Kim McMahill

Now that we’re all settled into 2022, here’s a look at what’s happening in the second month of the year. February 2 - Groundhog's Day February 3 - Feed the Birds Day February 6 - Super Bowl 55 February 12 - Lincoln's Birthday February 14 – Valentine’s Day February 15 - Singles Awareness Day February 21 - President's Day February 22 - Washington's Birthday

Guest Post by Carlene Havel : When I was a young woman, people often mistook Mom and me for sisters, something she always found more amusing than I did. Now, strangers often assume we are twins. At the memorial service for a distant relative, people kept saying how good I looked. Then--that moment when someone called me by my mother’s name--I realized everyone thought I was her. I suppose I DID look pretty good for a woman my mother’s age. No wonder I laughed when I first heard someone say, “I’m becoming my mother.” Both my mom and I are authors. However, we have very different approaches to our writing. Mom’s a planner. She works out the plot and outlines her stories extensively before she ever puts pen to paper. I am a “pantser”. I begin a book with one idea, a character, or sometimes an appealing scene and take off from there. For years we talked about collaborating on a book. Both of us had worked with a co-author from time to time, but we had serious concerns about our differe

JANUARY 2022 NEWSLETTER - HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome to the first newsletter of 2022. I hope your holidays were joyous, and you’re ready to dive headfirst into the new year. As is often the custom, I’ll take this opportunity to reflect on the highlights of 2021 before jumping into 2022. REFLECTIONS ON 2021 I wouldn’t necessarily say that we saw a complete return to normal in 2021, but I hope most of us experienced some movement in that direction. My husband and I took our first international trip in a very long time. We selected the location carefully, considered if we were up for the new travel protocols, and in the end, we had an amazing trip to Iceland. My fourth novel in the Risky Research Series, A Measure of Madness, came out in April 2021 (more about the series under, WRITING NOTES AND NEWS, below). It was selected at a N.N. Light Book Award Winner for 2021. For a full list of winners visit https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/post/2021-award-winners And, on the domestic fr