Sisterhood Bloggers Award

February 10, 2015 / kellyfbarr / 3 Comments

I have recently been nominated for a few blogger awards by my friend, Donna Smith. So today, I will post about one of them.

First of all, I want to say “Thank you” to Donna Smith for nominating me. You can visit Donna’s blog at here. The rules for this award are as follows: 1)Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog. 2) Put the award logo on your blog. 3) Answer the 10 questions sent to you. 4) Make up ten new questions for your nominees to answer, and 5) Nominate 5 blogs.

The following ten questions are mine to answer:

1) What are you currently reading? I am reading two books right now — To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which I have read twice before, and River’s Edge, part of the Cape Refuge series, by Terri Blackstock.

2) Are you doing what you love? Yes, I homeschool two of my three children (one has already graduated from our homeschool), and I am writing — nonfiction, fiction, poetry and this blog, as well as two other blogs when I have time and a good post idea.

3) What is your favorite movie and why? I have several favorite movies, but one that I like to watch over and over was a T.V. movie starring Rikki Lake before she lost weight, called Baby Cakes. I like the movie because I can really relate to the main character.

4) What was your first job? Well, aside from babysitting, my first “real” job was working part-time at a K-Mart store. I began working there as a senior in high school and worked there for a total of five years.

5) If you could be anyone else, who would you be and why? I don’t really like this question because I am fairly happy as me and believe that I am who God means for me to be, but if I had to choose someone, I suppose it would be someone like Jody Hedlund who is a Christian, who homeschools her children, who is successfully publishing good books and writing on a personal and a group blog, and who gets to travel to interesting places to do research for her books.

6) Do you think blog awards have too many questions? No, I don’t mind answering the questions I find on blog awards. I think it’s a fun way to share some things about myself to allow my readers to get to know me a little better.

7) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why? I would change the fact that I procrastinate about my writing. It’s very strange because I feel driven to write and I have several good ideas for stories, but I allow my self-confidence to stand in my way. I lost self-confidence in my writing a long time ago because of some hurtful things that were said to me, and that prevented me from writing for a long time. I have just begun writing again a little over a year ago but because I have submitted pieces and haven’t had success in publishing anything yet, and that causes my self-confidence to falter, and then, though I tell myself I NEED to write, I find excuses not to.

8) What is your favorite thing about yourself? I would say my mental and emotional strength. I don’t let anything get me down for too long, and I have always been able to do what I felt I needed to do in any given circumstance in my life so far.

9) How long have you blogged? I have only been blogging on this blog close to two years, but I started blogging a little over six years ago.

10) What is your favorite hobby? I love to read!

Now, I won’t nominate five bloggers for this award because I do not like to make anyone feel pressured to do something they may not enjoy doing. Therefore I will simply leave an open invitation here for any of you who read my blog to feel free to consider yourself nominated, if this is something you would enjoy doing. If you decide to post this on your blog and answer the following ten questions, please leave a comment and let me know so that I can read your Sisterhood Blogger Award post too.

My ten questions for anyone who would like to do this:

1) Who is your favorite author and why?

2) When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up, and is that what you are?

3) Do you read everyday?

4) What was the worst job you ever had?

5) If you could be a character from a story, who would you be and why?

6) Do you enjoy receiving blog awards?

7) What is the first thing you notice about someone the first time you meet them?

8) Who is your favorite super hero and why?

9) How long have you blogged?

10) If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Next Monday I will be posting a book review, and hopefully, my new surprise posting will begin next week as well. Keep watching for it!

A New Plan and a New Poem

February 5, 2015 / kellyfbarr / Leave a comment

I have decided to try to post twice a week this year. I will do my best, no promises, to post on Mondays and Thursdays. My Thursday posts will still continue to consist of writing tips, advice, or news, or information on my personal writing journey or something I have written. My Monday posts will consist of book reviews and some more personal items to allow you to get to know me a little better, and, stay tuned, there is a surprise in the works, if I can figure out how to get it working. Technology still often baffles me, so don’t hold your breath, but offer up a prayer or two because I would really like to add this item to my site.

All of that being said, I decided today to share a post of a poem I wrote today about our weather today:

Winter Wind

by Kelly F. Barr

The sun shines bright
To my delight,
But the wind fills me with fright.
As it howls and moans,
I shudder and groan;
For the wind chills straight to my bones
On this February winter’s night.

Vengeance by Cody Clark

February 2, 2015 / kellyfbarr / 2 Comments

I received this ebook free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. When I read the blurb about the ebook, I thought the story would be very much like a couple of Frank Peretti’s well-know books, but it turned out to be quite different than I thought it would be. Vengeance is a short story about spiritual warfare. It is told in a very interesting way, moving back and forth between our known world where a man is struggling over the death of his son, and the spiritual realm where the angels and demons battle for the man’s soul, so to speak.

I enjoyed the story, though it moved more quickly than I liked, but, of course, that’s to be expected to create a short story. In the beginning it was difficult to route for the main character. It took quite a while for me to care enough about the main character to route for him. The battle between angels and demons is impressive. I always struggle, though, when angels are described as having wings because the Bible doesn’t say that the angels have wings. It speaks about angels appearing to people in the Old Testament, but wings are not mentioned in any of those passages. It mentions heavenly host appearing to the shepherds in the fields, and, I guess because they are in the air, we assume they have wings, but only cherubim and seraphim are described as having wings, and yes, they are technically angels, but they are a certain type of angels.

I did like the story. I cared about the angels from the very start and cheered for them, although I knew they couldn’t lose. I did finally begin to care about the human man in the story and want him to do the right thing as well. I really liked the ending and the way Cody Clark wrote the ending and brought it all together. The story was very moving and inspirational. It also challenged me, personally, in my faith and in my thoughts and attitudes toward others, especially someone who may have caused me pain. I recommend this story to anyone who enjoys a good, inspirational story, and to anyone who may be struggling with the idea of forgiveness. This story has a powerful message of forgiveness.

I am always amazed when a writer can create a great short story because good story elements require good characters and a good plot line with conflict, and to pull all of that off in a short story takes a lot of talent and hard work. Congratulations Cody Clark on writing a good short story that includes the required elements of story. I look forward to reading something written by you in the future.

What’s Been Happening with my Writing?

January 30, 2015January 30, 2015 / kellyfbarr / 2 Comments

I have submitted two items over the past several months, one to a Kids/Family Devotional magazine, which I never heard anything from and was supposed to have heard something by the middle of this month. The other to a publisher who is planning a book of inspirational stories, which I am hoping to hear from sometime within the next three weeks.

It’s hard not to get your hopes up and to not think about your submissions, and just keep plugging away. It’s hardest when you don’t even received acknowledgement that they received your submission, which I am happy to say only happened with the one submission. The other submission was kind enough to shoot me a quick email to let me know that they had received my submission. My hope is that they will then email me to let me know either way, if they decide to publish my story or not because a rejection would be better than never knowing anything, at least that’s what I think.

However, I recently sent a query letter to a magazine for an article I want to write for them. I was expecting to have to write it quickly if they wanted it because it was based on a theme their website said would be in their March or April issue. I was pleasantly surprised a slightly disappointed when I received a nice email a couple of days later saying that they would like me to submit my article, but that it wouldn’t be considered for publication until 2016! It seems they have made some changes in their magazine and have decide to publish only 6 times a year, which has quickly filled their article spots for 2015. I was told that someone from the editorial staff will get back to me in 2-3 months about my submitting the article. That’s the most positive response I’ve had so far! So, I remain hopeful.

In the meantime, I continue to write here on my blog, an outline for a story I am planning and a story I am simply writing in my normal “pantsing” style. I also continue to look for more places and opportunities to submit short pieces.

How about you? What are you working on in your writing process? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear about it.

Breaker’s Reef by Terri Blackstock

January 28, 2015January 28, 2015 / kellyfbarr / 1 Comment

I have been a Terri Blackstock fan for some time. Her books always keep me turning pages and Breaker’s Reef was no exception. I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program, and I must admit that when I received the book and saw that it is book four of the “Cape Refuge Series”, I thought I might be lost because I hadn’t read the first three books in the series. However, that was not the case. I’m sure that many of the characters are part of the first three books as Cape Refuge is a town, but Ms. Blackstock wrote this book in such a way that I could read it and not feel like I was reading a book from a series where I had missed a lot of important information. She gave enough information on the characters that I understood them and the connections between them, and the plot line seemed independent.

Breaker’s Reef is the story of Sadie, a young lady who has lived a difficult life, whose mother has recently straightened out her own life though she has a secret that is soon revealed — she had another daughter before Sadie, one she gave up for adoption. When a murder takes place, Sadie’s mom thinks she may have information as to who may have done it. Then, another young girl turns up dead and another missing. Danger seems to lurk around every corner as Sadie decides to try to find the missing girl. In between all of the murders and abductions, the Police Chief is trying to propose to the woman he has loved for a long time, but the case seems to grow more tangled and time consuming every day.

Breaker’s Reef is suspenseful and gripping with a touch of humor and romance. It definitely kept me turning pages. The young ladies in this book were impressive characters in the way they showed compassion and wanted to help other young girls in trouble. They encouraged others to take a step to change their lives. The story and its characters were inspiring.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery with an inspirational message. If you love a story that grabs your attention and holds it until the very end, Breaker’s Reef is a book you’ll want to read. I can’t wait to read the first three that came before Breaker’s Reef in the “Cape Refuge Series”.

My Photography

January 16, 2015April 25, 2020 / kellyfbarr / 1 Comment

Writing is an art and art requires creativity. We, creative people, usually enjoy more than one form of art. I love writing and photography and have for many years. However, I hope to make writing my main form of artistic expression and to keep my photography as a very pleasing hobby.

I have taken photos for weddings, children’s photos, and family photos for people, and I still do upon request. I do charge a fee for my work in most situations, though sometimes, I gift my work. Today, I wanted to share some of my photos here. I hope you will enjoy them.

1159 slightly edited 1168 slightly edited 978 All of the photos up until this point were shot during our vacation when we visited Assateague Island,Virginia in October of 2014. I love nature and taking photos of wildlife. Also, the photos up until this point were shot with a 35 mm digital SLR camera.

The following three photos were shot with a traditional 35 mm SLR film camera.

The photo of the two Canadian geese was fun to shoot. My two older boys and I noticed a few Canadian geese on a lawn in a business complex one day when we were on our way somewhere. Anyway, it looked like something was going on, so we stopped and I had my camera. It was spring and we watched for a while. It turned out these two males were fighting for the attention of a female and I captured a great shot of their heated competition.

The story of the mourning dove with the beautiful blue sky in the background makes me sad. She had a nest in a very tall evergreen tree next to our front door, and that tree swayed horribly in high winds and storms. I often found egg shells or dead, featherless baby birds on our front stoop after such incidents. Then the tree started to die in the middle, so we had it removed and replaced with a smaller tree that doesn’t actually make for good nesting, but I was sad when she returned the next spring looking for her nest and we had gotten rid of it. I still miss her whenever I look at this photo.

Sometimes, I just shoot something because I like the beauty or artistic look of it.

Summeer 2010 072 I have taken many photos of people posed, but my favorite photos to take of people are when they are in action or completely unaware that I am taking the photo. There’s just something revealing about the person or people when you can capture such shots.

Photos for Sale Soccer and Hersheypark 9-25-10 082

I live in Lancaster County, so I can’t resist capturing some of our rich farmland with our Amish farmers in action. The final photo is one of the rare photos that I took at night, that I actually like, — a lighted roller coaster at an amusement park.

The Little Ghost by Edna St. Vincent Millay

January 9, 2015January 9, 2015 / kellyfbarr / Leave a comment

The Little Ghost

I knew her for a little ghost

That in my garden walked;

The wall is high — higher than most

And the green gate was locked.

And yet I did not think of that

Till after she was gone —

I knew her by the broad white hat,

All ruffled, she had on.

By the dear ruffles round her feet,

By her small hands that hung

In their lace mitts, austere and sweet,

Her gown’s white folds among.

I watched to see if she would stay,

What she would do — and oh!

She looked as if she liked the way

I let my garden grow!

She bent above my favourite mint

With conscious garden grace,

She smiled and smiled — there was no hint

Of sadness in her face.

She held her gown on either side

To let her slippers show,

And up the walk she went with pride,

The way great ladies go.

And where the wall is built in new

And is of ivy bare

She paused — then opened and passed through

A gate that once was there.

-Edna St. Vincent Millay

A Thing of Beauty by Lisa Samson

January 6, 2015 / kellyfbarr / Leave a comment

A Thing of Beauty

This is my first official book review for BookLook Bloggers. I received a free copy of this book to review for the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I am not required to write a positive review, and the opinions I will express here are my own.

A Thing of Beauty by Lisa Samson is about a young lady named Fiona Hume, known by most people as “Fia”. She was a child star in the acting world. She left the acting world and is trying to figure out what she wants to do now. She has a lot of baggage from things that happened during her life as a child star, and as the daughter of two acting stars, that cause her a lot of emotional pain and mental anguish. Her life seems empty, and yet, she has made some important friendships.

This is a work of fiction, and it is the first book that I have ever read by Lisa Samson. This book is definitely different than the books I normally read. At first, it didn’t seem to have much of a plot, but I liked Fia, found her to be unique and quirky, and I wanted to see her achieve some happiness or find meaning in her life, so it kept me reading. The story definitely takes you into Fia’s thoughts and her environment. It is filled with good descriptions.

I found the story plot lacking action, but the character was strong and was the focal point of the entire story, so instead of having a plot based on a lot of action and external conflict, the plot was based on the character’s internal conflict, which definitely drew me to wanting to see a change within her. I wanted to see her make good decisions regarding the people in her life, as well as the clutter in her house, and, I think, by the end of the story, the author did a good job of giving me what I wanted. However, I was a bit disappointed when the story ended — not because the story had a bad ending, but because I still wanted more. I wanted to see what would happen to Fia NOW. I would definitely read a sequel if Lisa Samson decided to write one.

I would recommend this novel to anyone who struggles with inner turmoil caused by hurts and betrayals of others in your past. I would also recommend this novel to anyone who loves a story with a well-developed character who takes you on an adventure of self-discovery to find importance in her life. Finally, I would recommend this story to anyone who enjoys reading stories about original, quirky, entertaining characters.

A Disappointing Giveaway and What’s New for the New Year

January 2, 2015January 2, 2015 / kellyfbarr / 4 Comments

I must say that I am stunned! My giveaway posts earned me some new followers, and to all of you who are now following me, I extend a hearty welcome! I hope you will find many posts here that you will find enjoyable, inspirational and/or helpful. However, the requirements for a winner for the giveaway was that people were supposed to leave comments on my giveaway post letting me know how long they have been a follower on this blog and what they would like to see more or less of, and, to my chagrin, the giveaway post received not one single comment. Therefore, I am disappointed to announce: the winner is . . . No One!

Maybe it was the books I chose to give away. Maybe they were too old. Maybe no one who reads this blog is a fan of Mary Higgins Clark. Maybe you don’t read Christmas mysteries. I don’t know what happened, but I never thought that “giving something away” — for free would fail. But alas, it has. I will, however, try not to take it personally and will attempt to have another giveaway at a much later date.

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Now for the happier, more positive item — What’s New for the New Year? Well, I know I did this a couple of weeks before the new year, but my blog has a new look. I think it’s cleaner, crisper and sharper. I hope you all like it too! Also, the photo in my blog header, behind by blog title box, is one I took while we were on vacation on Chincoteague and Assateague Islands in October 2014. I thought it went well with the new look.

Also, if you scroll down the page and look at the things listed on my right sidebar, you will notice a button for BookLook Bloggers. I have decided that since I love to read so much, and reading and writing go hand-in-hand, AND since I enjoy writing book reviews anyway, that I would join BookLook Bloggers. I should be receiving my first book soon, so I hope you will look forward to upcoming book reviews here at Kelly F Barr.

I was excited to receive a year-end report from WordPress on my blog. I don’t believe I received such a report at the end of 2013, so this must be new as well, and I found it very helpful to see what my readers (you) like to read. I hope to use this information to keep you all reading here.

I was also shocked and thrilled to look at my follower count today. The last time I was here, my follower count was just under 90, and I was hoping to hit 100 by 2015, and here it is, January 1, 2015, and my follower count now says 198! I am not sure if that’s due to the fact that I updated some settings and have the blog automatically connected to my other social media sites now, instead of me simply posting links to all of my posts on Facebook and Twitter, or if the follower counter could somehow be wrong. But, I hope that it’s accurate and that the count continues to climb. I don’t worry too much about numbers, but I don’t look at my followers as numbers — I look at them as my readers; readers I hope will come to love what I write and spread the word that what I write is worth reading, because, as a writer, my desire is that others would find value in what I write.

In 2015, I will also continue to keep you up-to-date on my writing journey. In the past month, I have submitted two nonfiction short pieces for consideration; one to a children’s/family devotional magazine and one for possible publication in an upcoming book of inspirational short nonfiction stories. I will keep you posted on any response I receive for these submissions. Just having submitted a couple of things makes me feel like a real writer and it motivates me to keep writing. I have a few more short nonfiction pieces I want to write and submit to other locations soon, and I will certainly keep writing my fiction.

I saw a friend on Monday who asked me if I’m still writing. I told her that yes, I am, and that, as a matter of fact, I had recently begun submitting things, hoping to gain some recognition and maybe earn a little money for my writing as well. I was so blessed by the next words that came out of her mouth, “Well, I don’t know why someone wouldn’t pick you up. You’re good.” Such words of encouragement are a light to my writer’s soul.

Love Unexpected by Jody Hedlund

December 27, 2014 / kellyfbarr / 2 Comments

I recently read Jody Hedlund’s ebook Out of the Storm. It is a novella and I enjoyed it very much. Included at the end of that ebook novella were the first five chapters of Love Unexpected by Jody Hedlund. I read those first five chapters and couldn’t wait to get my hands on the book so that I could read the rest of the story.

My friend Lisa, Living Echoes, read the book and did a review on it, and last Saturday, she asked me if I would like to read it because I had commented on her review that I had never read a book by Jody Hedlund (I had read the ebook novella since making that comment). I was so happy, when she handed me the book. I couldn’t wait to dig into it. I began reading it that evening and finished it this afternoon.

Love Unexpected by Jody Hedlund is about a young woman who is traveling on a boat with her brother. Pirates attack the boat and Emma, the young woman, and her brother, Ryan, are rescued by the Presque Isle lighthouse keeper. Presque is a remote place in Michigan. There are only two other woman on Presque Isle when Emma and Ryan arrive, an older woman and her daughter-in-law.

Ryan is taken in by a family because he can work for the man, but Emma is not really welcome to stay with them. An unlikely solution presents itself when the lighthouse keeper arrives in town. His wife has just passed away and he is having difficulty caring for his two-year-old child and the lighthouse. A traveling preacher suggests that Emma marry the lighthouse keeper as a solution to both of their problems. She hastily agrees and finds herself unprepared for parenting an exuberant toddler and managing a household.

The story is suspenseful and romantic. I fell in love with Emma and Patrick, the lighthouse keeper, quickly and longed for them both to find happiness with each other. Jody Hedlund created such rich characters in Emma and Patrick that I couldn’t help but love them and route for them throughout a well-written plot; a plot that constantly created problems and emotional upset in their lives.

The story was spiritually inspiring, as Patrick lived a life of faith and had already learned some difficult lessons in his life. I was challenged by something that Patrick shares with Emma on page 94. (You’ll have to read the book to find out what those words are.)

This is the first book in a new series by Jody Hedlund; a series called “Beacons of Hope” and I look forward to reading each one as it becomes available. I highly recommend this book to adult women who enjoy well-written historical fiction stories that include good, clean romance.

I wrote this book review on my own. I did not write it for a publisher and I did not receive a free copy of the book. I simply borrowed the book from a friend, but I enjoyed it so much and loved the characters so much that I wanted to write a review and encourage others to read it.

Those of you interested in writing may also want to check out Jody Hedlund’s blog: Jody Hedlund. She does a great job encouraging writers. I’ve been reading her blog for months.

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