Hello! My name is Karen Lee Field and I live here. Not that you’d know it. The place is smothered with dust. I should have covered everything with white sheets before I wandered off. Hmm, why do they use white sheets? Seems a bit silly to me.

Anyway…

I’ve been extremely busy over the last few months. Hope has been my top priority. The book will be launched this coming weekend, 7 – 9 October 2011, at Facebook. Feel free to join us. There will be ebook giveaways and one paperback to be won by guests.

Now that the bulk of the Hope project has been finalised I’ll be able to go back to doing other things…like reading, writing and my studies. Oh, and writing posts for this website.

Now, where did I put that broom…?

Due to the injury I mentioned in my previous post, I’m trying to stay away from my laptop for a few days.

No, I haven’t caved already, I’ve been using my iPod Touch. I rarely use it for anything other than reading ebooks. However, today I’ve discovered it’s a great way of posting status updates to Twitter, checking out what’s happening on Facebook, and writing posts for this blog using my new discovery from WordPress — the WordPress for iOS app.

I can write posts and check comments on any of my WordPress blogs, hosted or self-hosted.

This post is being writing through the app. And I’m writing it with one finger and left-handed! This is quite something for someone who is right-handed and when that someone is a touch typist. It took longer than usual, but it wasn’t too bad.

I probably won’t use this app often but it is handy and is a sign of how we can adapt and how technology adapts.

With nine years of blogging under my belt I thought it was only fitting that I nominate my blog for the “Words” category of the competition. Not only do I use words to construct posts, but a majority of my posts are to do with “words” as in the written word, the craft of writing.

Over the years, many people have visited the site. Some only read my words and left, many wrote encouraging comments and returned several times before disappearing, others became friends. As a blogger I went through many cycles. There were times when I really needed to know people were reading my posts, but as time went on I wrote the posts simply because I wanted to, for my own satisfaction. The blog became my diary and, as a result, a place to document my journey as a writer.

Now, I continue to learn and share…all the while hoping I’m helping other people at the same time. And, when the voting lines open for the People’s Choice Award on Monday 18 April 2011, I hope you will consider taking a moment to vote for my blog (or should I say My Diary). Of course, I will put up a reminder closer to the date.

Over recent weeks, Queensland in Australia has been tortured by freak storms and heavy flooding. The destruction is reported to be affecting three quarters of the state. At present, there are 16 confirmed deaths, but this figure is expected to rise. Some towns have been devastated beyond recognition. Thousands of homes have suffered damage from total or partial emersion in the tidal waters and consequent mud, many will have to be knocked down and rebuilt. Over a million lives have been affected by the floods, not only due to flooding, but also due to the loss of power, no public transport, being cut off from the outside world due to major roads being under water, contaminated water, lack of goods (such as food) and many other things we generally take for granted.

100 Stories for Queensland is an anthology, written by writers from around the world who have donated stories to help raise money for the affected people in Queensland. The two people behind this venture are Jodi Cleghorn and Trevor Belshaw, however, from what I’ve heard, many talented people have stepped up and offered their services in getting the anthology off the ground as soon as possible.

A call has been put out for flash fiction, from 500 to 1,000 words in length. All proceeds will be donated to the Queensland Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal.

I decided that I would write a story for submission late on Friday night when an idea suddenly popped into my head. I completed the story on the same night and put it aside for a bit over 24 hours. Today, I spent a couple of hours going over the story several times, tweaking, improving, adjusting, and now I think it’s ready for submission. I will leave it for a couple of hours, at which time I’ll read it again to be sure it’s as good as I can get it, and then I’ll submit.

Whether or not my story is accepted is not the point here. The point is I heard a call and answered. I want to help. I hope you’ll want to help too.

If you are on Facebook and want to follow the progress of this charity event, go to 100 Stories for Queensland’s Facebook Page.

When I saw this video I just had to share it as it reminds me of how far we’ve come in recent years. Besides, it’s great if you need a good belly laugh, which we all do on occasion.

Enjoy.

EMBED-My Blackberry Is Not Working – Watch more free videos

At 10am this morning, the Kayelle Press website was successfully launched. I’ve spent a lot of time on the site over recent weeks – making graphics, figuring out complicated coding and generally trying to piece together a website that I can be proud of and I’m pleased with the result.

Please take a few moments to head over to the website and see what’s on offer.

I’ve been thinking covers and fonts lately, so when I went over to Alan Baxter’s website this morning and found the video below, I had to watch it…and it gave me a much needed laugh. Strangely, it fed my desire to kill some fonts off too, which is a bit worrying. Watch the video, it’s fun!

This website is a personal diary where I record the things I’m interested in — namely writing, reading, genealogy, knitting and a few other minor activities such as computer programs and operating systems, and game playing such as Playstation.

At times, the website will be dominated by one of these topics more than the others. At other times, I’ll go relatively quiet because I haven’t got much to say at the time. Lately there’s been a run on computer and knitting topics because I’ve been using both of these things to help me relax as my blood specialist tells me I must not get stressed. Easier said than done.

You may have also noticed the new writing progress bar I’ve added to the sidebar. In fact, it’s not new, I’ve used it before but for some reason that I can’t remember I moved away from it. Now that I’m writing again — yes, I am writing amongst all the other stuff — I thought the bar would be a good indicator how I’m going even though I may not be talking about writing much. It’s also a good motivator for me, as I like seeing the numbers climb higher and will strive to make it keep happening.

I will give a proper writing update tomorrow.