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A writer is only as good as her
readers, so thank you for your wonderful e-mails this
month! I love hearing from my readers.
I had an especially sweet e-mail from Becky Chapman, owner of the very beautiful Chapman Cottage in Dallas, TX.... "Kathryn, thanks so much--I have really enjoyed your writing website! Thanks to you, my creative juices have started flowing again as I always try to surround myself with beauty. I have forwarded your website and newsletter on to all my friends here in Dallas. Love, Becky." I'm a teacher by education and training so it always makes my heart glad to hear that I have inspired someone else or encouraged their creativity along. That being said, what are your creative plans for September?! There's no time like the present! You can do it! If you need a nudge, call me for a phone consultation. I blogged about Becky's lovely stone cottage on August 21, 2007 if you'd like to take a look and join me for a cup of virtual tea in her lovely home! And if you need a decorator and live in Dallas, Becky's your go-to gal. On another note, as shown in the photo above, Hubby Steve and I took a little time for some R&R in August when we went to the San Diego Museum of Art to see the Impressionist Exhibit. I'm a HUGE Monet fan, so I was in awe. Gazing at paintings from the Masters is oh so inspiring. The colors, the light, the flowers...heaven! We had a light lunch beforehand at the wonderful Prado Restaurant. If you live in the area or visit San Diego, be sure to go! It's colorfully decorated and very "upbeat elegant." Have you seen that little plaque in stores that says, "Because NICE matters!" ... Well, in a world that seems more prone to road rage than manners these days, I've met a truly NICE lady who is helping me realize a long-time writing dream: to get my work published by a Christian publisher. We've succeeded! Rhonda Hogan, a 20 year veteran in the Christian book publishing industry, has been a generous guiding light for me in the past couple of months. My true personal story, Jesus Held Me in His Arms, will be published by GuidepostsBooks in October. Guideposts is one of the world's leading inspirational publishers and they will print 25,000 copies of the book, Miracles and Mysterious Visitors To order, call 1-800-431- 2344. (Not available in stores or on their website.) If you would like an autographed bookplate for the front of your book, please mail me a self-addressed stamped envelope to the address at the very bottom of this newsletter, and I will be happy to send you one. Read more about Rhonda Hogan and (some other Christian angels) in my life below in my No Woman is an Island section. Rhonda works with permission to quote famous Christian authors like Billy Graham and Max Lucado. Not a bad job! Blessings! Kathryn 
Victoria, the
beautiful lifestyle
magazine
celebrating gracious living and beautiful surroundings
is going to be published again. To celebrate, the
publisher is holding a special getaway weekend at
the Anatole Hilton in Dallas, TX the end of September.
You're invited! Readers will have the opportunity to tell
the
editors what they'd like to see the magazine become
in the future. How exciting to get to meet the
editor! My favorite lifestyle author and friend,
Alexandra
Stoddard
will be speaking.
For more information.
Photo taken in Stonington, CT when we traveled there last year to attend Alexandra Stoddard's Happiness Weekend.
I've met some
wonderful home and garden bloggers via e-
mail, and I
wanted to
share some of my favorites below this month.
And if
you're thinking of starting a creative blog,
check out the
wonderful new blog book,
Artful Blogging.
Barbara Jacksier, the former editor of Cottage Style magazine, is writing a wonderful book, Waterside Cottages. She invited me to submit prospective homes for the book, and I had fun doing so. Her blog is a blend of notes about how her book is progressing, and she offers travel tales and colorful home decorating tips, photos, and ideas. She writes in her own distinctively entertaining and often humorous tongue-in-cheek style, and as a 20 plus year magazine publishing veteran, she doesn't miss a beat! (She edited 8 magazines!) I think you'll enjoy Barbara's awesome "blog-a-zine." You won't find a more charming down-to-earth blog than Florida homemaker Kim McCole's, Daisy Cottage. Kim is a master at creating gorgeous decorative vignettes with inexpensive accessories and "pretties," many of them vintage, that she finds at places like Goodwill. But Kim's claim to fame is that her home is no Goodwill-looking place! On the contrary, it's charming and comfortable, and graced with punches of colorful accents. Her blog is such a heart-warming testament to her devoted love of home, family, and America, that in a few short months it's won her blogging awards and many online friends... to the point that they send her sweet gifts and notes via snail mail! Kim is everybody's "best blog friend who lives next door." Inspiring. If you're a Francophile, you simply have to meet the Fabulous Fifi! There is more talent coming out of this woman than all of, well....France! I met Fifi online as I knew about her wonderful home-styling ability for many decorating magazines. Her blog, Chez Fifi, is sumptuous, scrumptious, and everything French. She tells about her sister's fabulous Bed & Breakfast Inn in Provence, and shows photos of her own once derelict and now darling cottage in Florida. Fifi has glorious photos of home and decor stores all across America, which she sees as she travels the country scouting and styling for home magazines. She's even owned several beautiful restaurants that she decorated down to the last French detail, and she also designed the gorgeous gourmet food! Truly, Fifi's talent is FABULOUS! Visit my own blog to find more Blog Bliss links. Photo taken in Mystic, CT when we traveled there last year.
Q: How have you been
able to
land such interesting writing clients and
assignments?
A: Hmmm, good question! The short answer: Grace. The long answer: I give a lot of my time and "tips" expertise away to help others, and I feel that boomerangs back to me in the form of goodwill that results in paying clients and referrals. I love win/win associations. I also keep myself open to the fact that I never know when an interesting person might appear who needs a professional writer. And since I mentioned last month that my favorite clients are creative entrepreneurs and publicatons who are putting forth something positive and/or pretty into the world, I hang out at places where those people might also lurk! If you need great copy written for your small creative business, or helpful tips on getting some PR, contact me. Photo of my personal library.
Rhonda
Hogan of Creative Solutions is a graciously
helpful
lady who has worked in several facets of the Christian
publishing industry for the past 19 years. Her job
includes getting permission to quote top name
Christian authors such as Max Lucado, Charles
Swindoll, Billy Graham, and Women of Faith. Rhonda
has
been kind enough to coach me on getting a publisher
for my Doorways to
Grace manuscript
as she feels it is publishable as a gift book. It's been
a pleasure getting to know her by phone and
email, and I am certainly thankful for her expertise.
Other "angels" in my life, who help me keep going on those challenging days are my fellow professional organizing writers/authors who generously share tips and resources, and I try to do the same for them. My e-friend Elizabeth Hagen hails from my home state of South Dakota and she is a total pro! An author and very successful national speaker, she is generous to me with information and tips. I feel privileged to have met Elizabeth online a couple of years ago. She now lists Kathryn Bechen Ink on her website as one of her favorite websites. Check out her great little book, Organize With Confidence. Another organizing friend who inspires me is author Marcia Ramsland, a.k.a. "The Organizing Pro." Marcia has just completed her third book, Simplify Your Space, which is published by Thomas Nelson, one of the largest Christian publishers. Marcia is generous to me with information, tips, and prayer, and has recently been a catalyst in encouraging me to get my Doorways to Grace manuscript published as a gift book. I met Marcia in 1991, and have been to her lovely "simplified" home in San Diego...although she now lives in Dallas, TX. Marcia is a sought after national speaker and radio personality and was recently featured in Better Homes & Gardens magazine. She's a dear! Truly, no woman is an island in this life! Who are the people who help you get off your own little island?! And remember, you're helping someone not be stuck on their own little island, too! Photo St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Easter Tea, 2007
I do not participate in
SPAM, so if
you do not want
to receive any more of these
e-announcements or e-newsletters, please
click on the
SafeUnsubscribelink
at the bottom of this page to be
removed from my e-mailing list.
I confess. Hubby Steve
and I are
Bed & Breakfast Inn junkies.
It's true.
2007 is our
20th anniversary year for staying in 60 inns in
17
states.
What began inn (pun intended) 1987 as a fun weekend away to San Francisco turned into what I now refer to as our magnificent obsession! I have three scrapbooks about our travels and am now posting "Bed & Breakfast Bliss" entries on my blog for you to enjoy. Many of the inns we have stayed in have closed, but many are also still running. Staying in inns has been a big (and wonderful) education. All in one fell swoop, I've learned about decorating, organizing, antiques, architecture, gourmet breakfasts, art, gardens, and how to serve high tea. And fascinating stories about the homes have been logged in my journal entries, which I will be sharing with you. If you and your significant other need some time away for rejuvenation, there's no better way to do it than a weekend away to a Bed & Breakfast Inn. ...We're off to Strawberry Creek Inn in Idyllwild, CA on Sept. 8 for my 49th/39th birthday! I wrote an article about how to decorate your own bedroom like a B&B if you'd like to give it a try. B&B BLISS AWARD: We rate the beautifully elegant Edgewood Manor in Providence, RI #1 out of 60 inns we've stayed in! I blogged about it on August 30, 2007 in my blog if you want to take a look. Photo copyright Edgewood Manor, Providence, RI. Used with permission of Andrew Lombardi, Owner.
I have two favorite quotes this
month.
"And He said unto me, 'Write.' " --Revelation 2:15, The Bible-- "Blessed is he who has found his work, let him ask no other blessedness. He has a work, and a life purpose; he has found it and will follow it." --Thomas Carlyle-- Photo of my favorite writing tools on my desk.
When you hire me for a
writing project
or a phone consultation, I
will feature your business in an upcoming
edition of
this
newsletter, which currently goes out to
around 500
wonderful
people from the U.S., Canada, England, and
Australia.
Please
forward this
newsletter on to your
friends, using the "Forward email" link at
the bottom of the page! (Yes, those are my
two "fur
kids"--my cottage cats, Beau & Monique, and
they are
fast friends!)
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