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 |  Life, Adventure, Family, Writing what else is there? Random thoughts. |
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WELCOME TO: GEMINI RISING   UPDATED INTRO 28 MAY 2024: Just a little about me. I've been married for 32 years this past NOV and currently live in Southern California, but I grew up in New Hampshire. I've got 2 boys who are young adults. I work as a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. I enjoy my job a lot. Still. If you can believe that. I love to write. Thankfully both of my boys achieved Eagle Scout. My Scouting days are over and I'm back to focusing on my writing. I like to get out in nature, drink coffee and watch football. Here's a little bio about my zodiac. GEMINI: Gemini, the sign of the Twins, is dual-natured, elusive, complex and contradictory. On the one hand it produces the virtue of versatility, and on the other the vices of two-facedness and flightiness. The sign is linked with Mercury, the planet of childhood and youth, and its subjects tend to have the graces and faults of the young. When they are good, they are very attractive; when they are bad they are more the worse for being the charmers they are. Like children they are lively, and happy, if circumstances are right for them, or egocentric, imaginative and restless. Their good qualities are attractive and come easily to them. They are affectionate, courteous, kind, generous, and thoughtful towards the poor and suffering - provided none of the activities resulting from expressing these traits interferes too greatly with their own lives and comforts. Geminians can be successful in many walks of life though their general characteristics tend to make them unreliable. They are often skilled manipulators of language, in speech and writing, and may be: debaters, diplomats (though in politics they are more interested in theory than practice), orators, preachers (brilliant rather than profound), teachers, authors, poets, journalists, or lawyers. This is me. I am a Gemini. Pure, Raw, passionate. The NEW focus of this blog is to share my adventures, travels, random thoughts, book reviews, thoughts, opinions, and writing adventures from actual writing, writing/editing tips, marketing, research. I'll get there. BLOG ACCOMPLISHMENTS: SEPTEMBER 2024: I participated in the
![Merit Badge in Nonfiction
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Congrats on your Honorable Mention in Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2024](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/type-Nonfiction.gif) Big thanks to WakeUpAndLive~doingNaNo'24   for hosting the contest! OCTOBER 2024: I participated in the
![Merit Badge in Halloween
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Congratulations on completing the 13 Poetic Days of Halloween.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Halloween-2026567.gif) Big Thanks to Lyn's a Witchy Woman  for hosting the contest!Find me at: WEBSITE: http://www.stephanieburkhart.com FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor GOOD READS: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart YOU TUBE CHANNEL: http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee Previous GRATITIOUS Warning, that I decided to keep in case I post about something that might offend.  WARNING I intend to be open, honest, and forthright. No topic is off limits from religion to you name it, I'm going there. If you think you might be offended...back up now - this blog isn't for you. For those who "dare"  check out the "Gemini Rising..." 
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| So October, November, December, January, February, and March BLEW by like the wind. Where did the time GO???? WRITING & MARKETING STUFF: I've been striving to keep up with marketing. I don't want to say it's been a grind, but it kinda feels like it. There's 2 marketing sites I use: Fussy Libriarian and Free Kindle Books & Tips. They're affordable, but FKBT requires a min of 8 reviews on Amazon so I can only promo 1 out of 4 books. FL is more affordable. I finally paid off my overs for Praire Rose Publishing and I made some money on the stories last quarter so I'm happy about that. I've been targeting my VTP stories, reviewing, editing, and updating them. I've been focusing on them as they are shorter, but I'm finding that even though they are shorter, they still require a quality review. Right now, I'm working updating my Christmas story called "Christmas in Bayeux." The original story was published in 2011 for the VTP Christmas Collection, Stimulating and was only about 5K long. This update is now at 23K. I've added a lot more meat to the bones. So with that I updated the cover as well. I had some "alternate" covers made as well, which I'll share, but right now here's the new cover:  I'll share an excerpt or two as I get closer to publication. Right now, I have to finish it, and I'm about finished. Hoping to finish within the next 2-4 weeks, then I'll need editing and formating for the Kindle. HOLIDAYS: Holidays in Covid has been tough. For Halloween I dressed up as "Covid". haha. I'll post a pic in a few. November, Knotts Berry Farm did a "Taste of Knotts Berry Farm" where you go to the amusement and walk through. You can't ride the rides but you go from restaurant to restaurant taste testing the food. Then there was the election. I have no comment on the election but to say politics is divisive and I really don't want to go there on my Blog. My Blog is my happy place. December was challenging as it was the holidays and my governor, Good Ol' Gavin locked California down hard. I never shopped so much on Amazon in my life! But I did use some mom & pop places. I found "The Soap Kitchen" out of Pasadena and I love Stonewall Kitchen which is in Maine. JANUARY Work took away Brewed coffee at work so we had to rely on K-Cups. I discovered my favorite K Cups was McDonalds Medium Roast and Costco Medium Roast. I decided to be a bit more active in politics. Not much mind you. But I have been sending my CA Assemblymember and Senator my thoughts on issues that are important to me. I'm very excited to have my Assemblymember coming to visit the dispatch center in April. I also email my Congressman my thoughts. Mind you, I'm very polite. I do support the Recall of Gavin Newsom, but one of the biggest reasons I do is because the EDD (Employment Development) is a hot mess. I loved the Bernie Sanders meme of Bernie and mittens. FEBRUARY Happy Valentines Day. I love reading the Cupid Slam entries for the Bard's Hall
 . That was the best part of February. haha.Well, we got a puppy we named Ollie. Ollie is a good dog, but he's a lot of work. No crate for Ollie. It's not his thing.  He was 8 pounds when we got him and now he's up to 30. He's had all his shots and loves to play fetch and go on walks. I started using my Notebook a bit more often on WDC to engage. I kind of like it. I like the "Quickie" aspect of it. MARCH I wore Green on St. Patricks Day. haha. My son, Andy made Crock Pot corned beef. It took FOREVER to cook, but when it finally finished it was lick-lipping good. So Cal and LA County has entered the Orange Tier and so more things are opening up and capacity is being expanded. I'm glad COVID is "shrinking." I'm so over my mask I just want to have a mask bonfire when all this is said and done. We got BREW coffee back at work. Imagine me doing the Snoopy Happy dance! WDC: Well, I turned 16 yrs old today on WDC. That's awesome! The Bard's Hall always keeps me busy. I love passing out the awards!! And Webbie and I have expanded the Bard's Hall Merit Badge Collection which I love. I also like the customized Awardicons for the Bard's Hall. I haven't really added anything new, but photos and notebook entries, but I might do a promo for Christmas in Bayeux when I finish it.
 Right now, I'm helping Elle - on hiatus  with the Quills as a Judge for the Blog Contest. And that inspired to catch up my own blog. READING: I'm the kind of person who reads multiple books at one time. Just finished: The Godfather. It's only a tiny bit better than the movies. Currently reading: Family of Secrets -- about the Bush family Licensed to Lie -- by Sydney Powell about Brady evidence Beyond the Keep -- A prequel to the Tearling Fate of the Tearling -- book 3 of the Tearling The Secret Service -- by Ronald Kessler - a look into the Secret Service, their duties and responsibilites. Blessing to all this Easter, from me, Hoppy Bunny, Lily Flower, and the Ukrainian Easter Eggs.  |
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