 Whatever you do, don't call him a "Writer!"
He is a thief, and a damn good one.
He is the only thief I know (all the others have not revealed themselves to me as thieves, or at least I haven't tied them to anything missing yet).
He steals the stories of lives, and tells them amazingly well. He is a Storyteller, and I would love for you to meet him.
Caleb Pirtle III
The picture to the left is quite misleading, because it looks as if this guy is retired, his only job now might be rocking on the porch or fishing. Actually, he is one of the most prolific, engaging writers of blogs and books in my Tribe.
Caleb researches, writes and publishes blog posts daily - sometimes two or three a day - and somehow finds time to also write and publish fiction. I love his writing style, and never stop reading one of his posts once I start, no matter the length. In a time when lack of time is the driving force, his posts are a relaxation and a discovery all at once. He always hooks me...always, and I stay to the end and often comment, because he also touches some emotion that makes me want to share. How could you stop reading a post entitled The Secret of a Long Marriage with the line.... “It’s simple,” he said. “Me and my wife don’t play volleyball.”
Caleb's style is direct, and he hooks his readers with amazingly engaging sentences like, "He knew where the dirt lay and owned the shovel to dig it up" or, "Henrietta Lacks died in anonymity. Her cells were going viral......The men and women in the white coats became famous. The men and women in the gray flannel suits became rich" or, "Life is a cruel and terrible author. But life doesn’t write the final chapter."
I could go on and on, but that would rob you of the discoveries that await.
All of my favorite posts have an "aha" moment - Caleb is very good at creating these, and needs very few words to catch me.
So, I invite you to sit back and read some stories. Start here, and just click on a title that sounds interesting. Before you know it, you will be looking at the clock and cursing. It's not his fault you missed that appointment, because you were so engrossed in an amazing tale. I know, I once forgot to pick up my youngest from school for that very same reason.....oops, did I just type that?!Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
@SayBumpandTweet
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left
 The business I started after breaking both my legs at 8 months pregnant will turn 10 next month. Many waves have crashed my bow, but the resulting rainbows have made the storms worth the energy!Join me for an amazing celebration with giveaways worthy of any birthday party. Keep an eye on the horizon, and hang on for the ride! The rainbow is forming...Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
@SayBumpandTweet
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left
I have learned quite a few things this year, and have learned to actually live many more that I already knew. Here goes...
- Say "Yes" and allow your children to be children as often as possible, unless what they want will harm them or someone else. Sometimes saying "No" becomes a habit we need to break.
- Children and adults are moved by and respond to compassionate reasoning over yelling every time, and can see in your eyes if your faking.
- Those who don't respond right away, probably expect and are more familiar with the yelling, so they need the compassion even more.
- Show those you love that they are loved whenever the opportunity arises, not because that might be your last chance to do so, but because you actually love them.
- People actually get the opposite of what they want when they don't make their own educated decisions, and instead, follow blindly whatever group will lead them.
- Those older than you almost always have a wisdom worth listening to if you just close your mouth and open your heart.
- "Normal" people are just not eccentric enough to imagine and create the advancements the world has enjoyed. Thank goodness enough of those "eccentric" people have not been drugged normal yet so we can continue advancing as a civilization.
- It's almost always NOT about you.
- When it is about you, say and show you are sorry.
- The focus of your daily attention is your current reality and the foundation of your future.
- That future becomes your new reality much faster than you expect.
- The focus of your daily attention is also your child's current reality, and becomes the foundation for the future reality of your grandchildren.
- Making a child smile brings more light and warmth to life than anything else.
- It is our choices, not our talents that show who we truly are. (Okay, I stole that one from Dumbledore, but it bears repeating daily!)
- Having someone in your life who has been present throughout most of your history, and still likes you is an amazing gift.
- Tomorrow is another day with no mistakes in it. (Okay, I stole that one from Miss Stacy, but I still have to go to sleep repeating it.)
I would greatly appreciate any other wisdom you can share as we say good bye to one year, and my learning continues in another.Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left
Yes, Crater Lake in Oregon holds the Guinness World Record title for the deepest Lake in the U.S., and the clearest lake in the world! I took this picture in July, 2012 while on a trip to Crater Lake National Park with my family. Wizard Island beckoned to us, and we took the boat tour around the lake in the early morning light. We were dropped off on the island with 12 other people, hiked to the top amidst the trees, rocks and Bald Eagles, and breathed in the freshest, most beautifully deep perspective. Almost as beautifully deep as you.Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left
 Life-changing milestones just around the corner are making me more mindful of the time I have in front of me. The hourglass is running out, and if I live to 100, I'm half way there. Yes, I'm in my 50th year on this planet...if I lived on any others, I don't remember.
I also have a child just starting high school. Talk about a milestone...letting go. I feel very strongly the lyrical meaning of "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" by Sting. I am preparing to set him free, and it's scary and exciting all at the same time...just like when gave birth to him.
I now understand I must be more mindful of my actions, not just in parenting, but in everything I do.
I am one of those types who can get sucked into the black hole of links imbedded in everything I read online, so my day could easily pass by me faster than a toddler escaping his mother. Consequently, online is the one area I must fight to stay mindful every minute. To this end, I have started putting every little thing I need to accomplish each day on my calendar, and I adhere to my "social media posting/reading" time slot more strictly than any other. Because there are several wonderful writers whose posts I visit and comment often, I will need to make time to seek out, and read new writers weekly in order to expand my mental horizons with new information and opinions. I now know why posts and books are getting shorter and shorter - supply is following demand. I also use HootSuite to schedule regular postings to both Facebook and Twitter, and keep them scheduled at least 5 days in advance.
My mindfulness is also being applied to my writing. I have always been a "project" person - I get ideas, and if I don't write them down or record them on my iPhone while driving, they are lost forever...or until I happen to experience the same impetus to think of them again. This more than anything else has allowed me to get more writing done in a shorter amount of time! Since I am sort of a procrastinator...okay a lot of...even though I love to write, it is much easier to read. I can use a deadline as an excuses to lollygag all day, and power through my work at the last minute. With my new mindfulness that life is running out, I only allow myself this laziness occasionally, rather than weekly.
Back to my 14 year old...I only have 1460 days until he goes to college. Actually, I only have 12,030 HOURS of my son's time over the next four years until I let him loose on the world to make his own mark. (Yes, I'm also showing my OCD in having calculated this number four years in advance, considering extra time for weekends and holidays and only 6 hours during the school days, but if I'm confessing my procrastination, I might as well go all the way.) This number really made me sit up and say, "What?!" like I did when I heard Bill say what he did with Monica was not considered sex. I must have heard that wrong, I'm sorry, calculated that wrong...I don't understand...How could I only have mere hours left for my son to wake up every day to a breakfast I make, and go to sleep every night to my "L'amo"...? What about my youngest? He's turning 11 next month, and middle school goes by in a blink!
Hence, my mindfulness in everything I do. I won't overreact to this realization that I'm like Wile E. Coyote chasing after my Road Runner of a life. I won't wait outside the bathroom door while my oldest is inside taking a shower just to say, "I Love You" when he comes out - he told me that was creepy. I won't write for hours on end because I have so much to say, and so little time - my weak bladder muscles won't allow that.
I will simply be mindful of my thoughts and actions, and exercise my power of choice. I don't have time or energy to waste on petty thoughts, conversations and deeds. Life and love are too beautiful to cast a shadow on the world through my heedless actions.How do you keep yourself mindful of all you want to accomplish and enjoy each day? Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left
 Bert likes to run at night.
He has shared his observations of people and places collected over a lifetime of his body and soul exercise with me, and I savor every post. My pixel sense of Bert is that he is a straight shooter, and he quietly, but firmly tells it like it is...except, he yells in this post.
Bert's blogging and writing wisdom, collected over a lifetime of growing into his Vietnam experiences quiets me at times, and resonates - the machine gun fire becoming the staccato of my cello. Even though my consciousness didn't start until his was about 20, I hear, understand and share the journey of all who participate, rather than simply observe this life, including Bert.
I dare you to read any of his stories that relate running to writing and not nod your head and smile with understanding whether you are a runner or a writer or neither. Bert was one of the first friends I made over pixels when I started blogging seriously. I don't remember exactly how I met Bert, but I do remember that I instantly trusted him and his words. (Wait...now I remember...I commented on a few of his blogposts, and he returned the favor, then invited me to join his Tribe!)
He's got a couple of books coming out soon that you might want to check out, and his blogs here, here and here are not to be missed! He is an amazing Triberr contributor and here is his Twitter handle.
I am so amazed with the people I have met over my few years writing that I had to share. Many more profiles to come, and Jo, my friend, you are next!
Thanks for reading!
Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left
 I just love it when life takes me away from writing, and gives me more experiences from which to draw inspiration!
Thank you for continuing to visit, and I'm sorry I haven't been my usual verbose self of late. I'll be back at it very soon...life got in the way. That happens quite frequently when both kids graduate to the next level school, and the teenager just got his first phone - an iPhone 4S - and the pre-teen just got a new bike. These new freedoms make for great learning (and teaching) experiences, don'tchaknow!
Lots of life happening for my next book...stay tuned parents. If anyone of you have pre-teens getting ready for Middle School, you'll want to keep an eye out here for more details. Believe me...you'll need it if this is your first to go to The Fun House!
Hugs!Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left
 Relaxing in bed to the sounds of my husband in the kitchen making the omelet I taught him to make last night, a smile spread across my face. The kitty jumped up to join me, settling on my chest, gently kneading my shoulder, while rubbing her forehead into my chin, purring and getting pets. Sigh...peace and contentment.
My shadow, aka Seren jumped up, settling at my feet and started digesting her breakfast. The second dog, Linus jumped up, and immediately started barking at, and playing with Seren. The cat, digging her claws in, leaped out of harm's way. The red droplets forming on my chest reminded me of the roses that were arranged in a vase on my island countertop. My youngest son, singing, "Happy Mother's Day Mom," carefully made his way into the room, monitoring the coffee cup in his hand with "L'amo" written in chalk across its face. As my youngest, putting my coffee on the nightstand, climbed into bed with me to snuggle, my oldest son ran into the room, screaming, "Happy Mother's Day!" jumping on top of my youngest. Linus attacked both of them, added his barking and growling to the screaming and giggling. I was reduced to a 2' x 3' corner of my queen size bed, covering my ears.
My husband's voice was distantly heard yelling, "What's going on here? It's Mother's Day, ya know?!"
The screaming abruptly halted, with a few barks and giggles mutinously escaping. My youngest, entangled in his brother's arms and legs, turned to me and said, "Sadly, Mom, Mother's Day coincides with Pestilence Day." (On my honor, word for word!) Happy Pestilence Day!Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left
 "You know, it's a funny thing about writers. Most people don't stop to think of books being written by people much like themselves. They think that writers are all dead long ago - they don't expect to meet them in the street or out shopping. They know their stories but not their names, and certainly not their faces. And most writers like it that way - " Inkhheart
That was then...this is now.
Before I read the above quote last week, I knew the names of many famous authors, and the faces of only a few.
I would not have recognized Edgar Allen Poe had I strolled into that bar room in Baltimore, or J.R.R. Tolkein, unless I was privileged enough to take one of his classes at Oxford University, but I know their words as intimately as I know my husband.
There were only three authors whose faces I knew as well as their names. One is J.K. Rowling, and well...if you need an explanation, please get up from your visiting friend's wireless laptop, chip away at your ice block front door, harness up your sled dogs and join us in civilization. The other two are J.A. Konrath (at least in profile with sunglasses) and Joanna Penn.
I think as a group, that Inkheart quote is correct - most writers are solitary creatures, and most readers know the words that moved them, not the author who imagined and wrote those words.
In the 21st Century, however this scenario has changed drastically for every writer who wants to publish her work and have it read, AND for every lover of the written word who wants to know more about her favorite writer. With the sudden ease of self publishing and the ability of indie authors to broadcast exactly what they want to say, unfiltered by publishers, we now have an amazing amount of electronically published works to devour. This basic, yet amazing change in publishing has made that Inkheart quote obsolete, I think. If an author, indie or not, wants her books to be read, she must show her readers who she is - literally!
Monday, January 23, 2012 saw this transformation for me. I now know the names and faces, and have devoured the delicious work of 35 incredible writers (and counting), who have changed my blogging and writing life forever. In the hope that you can do the same, here is the cause of this wonderful transformation.
It's called Triberr.
Belonging to a tribe is a basic human need. Triberr fills that need for writers, and it allows us to help each other. I don't look at another author as a competitor, like another maternity company is a competitor for MommyLoves. So having other authors read, comment and promote my work is the most amazing thing that could happen for my message and my books.
If you are an author, and you want your work read, promote others whose work you admire, and karma will take care of the rest...no really karma is a basic function of Triberr!
Here's to a new world for authors, and once you have edited and formatted your manuscript, send it out into the world by joining the tribe!
~Mary Kathryn Johnson 2012
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
@SayBumpandTweet
 Yes, those three little words that everyone doing anything on the web other than email loves to hate and fear ~
Search Engine Optimization.
You Entrepreneurs and Authors could spend thousands of dollars for that guy who keeps emailing you about the wonders of his company and its ability to get your website into the top 5 results on Google, but you really don't need to. I'm no expert, but I have kept MommyLoves.com in the #1 or top 3 spots on Google for all our keywords for the past 8 years, and I'm a techie like my sons are quiet. Here's what I do:1. Keyword and Content Rich. Okay, if you have a website that only contains links to other websites (we have all seen these "link farms", and have been confused as to their purpose when we stumbled upon them), the GoogleBots will not like you. What are GoogleBots, you ask? They are those pesky little (or gigantic, probably) spider bots (yes the connection to the "web" isn't lost on me, either) who search the web for content on websites and report back to the algorithms Google uses for ranking. Blah, blah, blah, right? Well, they are real, so you gotta know about them. If, however, your site actually says something, and says it often, your chances of a higher Google ranking are...well...higher. Keywords, for anyone who has no idea, are the words that are key to your site and it's function. If your site represents your online presence for your flower shop, then I sincerely hope you talk about flowers, and use the words your potential customers might use to search you out online (and in person). Think of the yellow pages...I would probably look under "flowers" if I wanted to find the nearest flower shop and didn't know the name of your business. Of course there are several other words one might use. The week before Valentine's day, Google probably sees a huge upswing in searches for "red roses," for instance, and if you not only talk about red roses, flowers, arranging, lilies, etc. on your home page, but also have pictures and links labeled with those terms you are maximizing your keyword usage. When I say "talking about" I am referring to content. Your homepage can't be simply pictures and links for ordering, directions and hours for your store. Share some of your flower knowledge on your homepage with the world and the GoogleBots...they are effectively one and the same. Having a higher ranking than your competitors, however is a little more difficult. If your competitors have been on the net longer, they have the advantage of more people finding them first, and possibly linking to them. You can overcome this, however with more niche keywords that talk about your awesome uniqueness.
2. Other websites link to you. Just think nepotism, and you've got half the search engine optimization problem solved. The web is, after all, a web of connected servers (aka people), and the GoogleBots like to see that you are connected to that web too! The more other websites link to your website, the higher your ranking. Now, if those "link farms" I mentioned in number 1 above are the only ones linking to you, they will hurt your ranking. Like in life, your website is judged by its friends. Seek out businesses, authors and non-profits you trust and admire. Give them some good promotion without being asked, and the chances are (if they are as kind and do business like you) they will return the favor. Networking hasn't gone out of style yet, and probably never will.3. Check your ranking almost as much as you check Facebook. You can't be aware of the changes you need to make unless you check your work. Have more than one browser on your computer, and use them to search your keywords and see where you rank. Change your content and keyword placement (the higher on the page the better) accordingly.
Now, this is a simple representation of the challenges of search engine optimization, and you may want to seek expert advice if you seriously want to make money online and you sell in a market as saturated as say...carbonated beverages. I was lucky in that I created the first online novelty maternity company on the web in 2003, so I started with an advantage. Showcase your uniqueness, and you will be lucky, too!~Mary Kathryn Johnson 2012
@SayBumpandTweet
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