Don't Try This At Home...

***This post has nothing to do with writing, our writing careers, or really anything important at all. BUT, since we'd had such trouble with blogs, and now that they are finally back up - I figured I'd post this one here too :) ***


The Sunday before Christmas, I attempted a feat only I would dare try.

Skiing down the stairs.

On my shin.

It didn't work. And it hurt.

Thus, the title of this blog...

Anyway, the REAL story is this (albeit much less glamorous) :
Sunday night after church, my friend (loyal and true) Carrie came over. I was still in my dressy outfit from the cantata that night. (Mistake #1)

After we caught up and had a good ol' heart-to-heart, I asked if she wanted to see how we'd rearranged all the rooms in the basement. (Mistake #2 - not that asking her was a mistake, I love Carrie dearly, but it was definitely too late at night and my pants were entirely too dressy...)

At the top of the stairs, I realized a dilemma. I normally wore four-inch heels with these particular pants. Why? Well, One - the incredibly cute and dressy pants demand that kind of footwear, and Two - my legs are just too stinkin' short. Anyway, back to the story - Carrie headed down the stairs first, and me and my big mouth and dressy, dressy pants started our descent. I said, "Watch me trip on my pants and fall down the stairs..." (Mistake #3)

Truer words have never been spoken.

And I fell.
It wasn't glamorous. It wasn't graceful. It wasn't even pretty.
But Carrie's football stance at the bottom of the stairs was all of the above. I wish I had a picture of her face. It was priceless.
And I treasure her even more as a friend. Carrie is no frail chick who danced around saying, "oh my goodess!" - she didn't even try to save her own skin and jump out of the way of "skiing Kim" as I hurtled down the wood stairs - no, this girl stuck out her own neck, ready to take the blow so she could stop my momemtum-building fall.
That's a friend, people. Just sayin'.

And me? Well, my leg is grotesque to put it mildly. The bruising and coloring just get better and better each day. :)

Sweet hubby has patched up the wall-(oh, by the way, did I mention that my knee punched a large hole in the sheet rock?), and I've learned valuable lessons. Things like:
-wear shin guards every time I head down the stairs
-never, NEVER say I'm going to fall-Even if I'm joking
-never wear the cute, dressy pants without the appropriate footwear
-grow longer legs

And for all of you who demanded a picture - well, here it is. This is three days after. I almost took another one today, but I'm afraid of scaring small children... and the elderly... So... just imagine it about ten times worse - That's what it looks like now. Hopefully in about a month, maybe it will be gone.

Computer Crash... Stay Tuned

Well...
After months of craziness, we finally discovered all our glitches. Our main computer system had a time-bomb virus. (if you don't know what that is - don't ask. It's scary. I'm freaked out every time I think about it. Yuck. Ugh.) It fried the mother-board and operating system, and sent trojans to the other computers on the network.

We haven't been able to post on blogs correctly for MONTHS - and not at all for quite some time - as you can see :)

We haven't been able to receive and send email properly for months...

And, we've lost a lot of data.

BUT - we believe - that it is all functioning properly now. (At least the computers that are still alive.)

So... Thanks for your patience and keep watching. We hope to get it all back to schedule this week and next.

New Website, Need Influencers, and Great Interview Next Week!

It's official - the new "website" is up and running. And for the most part, I haven't totally killed it, rearranged it, or messed it up. (I know, I know, just wait, right?) LOL

Anyway, so please tell your friends that they can go to any of the following:
kimwoodhouse.com
kimberleywoodhouse.com
kimberleyandkaylawoodhouse.com
kaylawoodhouse.com
and they will all take you to our new streamlined (hopefully), easy to navigate (prayerfully) site :)
Kayla and I would love to have your thoughts on the new site, tabs, and info that is up. We'd also love your suggestions!

NEXT - we need influencers for our upcoming release NO SAFE HAVEN - if you'd like to be someone to read it, blog about it, and talk it up - please let us know ASAP. Either commment here - or send an email through the contact tab on our website.

AND NOW - that everything is up and running smoothly (finally, whew!) be watching for a great interview we have with Jenny B. Jones next week! She's totally amazing, hysterical, and one of my favorite people of all time.

Stay tuned!
Love you all :)

Word Count

For those of you who are (or who have hung around) a writer at any point in time, you've probably heard the terms "word count."

We are always striving for that elusive number. Be it a daily goal or the completion of a manuscript, we wordsmiths sure do seem to place a lot of importance on numbers.

And a lot of writers will admit that they hate numbers. Many of them hate math in general. So what is it with this obsession we have with numbers?

After much pondering (not really), I've decided to share my thoughts (or lack thereof) on this subject.

1. We need numbers. Life, and thus our stories, would be boring without numbers. (Who would be interested if the reader doesn't know how old our characters are, what year they live in, or how many half-decaf-caramel-lattes they drink each day?)
2. Numbers help you exaggerate in order to make your point more meaningful. (She rewrote the scene for the 5-trillionth time.)
3. Numbers help us with deadlines and parameters. (You'll never have a publisher ask you to deliver a manuscript of unlimited word count whenever you feel like it.)

So now that I have shared my abundance of wisdom on this matter of numbers, I must get back to my own word count after teaching my kids that "yes, you still have to do math even if you want to be a writer."

Kayla Woodhouse Needs YOU!

Can you imagine Uncle Sam with his finger pointed at you? Well, just imagine it's me, Kayla, pointing at you... Yes, we need YOU!!

Would you like to be part of our research for RACE AGAINST TIME?


Well, here are some questions that we need your input on:

-How would you react if you had just witnessed a murder?
-Now put on your imagination caps and imagine you are 13-years-old and witness a murder?
-What are your favorite dog names?
-What do you know about sled-dog racing in Alaska? Have you heard of Sprint racing or only long-distance like the Iditarod?
-Do you know how many letters the North Pole, AK post office receives for Santa each year? (You really need to know this one!)

Signing off for now - be watching for more research questions on this blog as we write!

God Bless-
Kayla

ANNOUNCEMENT!!

Kayla has been chosen as a staff writer for iBegat.com a new site for teens!!

This is launch week at iBegat - so please check out the links below and tell all your friends!

iBegat Home Page
Devo by Kayla
Staff Writer Kayla Woodhouse
Movie Review by Kayla

Mismatched Socks...

Kim here: My amazing friend and full-time assistant, Lori, wrote a blog post for you all since we're in the trenches editing.

Lori here: As you probably know, I will do pretty much anything to help the Woodhouses out, which happens to include... laundry. So, yesterday, betwix all the craziness I let Kim know that something was totally wrong with this house. She just laughed, and asked, "what?" I replied, "I only found four socks that don't match." Kayla piped up and said, "No..." she pointed to her feet, "Six!" (Kayla likes to wear socks that don't match - LOL)

We all needed something to laugh about. You see, line edits are in progress. Kim, Kayla, and editor, Karen are all clicking away on the keyboards. Having only read 2/3 of the original manuscript, I can tell you the plot thickens and I just learned that I had the "bad guy" all wrong! And now that the edits and line edits are almost done, I can't wait to find out how and why I was wrong. :)

You see, I may work for authors but they never let on... even to me!
What I do know is how busy they are! Always something to do betwix the house, writing, swimming, school, PR, marketing, meals, and so much more. Like your lives, there is always something that needs to be done.

So stop matching those socks - even slip on a mismatched pair (it'll make Kayla smile) and get ready for the book's release in March.

Until next time, and wearing my mismatched socks, simply because laundry always needs to be done... Lori