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Showing posts from June, 2014

Running For Someone's Life

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Run for your life! It's a common phrase.  We've all heard it.  It means to get the heck out of dodge to save your own skin. However, since a friend of mine took a personal pledge to save lives in third world countries, by running four marathons over a course of four consecutive days, that phrase has a whole new meaning. Let me introduce you to Katie, a very compassionate and driven woman. I saw her at church today, hobbling ... suffering from every step she took, to catch up with her family.  Anyone, from the outside ... not knowing her journey, would never know she just ran from Tulsa to Oklahoma City in four days.  They would think she was an invalid. I'm sure you're thinking, 'why would anyone put themselves through that?' ... 'why would anyone abuse their body like that?' Ever hear that song by Matthew West, called Do Something ?   Katie gets those lyrics wholeheartedly.   She couldn't stand by one more day without doing somet

I've got the coolest readers ... yeah, that means you!

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From time to time, readers will email me photos of themselves, with a copy of my books. I've seen some pretty fantastic pics over the years. A few are displayed here . However, this week I received THE photo of all photos when a reader sent me her idea of what I call book blasting (the art of taking a book and post pics with it everywhere). Below you can see her scuba diving, with a copy of FACING REDEMPTION. And, she was also kind enough to make a video for me. I have been on cloud nine all week!!  I am in awe of her thoughtfulness and creativity. See for yourself ... talk about not being able to put a book down. And you've got to see her video - here at this link .  Or you can watch it here: OKAY --- now here's your challenge.  I'd love for you to top that.  Send me your creative photos at kimberlymckayauthor@gmail.com.  And if you're a tablet reader - no worries ... those count too.  Just make sure the book title can be seen on your nook,

Is Your Kid Internet Safety Savvy?

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This week my kid was playing Minecraft  online, with one of his friends.  He'd not seen this kid since school let out, last month, so I was happy to give him a bit more time than normal… as it was social - not solitary play. When it was time, I called him in for dinner, to which I knew he was going to inhale so he could get back to his friend to play. He happily ran in, and said, "I'm having so much fun with Garret, and his friend, Janet. (names have been altered) My ears perked up and I said, "Janet? Who's Janet?" "Oh, it's okay.  She's Garret's friend.  She's cool." In digging deeper with my kid, I found out it was not a friend in real life, but a friend Garret had found online.  My kid knows better than this. He knows never to give out personal info and to ignore anyone that was to reach out to him in global chat, in Minecraft, for anything outside game questions.   Come to find out Garret found an a

Reading is FUN

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Last month, a close friend asked me to talk to her eighth grade lit students on the basics of getting published.  I was honored and happy to get the chance to inspire young minds. I expected a few crazy kids, as not everyone is thrilled to talk about books or writing them.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find quite a few that were genuinely excited to be a part of the guest lecture. There were a few aspiring writers in each class, and there was enough class participation to create an exciting experience for all. The thing I loved most was the thoughtful questions.  I expected the basics, like ... how do you come up with ideas to write ... what made you want to be a writer ... etc. These kids were insightful and asked things like, 'After editing how much came out of your original story?'  'How long did it take you to finish each book?'  'How did you come up with cover concepts?'  These were deep and thoughtful kids (for the most part - th