Write On!

Kim Wolterman

Last week I gave a presentation on why every book needs a business plan at the monthly meeting of the St. Louis Publishers Association. The topic sounds a bit dry, doesn't it? Hopefully, the presentation wasn't. I didn't see any of the 30 or so attendees sleeping, at any rate. I believe it is important to think of the business side of writing a book as much as you think about the creative side. What is the point of spending months or years writing a book, only to find out that you can't afford to get it into print? Or to have it fail because you didn't have a plan for helping it succeed? Sometimes I feel like we don't cover the expense side of book publishing enough. At any rate, the presentation seem to be well-received, and people hung around talking until 9:30. If you are interested in reading more, I have posted about book business plans on my Write Formation blog, which you can find here.

Jim was on a motorcycle adventure last week, so Kirby and I held down the fort. The pooch is doing quite well, though we did just find a small lump on his tummy which we will need to keep a close eye on. I took him with me to Creve Couer Lake for a walk and to watch the sun set. Wow! This is the view I fantasize about when I think of a retirement home.

Creve Coeur Lake

Jim got back home last Saturday, so on Sunday we went to the Missouri Botanical Garden. These extended periods of temperatures in the 80s and even 90s have played havoc with the fall colors. I am afraid we are not going to see the vibrant oranges and reds we are used to. Instead I think the leaves will go more brown and then fall off. That's too bad, because I love fall. Some pretty flowers were still blooming, so it was still worth the visit.

Missouri Botanical Garden

children await arrival of UP 844

Tuesday of this week a train powered by a steam engine came whistling through our town. Delivered in 1944, Steam Locomotive 844 was designed to pull high speed passenger trains, and was the last steam engine built for Union Pacific Railroad. This is the first time in three years that it has been in operation as it was undergoing restoration. The train is traveling from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Memphis, Tennessee for the dedication of the "Big River Crossing" pedestrian bridge/rail bridge over the Mississippi River. I was amazed by how many people turned out, not only in our community, but many other locations in the St. Louis area. I loved the fact that the local pre-school brought the children down to see the train. This is a piece of history you just don't see every day. And of course I had the Johnny Cash song, Folsom Prison Blues, going through my head. "I hear the train a 'comin/It's rollin' 'round the bend..."

You can check out my short video here.

UP 844

Snapped!

More pickleball drama...On Thursday I played with a man I shall call DH. It is only the second time I have seen him, and I believe he is new to the game. He plays well, though, since he comes from a racquetball background. DH and I were partners for what ended up being his last game of the morning. It was a super-fun game, with the score bouncing back and forth between us and the other team. Pickleball is played to 11 points, but you must win by two points. DH and I won 13-11. As we were sitting on the bleachers catching our breath he says to me, "Don't take this wrong, but the ladies here play pretty well." I agreed, "Yes, they do." Then he says, "Well, the court is a lot smaller so there is less running. That levels the playing field." Really, DH? You think women can't run as much as men? I know some women that could totally kick his butt! As I was trying to restrain myself from using my paddle on a different type of ball, he left for the day. I could not even believe he would say such a thing. People have no filters these days - if they think it, they say it.

Small Works - Kim Wolterman

Striking a Chord

 Friday night was the artists' reception for the opening of Small Works III at the Webster Groves Public Library. This is a juried exhibition of works on a smaller scale, and with a musical theme. I had submitted a couple of pictures, and the one of a man sitting on the steps in San Juan, Puerto Rico was selected to be in the show. I titled it, "Striking a Chord", and had it printed onto metal. The metal really makes the colors pop, I think. The turnout at the reception was pretty good.

The Women in Focus photography group has been asked to do a show in November at the Gretchen Brigham Gallery at Union Avenue Church downtown. Hosted by the Arts Group of Union Avenue, we can each submit up to four jpgs to the juror for consideration in the show. They don't want us to use any of the photos that we exhibited in our last two shows, so I'll have to think about this one. It gets expensive to print and frame these photos for the various shows, and I have yet to make a sale to recoup any of the costs. I know our fearless leader will be disappointed if only a few of our members submit, so I'll probably come up with something.

Signing off to get back to work on my presentation for the St. Louis Publishers Association. I'll be talking about why every author needs a business plan for their book.

Oh What a (Stormy) Night!

St. Louis storm damage

Last night was the monthly board meeting of the St. Louis Publishers Association, which is held at the St. Louis Bread Company in the Galleria. Just as I was getting ready to head out the door, the winds whipped up, the rain began to pour sideways, and the hail came down. No way was I going to take my new baby, much less myself, out in that storm. As I waited for the storm to moderate, lightning struck, the lights dimmed, and a crackling noise indicated the end of telephone service. Jim was still at work, so the lack of a land line was not a big deal.

When I returned home from the meeting I went outside with an umbrella to take the recycling bin out to the front curb for the Wednesday morning pickup. I noticed a lot of debris in the yard, but that was nothing compared to what I saw when I reached the parkway. I use the word "saw" loosely as it was pitch black outside by then. I hurried back to the house to get a flashlight, and the next door neighbors stepped out to let me know that our downed tree branches had taken out their phone, Internet and cable. Sure enough there were a lot of limbs down, some of which were hanging out in the street. I moved them back onto our parkway and sidewalk the best that I could while juggling an umbrella and a flashlight.

When I got back into the house I fully expected that we would not have any of our AT&T services either. But our line was not affected at all. This morning I could more fully assess the damage. The tree is a 100+ year old Horse Chestnut (aka Buckeye) that won an award from the city of Webster Groves a few years ago because it is such a beautiful tree. Fortunately it does have a lot of branches, so you really can't tell where the limbs fell off. At least I couldn't tell today - once all the leaves are off that may be different.

The beauty of Webster Groves, besides the houses, is the abundance of stately, mature trees in the community. But many of them are nearing the end of their life spans. I can only hope that homeowners are planting replacement trees before it is too late.

storm damage to the Buckeye