Patricia Stoltey

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A Few Things I’ve Learned Over the Last Couple of Years

March 5, 2018 By: Patricia

We’re never too old to learn new life lessons. I seem to pick up a few insights every year–things I should have known sooner and other revelations that unfold as life unfolds. Here are some of the thoughts that wander through my sometimes unfocused mind.

    1. Social media is more anti-social than social. It’s a bad place to spend more than a few minutes a day. Check out #6 below for an alternate suggestion.
    2. Increasing aches and pains seem to travel side by side with aging, but there are things that can make us feel better without resorting to high-priced or dangerous drugs and treatments. Read books such as Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry and Getting on the Road to Recovery by Cathryn Jacobson Ramin; Muscular Retraining for Pain-Free Living: A Practical Approach to Eliminating Chronic Back Pain, Tendonitis, Neck and Shoulder Tension, and Repetitive Stress Injuries by Craig Williamson; and The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in “Healthy” Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain by Steven R. Gundry M.D. Note: I’m not sure I believe everything in this last book, but I have found some of the ideas extremely helpful.
    3. There are books that make me laugh, books that make me cry, and books that make me think. I was a sad child when I realized I would never be able to read all the books in the world. However, I’m reading as many as I can. Currently, I’m crying my way through The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.
    4. As tempting as it is to become a hermit and stay home all time (in my sloppy sweats and slippers), it’s necessary for good mental health to get out of the house, meet up with friends for coffee or lunch, attend a few writing and writer events or conferences and conventions, and put ourselves and our books out there for self-promotion. This year, I’m attending Left Coast Crime in Reno in March, the Northern Colorado Writers Conference in Fort Collins in May, and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference in September. I’ll also be part of a Colorado Sisters in Crime panel at the Englewood Library in August. And I’m attending the Jeffrey Deaver workshop in Denver in April. The opportunities I’m passing up are many and very tempting, but my hermit-self often asserts its right to hide in my writing cave (or on the couch for a nap). So be it.
    5. Pets are very controlling and amazingly manipulative. This intense stare means “I want to be fed right now!”
    6. In the latest studies on food and physical/emotional health, I find it’s good to drink coffee, enjoy dry red wine and dark chocolate in moderation, eat eggs, keep a little extra weight on my bones to encourage longevity, pay lots and lots of attention to good posture (especially at the computer), get off those phones and other small devices, and  chill out. That’s three of us chillin’ on the couch.Yes, I suppose I should be working on my book today, but Katie Cat gets me up at 5:30 in the morning. We all like naptime!

Category: Books and Authors, The Writing Life, Writer's organizations

Random Stuff: Hey, There’s a Dead Guy, Colorado Gold, and Big Brother

September 12, 2017 By: Patricia

I’ve been such a dud at blogging this summer as I try to pull my To Dos into a manageable list, determine my daily and weekly priorities as Colleen M. Story suggests in her new release, Overwhelmed Writer Rescue, and set some long-term goals. After all, I’m getting older and we only have so much …Read More

Category: Books and Authors, The Writing Life, Writing

I’ve Been Playing Some Serious Blog Hooky

May 26, 2017 By: Patricia

Sometimes you just have to take a break and dig in the garden, sort through old photos, or crochet a couple of baby blankets. It has been that kind of May, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. I even enjoyed the big snow we had and was happy to see it didn’t do much damage to …Read More

Category: The Writing Life

Conferences for Writers — Colorado Has the Best of the Best

September 15, 2015 By: Patricia

I want to tell you more about the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference I just attended in Westminster, Colorado, September 11-13, but I’m having trouble deciding where to start. So before I begin…. Please stop by on Thursday and meet my guest blogger, Jason P. Henry. Jason is the conference director for the …Read More

Category: The Writing Life, Writer's organizations

I’m Back from Conference!

September 14, 2015 By: Patricia

But when I got home yesterday afternoon, my brain was ready to explode from information overload and I was so exhausted and so energized and so excited that I couldn’t even take a nap. It didn’t help that some goofball had tried his room key in the wrong slot at 2: 00 a.m. Sunday morning, …Read More

Category: The Writing Life, Writer's organizations

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Meet Patricia

I read, I write, I blog, and sometimes I do the laundry and cook. My 2014 novel, Dead Wrong, was a finalist in the thriller category of the 2015 Colorado Book Awards. Wishing Caswell Dead (Five Star/Cengage, December 20, 2017) is a historical mystery set in 1830s Illinois in the fictitious Village of Sangamon. The novel was a finalist for the 2018 Colorado Book Awards for General Fiction. Read More…

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