Author: Karen GoatKeeper

Karen GoatKeeper loves to write. Her books include picture books, novels and nonfiction for science activity books and nature books. A recent inclusion are science teaching units.
The coming year has goals for two new novels, a picture book and some books of personal essays. This is ambitious and ignores time constraints.
She lives in the Missouri Ozarks with her small herd of Nubian dairy goats. The Ozarks provides the inspiration and setting for most of her books.

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Latest From High Reaches

Nubian Buck High Reaches Augustus

High Reaches Silk was so proud of her little spotted boy. They were always together during rest times. Other times he raced around her. This was High Reaches Silk’s Augustus.

Young Nubian buck with mother
This is a favorite picture of young Nubian buck Augustus with his mother Silk. He was born the end of November and this is a couple of months later.

Growing Up

The big buck in my herd at that time was Goat Town USA Gaius. He was from Oklahoma and came home when I was writing “Goat Games”. I loved his regal bearing and deep red color.

Bucks get old faster than does. I liked Augustus and so did Gaius, as much as any buck respects a rival. They did play together for several years until Gaius got old and Augustus got big.

Nubian kid racing
This was a lucky picture. Augustus was out racing around. Nubians are fun to see do this as their ears fly as though getting set for take off.

Then the two had separate quarters. They still shared their pasture during the day.

One day Gaius was gone. Augustus was the big buck in my herd. He ruled the herd for many years.

Nubian buck Augustus trotting
Even as a young Nubian buck, Augustus was confident. Here he is striding off across the pasture to catch up with the herd.

Getting Old

I knew Augustus was getting old. He lost weight and wasn’t as lively. He did still love to be with the girls.

Special days were those when no one was in season and the entire herd could go out to pasture. Only my big wether Pest complained about those days. Pest might be bigger than my old buck, but was no match for him.

Adult Nubian bucks playing
Butting heads is a favorite play for goats, especially for bucks. Here Nubian bucks red Gaius and spotted Augustus are playing.

Going Forward

I had intended to stop breeding my does after Augustus died. There is a flaw in this idea. There are still nine does plus Pest. They eat a lot. They still need care twice a day, every day. Several does are young enough to breed and give milk.

It seems ridiculous to still be doing all the work and having to buy milk. So, there will be a new big buck for my herd.

Two of my oldest does going back to Gaius are bred. High Reaches Spring kidded with two nice little bucks. High Reaches Drucilla is polled. A polled buck would be nice.

Nubian buck High Reaches Augustus watching for the herd
Nubian buck High Reaches Augustus watching for the herd to come in. He was still doing fairly well.

Then again, I may go looking elsewhere. After I stop missing Augustus.

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GKP Writing News

Are You Obsolete?

I’ve been collecting books for decades. Many of them wound interesting, but I’ve never found time to read them. One of these came off the shelf the other day and made me think ‘Are you obsolete?’ about these posts.

Internet Writing

Millions of people write on the internet. Their topics are almost anything you can think of.

I’ve been posting to a website for over ten years. My topics have been on nature, hiking, science, goats and my books.

If the writers could go back and read something they wrote many years ago, what would they think about it?

John Gould

Back in the late 1940s to 1950s, John Gould wrote short topics that were published in newspapers, magazines and books. The book I read was “Neither Hay Nor Grass” published in 1951.

Gould lived in rural Maine. He wrote about living there, the people he knew, things that happened. This sounds a lot like internet posts of today.

One of the reasons I read this book was to find out more about the times it was written in. It certainly did that.

Gould’s wife was mentioned several times. Usually the mention was about her wonderful cooking. His daughter was to learn this.

Education was not very important. Rural ways and values were more important.

cover for "Broken Promises" by Karen GoatKeeper
I wrote this novel using the events of 2008. Do you remember that year? That was the beginning of the Great Recession when the stock market had a meltdown. It refers to a big Ponzi scheme that unraveled then. Is this trilogy now obsolete?

Are You Obsolete?

Gould was writing about a world about to see major changes. Most people would cut their ties to the land and become urban. Women would be able to be more than housewives and cooks.

Jobs were becoming more demanding, requiring better educations. Pollution was about to be confronted as “Silent Spring” was published.

My conclusion is that I am obsolete and many of my posts are not even close to mainstream. I may have grown up urban, but I’ve become rural to a great extent.

Will I change? No. My posts reflect my lifestyle. I can’t write about urban topics as I haven’t been in the big cities for decades.

Perhaps other internet writers and authors should ask themselves ‘Are you obsolete?” An honest answer might change what they write. Or it might not.

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Ozark Winter Strikes

All day small bits of snow drifted down. Remnants of ice and snow vanished as the snow accumulated. So this year’s Ozark winter strikes.

As the snow accumulated, future plans moved into wish territory. Driving to town is not impossible. But the reasons for risking an accident aren’t enough to try.

Ozark Winter Strikes with snow
The ice started to melt. Then five inches of snow fell turning the road into an expanse of white. Branches held layers of snow on them. Brush had snow attach to the ice still coating them. This was a picture book in black and white.

Picture Book World

When the snow started, the temperature was in the mid-twenties. That makes a dry, powdery snow. The temperature rose to thirty and the snow stuck on the branches, anywhere it could.

After the snow stopped, milking time came up. The temperatures were cold, but they seemed warm after days of teens and twenties. I left the door open to look out across the white fields.

I read a book about the north woods in winter. It was illustrated with pen and ink drawings. The trees were black patterns in a white world. This was the scene I saw out the barn door.

Ozark Winter Strikes with ice
Freezing rain is a winter hazard in the Ozarks. If the ice is half an inch thick or more, branches and trees can break under the weight. Only a quarter inch coated the trees this time. When the sun comes out, the ice turns the world into crystal.

Ozark Winter Strikes Down Walking

The chickens are resigned, not happily, to staying inside. They refuse to go out in the snow. I leave their door closed.

The goats tromp around the side of the barn to stand in the sun. They bask. Then, it’s back into the barn for hay.

The snow was perfect for snowshoes. We left them up north. I walked around a little, but slogging through five inches of wet snow is hard work.

Cabin Fever

That leaves us inside too. We have plenty to do. Cabin fever isn’t having nothing to do, it’s being stuck inside doing it.

We stand at the windows and look out as today’s sun knocks snow off the branches. I shoved it off my truck. The snow on the ground dimples and sinks.

Tonight the snow will freeze into ice. I have no ice skates and don’t know how to ice skate anyway. Walking to the barn will be treacherous. Dawn will bring more sun, more melting.

That is one thing about when an Ozark winter strikes: It is often gone in a few days.

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GKP Writing News

About Picture Books

I’ve published three picture books and have a series in mind. Still, I don’t know that much about picture books.

Reading

One way to learn is by reading picture books. I’ve always liked to browse through them, rarely listing them on my reading list. There are so many good ones, I wanted to share those I’d read.

My Goodreads blog was a way to do this. I now read and review four to six picture books from my library weekly on my blog.

Another reason for reading so many of these books is to see the range of text and illustrations in them. Ones I’ve read run from ones with only pictures to one with no pictures at all.

The illustrations can be highly detailed, elaborate ones to those looking like museum paintings to casual comic book images. They can be painted, collages, line drawings, photographs or combinations.

My preference is watercolor. Recently I read a book about Tasha Tudor (“The Private World of Tasha Tudor”) and have requested some of her books. She uses watercolor and the images I saw in the book are highly detailed which takes great skill with watercolor.

cover of "For Love of Goats" by Karen GoatKeeper
Although people usually think of illustrated books as picture books for young readers, they can be for any age. “For Love of Goats” is illustrated, but is for older people who love the sounds of words and goats.

Research

Another way to learn about picture books is to read books about how to create them. I am reading one now (“Writing With Pictures”).

The basic steps are what I already knew. This book is expanding on these, adding details and suggestions.

Planning and Implementing

There are a few sketches done now for my Agate and Opal series about two adventurous Nubian kids. As I look these over and consider others for these first two books, one about Opal and one about Agate, introducing them, I’m using the knowledge I’ve gained.

First off, my sketches don’t need to be perfect. This is hard for me as I constantly fight the mantra of not good enough. They only need to be true to my Nubian goat kids.

Secondly, I want to do a picture book series, not illustrated stories. That changes how I will do my text. The pictures tell the story. Text only adds a few bits of information.

Most of the text will be reserved for the information page at the end.

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Cabin Fever

Everything is coated with ice and snow. Ice looks pretty when the sun hits it, but is treacherous to walk on. People and livestock are stuck inside and quickly develop cabin fever.

cabin fever in chickens
The hen house is too crowded to do much, according to the chickens. Most of them spend their days inside standing on the roosts.

Chickens

These birds hate snow making it an easy decision to keep their door closed. Now, the chickens could flock out to the goat barn, but it’s locked up. They would try under the goat gym, but there isn’t much to do there.

In their room, the chickens have feed and water. They can stand around on the roosts, the floor and the nests.

One day, maybe two, the chickens are okay with this. After that cabin fever sets in and they squabble.

food trumps cabin fever for Nubian goats
As long as there’s hay, my Nubian goats are too busy to indulge in cabin fever. Once the hay is picked through, the squabbles begin.

Goats

My herd is used to walking all day. They do this even on winter days when there is little for them to nibble on.

Hay is not as good as fresh grass, even winter grass. Ice or snow covered grass is another matter. Hay is now top of the menu.

Since the herd is much smaller, there is room for them to wander around. There are favorite spots and that leads to arguments. The door is closed, so the arguments soon involve more goats.

The only goats without cabin fever in a day or two are the kids. They run and play or curl up and sleep.

People

We are outside people. Walking, gardening, work take us outside much of every day. Ice and snow make trips outside occur on an as needed basis only.

It’s not that we don’t have plenty to do inside. The bookcases are loaded with books. Housecleaning is a never completed item. Cooking is an option. I could even get a lot of writing done.

Cabin fever isn’t about having something to do. It’s about being stuck inside.

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GKP Writing News

Writing Demons

No, I haven’t decided to try writing a horror story. My writing demons aren’t part of a story. Instead, they do their best to destroy my stories.

Most writers have these naysayers lying in wait in their heads. They wait until the writer is tired or having plot problems or is trying to rewrite a draft. Then they pounce.

Writing Demons

Your story is lame. It’s rubbish. No one in their right mind would want to read this garbage.

This story is boring. Writing is a waste of time. The methods are endless, but all have the goal of making a writer give up.

Coping With Demons

Nothing gets rid of these naysayers. Their roots go back too far.

Coping begins with taking care to get enough sleep as these demons feed on fatigue. Not forgetting to eat healthy foods on time so the stomach doesn’t invite them in helps too.

Having a good friend or two to admire a story helps. This is true even if you know the friend would say the story is good regardless.

Another method is to tell the naysayers to go away. You know they are lying to you and choose to ignore them.

cover for "Capri Capers" by Karen GoatKeeper
I think this is the only book I’ve written free from my writing demons. Perhaps they got fooled as I wrote this book just for fun, not taking it seriously until after it was done.

The Final Strategy

The writing demons will visit whenever they think your defenses are down. Beating them can be hard.

Stubbornness and persistence are the last and most effective strategies. The writer must just ignore the demons, sit down and write.

If the words that day aren’t that great, so what? Rewriting and editing will fix that.

The book is aching to get finished. There is only one way to finish it: keep writing.

Life’s Rules

I’ve started rewriting this novel. The demons are lurking.

So far the lines include: the novel is too long; there isn’t enough action; there is too much backstory put into the first chapter.

The first is true and rewrite should trim several thousand words. Maybe there isn’t enough action, but this isn’t an action novel. This is a novel about a woman getting old, being dissatisfied with her life and trying to change.

And that’s another way to cope with the writing demons. Listen to and evaluate what they are saying. Some of it may improve the story.

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Winter Hikes

The hills are covered with bare branches. They don’t look very inviting for winter hikes, but there are interesting things out there.

Birds

Most of the year birds say hidden behind leaves. I hear them singing or scolding, but rarely catch more than a glimpse.

Winter is different. There are few leaves to hide behind. Fewer kinds of birds are out there, but they can be seen.

Cardinals are the most visible. The males have put on their mating finery so their red glows.

Woodpeckers are beginning to nest so the sound of wood being chiseled is everywhere. The males are drumming to advertise their latest nesting holes.

Carolina Wren on Bird Feeder
I put out fresh sunflower seeds to lure in a couple of cardinals. They went elsewhere. Chickadees came to enjoy the bounty. Carolina wrens don’t normally stop at the feeder, but this one decided to inspect it.

Plants

The trees and shrubs may be bare, the ground isn’t. Mosses and lichens coat the ground with greens and grays. Christmas and ebony spleenwort ferns add green spikes.

A number of plants do sprout in the late summer into fall and overwinter as small sets of leaves. Trying to identify them is a fun challenge on winter hikes.

Trees and I have an uneasy relationship. I like trees. However, photographing them is difficult as they are so tall.

Still, on winter hikes, I take photographs of winter buds on branches I pull down. Then I go in to stumble my way through the “Missoui Trees in Winter” keys trying to identify them.

Once the trees leaf out, I will go back and use leaves to identify these trees. And I can look up to the branches far overhead on some trees I can’t include in my Flora project unless I learn to climb trees.

green mosses light up winter hikes
Mosses are among the very earlies plants. They need moist places and thrive even in frigid temperatures. Over the winter, with the trees bare, mosses green up absorbing the winter sun adding color to the Ozark hills during winter hikes.

Weather

The biggest drawback to winter hikes is the weather. Many days I stand at the windows looking out at the hills. Cold, rain, snow, ice are good reasons to stay inside.

One nice thing about the Ozarks weather are the warmer spells mixed into the cold ones. Going out walking is possible then.

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Gardens Need Seeds

As I try to finish putting my garden to bed for the winter, the seed catalogs lure me with their gorgeous pictures. After all, gardens need seeds to grow all those crops next season.

The Fun Part

Seed catalogs are the fun part of gardening. Each kind and variety looks so enticing. Each page is pored over, drooled over and finally flipped over to expose the next list of possible plants.

As I look through the catalogs, I start a list of seeds I would like to order. The list gets longer and longer. Window shopping is fun.

gardens need seeds and transplants like Broccoli
This fall I planted broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts transplants. With the arrival of cold weather, the two beds were put under plastic ‘tents’ to keep them warmer overnight and during the day. Cauliflower is much more cold sensitive and was cheerfully consumed by my Nubian buck. The broccoli is making florets. The sprouts have sprouts on them. Big tomato cages provide supports under the plastic draped over wires strung around posts. Rain does pool in the plastic in places, but these temporary shelters do work.

Reality Sets In

There are vegetables we don’t like to eat. There are vegetables I can’t grow for one reason or another.

Corn is one of these. We love sweet corn. Raccoons do too. Unless I want to spend my nights out in the garden, gun in hand, the raccoons eat all of the corn.

My garden is finite. The wish list is not. Unfortunately, the garden wins, mostly.

Time is also finite. The Ozarks does have a long growing season, but I don’t want to wait until September for those first tomatoes. Since I can’t set tomatoes and peppers out until mid to late May, those plants with long growing times won’t produce in time.

gardens need seeds and transplants like Brussels sprouts
Buying Brussels sprouts is much more convenient than growing them. The plants take up a lot of room yielding not that many sprouts. However, the leaves are good to eat too. They can be shredded for stir fry or dropped into soups and stews. Of course, my Nubian goats (especially Augustus) think I grow these just for them, a welcome winter treat.

Gardens Need Seeds

Once the wish list is done and reality sets in, the seed list gets trimmed. What will get planted where? How many plants can I fit into the space allotted? Can I use succession planting? If I grow it, will we et it? If we can’t eat it all, can I sell it?

By mid January, the seed lists need to become seed orders. Gardening season begins in late January for my garden. That’s when the leek and Savoy cabbage seeds are started. The transplants move to the garden in March.

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GKP Writing News

Setting Writing Deadlines

This year has been very disappointing for my writing. No new books were finished. This isn’t because I didn’t have books to work on – there are six of them. Perhaps setting writing deadlines will get some of these finished.

Word Counts Won’t Work

Out of the six books, three have rough drafts mostly done, two are picture books with the text done leaving only one needing a draft written. Rewriting isn’t new writing with word counts. Setting writing deadlines will entail chapters, not words.

Even more, setting writing deadlines can be publishing times. I want to finish Life’s Rules by mid March for personal reasons. It needs rewriting, translations, ruthless cutting as it is far too long. It will be the primary focus now.

Once this book is done, I will return to “The Carduan Chronicles”. March is a good time to get back to Ship Nineteen as all the spring plants will be growing. Which are edible? Which would be easy for the crew to find and use? The draft may be written, but it needs a lot of setting work included in the rewrite.

“The Carduan Chronicles: Ship Eighteen” only needs the rewrite done. Even the current draft is close to final. The rewrite will be mostly an edit.

doing digital and print versions requires a title page
Several more chemistry teaching units are written. Some of the investigations need redoing. The stories aren’t written yet. Writing takes so much time.

Setting Writing Deadlines

I would like the first two books of “The Carduan Chronicles” ready to publish this fall. They do have one problem: the third book. It is little more than a list of bullet points right now.

There are other writing projects to slip into any free moment. There are two website posts to write every week. Goodreads gets at least four picture book reviews every week. There should be three book reviews every two weeks to reach my goal of 70 books read over the year. And there is a book review for my local public library every month.

If I want to stress out, I can add illustrations for the two picture books and chemistry teaching units. There is the picture book writing workshop planned for the summer.

The New Year will be busy.

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GKP Writing News

Laundromat 101 Hints

Although “At the Laundromat” is a picture book, many adults would benefit reading it too. This slender volume is a short course in Laundromat 101 or laundromat basics.

Laundromat 101 reminder to check pockets
It’s amazing what people leave in their pockets when they toss the clothes into the washing machine. Many times these are left behind in the laundromat machines.

Hint 1: Empty Your Pockets

One of the first things I do when I clean the machines in the laundromat is to check inside them. Since all of the washing machines are front loaders, this means turning the drums so anything left behind falls down making them easy to find.

This doesn’t always work as carpenters of DIY builders sometimes leave nails and screws in their pockets. These get caught in the holes in the drum and must be pulled out.

More commonly pocket contents such as keys, rings, earrings, money, lighters fall down. Then there are the socks. The machines really do eat your missing socks, but only because you didn’t look for them.

cover for "At the Laundromat" by Karen GoatKeeper
Request your free eBook copy at Smashwords using coupon code 4XU7N.

Writing Character Motivations

When I look at these various lost items, I reflect about what their loss can mean. Most items are things the owner would find annoying, but not a problem. What about house keys? Car keys? Engagement rings? The week’s budget money?

Would the character panic? How did the character drive home without their car keys? Maybe the character never locks the front door so losing the front door key isn’t important? Perhaps the character makes enough money so losing shat to others is a lot of money isn’t to them.

It’s so easy writing to write as though every character reacts the way we do. For a good writer, that is not true. Every character has their own motivation, their own reaction to events in the novel.

This is one of the big challenges in writing. The author must set aside their own reactions and become, in a small measure, the character so their reactions and actions ring true. They are not clones, but independent characters.

Laundromat 101 Hints

First, check your pockets before tossing those clothes into the washer. Second, turn the drum after you take the clothes out. That last goes for the dryer too. You never know what might show up.