official website of Kathy Holmes, author

Wow! What a momentous occasion - truly a historical event - a night to remember. I was never more proud to be an American as I was tonight when Barack Obama was declared the next President of the United States. What a tribute to America in so many ways. Not only the race factor but the fatherless factor - especially within the Black community. What an inspiration, not only to the African-American community and all Americans, but to the world. Such hope on people’s faces. I rejoiced to see the day!

I was so proud to see that every state I had ever lived in turn blue. Not only my states but dh’s states - from California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Ohio, and Florida but Iowa, New Jersey and Delaware. And I mustn’t leave out Virginia - the home state of a dear friend of ours who cheered us on when we were living so far from home. And New England - I mustn’t leave out New England where my in-laws lived so happily for so many years. And Pennsylvania, where they are living now. And Colorado - my mother’s family’s home state - you all did me proud. Wow! What a victory - not only for the blue states but for all of us.

I loved to see how we all came together and I can’t wait to see what we can do in the future.

What more can I say but God Bless America!

This has been quite a week so far. On Monday I stopped off to vote on my way to work - and that felt so fabulous!! BTW, you might want to check out Frank Schaeffer’s latest blog post.

Yesterday I mailed off my romance proposal to a publisher - here’s hoping they love it!

My uncle, bless his heart, has been updating me with more family photos and information about what a musical family I come from. It’s so amazing putting all the pieces of me together. I so understand now who I am and why I’m that way. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about publishing an updated version of Myths of the Fatherless because so much has happened since the book was first published and I have more to say.

Speaking of which, I’m pouring a lot of these feelings into a young adult novel I’m writing. Teens are much more receptive to these topics than adults are.

I’ve made some progress on my suspense novel.

I still have to get some feedback on my children’s picture book.

The beauty of having more than one project to work on is I can choose to work when and where the mood strikes. Now if only I had more time… there’s a family epic novel I’m anxious to start.

On my way to work this morning, I heard a report that red is the color that most turns men on. So, naturally, I thought this would be a great time to promote my novel, Real Women Wear Red.

Now regular readers of my blog may think, “Oh, no, she’s not talking about that book again.” But it’s interesting how there doesn’t seem to be an expiration date for a book you’ve published yourself. Copies are still selling. Women are still wearing red, and men are still getting turned on by it. So if you haven’t done so yet, you may way to get a copy.

I think one of the most interesting experiences so far is hearing that a high school friend read my book, and even though we hadn’t seen each other in more years than I want to think about, she could see me in the book. You know how people sign your yearbook with, “Stay just as sweet at you are,” well, I don’t know how sweet I am, but apparently, I haven’t changed all that much. Not in the important ways, I think. I like that. The truth is, I think I changed a lot in-between but have been getting back to who I was - the real me - over the past 10 years or so. And I like that even better.

But speaking of men loving red, did I tell you that when I was fitted for my new pair of red glasses, the male technician said, “How luscious.” I’m telling you, ladies, go out there and read my book and wear red. After all, “Real Women Wear Red.”

After finishing Bird by Bird, I must say I was left feeling a bit depressed. While I got a lot out of it, the author’s view of the writing life was a bit depressing to me. Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way books are much more suited to me and my way of thinking. They’re much more spiritually focused - with an emphasis that art is a spiritual activity and that you are teaming up with the Great Artist when you write - or whatever form of art you do.

We’re all different. That’s why it’s important to discover what works for you. I was attending a monthly meeting of a special-interest church group this Saturday, and this month’s speaker was one of the members who is a Physicist. Because he sees life through his intellect, he mentioned how written prayers leave him depressed. I, on the other hand, am an artist and not a scientist, and found his intellectual view of Faith to be depressing. I enjoy written prayers and the Psalms. He could only enjoy the Psalms by creating a chart connecting each Psalm to another part of Scripture. Fascinating yes, but emotionally fulfilling, no–not to me.

I’m grateful that there are all kinds of people in the world who can do the things I’m not meant to do, which leaves me the important task of doing what it is I’m meant to do.

So many fabulous excerpts from Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont, but I wanted to share this one today:

We write to expose the unexposed. If there is one door in the castle you’ve been told not to go through, you must. Otherwise, you’ll just be rearranging the rooms you’ve already been in. Most human beings are dedicated to keeping that door shut. But the writer’s job is to see what’s behind it, to see the bleak unspeakable stuff. And to turn the unspeakable into words–not just into any words, but if we can, into rhythm and blues.

And that, my friend, is what compels me to write. Just the idea of turning the reality of life into rhythm and blues is what sparks my passion for writing.

Another writer reminded me of this statement from Stephen King’s On Writing book:

“You can approach the act of writing with nervousness, excitement, hopefulness, or even despair–the sense that you can never completely put on the page what’s in your mind and heart. You can come to the act with your fists clenched and your eyes narrowed, ready to kick ass and take down names. You can come to it because you want a girl to marry you or because you want to change the world. Come to it any way but lightly. Let me say it again: you must not come lightly to the blank page.” - Stephen King, On Writing

I think we should apply this to all of the arts. Too many people get sucked into doing jobs they don’t want to do because they’re not throwing everything they’ve got into their true calling - teaming with the Great Artist in the way they’re meant to. And, still others are sucked into the belief that being a pastor is a “higher calling,” instead of being an artist or a chemist or some other endeavor.

Frank and Francis Schaeffer are two of the latter. And it made them miserable. We just got our copy of Crazy for God that I mentioned in an earlier post and it breaks my heart because somehow in our culture, art of any kind is not honored and is not rewarded. Too few can make a decent living by practicing their art. We are lured into other professions and we are miserable, instead of trusting that we’re meant to do something else. But hope springs eternal in my heart and maybe if I say it enough and do it enough, it’ll actually come true. It certainly makes me feel better for the moment.

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott is one of those books that writers mention when we get to talking about our favorite writing books. And it’s one I overlooked until now. But I heartily recommend it and have added it to my list of recommended writing books on my For Writers page. My favorite quote so far is this:

Good Writing Is About Telling the Truth

People who love truth are drawn to writing. But some people don’t want to hear the truth. But you have to tell it anyway. People who don’t want to hear the truth don’t want to change. Change is hard. Truth is hard. But it’s essential.

I’ve been learning to tell myself the truth about my own life. After several reincarnations of my web site and blog, wondering what my focus should be, I’ve discovered it’s all about books. I love books. But people told me that if you want to be a successful published author, you can’t talk about politics or religion or anything controversial. I’ve discovered my favorite way to talk about these subjects is through books. Unlike Sarah Palin, who believes books should be banned, I believe books should be read and discussed. If you’re afraid of books, you’re afraid of truth.

The most recent truth I’ve had to tell myself is I hate working in a cube environment. Maybe it was fun and exciting back when corporations were fun and exciting in the late 80s and 90s, but it isn’t fun anymore. Before that, I enjoyed artistic environments - small shops filled with the the sight of vibrant artists’ smocks, the whirring sounds of printing presses, and the strong scent of Peets Coffee in San Francisco.

That time may be gone, but now I want to fill all of my life with books. I want to be surrounded by them, looking at them, smelling them, touching them, reading them, writing them, and sharing them here.