Trip to West Virginia: Mental and Physical Rejuvenation

I took a vacation. I mean a real one. The kind where you leave your kids behind and you don't miss them until Day 4. And for the first time in 4 or 5 years, I even left my work behind for FOUR WHOLE DAYS. (That is no small feat when you own your own business.)

We went ziplining - zooming from little 4-foot platforms from one treetop to another hundreds of feet above the ground. (I'll admit to a little trepidation at first, heights are not my thing!) We visited two ghost towns (old coal mining towns), one of which required a strenuous hike down 1/2 mile of steep terrain and 821 steps (good thing we did that one the last day, because I was sore for three days after).

And - my favorite and the main purpose of the trip - we whitewater rafted the New River and the Gauley River. This is something we try to do every couple of years, but we've always gone West - Colorado or Idaho (someday northern California...)

I have to say, I was surprised and impressed with the whole area (so much so that we plan to take a family vacation there when the kids are a little older). We happened to be there during Bridge Day, an annual event during which 80,000 people show up in this tiny county in West Virginia to watch BASE jumpers launch themselves off the bridge into the gorge below. (And we had the best seat in the house - ON the river below!)

It's amazing how closely linked the mental and physical are. With so much fresh air and physical activity - not to mention the complete lack of commitments! - my creativity really started to flow. All the way home I was mentally working on a story line involving a river rafting guide. Perhaps I will post a teaser...

New Writing Sample: Charlie's First Realization

The early morning sun was backlit against one of the most magnificent things Charlie had seen in her young life: a nearly-naked Trig.

He stood ramrod straight, clad in nothing but his briefs, his shirt in one hand. His attention was focused out the small window, which allowed Charlie to take in every inch of him: the shadow of a beard and his hair curled at the nape of his neck. The broad shoulders that folded into work-honed biceps. A spray of dark chest hairs across strong pectorals and down a taut stomach until it disappeared under the band of his briefs.

The night came back to her like flashbacks in a movie: the feel of Trig's body pressed against hers...lightning flashing...his arms around her, his breath in her ear...

An unfamiliar heat formed between her legs as her eyes wandered over Trig's well-proportioned rear and similarly well-proportioned front side.

And then he turned toward her...

(Copyright 2010 Tracey Cramer-Kelly)

Published! In Press Pause Now

I got a motivational boost today: I received a copy of the anthology Press Pause Moments: Essays about Life Transitions by Women Writers, in which my essay, "The Great Motorcycle Spirit," appears.

This collection of beautifully crafted tales reflect upon change, adversity and celebration. As women we look at life transitions in many ways, sometimes one layered upon the other. However, when we press pause, inner voices become quiet long enough to pay attention to what is going on within us and around us - and we realize the need to make change happen, and become greater than our existing selves.

"The Great Motorcycle Spirit" is a sometimes funny, sometimes wistful look at the transitions in my life, as seen from the vantage point of riding a motorcycle. An excerpt:

So today I am going back to my roots, so to speak. Today, I am, simply…a biker chick. Today I will seek comfort and tranquility where I have found it so many times before: in the arms of an “iron horse”...

Find more information here.

Creativity: a Funny, Fickle Thing

Taking a deep breath...back to writing after a 3-month hiatus due to work and children, a taiko recital and funerals...and more work. I'm no different than other writers - the bills don't get paid by the writing bug. Children aren't raised by mom escaping into a fantasy world. And so...here I am, wondering (again) where time went!

Most of the writing for Last Chance Rescue was done between 9 and 11 pm. But most of it was also done BEFORE my second child arrived. These days I find myself so tired by 9 pm that it's difficult to get the creative juices flowing.

Thank you to those who have expressed interest (and gentle prodding) about my next novel. When last I worked on it, I estimated I was about 2/3 done - but also at a difficult point where I needed to make some significant plot changes.

So you'd think that's what I would be working on, now that I have finally regained some 'brain space'...

But creativity is a funny, fickle thing. For the past couple weeks I have been gurgitating what is turning out to be another, altogether different novel. And you know what? Writing is fun again... so I'll be back sooner with my next post!

Essay About Riding Motorcycles with my Dad - Published!

My essay, "Naked Ladies and Biker Dad", is a sweetly humorous look at what I learned about life by riding motorcycles with my father.

It was published this month in the anthology "For Daddy With Love"!

This is a cache of 60 plus short stories, quotes, and anecdotes from daughters aged 5 years old to 70 years young which reveal the complex themes in the daughter/father relationship. Drawing from all walks of life, these moving personal narratives are sure to bring a smile, sigh, laugh, or tear to your eye.

I'm giving a copy to my dad for Father's Day (along with a coffee-table book of - surprise! - motorcycle photos and trivia. Get your own copy here!

Permission to Walk Away

The synopsis for True Surrender is as finished as it's going to be. (We'll see how long that lasts!)

But an interesting thing happened during the 5-month-long writing of the (2-page!) synopsis. I found some things I wanted to change to make the main character's personal transformation more believable and compelling. The challenge, as usual, is to integrate the changes into the storyline!

There was also a chapter I hadn't finished. I knew what affect I wanted to have on the character (Major Aaron Bricewick) by chapter's end, but I hadn't been able to nail down THE sequence that gives it strong 'impact-ability' ... probably because I'd worked too closely on the novel for so long (2 years and counting).

In the four weeks since I gave myself permission to accept the synopsis and walk away from the project for awhile (I even worked on a short story idea for a bit), at least ONE of these issues has become clearer to me (the unfinished chapter).

So perhaps these unexpected benefits of the process of writing the synopsis will make the time I've spent worth it (believe me, I've questioned that many times!). Certainly it will make for a stronger story!

Interview with Jessie Van Dyke, Iraq war veteran, paramedic and search-and-rescue team member

And here is another peek behind the scenes of Last Chance Rescue (psst: buy it today!)...

So, what were you doing before Last Chance Rescue?
I spent twelve months in Iraq as a paramedic before moving to Colorado, and I'd been in Colorado for a couple years when this all started.

What was Iraq like?
I don't like to talk about it much. It was pretty intense.

Didn't you get married after that?
I don't like to talk about that, either. I'm a pretty private person.

What did you think of Brad when you saw him at the reunion?
I thought he was shallow, but it underneath that I could sense a little vulnerability. I was curious what he'd do if I challenged him on it.

Is that why you took him on that first ride-along?
I could see he wanted it badly, and the guys were like, 'ah, come on, let him come.' It wasn't really my decision; it was the team leader's. It was supposed to be a routine search; Brad was not supposed to see what he saw...

How did he end up on your search-and-rescue team?
I have no idea! I sure never expected him to move to Colorado! Or to get out of advertising altogether. That was a pretty big, hairy, audacious thing to do! But I will say, he's damn good at it.

So what do you do to pay the bills?
I work as a physical therapy assistant. It's a pretty sweet deal. They're supportive of the search-and-rescue team and they cut me a lot of slack.

What do you do with your spare time?
I spend whatever extra time I have at Last Chance Ranch. I even 'adopted' a horse named Mistletoe, who'd been on the Premarin production line. And you won't want to miss the birth of her baby, Holly!

Have you been riding long?
I hadn't the first clue about horses when I moved to Colorado; all I knew was that they were the most magnificent creatures I'd ever seen. When I left the service, I had to make a delivery to Madeline, the owner of Last Chance Ranch -- it was a favor I owed a dead friend -- and the moment I set foot there I knew it was a healing place. Once I learned to ride, I was hooked.

I heard you have a 'thing' for cowboys.
[chuckles] I've always been attracted to cowboys. They have very nice behinds and they tend to be the strong, silent type.

How about a certain cowboy in Last Chance Rescue?
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