A TRIBUTE TO THE POET LAUREATE OF SOLON SPRINGS, WISCONSIN

Photo by Anna Martineau Merrit, Misty Pine Photography

She's 94 years young and lives on a rustic farm in the northwoods of Wisconsin. Still driving her trusty car to and from her many club meetings - including the St. Croix Writers of Solon Springs - Kay Karras usually sports a pink baseball cap over her short gray hair. While she walks a little slower these days, time has not been able to diminish the twinkle in her eyes, her mischievious chuckle, or her ability to recite by heart the humurous lyrics she's written over the years. She has a way of keeping us all in stitches.

The product of a one-room country school, this amazing woman somehow developed an extraordinary gift for writing poetry that stirs the heart and soul. She is the official Poet Laureate of Solon Springs, Wisconsin and was recently honored at a reading sposored by Rural Arts Voice North.

Some of Kay's poems have been assembled in a book entitled " BITS OF BIRCH." I'd like to share one with you today in her honor:

GHOST WRITERS IN THE SKY by Kay Karras

Across the river flowage
on the rippling waves they came;
Reflections in the blue sky -
I do not know their names.

The lapping waters brought them
to my feet upon the shore
in sands of time their message wrote
of years gone by and more.

They signed their names in eddies -
in tracks upon the sand,
I followed in their foot prints
along the moonlit strand.

I read the stories written
in Sanskrit by the snails
of prehistoric ventures
besides the deep worn trails.

The hieroglyphics chiseled
in walls of weathered stone
spoke softly of the long ago
in ancient undertone.

I came upon a river
running backward into time
To my memory it brought
an old familiar rhyme.

The voices sounded, oh so clear,
I cannot tell you why.
They hovered all around me -
ghost writers in the sky.

Here's to Kay, an inspiration to our St. Croix Writers, writers and readers everywhere!

Please stay tuned and stay in touch.

Janet Kay
http://www.novelsbyjanetkay.com

PLACES AND FACES - Part I

MALLARD ISLAND, RAINY LAKE, MINNESOTA

"Let us be silent that we may hear the whispers of the gods." Ralph Waldo Emerson

I consider myself to be a place writer of destination novels. Place is very important to me...in fact, if often becomes a character in itself. Before I write a novel, I must find a special place to set that novel...a place that speaks to my heart, a perfect place for my characters to live.

Once I find that place, I spend time there absorbing its essence. Visiting with and learning from the locals. Researching the history and culture of the area. Exploring and taking pictures. I need to experience and to feel what my characters' lives are like in this location.

It's very rewarding to me when my readers also fall in love with these places, when they decide to take a trip to see the places where my novels are set.

So...I've decided to do a series of posts about some of the intriguing places I write about.

Today I'm thinking of Rainy Lake along the Minnesota/Ontario international border. This is where my novel, WATERS OF THE DANCING SKY, is set. It's a huge wilderness lake filled with islands. One of these special islands is Mallard Island, owned and operated by the Ernest Oberholtzer Foundation.

I've had the opportunity to spend many hours on The Mallard - sitting on the rock in this picture. Taking sunrise photos. Thinking and plotting my next novel. This is a place to reflect, to dream, to renew oneself. To connect with the spirit of the lake and of the Native Americans who once paddled their birchbark canoes through these waters. To hike along the path picking blueberries and marveling at the wild flowers and lichens sprouting through crevices in this rocky island.

At night the loons call out as moonlight dances across rippling waters. Sometimes the storms roll in across the narrows. The wind howls and rattles the old windowpanes as the rustic old houses seem to sway in the night. Spirits of the past slip into my dreams - infusing ideas that will surface in my future novels.

I spend time rocking in Ober's favorite chair on the wrap-around deck overlooking the great lake. Thinking about his life on this island so many years ago. Immersing myself in his old books,photographs, and documentation of his canoe trips into the heart of the wilderness. If it hadn't been for Ernest Oberholtzer and his environmentalist friends, there would be no Mallard Island, no Voyageurs National Park.

For more information about this man and his island, check out http://www.eober.org.

And stay tuned for more highlights on Rainy Lake and other exciting places in my novels.

Best Always,

Janet Kay
http://www.novelsbyjanetkay.com

VALENTINE'S GIVEAWAY CELEBRATION

February is a good month to celebrate with our loved ones, to let them know how much they mean to us. It can also be a time to reach out to others - an acquaintance or a perfect stranger - with a random act of kindness. Sometimes a smile can do wonders for someone who may be hurting inside. Delivering a hot meal to a struggling family, shoveling snow or running errands for an elderly neighbor are examples of acts of kindness that others appreciate. I'm sure you can all come up with ideas that I'm hoping you will share with us all on this blog.


Perhaps this is also a good time to do something nice for ourselves, to take a break from the busyness of our lives. How about curling up with a good book on a cold winter's night? Or, if you happen to live in a warmer and gentler climate, you may want to do your reading on the beach as you bask in the sunshine and listen to waves crashing around you... oh well, we can always dream, right?


How about treating yourself by buying a new book - or anything else you desire - IF you are the lucky winner of the $50 Amazon.com gift certificate that I'm giving away this month in honor of Valentine's Day? This is my way of celebrating the excellent reviews my new novel, AMELIA 1868, is generating. My way of thanking my readers for their wonderful support.


To enter my contest, follow these easy steps by February 28, 2013:


1. Share this on your own Facebook page.


2. Go to my website, http://www.novelsbyjanetkay.com. Click on the Contest tab, complete and submit your entry to win this $50 certificate and a number of other exciting prizes.


While you're there, please click on my blog, Janet Kay's Journey, and sign up to follow me. Good luck and Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours.


Stay tuned and please stay in touch.


Janet Kay
http://www.novelsbyjanetkay.com

A Winter's Night

As I gaze out my window upon this scene of snow-laden solitude, I cannot help but reflect upon the New Year and the endless possibilities it offers us all. To tap into those possibilities, it sometimes helps to retreat into the solitude that this season offers. It's a time to hibernate, perhaps. To reflect upon the meaning of life. To create your own "bucket list" of dreams you hope to fulfill yet in this lifetime.

In the spirit of this season of solitude, I'd like to share with you all a poem I've written:

A Winter's Night

Be still, my soul,
and sleep deep...
beneath shivering sheets of ice
silencing the synergy of the sea.

Be still...
snuggled softly in
snowy blankets of white
swirling slowly into obscurity.

Be still and sleep deep...
cradled gently in the shimmering light
of a silver moon
casting shadows
upon a long winter's night.

Be still...
until reflections
of love, of hope, of eternity
give birth once more
to springtimes of new beginnings,
new hopes, new dreams.

Be still... till then we meet.

Happy New Year to you all!

Stay tuned and please stay in touch.

Janet Kay
http://www.novelsbyjanetkay.com

My new paranormal historical novel is out!

Yes, I know that I seem to have disappeared from the face of this earth...and I apologize for that. In a sense, I have transcended life as we know it...

You see, I've been buried writing my latest novel, AMELIA 1868. In the process, I've expanded my horizons into the paranormal world. I invite you to share this suspense-filled journey with me through the pages of this novel. Read on for more information:

Rose, a free-spirited young woman, leaves her fiancee at the altar of their country church in Walnut, Iowa. Driven by forces beyond her control, she flees to the old western ghost town of Virginia City, Montana, where she feels oddly at home...

Drawn to an old cemetery in the mountains, she discovers a crumbling weathered tombstone and begins to sob uncontrollably. Only two words are etched upon the stone - AMELIA 1868. Obsessed with uncovering the identity of this long-forgotten woman, Rose finds herself transported back and forth in time between the life of a hurdy-gurdy dance hall girl struggling to survive in the 1860s and her own sheltered life in 2011.

Her strange and intriguing journey becomes more complicated when a love interest materializes and throws her off balance. Her life becomes a bizarre dance twisting and turning between the past and the present. Can she find a way to move into the future?

Excellent reviews of this novel are already coming in!

Please check out my new website, http://www.novelsbyjanetkay.com for more information, a photo gallery, and a new contest that you may want to enter soon.

Stay tuned and please stay in touch!

Janet Kay

http://www.novelsbyjanetkay.com

Living the Dream...

Are you living the dream, your own personal dream? Or has life gotten so busy that you've forgotten how to dream? Do you even remember those special dreams you once had for your life?

I recently read an article in the Galveston, Texas daily newspaper by Dr. Victor S. Sierpina, Professor of Integrative Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch. The title - "Living the dream - the secret to true health, vitality."

According to Dr. Sierpina, "Finding and living our unique dream is what brings true health, energy, vitality and creativity to our lives no matter our age." He goes on to note that he is astounded by the many creative artists he's met over the years who live to ripe old ages. They are productive, creative, expressing their soul nature.

"To thrive, not just survive," Sierpina writes, "requires having purpose and meaning in life as Viktor Frankl taught in his classic book, Man's Search for Meaning."

His words were both a wake-up call and confirmation that perhaps I was finally doing something right! I was following my lifelong dream, one that I'd put on hold for far too long. My dream is and always has been, to become an author. Now I am one! My debut novel, "Waters of the Dancing Sky," is doing well, and I'm hard at work on "Amelia 1868" with several other novels coming to life in the recesses of my creative mind.

We don't live forever. Maybe it's time for us all to rediscover or create new dreams. Dreams allow us to express our creativity in unique ways. And creativity, I think, seems to hold the key to happiness and perhaps - longevity.

With your dreams firmly implanted in your mind, it's time to start living those dreams. You may need to take one baby step at a time, due to other commitments. But you can do it! And your life will be richer in many ways.

As for me, I'm "living the dream" and plan to do so for many years to come!

Please stay tuned and stay in touch.

Janet Kay
http://www.watersofthedancingsky.com

"Beauty Lies in the Eye of the Beholder"

Was it Plato or Shakespeare who left us these words of wisdom? Some even say this quote is a variation of a Proverb. Regardless, it's one of my favorite quotes, and I think it applies to many situations in life.

In my case, I got up this morning on beautiful Galveston Island hoping for a sunny day on the beach. Instead the wind howled, the sun refused to appear, and the radio informed me that the current temperature was 36 degrees! So much for my beautiful day, I thought. Maybe I'd just bury myself under the covers and catch up on my sleep.

After a few minutes I quit feeling sorry for myself. After all, folks at home in Wisconsin were shoveling snow. Other parts of the country and the world were struggling with extreme weather. Who was I to complain?

So I decided to quit being a wimp and head out on my daily 3.5 mile hike along the beach. It was difficult at first to head into the wind. Head down, I forced myself to move along. It would be easier heading back home.

As I hiked along, something strange happened. The ugliness of the day began to slip away. The pounding surf thundered and splashed, white froth dancing on the crest of the waves. Dark cloud formations interacted with soft billowy clouds, creating an assortment of animals and objects in the sky. The sun even tried to peak out now and then, casting striking reflections on the world below. Crazy pelicans plopped into the surf as seagulls clustered on the shore. Great photo opportunities!

More importantly, there seems to be something about days like this that bring out one's creativity. You draw inward as you tense up against the wind and cold, going deeper inside to places you've perhaps never been. In my case, I found myself thinking about the novel I'm currently writing - Amelia 1868. Some of the parts I'd been struggling with started to come together.

I began to see the beauty in the ugly parts of life, in the trials and tribulations that we all experience at times.

I'd like to share another example of beauty lying in the eye of the beholder. With Valentine's Day coming up, I'm thinking of a couple I recently saw walking along the seawall. They had to be well into their 70's, perhaps 80. He used a cane. They were wrinkled and gray-haired as older people tend to be and somewhat overweight. Not exactly "beautiful" in the sense that the world unfortunately defines beauty.

But they held hands as they gazed lovingly into each other's eyes. So much in love after all these years. Yes, they'd been married 50 years. He obviously found his wife to be the most beautiful woman in the world. To me, this is true beauty. And I do plan to use this couple in a future novel!

Stay tuned and please stay in touch.

Janet Kay
http://www.watersofthedancingsky.com