Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Still Me...After All These Years



Hi. I'm taking a break from my usual hump day funnies today to take part in the Blog Tour for 

24 Authors Reflect on Aging  

by Karen Helene Walker 
(through MC Book Tours) 

I'm really delighted to be part of this wonderful collection of essays about aging, a topic that's getting all too familiar to me. Let me tell you a little about the book and all the contributing authors. Then check out the giveaway below. 

Poignant...Humorous...Brutally Honest!

A collection of personal reflections guaranteed to keep you inspired and entertained on that journey we all travel together: The Journey of Aging. 

With a blend of grace, dignity, warmth and humor, women and men from 60 to 90 and from all walks of life candidly share the blessings and pitfalls of aging – from keeping dreams alive and keeping sex lives active to dealing with retirement, loss of independence and a growing sense of mortality.

A BOOK ABOUT LIVING EVERY MOMENT OF LIFE!

STILL ME is available at the following sites: Amazon (print and Kindle), Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and iTunes. Be sure to add it to your shelf on Goodreads.


I'm especially proud to share the pages of Still Me with these great authors...

Rev. Clara Alexander is an ordained New Thought minister who creates and performs sacred ceremonies, including unique weddings, funerals, memorial services, baby blessings and house blessings. She is also a popular speaker, inspiring groups with her talks on how we cling to our grudges, how we overuse the phrase “I’m sorry” and how we can live the life we love. 

Wendy Brown recently retired from a career in wildlife biology, where she studied sandhill cranes and whooping cranes as they migrated from Idaho to New Mexico. Wendy eventually found a permanent home in Albuquerque, where she and her husband enjoy the sounds of sandhill cranes from their deck. Since retiring from state government in 2014.  

Valerie Capps has bypassed the porch rocking chair to pursue her life-long passion for writing, thereby proving that in today’s world, life can begin again at 65! Valerie lives in Nashville with her husband and their spoiled-rotten Welsh Corgi. www.amazon.com/Valerie-Capps/e/B016VD9V72 

Mary W. Clark retired from her law practice in 2007 and transferred her observation and composition skills to travel writing. She is currently working on a book about her father’s World War II experience flying “the Hump” from India to China over the Himalayas. Mary lives in Paris, Texas. www.maryclarktraveler.com 

Fran Fischer: “I was born at a very young age and that happened 82 years ago, so I don’t remember much about it. I’ve crammed as much living into my life as possible, and I’m not through yet. I’ve traveled extensively and I even flew in the same zero-gravity plane that the astronauts trained in. I live in California with my first (and only) husband, and we celebrated our 62nd anniversary this year.” 

Pat Garcia (Patricia Anne Pierce-Garcia Schaack) is an American expatriate living in Europe. An accomplished musician as well as a writer, she has been writing (and reading) since childhood. 

Mark David Gerson is the author of more than a dozen books, including critically acclaimed titles for writers, award-winning fiction, and compelling memoirs. Known as “The Birthing Your Book Guru,” Mark David works with an international roster of clients as coach and consultant, helping them get their stories onto the page and into the world with ease. www.markdavidgerson.com 

Holly Deuel Gilster plays “make believe” for a living. In other words, she is a professional actress and musician. Holly also loves painting with words as an accomplished poet, an award-winning short-story writer and a book reviewer for The Or Echo. 

Aaron Gordon is a retired social sciences community college professor. He and his wife, Ellie, have been married for 65 years and have three children and grandchildren. 

Ellie Gordon is a retired public school teacher who spent the best 20 years of her life in the classroom. A Chicago native, she now lives in New Mexico. 

Karla “Rosie” Harper recently retired from teaching elementary school, freeing her to return to her early love of dancing. Today, when not helping out with her grandchildren, Rosie is taking dance lessons, spinning on a dance floor or performing in senior centers and retirement communities with Albuquerque’s Sugartime, as a singer as well as a dancer. 

Linda Hoye is the author of Two Hearts: An Adoptee’s Journey Through Grief to Gratitude, available through major online retailers. A native of Saskatchewan, Linda currently lives in British Columbia (by way of Washington State) with her husband and doted-upon Yorkshire Terrier. www.lindahoye.com 

E.V. Legters hasn’t so much retired as she has exchanged one life for another — from rewarding years with career and children (while pursuing the arts on the fly) to a life with the arts at its center. She is the author of Vanishing Point and Connected Underneath and is currently hard at work on her third novel. www.evlegters.com 

Kathleen Messmer not only runs a film production company with offices in the UK and the US, she is an avid photographer and wildlife advocate. In the unlikely event that she ever retires, Kathleen plans to live on a ranch with draft horses and pygmy goats and vineyards and fruit orchards, somewhere near the water. Oh, and a cowboy...maybe. www.kathleenmessmer.com 

Karen Norstad has worked as cashier/gift wrapper, secretary, boutique seamstress, administrative assistant, manager of employee stock options, executive assistant, and budget analyst. Now retired, Karen’s life revolves around lounging about, wearing PJs until four in the afternoon, obsessing over the news, reading, fusing and slumping glass, practicing piano, keeping a small balcony garden and cooking. 

Matt Nyman’s nonlinear career path has included working in the geological sciences, teaching high school, stay-at-home parenting and, currently, training tomorrow’s teachers. Poetry equently resides near the surface of his existence, occasionally erupting onto paper. 

Jill Plaman was born and began aging in Milwaukee, but she has lived and worked in Albuquerque since 1977. She holds a BS from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an MSW from the University of Minnesota. Her special interests are travel, international folk dancing, reading, hiking and spending time with family and friends. 

Maureen Polikoff is a clinical social worker/ therapist who has always pursued many other creative endeavors, including painting, playing music and, now, writing. A Connecticut native, she lives in New Mexico with her husband, Michael. 

MaryFrank Sanborn left Boston 33 years ago, to apprentice with photographer Walter Chappell in Santa Fe. Still in love with the beauty of the Southwest, MaryFrank photographs, writes, hikes, travels, teaches yoga and meditation, makes soups on Sundays, and dreams of the ocean and whales. 

Patricia Stoltey is the author of four mystery novels. The most recent is Wishing Caswell Dead. She lives in Northern Colorado with Sassy Dog, Katie Cat and her husband, Bill. www.patriciastolteybooks.com 

Susan Swiderski grew up in Dundalk, Maryland, where everybody calls everybody hon and eating steamed crabs is a sacrament. Although she’s happy in her adopted Georgia, part of her heart still lingers on the shores of Chesapeake Bay, explaining the setting for her novel, Hot Flashes and Cold Lemonade. Susan is currently working on a trilogy, proof that this old gal is still a pathological optimist. www.susan-swiderski.blogspot.com 

Jan Castle Walker is a retired teacher and an active artist. She lives in Davis, California with her husband, Mack. www.jancastlewalker.com 

Karen Helene Walker is a novelist, memoirist and essayist and the author of The Wishing Steps and Following the Whispers. When not writing, Karen is tap dancing, folk dancing or performing with the musical group Sugartime at retirement communities. Karen is currently working on her second memoir. www.karenfollowingthewhispers.blogspot.com 

and, of course, yours truly -

LD Masterson lived on both coasts before becoming landlocked in Ohio. After twenty years managing computers for the American Red Cross, she now divides her time between writing, volunteer work and enjoying her grandchildren. Her short stories have been published in several magazines and anthologies, and she is currently working on a new novel. www.ldmasterson.com
 
You can follow along on the tour by checking out the schedule HERE.


Now for the ...

This tour-wide giveaway is for two (2) print copies (U.S. entries only) and two (2) eBook copies of STILL ME … AFTER ALL THESE YEARS: 24 Authors Reflect on Aging. The giveaway will end at 12 a.m. (EST) on Tuesday, April 4.

To enter, click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions. The widget may take a few seconds to load so please be patient.



  Special thanks to


Oh, don't worry. Blog tour or not,
you still get your "aw".

I picked this one to remind us that 
not every "aw" is small and cuddly.
 

But love is always worth an "aw".


Thanks for letting me share all about Still Me...After All These Years. I hope you'll give it a look.

I promise you some extra hump day funnies next week. See you then.


Thought for Today:





25 comments:

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi LD - Karen's book full of stories on ageing and 'still being me' seems such a great idea ... and I'm sure will resonate so well ... cheers to you both - and love the giraffe!! Hilary

Mason Canyon said...

LD, love your contribution to the book. All the stories about aging will inspire. Who could resist those beautiful giraffes? And your thought photo is perfect. Thanks for being a part of the tour.

Mason
MC Book Tours

Pat Garcia said...

L.D. I love the way you presented this. It is a great pleasure for me to be in an anthology with you. You're simply an awesome person to get to know through your writing. Wishing you all the best with your writing.

Shalom aleichem,
Pat G

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Congrats to you, Karen, and all the authors.

Valerie Capps said...

Stopping by on the tour to tell you how much I enjoyed your essay. (I'm pretty sure my house is haunted too.) I was telling my sister about your experience on the shuttle bus. It reminded me of things that she does. (I'm not as nice as you and she.) A great side benefit of being a part of Karen's book is meeting new people and finding new blogs I want to follow. I'll be back...

Mike Keyton said...

Good luck with the tour from a fourteen year old boy in an old man's body ☺️👍🏻

LD Masterson said...

Hilary - Thanks. Karen really had a great idea on this one.

Mason - And thank you for the wonderful job you've done putting it together.

Pat - Back at you. The pleasure is all mine.

Diane - Thanks!

Karen - Very happy to be here.

Valerie - Thanks so much. And I agree totally about the fringe benefits.

Mike - Oh, you couldn't pay me to be fourteen again. But I'd take forty in a heartbeat.



Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Congratulations to everyone!

Cate Masters said...

I can relate all too well too, as I'm sure many writers can (or will at some future point - genius). Congrats to all on the release!

LD Masterson said...

Thanks, Alex.

Cate - Thanks. And as I always say about getting old...it beats the alternative.

Donna K. Weaver said...

Wow. I'm seeing this all over the blogosphere. I <3 it!

Donna K. Weaver said...

Oh, and I'm totally stealing that last photo on your post.

LD Masterson said...

Donna - Thanks. I'm lovin' it, too.

Maria Zannini said...

That's quite a roster of talent. Can you imagine how many years of life experience there'd be if we added up all your ages?

Jemi Fraser said...

Yay for the book!! :)
Love the pic at the end - perfect!

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

I really enjoyed your essay, kiddo. :)

If we must grow old, at least we can remain immature. (And keep laughing!)

The giraffes are adorable, but the pic at the end is the best.

Christine Rains said...

What an amazing group of authors. Congrats to everyone!

LD Masterson said...

Maria - I'm not doing that math. Too scary.

Jemi - Thanks. I love that one.

Susan F.S. - Hey, I have a mug that says: "I may be getting older but I refuse to grow up."

Christine Rains - Thank you!

pml13504 said...

Hi,I love the GIRAFFE!
CONGRATULATIONS to you and all the other authors on a book I can't wait to read it. It sounds sooo wonderful. AFTER 2 YRS OF FALLING AND BREAKING VARIOUS BONES ESP KNEECAP and face AND SON COMING HOME FROM SKIINNG WITH ROD AND PLATES IN HIS LEG..IT IS TIME FOR A GOOD BOOK FROM GOOD AUTHORS TO LOSE MYSELF IN LOL

Unknown said...

So happy to see authors I know like you, Pat, and Susan. Congratulations to everyone! I'll be putting the giveaway up on my Friday Freebies with a link to this page. :)

Heather R. Holden said...

This sounds like an amazing anthology. Many congrats on getting to be a part of it!

LD Masterson said...

PML13504 - Oh no. I'm so sorry you and your son have had such a run of injuries. I hope things are going to turn around for you now. And thanks for the good wishes.

Lexa - Thanks. We really appreciate your support.

Heather - Thanks!

Nick Wilford said...

Congrats on your involvement in the book. I have a feeling it'll provoke plenty more discussion!

alexia said...

Super congrats on this!! It's very exciting.

LD Masterson said...

Nick - Thanks. I hope so. It's certainly a subject many of us can relate to.

Alexia - Thank you. I think so, too.