Attribution: Corey Coyle, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper has an answer to the question of “What kind of religion do you get if you put a half dozen writers in a converted church and pass around a mic?” The Black Earth Library set it …
Read
Category:Books
Kickass and the Author Fair
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper will be joining five others tonight for the Black Earth Public Library “Local Author Fair” 1022 Blue Mounds St., beginning at 6 p.m. and featuring Andy Giesler, Peggy Prilamen Marxen, Patricia McConnell, Kathy Stoltz, Jeff Nania and the keeper, who …
Read
Kickass and The Wombers
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes that there is no stopping the keeper this morning as he and Phyllis celebrate the coincidental occasion of the national political trend toward sensible matriarchy and the keeper completing the first draft of “The Wombers” a 79,000 word novel that does some off …
Read
Kickass and The “Wombers”
Photo by Thom Milkovic on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, announces that the keeper appreciates Phyllis’s enthusiasm in joining him in celebrating the completion of a first draft of his 78,000 word novel—working title “The Wombers” which is plotted around the take-over of everything by women fed up with how it has been under male …
Read
Kickass and Clint’s Birthday
Attribution: English: “© Universal Pictures”. Photographer unknown., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, pauses with the keeper to wish Clint Eastwood a happy 94th birthday and notes that Clint is still directing movies, cracking jokes and is totally “with it.” This is encouraging for the keeper who is in Clint’s …
Read
Kickass and Stormy Wautoma
Attribution: Umbe11, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis took the keeper’s book show on the road to the Wautoma Public Library for a pleasant evening of book talk with librarian Xanthe and others on “Stormy Daniels” court day that was followed by a “stormy damn” night …
Read
Kickass and National Library Week
Attribution: Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis and everyone else in pausing to honor the librarians on this special day. With grandson Bud Andrews a librarian in LaCrosse and with memories of his librarian mother in Barron where he grew up, the keeper has these …
Read
Kickass and the Permanent Baby Bump
Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper recruited the photo artistry of Phyllis in updating the “baby bump” photo of five years ago when he posed with “expecting” granddaughter in-laws Lindsey, Ari and Becky; with the keeper’s “bump” indicating at the time that he might be pregnant …
Read
The Pen in Hand Blog Presents The Writer’s Corner
Artwork by Michael DiMilo Featuring the Latest Publications, News, and Commentary for Authors and Readers Manuals of Style By Geoff Carter New books are flooding the market like never before. Since self-publishing has become a viable alternative to traditional publishing, it seems everyone is writing that novel lurking inside of them—or learning how. The teaching …
Read
Sanctuary
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter We live in an age of dazzling and astoundingly rapid advances in technology. Personal computers emerged only forty years ago, and smart phones only became widely available to consumers in the 2000s and early 2010s, yet these electronics have become indispensable for modern-day life. We depend on them …
Read
Kickass and Spring in February
Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, passes along the keeper’s suggestion on what to do with a spring day that occurs early in February: 1. 2. 3. And when you have finished with 1, 2 and 3, do: 4. 5. 6. All of this will slow down the passage of …
Read
Kickass and Sigurd Olson
Attribution: Ville Kurki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis frequently compare notes about various outdoor adventures in their earlier lives, with Phyllis citing her hiking in all the national parks and camping on Isle Royal, and the keeper telling Canada fish stories and …
Read