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Publishing Books by Karen GoatKeeper and Dr. Richard E. Rintz

Home of karengoatkeeper.com

Site News

I normally avoid controversial subjects on this site. However, this was Earth Day week. The climate matters.

For now all of Dr. Rintz’ botany books, Exploring the Ozark Hills, My Ozark Hills, The Pumpkin Project, Love of Goats, Waiting for Fairies, The Little Spider (listed by a bookseller), City Water Project and Goat Games must be requested through my Contact Page. It is working as far as I know. Payment arrangements are through PayPal.

Books published through Kindle (Amazon) are still available through Amazon. This includes all of my novels and Ducks Love Hats. The eBooks are still available as well.

I have an author event coming up on May 9, 2026. This will have many authors and is at the Big Rock Candy Mountain camp next to Montauk State Park.

Confederate Violets
Flash floods flooded the upper Meramec River spreading deep sand over much of the floodplain. I was glad to see these lovely Confederate Violets, a color variation of Common Blue Violets, still grew and bloomed in the area. The flooding washed out wide swaths of river bank washing out many big trees. These trees didn’t just fall over into the river, they left, carried off by the flood.

Only two weeks remain. I have the offer of a canopy to use. Maybe it won’t rain? Some new books are arriving in time.

Two does, Spring and Opal, are getting ready to kid. Fingers crossed they will avoid May 9.

mullein is a big lawn mowing obstacle
Mullein has really big, furry leaves. It is a rosette of leaves the first year. The second year the flower stalk reaches up four, five, six feet and lines itself with lemon yellow flowers. It is a spectacular sight. The leaves make a good herbal tea.

This event begins at nine. It is an hour’s drive away. It would be nice to get there a little early. (Not a prayer.) The alarm goes off at 5:30. Milking is by six.

If it rains, I stay home. Books don’t do well in the rain, canopy or not. With the countdown comes the insistent mental checklists. What do I need to pack, to take?

The Ship Eighteen draft is a whopping 174 pages, 79,000 words. I do still need Beta readers. Most authors have a writing group to turn to or an online group. I miss mine.

Mulched Garden Tub
I tend to really bury my containers with mulch over the winter. In a normal winter, most of the mulch would rot. This past winter has been dry, so I am having to remove the top layer when getting ready to plant.

My Writing

Cardua: Ship Nineteen draft has changed a lot. The ship has moved to a more permanent location. Spring is beginning and they are exploring.

Not much seems to be happening. It’s routine with events. Is it boring? I’m not sure. Lucra is so accident prone.

spring ephemerals Yellow Violet
Not all violets are blue. This one is yellow, but has the usual flower look and heart-shaped leaves. Unlike the common blue violet, yellow violets are ephemerals, only around for a short time in the spring. The flowers normally point toward the ground.

A book needs about 50,000 words. The garden essays fall far short and the topic list is no help. Now what? Rewrite time, I suppose.

I do have someone to read these. She is a fellow gardener.

chicks love greens in their yard
Warm weather arrived. The chicks feathered out. I opened the chick house door so the chicks could get outside to bask, eat greens and stretch their wings.

General Comments

Those little chicks are half grown now. They are also out of the fences.

The rest of the chickens have moved into the chick house. I put the same food and water in it, but the chickens think it is better.

A new roost is in the chicken house. Now I get to convince all the chickens that did roost on the nest boxes they are moving.

Seedling trays are proliferating as those with more than one plant get repotted. Tomato seedlings are eager to move to the garden. Too early.

Plants are up and blooming all over the hills and ravines. Walking time is never long enough.

I have several writing deadlines. My 2026 goals are to finish Life’s Rules, Ship 18, Ship 19, the gardening essays and two Opal and Agate picture books. Is this doable? At least, I will try.

cover for "My Ozark Home" by Karen GoatKeeper
Perhaps I need to sit down and relax looking at pictures of my home area for a little time. Too much stress isn’t good for me or anyone else.

I am presently reading “The Silence of the Library”, “The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes” and “Homegrown Herbs”. There are more picture books, “Poems for Children” and “The Rainbow Fish” this week.

You can keep up with my reading and reviews on Goodreads. As I finish each book, I take the time to write a review on Goodreads. Picture book reviews are on my Goodreads blog. It would be nice if those reading my books would do the same.

Finding My Picture Book Reviews

My picture book reviews are on my Goodreads blog. This seemed the only way to do them. Usually there are three new ones on Tuesdays and Fridays.

I am very hesitant to add any outside links to my website. So you can find me on Goodreads under Karen GoatKeeper.

Mayapple flower
Morel mushroom hunters take note to get out looking when the mayapples bloom.

About GKP Books

I normally sell books through Kindle and Smashwords as their sites are secure. Some books are only available through me for the time being. Please use the Contact GKP page.

Some eBooks (notably “Pumpkin Project and “Exploring the Ozark Hills”) are too large or complicated for the other sites. These are available as PDFs from me. Please use the Contact Me page.

All of the links should be working. If you find one has decided to go on vacation, you can contact me through the Contact Page.

Thank you for Stopping By

Keep checking back as the topics on the two posts change every week, weather permitting. Impassable roads can delay things.

Nubian buck High Reaches Kingpin
Nubian buck Kingpin is now a teenage goat and totally girl crazy. He is big enough for the girls to notice.