Kim McMahill

New Year’s Eve is thought of by many as the biggest excuse of the year to eat, drink, and be merry, while New Year’s Day is often a time to relax and enjoy time with family and friends, reminiscing about the past year, making resolutions, and planning for the twelve months to come. I generally don’t make resolutions, but this year I may make an exception, but I’m going to keep it simple. Actually, that’s my resolution—to simplify my life to allow more time for the important things. I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, safe, and prosperous new year.

Here's a meme I created using a scene from chapter one in A Foundation of Fear .

Here’s a toast to all of my friends, fans, followers, and family. I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. Best wishes and thank you for being a part of my real and fictional worlds. Merry Christmas!

This year the Winter Solstice falls on December 22. The Winter Solstice marks the beginning of winter and it is the shortest day of the year. In fact, at the North Pole the sun never rises on this day, and while the northern hemisphere is experiencing its shortest day of the year, the southern hemisphere is enjoying the first day of summer.

Here's another one of the memes from the archives, so to speak, for A Foundation of Fear .

“A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through reading new books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints.” - Wildred Peterson-

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not the overly-exuberant type when it comes to holiday s, but this year I’m making an effort to get a little more into the spirit by exploring as many Christmas festivities in the Denver area as possible. With that goal in mind, I found myself at Camp Christmas located at the Hangar at Stanley Marketplace. Camp Christmas is an indoor installation of displays that explore Christmas traditions, past and present. There are a staggering number of lights, and there are a number of activities for kids to enjoy like collecting their “merry badges” along the way or sitting with Santa in his sleigh. As beautiful as the Christmas lights display were, I was just as enamored with the Stanley Marketplace. I have never been there before and this was an excellent excuse to visit. Camp Christmas runs through January 5, 2020, For more information or tickets visit https://www.denvercenter.org/tickets-events/camp-christmas/

As I mentioned awhile back, I created a bunch of memes for the release of A Foundation of Fear and forgot about them until recently. I hate for them to go to waste, so I'll post them every now and then. Thanks for humoring me.

December has some of the most important holidays, along with a few dates set aside just for fun. Here’s what’s coming up. December 7 - Pearl Harbor Day December 12 – Poinsettia Day December 13 – Friday the 13 th December 22 – Chanukah (last 8 days) and the Winter Solstice December 25 – Christmas December 26 – Boxing Day and Kwanzaa December 27 – National Fruitcake Day December 31 – New Year’s Eve

Guest blog post by Julie B. Cosgrove. Whodunnit? My mom used to ask us that with a hand cocked on her hip, peering into our wide-eyed faces. Naturally the blame trickled down to the youngest one, me. Being from a family with four generations of lawyers and legislators, I developed the skill of building my defense before I spoke at a young age. I had to solve the crime so I could plead my innocence.  Well, even when I wasn’t quite innocent, building my case often helped. My parents were fair judges. Sometimes I got off with a light sentence. On endless nature walks through the Texas Hill Country, Dad taught us keen observational skills. We learned to detect where a deer had traipsed in the moonlight or a beetle laid its eggs under a fern leaf. I became a keen observer of nature, and later, human nature. So sleuthing is part of my DNA.  Though I now absorb mysteries whenever I get the chance, I never could get into Nancy Drew books. I didn't want to read about her and ...

I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving and has the opportunity to celebrate with family and friends. For a twist on the traditional Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, I often make pumpkin cheesecake. If you want to give it a whirl this year, here’s my favorite recipe. Enjoy and have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE Crust : Crush 10 whole graham crackers and mix with 3 tablespoons of sugar and 3 tablespoons of butter. Press into a 10 inch cheesecake spring pan (bottom and 2 inches up the sides). Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove. Filling : Beat together until smooth, 2 (8-oz) packages of cream cheese (works best if softened), 1 cup of light cream, 1 cup of canned pumpkin, ¾ cup of sugar, 4 egg yolks (save whites in a separate bowl), 3 tablespoons of flour, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, ½ teaspoon each of ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Beat egg whites until stiff and gently fold into the pumpkin mixture. Pour over prepared crust and bake a...

Whether you’re the type that embraces Christmas head-on with gusto and enthusiasm or you lean more to the cautiously optimistic side, I hope you feel free to celebrate your own way without judgement. I’ve never been the overly-exuberant type when it comes to any holiday, and that has often made me feel inadequate, especially during Christmas. So, if you’re with me, know you’re not alone, and if you are the enviable passionate type, please take the time to share your joy with others. Merry Christmas to all.

Another adventure that has made it into a novel was an early Christmas morning drive into the mountains during a heavy snowfall around thirty years ago. My husband and I were still newlyweds and were trying hard not to disappoint either family, so we participated in my family’s traditional Christmas Eve Mexican Fiesta, and agreed to join his family at a cabin in the mountains of northern Wyoming in time to open gifts on Christmas morning.  We barely made it out of my parent’s place as the snow drifted in the lane, which should have been our first clue to abandon the expedition, but we were young, fearless, and accustomed to driving in bad weather. Heading out of town we quickly found ourselves ahead of the snowplows. After turning off the main highway the roads got progressively worse until we were driving through powder halfway up the grill of our four-wheel drive pick-up. The blowing snow froze to the windshield faster than the wipers could clean the glass, forcing my husba...

“What is adventure? If a lone wolf lifts his plaintive call into the moonlight near your campsite, you might call that adventure. While you’re sweating like a horse on a climb over a 12,000 foot pass, that could be adventure. When howling head winds press your lips against your teeth, you face a mighty struggle. When your pack grows heavy on your shoulders as your climb a 14,000 foot peak, you feel the adventure. When you suffer freezing temperatures and 20 inches of fresh powder on a hut to hut trip in the Rockies, that could be called adventure. But that’s not what makes an adventure. It’s your willingness to conquer it, and to present yourself at the doorstep of nature. That creates the experience. No more greater joy can come from life than to live inside a moment of adventure. It is the uncommon wilderness experience that gives your life expectation.”  Frosty Wooldridge

As I mentioned in a blog post awhile back, readers are often curious about how much from my life shows up in my novels. Probably the book I most enjoyed writing is Big Horn Storm . I grew up in rural Wyoming and life in those early years revolved around horses. We rodeoed, rode nearly every night in the summer, and my dad’s idea of a family vacation was a pack trip into the wilderness. I’m sure I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but looking back, we had some great adventures. Fast forward to 2012 when I published Big Horn Storm . There are a number of crazy horseback escape scenes that I couldn’t have written without those childhood experiences and the time spent in the Big Horn Mountains. One in particular involved helping neighbors move cattle to their grazing lease. They were farmers, not ranchers, so my dad and I were nearly the only experienced horseback riders in the group. We were nearing the end of a long trek, but had to push the herd up one last steep dirt road in order ...

Sunday, November 10, 2019 is the last entrance-fee-free-day in 2019 for our National Parks in honor of Veteran's Day . Many of the western resource parks may be closed or have limited services this late in the year, so if you’re heading to one of these, check with park before heading out. Otherwise, get out and enjoy a nearby park for free. For more information visit   https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/fee-free-parks.htm

People often ask how much of the content in my adventure novels is based on real life. Well, it depends on the story. There is very little in Shrouded in Secrets that resembles places I’ve been or things I’ve done, so it required a lot of research. The story is a totally over-the-top action-adventure romantic thriller that takes readers on a high-stakes race around the globe to stop a group of deadly terrorists searching for thirteen mythical relics capable of epic destruction. It was by far my most complex book to write, and involved a cork board, note cards, photos, maps, timelines, and lots of pushpins. Almost all of my other stories contain settings from places I’ve been and/or embellished adventures I’ve experienced and I’ll share a few of those from time to time. When I caught the international travel bug decades ago, I spent quite a bit of time in Mexico and occasionally ventured into Belize. I was, and still am, fascinated with Mayan ruins and never pass up an opportunity ...

Here’s what’s coming up in November. November 1 – All Saints Day November 1-2 – Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) November 3 – Daylight Savings time ends (fall back an hour) November 5 – General Election Day in the United States November 11 – Veteran’s Day November 13 – Caregiver Appreciation and Sadie Hawkins Day November 20 – Universal Children’s Day November 21 – Great American Smokeout November 28 – Thanksgiving Day November 29 – Black Friday

I was going through files on my computer recently and deleting old stuff I no longer needed and came across a bunch of memes I created for A Foundation of Fear . There was such a lag between when I made these and the actual release of the novel, that I forgot about them. So, please bear with me as I share these a bit after the fact. I’m totally techno-challenged, so I was pretty pleased with myself and don’t want them to go totally to waste.

"A journey into the wilderness is the freest, cheapest, most nonprivileged of pleasures. Anyone with two legs and the price of a pair of army surplus combat boots may enter." — Edward Abbey

When I put out a call for cheap and free short stories, I didn’t know how much response I would get. I’m overwhelmed by the number of quality stories I received and want to thank all of the great authors who participated. I began the series with my own free download, A Formidable Foe , so it seems only appropriate to end the Super Summer Shorts series with my perma-free prequel novelette to the Risky Research Series . So, if school and holidays has you too busy for a full-length novel, check out A Formidable Foe or scroll back through my July, August, and September posts for more great short story ideas, but be sure to check the price as some of the books may have been on limited-time specials. Thanks again to all of those who provided stories and to all of you who downloaded these great books. I hope maybe a few of you found your new favorite author. Blurb from A Formidable Foe University Student and criminal justice major, Devyn Nash, is convinced a serial killer is target...

Southern France’s Rhone River winds its way through idyllic countryside dotted with vineyards and charming villages on its way to the Mediterranean Sea. Its journey begins in the Swiss Alps and ends near the beautiful city of Arles, France. This waterway offers an amazing opportunity to enjoy a scenic and historic look at Provence. On a recent visit to the area, we marveled at ancient roman ruins, the medieval walls surrounding the city of Avignon and its amazing architecture, vineyards thriving along the hillsides, vibrant markets, and walked in the footsteps of Vincent van Gogh. Someday I hope to return and continue to explore the cultural and historical roots of this humble yet impressive place.

Nothing says fall like apple cider, so we had to check out Cider Days in Lakewood, Colorado this past weekend. The festival, which celebrates Lakewood’s agricultural heritage, was held at the Lakewood Heritage Center, which is a neat place to visit any time of the year with its ten historic structures and over 40,000 artifacts showcasing the history of Lakewood. Aside from the usual vendors that seem to appear at any festival of any theme, this one had a lot of fun twists. Apple cider and all things apple were plentiful. Aside from food, we really enjoyed the vintage tractor pull and other demonstrations including apple pressing, butter making, the sock knitting machine, chair caning, and fresh backed apple crisp in the 1930s farmhouse. It turned out to be a great way to spend a beautiful fall day in Colorado. 

The fourteenth short story in my Super End-of-Summer Shorts series is, The Warehouse Tour , K.A. Cummins. Keep reading to learn more about this short story and author, K.A. Cummins. Blurb Jill Baker's brother and his friends disappear during a haunted Halloween tour in an old warehouse. She's convinced something sinister lurks inside—hiding in the dark, behind the masks and costumes. As her options to find her brother dwindle, Jill must be willing to face her fear and enter the warehouse, if she hopes to uncover the truth. Bio K.A. Cummins is a math lover, techie, consumer of mass amounts of information, art enthusiast, a homeschooler, and an indie author. She also enjoys seizing opportunities for adventure, when they arise. Her work has appeared in Havok Magazine and she’s a former contributor to Lands Uncharted. She was awarded an Honorable Mention in the Writers of the Future contest for the 3rd Quarter of 2016 and was runner-up in the Realm Makers Scholarship Con...

October dates to remember run the gamut from internationally recognized to encouraging kindness to actual holidays. Here are a few to keep in mind. October 1 – International Day for the Elderly October 4 – World Smile Day October 6 – Oktoberfest Ends in Germany October 14 – Columbus Day and Thanksgiving Day in Canada October 16 – Boss’s Day October 19 – Sweetest Day October 24 – United Nations Day October 26 – Make a Difference Day October 31 – Halloween

The thirteenth short story in my Super Summer Shorts series is, The Recipe for Disaster by K.A. Thomsen. Here’s more… Elizabeth Garnish and her friends have been bullied by a group of girls called "The Witches" long enough. They fight back by using an ancient recipe for revenge...and end up tumbling through a wormhole into a fantastical world where the hunters and the hunted end up on trial for witchcraft together! Download this short story from Amazon here for just $2.99 or read it free with Kindle Unlimited.

Bandelier National Monument Saturday, September 28, 2019 is the next to last entrance-fee-free-day in 2019 for our National Parks in recognition of National Public Lands Day, which was e stablished in 1994 and held annually on the fourth Saturday in September. National Public Lands Day is the nation's largest single-day volunteer effort, and its purpose is to celebrate the connection between people and green space in their community, inspire environmental stewardship, and encourages use of open space for education, recreation, and general health. So, mark your calendar and get out and visit your parks and volunteer. The last entrance-fee-free day is Veterans Day, Monday, November 11.  For more information visit https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/fee-free-parks.htm

Vacations aren’t just an annual ritual for me, they’re a passion. Travel has opened up a world of learning and adventure I hadn’t known existed. It has given me the opportunity to see the world, to experience new cultures, and I almost always discover a new story to write. I have to confess, once bitten by the travel bug I’ve been obsessed with absorbing all the knowledge I can. I’ve visited thirty-seven states and over forty countries on trips or through volunteer work. So, when asked what’s the best vacation I’ve ever had it’s tough to narrow down. One trip may have held the best scenery, another might have been the most exotic or adventurous, and an unsuspecting destination might have offered the tastiest food or the most rewarding cultural exchange. As I file through all the wonderful memories of the places I’ve experienced, Thailand often floats to the top of the pack. I felt further outside my comfort zone than I had in any other place I’ve ever been and that’s a good thing...

The twelfth short story in my Super Summer Shorts series is, Sharpe Image: Danger in the Dark Room , by Lisa B. Thomas. Here’s more on this cozy mystery novella. Deena Sharpe has her hands full with her high school journalism classes. But when a woman dies at a school football game, suddenly everyone is interested in her student’s photographs. Did he catch the crime on film or will this death be another unsolved mystery? As Deena helps the police investigate this suspicious event, she uncovers some secrets of romance and lies. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but there’s only one word she cares about: Guilty! Sharpe Image  is the prequel to the Maycroft Mysteries by Lisa B. Thomas. Read about Deena before she retired and before her life took a sharp turn. This clean, realistic mystery will keep you guessing until the very end! Get it today. Download this novella now for just $0.99 (free with KU) on Amazon here .

“ If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. ”    Henry David Thoreau

The eleventh short story in my Super Summer Shorts series is titled Charity by Alessa Martel. Charity has no interest in being possessed by a man, but Ocean might be the only one who can change her mind.  Charity is outgoing, outspoken, and outnumbered. Everyone wants her to settle down, but no boy could ever give her the freedom she desires. Ocean could have any woman he wants, but it is Charity who intrigues him. Could he respect and love her enough to be the husband she needs? Find out by downloading your copy now from Amazon for just $0.99 here.

Traveling is many things to me. I love exploring new places, experiencing different cultures, relaxing, enhancing my knowledge of history, expanding my global perspective, and meeting new people. My recent trip to Provence in France checked all of those boxes. I discovered a part of the world that I knew little about, but now love. It is definitely a region that entices relaxation and contemplation. While learning about, and enjoying the food, wine, history, culture, and natural environment, I met some fun and interesting people, not only from France, but also fellow travelers from the U.S. Here are a few of my favorite memories.  

"We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost's familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road / the one less traveled by / offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth."   Rachel Carson

The tenth short story in my Super Summer Shorts series is the third of three original fairy tale novelettes, The Silent Beauty, by D.G. Driver Colleeda is a beautiful but wickedly vain young woman. Of all her assets, the one she prizes most is the sound of her voice. Her favorite game is to attract young men and then leave them heartbroken. It's all fun until she chooses to lure one man away from his fiancée—and that woman is rumored to be a witch bent on revenge. Colleeda is cursed to never speak or sing again, except for a couple minutes in the wee hours of the morning when no one can possibly hear her. For years, Colleeda mourns the loss of her voice, believing she is no longer beautiful or desirable. She lives in solitude as her house falls into disrepair around her. ​Is there any way to break the curse? Does she deserve to have it broken?  Learn more about this series at  www.dgdriver.com/chasing-the-romantics.html , or download it for $0.99 (Free with Kindle Un...

There are a number of significant dates in September and if you’re superstitious, watch out, there is a Friday the 13th this year. Here’s what’s on tap. September 2 – Labor Day and VJ Day, World War II September 8 – Grandparents Day September 11 – 911 Remembrance September 17 – Constitution Day September 21 – International Peace Day (UN) and Oktoberfest begins in Germany September 23 – Autumnal Equinox September 27 – Native American Day

The ninth short story in my Super Summer Shorts series is, A Recipe for Love: A Short Interracial Romance by Rose Fresquez. Recipe For Love is a romantic short story about an introverted computer programmer who finds love when he least expects it. Matt has always lived in the shadow of his popular, outgoing brother, Tim. For a guy who didn't enjoy social events, relationships—specifically romantic ones—didn't come easy for him. He’s content to spend his evenings alone at home, experimenting in his kitchen. Until a beautiful woman shows up at their door looking for Tim. Claire White is everything Matt’s ever wanted, and spending time with her seems like the perfect recipe to spice up Matt's life. But how can he make a play for her when his brother is dating her? And what chance would he have to win her if he’s competing against Tim's good looks and charm? Download your copy now for just $0.99 on Amazon here .

Sunday, August 25, 2019 is an entrance-fee-free-day in our National Parks. The National Park Service was created on August 25, 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Act. Be sure to take advantage of this entrance-fee-free-day and c elebrate the National Park Service's 103rd birthday. The remaining entrance-fee-free days to keep in mind are as follows: Saturday, September 28 – National Public Lands Day Monday, November 11 – Veterans Day For more information visit https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/fee-free-parks.htm

The eighth short story in my Super Summer Shorts series is the second of three original fairy tale novelettes, The Tomato Quest, by D.G. Driver. Dash and Lillian are in love, but her wealthy father won’t permit them to be married because Dash is not a suitable match. He is nothing but the son of the family’s gardener. To be rid of the young man, Lillian’s father claims that the only way Dash could ever earn Lillian’s hand in marriage is to find his fortune in the time it takes a basket of fresh tomatoes to rot. Naturally, Sir Barrymore isn’t serious about this challenge, but Dash sees it as his only chance to win the hand of the woman he loves. He leaves immediately on a quest to find a way to complete this impossible task. Meanwhile, Lillian is doing her best to make her parents postpone her engagement to someone else in order to give Dash time to return. It is a whirlwind fairy tale adventure full of danger, cunning, magic, true love, and tomatoes. Learn more about this serie...

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”   - Mark Twain-

The seventh short story in my Super Summer Shorts series is, The Songs We Sing, by Kylie Key. He's older He's taken He's off limits He's my best friend's brother Download this Young Adult novella now for just $0.99 on Amazon here .

I love reading books in a series. A series gives the reader the opportunity to really get to know the characters on a personal level. We get to see the recurring protagonists and antagonists progress emotionally, evolve into better or worse people, and sometimes we even see them grow old. Even if the story is far outside our real lives, we still often connect to the characters as we share some of the same experiences—a challenge at work, a bully, a crisis of faith, a health issue, or relationship woes or wows. So, when is it time to let go? It depends on the series. I don’t think there is an easy answer, but there are a number of triggers. Has the storyline fizzled out, has the objective been achieved, or has the protagonist aged to the point that his or her heroics are no longer believable? I started my Risky Research Series with a clear vision of how the series would develop and end, but I’m starting to realize I may not be in total control. When, and if, FBI agent Devyn Nas...