Guest Blog: How the written word affects my life by Kathleen Kole

When Samantha with Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours asked me if I would be interested in not only reviewing Kathleen Kole's "Breaking Even" but in having her do a guest post, I was more than happy to agree. Kathleen's debut novel is a charming read (review is in the post below) and her guest post, my first hosted, is absolutely wonderful! Thank you, Kathleen, for such inspiring words.

How the written word affects my life.

I am by nature a fairly high energy person. Sitting and focusing for long periods of time is not my usual state of being. The only exceptions are when I am reading, or writing. Then, something in me shifts. I am transported away, I forget about my physical state and time can fly by me without the merest hint of notice.

I discovered the reading/stillness/transportation connection in grade school. I could launch myself into a “reading coma”, to the point that my Mother was often forced to bellow at me: “Put the book down and save some for later!” That mantra became the norm in our household for many years as I dove again and again, into story after story. Bless her for her willingness to repeatedly cajole me from the pages, so I didn’t miss out on the living end of things.

The awareness of the writing connection didn’t come until much later. It’s power to still me was strongly present, I just didn’t consciously realize it. I loved to write, took it for granted that I did, even set my course in college to learn more about it and, still, had no mindful grasp of how it affected me. If I am to be completely honest, I would hazard to guess I didn’t become cognizant of its power to still me until six years ago. And, the only reason I did so was, when I was forced to take long breaks as a result of parental obligations, I became cranky and unfocused. Something was missing and, suddenly, I put two and two together to get ... Ah-ha! Light bulb moment! When I write, I have an outlet. When I don’t, “Cranky-stein” shows up.

Simply put, I cannot imagine a life without writing, or reading, in it. For me, they both have magic and I feel everyone’s life needs a healthy dash of magic to keep it interesting. I sincerely hope you have some sort of magic in yours.

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You can find more about Kathleen here:

Kathleen Kole's website
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