; well one of them. i love them all. they are all so different.
- she went to india for one month this past autumn, and the culture shock took time to settle in.
- she didn't say much. then she said something positive.
- then a couple of weeks later, (she says interesting and truly 'honest to herself things' outloud anyway) she said out of nowhere 'i have fallen in love with jesus'.
- many of us quietly chuckled (although she was completely serious).
- we all know that she is jewish. she continued, 'i said that at the table and my father's eyebrows popped up'. ( i just paraphrased that sentence because i do not recall but it was something like that).
- and later she said 'what would jesus do ?'
- it made me think.
- it was proof that people are open-minded.
- it is a positive thing - that people are open-minded.
- i think that music, television, film, the internet and media in general contribute to this.

- so i will end this blog for today.
- it didn't much revolve around my book 'kevin my military man' but i am still trying to sort out the reason for a blog.
- at this point i will use it as further communication and a tool whereby the other ideas whether they be trivial or important come to mind.

- the reason that i have written 'kevin my military man' is because i am trying to communicate with other people. it is a love story. it is fun. it is true to life. it is deep seeded. dialogues represent those which do or may happen between young adults and their parents (surrogate parents, teachers, mentors) to help them through the thick forest of dilemma confounding our 21st century world.

- i do wish i were multilingual.
- how lucky those of you in the world are - to be able to communicate in more than one language.

peace and love and happy new years.
end.

Thursday, December 31, 2009

12.31.2009
Sorting out how to design this blog is nearing the top of my agenda.
I like lists and will try and address some of the below over time.
'Staying Focused on the Objective'
'Self-Publishing' - now that I am a part of this 'paradigm ....'
'Don't Feed The Trolls'
'How each and everyone one of us can contribute to a healthier, happier and more equitable World Society'
'Love and Peace'
'Music connecting People'

And of course, my story, 'Kevin My Military Man' .

As others who have a stake in something that is dependent upon Worldwide Communication - the World Wide Web - Our Internet, I have typed in the 'title' of my book using several different search engines. The emotions are confusing, a bit scary and fun too !

Thank you to the many different websites/distributors etc.etc. who have listed my book. It is a kindness even if this takes place somewhat automatically as your database is uploaded with the the released isbns but still I say a 'sincere' thank you.
And to other individuals who have takent the time to 'link up' my book where others might become aware of it and hopefully choose to it.

In each and every manner I try and get the message across that the story is much more than a romance (although I loved writing the romance) and that I have tried to bring in other subject matter. When I read, I like to learn something - anything - along the way. Real feedback about the book and the issues will be appreciated and taken to heart for I've another 'work in process' (actually a handful).


Happy New Year.
Peace on Earth. at least in our hearts.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Kevin My Military Man

12.29.2009
Hi World. Today is the day that I begin my blog. What a wonderful interactive way to communicate. Very 21st Century. It will most always be difficult for me to leave philosophical references out of my thoughts but I believe that this is true of most individuals. It creates the element of subjectivity. It potentially allows for us all to open up one another's minds.

To the Point. So many people have given thought to the writing of a book or the sharing of a story. Anyone who 'blogs' is in actuality an 'author'. After much contemplation, I have 'self-published' a novel called 'Kevin My Military Man'. There are many objective behind the release of this story.

Much more later. I am off to yoga - my new saving Grace. The place where I turn 'off' the spinning wheels of thought for a little more than an hour. See you later.