Exciting news this week! The children’s picture book I’ve been mentioning for a few months now, Higgenbloom and the Dancing Grandmas, is officially out in the world.
My friend Katie MacGillivary did the amazing illustrations, and I am so proud of this project. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as we enjoyed bringing Higgenbloom and his friends to life.
The book is suitable for everyone but was written with children ages 3 to 6 in mind.
The book is available as an ebook on Amazon right now. Other distribution channels will be online soon. And if it sells well as an ebook, a hardcover will be printed in 2014. You can purchase the ebook here for your Kindle, iPad, desktop, or other type of tablet. You can even read it on your iPhone. All you have to do is download the free Kindle app for your device.
The book is about a cute little honey bee who likes to be silly. A lot. One morning, Higgenbloom wanders off and finds himself in a heap of trouble — trapped inside a moving car and traveling away from the farm and everything he knows! The day becomes quite an adventure when Higgenbloom encounters some very cool Dancing Grandmas along the way.
Packed with abundant silliness and interactive questions for children, Higgenbloom and the Dancing Grandmas celebrates grandmothers who like to “rock and roll,” grandchildren who love being silly, or anyone who has ever wanted to boogie down — no matter what others might think.
Higgenbloom is on Facebook, of course. Isn’t everybody? Please “like” the book here to help spread the word and stay on top of news and upcoming contests! He also has his own website, too, at higgenbloomthehoneybee.com.
Thanks, y’all, for supporting this latest work. It’s my third children’s book, but my first one that’s released for the general public and available as an ebook. Please let me know how you like it!
PS: I love telling the world that the old stereotype found so often in children’s literature of a grandmother wasting away life in a rocking chair isn’t quite reality for most of the grandmas I know. Grandmas rock!
If you want to read more of my writing, I send out the occasional newsletter. Sign up here:
You know how most people lose socks? That’s how I lose bras. Yes, bras.
I think it’s because I’m always taking them off. Which sounds like I’m a floozy-ho-slut (technical term), but really it just means I hate wearing them, so I tend to rip those suckers off the moment I think I no longer need an over-the-shoulder boulder-holder. (Thanks for the term, Judy Blume.) That might include in my car, my office, the kitchen, the backyard … you get the picture.
So they just … disappear.
This is the bra that is missing. If you find it, please return immediately.
Right now, I have misplaced for several weeks my only beige-colored bra. That means I only have black bras to choose from, and one very bright red one with polka dots that hasn’t fit me since 1998. It also means that every time I dress for the world, I have to consider what shirt will work with a black bra. (Because I’m too cheap to go buy a new beige one when I KNOW the other one will turn up soon. And since I’m not really a floozy-ho-slut, I don’t want my black bra showing through my shirts. At least not all the time.)
This also means that half of my wardrobe is unwearable right now. And this means that I have to think too much in the mornings, which I try not to do.
This all leads up to one night this week when I was getting ready to go to see Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band in concert. I was choosing what to wear and of course did not have the aforementioned BEIGE bra. But I really, really wanted to wear a cute blouse that required a BEIGE bra.
In my infinite wisdom, I decided that going braless to a concert wasn’t a bad thing.
I mean, women do it all the time, right? At least they do at Willie Nelson concerts; there are usually tube-tops involved.
A rare moment on Willie’s bus (not). I love the Internet.
Now maybe those women aren’t as, errr, well-endowed as me, but it’s a thing. People do it. Besides, I just knew Bob Seger would be able to FEEL the overwhelming presence of my braless boobies from onstage. They would inspire him.
That’s how I came to be talking to a couple of guys at the concert who were seated in front of me who will very likely never forget me.
You see, I was leaning over a bit to talk because they were BELOW me, and the sleeve of my blouse caught the edge of the arm of my seat. Which shall we say pulled the fabric a bit (a lot) to the left. Which in turn caused a gap. Which in turn gave these lovely men a tumbling sort-of-oh-my-god-there’s-a-large-dangling boobie right-in-front-of-me kind of view.
We’re not talking flashing a little side boob here. There may or may not have been nipple involved.
I really hadn’t noticed anything was askew at first. Because I’d had a few adult beverages by this point. I was digging some “Turn the Page,” and I thought these two old hippie men were just really interested in my witty conversation.
But then I began to note that my chest was not the area where my witty conversation was emitting from, and yet that area was where they appeared to be focusing their attention.
I honestly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this point. I think I said something like, “Oh, wow, would you look at that?”
In retrospect, I should have just said, “It’s for Bob,” and left it at that.
It was probably in reality only a second of a flash. But I have learned my lesson now: Don’t try to make witty conversation after several adult beverages. It’s not worth it.
It was all for you, Bob.
If you want to read more of my writing, I send out the occasional newsletter. Sign up here:
I’ve always loved to listen to good music while reading a good novel. And since the love of music, and its universal calling, is a central theme in my latest novel, A Good Kind of Knowing, I wanted to develop a playlist for readers to have on hand while reading the story.
In the book, the artists and songs mentioned range from outlaw country to early jazz, from Ella Fitzgerald to George Strait, from music made in the 1920s to lyrics penned in the 1980s. In the following playlist, I’ve taken liberties to include some current-day music, as well. But mostly, I’ve carefully chosen music for each chapter based on the mood of the characters and the pacing of the plot. In many cases, the songs listed here are ones the characters themselves are listening to in the storyline; others are ones I remember listening to when I wrote these very chapters and scenes.
I sincerely hope you enjoy this playlist as much as I enjoyed putting it together.
PS: If you don’t want to pay for all these tunes by downloading them into a “real” playlist, most can be found on youtube for free.
A Good Kind of Knowing — A Novel by Kathy Lynn Harris
The Official Music-to-Read-By Playlist
Chapter 1
Pretty Paper – Willie Nelson
Chain of Fools – Aretha Franklin
Amarillo by Morning – George Strait
Wasted Days and Wasted Nights – Texas Tornadoes
Everyone Will Crawl – Charlie Sexton
Speed of the Sound of Loneliness – Nanci Griffith
I Gotta Find Peace of Mind – Lauryn Hill
Sugar Plum Fairy – Duke Ellington
Walkin’ After Midnight – Patsy Cline
Silver Wings – Merle Haggard
A Good-Hearted Woman – Waylon Jennings
Chapter 2
Working Man – Merle Haggard
Faded Love – Bob Wills
Should I Come Home or Should I Go Crazy – Gene Watson
Old Time Rock and Roll – Bob Seger
Resistance is Futile – Steve Coleman
I Won’t Dance – Frank Sinatra
Regalame un Besito – Laura Canales
How Blue Can You Get – B.B. King
Chapter 3
Angel from Montgomery – John Prine and Bonnie Raitt
Lover Man – Charlie Parker
Summer Skin – Amy Cook
Can`t Let Go – Lucinda Williams
Chapter 4
Rainy Days And Mondays – The Carpenters
Someday – Steve Earle
Bruises – Train featuring Ashley Monroe
Chapter 5
(Sittin’ on the) Dock of the Bay – Otis Redding
Black Coffee – Ella Fitzgerald
Blue Moon – Billie Holiday
Chapter 6
Brown Sugar – Rolling Stones
Who’ll Stop The Rain – Credence Clearwater Revival
Kentucky Waltz – Bill Monroe
Chapter 7
Rainy Day Woman – Waylon Jennings
Blueberry Hill – Fats Domino
Fishin’ in the Dark – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
California – Joni Mitchell
Lost Highway – Hank Williams
Understand You – Lyle Lovett
Chapter 8
Lullaby – Johannes Brahms
Sharp-Dressed Man – ZZ Top
Ain’t No Way – Aretha Franklin
She Thinks I Still Care – George Jones
New Life In Old Mexico – Robert Earl Keen
Chapter 9
Sunday Kind of Love – Etta James
A Love that Will Never Grow Old – Emmylou Harris
Chapter 10
If I Had You – Benny Goodman
That’ll be the Day – Buddy Holly
Runaway Train – Roseanne Cash
Chapter 11
Sunday Morning Coming Down – Johnny Cash
Desde Que Conosco – Freddie Fender
Down to My Last Cigarette – k.d. lang
A Soft Place to Fall – Allison Moorer
Chapter 12
I Don’t Wanna Fight – Tina Turner
Members Only – Bobby “Blue” Bland
Blues for Dixie – Asleep at the Wheel featuring Lyle Lovett
Yes, I only put Black Friday in the headline to attract people to this site. (Ha!) I’m not above tactics like this.
Seriously, to continue in my quest to provide readers with music to read A Good Kind of Knowing (my latest novel) by, here is a great song to listen to while reading Chapter 16. And it’s a favorite of my son’s, too, so of course I had to feature it here.
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
If you want to read more of my writing, I send out the occasional newsletter. Sign up here:
New and old friends and family who support my writing. A six-year-old who can already cook up a mean batch of fried catfish. Sonic ice and Dr Pepper. A husband who buys me Sonic ice because he knows it makes me happy. Two furry babies who make me smile, no matter how very bad they can be. My publisher, 30 Day Books (Laura Pepper Wu and Brandon Wu) — it’s so darn awesome to know that there are good, kind people all over the world, and that I have these folks on my side. Jeremy Kron for his wonderful work on my novels’ cover and interior design. My new job with Truven Health Analytics. I’m loving the work so much. Knowing that I’ll get to see my family and taste my mama’s cooking in just a couple of weeks. My Kindle Fire. Brilliant writing by people who inspire me. The herd of deer hanging out on our road this evening. The Rocky Mountains. Fresh mountain air. Memory foam. This laptop. Friends I know will be there for me if I need them. Texas Hill Country pecans, found at a Target in Colorado, believe it or not. Cool cotton pillowcases. Good wine. Stand-up comedians. A mother- and father-in-law who adore my son and treat us all with overwhelming generosity. The good health of myself, my family and my friends. The music of Lyle Lovett. Sara Lee pies because I don’t have time to make my own. Readers out there in the universe who are reading my novels and taking the time to let me know that my words touched them somehow. Every single person who has written a review of either of my novels. My eyesight. A soft, warm blanket on a chilly night. Stars. Avocados. Dark chocolate. Ariat boots. Vacuum cleaners. Wild Orange essential oil. A massage therapist as a spouse. And the sound of my angel-son saying, “I love you, mama,” as he drifts off to sleep.
What are you thankful for right now, in this moment? (Don’t think about it deeply, just spit out what comes to mind. It’s nice sometimes to just Let. It. Out.) PS: Vacuum is a weird word, isn’t it?
If you want to read more of my writing, I send out the occasional newsletter. Sign up here:
Chapter 3 is one of my favorite chapters in A Good Kind of Knowing. And this little number from Bonnie Raitt and John Prine, “Angel From Montgomery,” fits the mood of that chapter just right.
I suggest closing your eyes and letting this one sink into the soul a little bit.
If you want to read more of my writing, I send out the occasional newsletter. Sign up here:
If you’re reading A Good Kind of Knowing, thank you so much. Here’s some good old-fashioned music to read by – fits well with Chapter 2. Full playlist for the whole book coming soon!
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys – Faded Love
If you want to read more of my writing, I send out the occasional newsletter. Sign up here:
In A Good Kind of Knowing, Sera’s husband Bill listens to old outlaw country on his eight-track player in the garage in Chapter 1 (and later on in the story, too). And he loves Waylon.
So here’s your Music to Read By installment for today – Mr. Waylon Jennings singing “A Good-Hearted Woman.” It really doesn’t get much better than that, now, does it?
If you want to read more of my writing, I send out the occasional newsletter. Sign up here:
The main character, Sera, in A Good Kind of Knowing, loves Patsy Cline. Of course, I do, too. I love her voice. I loved that she was kick-ass. I loved that she had to fight her way into the boys’ world of Nashville. I love that Loretta Lynn was her best friend. I love that she and Charlie had a turbulent, brilliant kind of love. As you might guess, Sweet Dreams is one of my all-time favorite movies, too.
So, here you go. If you’re reading the novel, this is a good song to go along with Chapter 1.
Patsy Cline – Walkin’ After Midnight
If you want to read more of my writing, I send out the occasional newsletter. Sign up here:
Exciting news this week! The children’s picture book I’ve been mentioning for a few months now, Higgenbloom and the Dancing Grandmas, is officially out in the world.
