by Keri Rozansky | Nov 11, 2024 | Blog
Happy Veteran’s Day!
Veteran’s Day is an important day on the U.S. calendar. Unlike the 4th of July when we celebrate our independence, Veteran’s Day is one of the holidays that pays tribute to the men and women still with us who have sacrificed their lives and energy into keeping our country and independence safe. They’re the ones who came home to tell the stories or the trials and tribulations of war, and be celebrated for all their accomplishments.
Some locales celebrate the day and their veterans with parades, recognition, and celebrations just for them. Many schools and businesses observe the day with closures to give their workers and customers the time they need to celebrate their loved ones and pay tribute to the country.
When my son was in elementary school (a private Catholic school), his school didn’t close for the day. Instead, they opened their doors and their hearts, inviting veterans to be honored at a courtyard celebration and breakfast. All veterans were invited, from the young men and women recently discharged to a veteran who saw combat in World War I. The church’s Cub Scout pack led a touching flag ceremony, where a new flag – donated by a school community member – was raised on the flag pole for the first time. Those Scouts led the singing of the National Anthem as well as the Pledge of Allegiance. The students had made thank you cards for the veterans, and many gave hugs and thanks.
No matter how you celebrate the veterans in your life, make sure you say thank you today. Whether it’s a quick email, phone call, or in-person visit. Do you know a veteran? What war(s) were they in? This Veteran’s Day, sit with a veteran and learn their story.
by Keri Rozansky | Nov 6, 2024 | Blog
My debut novel, still due out in the first quarter of next year, has taken another step toward completion. I’ve sent it off to a group of beta readers. What is a beta reader? They are the next set of eyes that read through the story after it’s been written and self-edited. They help me identify plot holes, pacing issues, loose ends, and help give me direction on how to make things better.
Each reader looks at my work with their own readers’ eyes. This is not necessarily a technical or mechanical review. If they had trouble with a section, felt bored or confused at any point, I want to know. I won’t necessarily apply all of their feedback, since I’m working with several different people, each with their own point of view. The thing they do all have in common is that they love reading books in my genre. They’ll be able to tell if something just isn’t quite right.
For me, it’s a nail-biting process. I found these readers in mid-October and have given them until the end of November to read and provide their feedback. I don’t want to rush anyone, but I also don’t want to wait too long before I can take it to the next step. I haven’t let many people or at least many people I know look at my work. I have had a few trusted people to bounce ideas off of and they’ve read various parts, but no one has ever read it start to finish. Not even my parents or my husband.
What do I do while the beta readers have this book? Start another! I’m currently working on the outline for my next novel. It keeps my mind off of something I have no control over and will keep my creativity flowing. No, you can’t have details about this one yet (mainly because it’s still in the outline phase).
What will happen after the beta readers report back to me? I’ll fearfully open their email or document to read their comments, hoping none of them tore it to shreds and hated it. I think that’s my greatest fear. But aside from that, I’ll read and take all of their comments and opinions into consideration. I’ll apply the ones that make sense and help make the story better. Any comment or feedback is appreciated, but I can’t necessarily use it all. Some of it may overlap, and that’s a good thing. If more than one or two people have issues with the same thing, that thing will definitely get attention.
Have you ever beta read for someone? How did you like the process/experience? Was the book in your favorite genre or were you trying something new?
by Keri Rozansky | Oct 31, 2024 | Blog
Happy Halloween everyone! I hope your night is full of ghoulish fun and lots of treats! Halloween isn’t the commercialized Halloween of today. It has a long and storied history, dating back over 2,000 years. It was derived from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (sow-in), which took place on November 1 – their New Year. They considered it the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold months of winter, also a time associated with human death.
The ancient Celts believed the night before the New Year (October 31) marked the time in which the veil between the living world and the dead was blurred and thinned. This was also the day ghosts were said to return to Earth. Not only was it thought the spirits caused trouble and damaged crops, Celts felt it was easier for Druids (Celtic priests) to make predictions about the future.
Why do we trick or treat in costume? Europeans brought their customs to the New World. Europeans traditionally dressed in costume to thwart spirits, and Americans carried on the tradition. They dressed up in costume and went house to house, “trick or treating” and asking for food or money. By the 1800s, the holiday became more about community and neighborly get-togethers than about the original meaning of ghosts and witchcraft.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween had become a secular, community-centered holiday, marked with parades and town- or city-wide Halloween parties with entertainment. Despite the best efforts of many schools and communities, vandalism began to plague some celebrations in many communities during this time. By the 1950s, town leaders had successfully limited vandalism and Halloween had evolved into a holiday directed mainly at the young.
Between 1920 and 1950, the centuries-old practice of trick-or-treating was also revived. Trick-or-treating was a relatively inexpensive way for an entire community to share the Halloween celebration. Families could also prevent tricks being played on them by providing the neighborhood children with small treats. Many communities offer “trunk or treat” where families meet in a single spot with decorated vehicles or tables to offer a more safe environment than wandering the streets.
Today, Americans spend an estimated $6 billion annually on Halloween, between treats and décor and other fun, making it the country’s second largest commercial holiday after Christmas.
Do you have special memories of Halloween? Did you know any of these facts? What’s your favorite way to spend the holiday? Let’s talk on Facebook!
by Keri Rozansky | Oct 30, 2024 | Blog
I’ve written a lot about how it’s my son’s senior year of high school. There have been firsts – filling out his first college application to getting that first college acceptance. But the firsts will undoubtedly outshine the lasts. Like his last fall stage show. But at the same time, it came with firsts. It may have been his last show, and his last time on stage, but it was his first time running the sound up in the tech booth. Not just his first time, but he did the sound all by himself. I volunteered for various jobs at three of the four weekend shows and from what I could tell he never missed a cue.
The Halloween-themed show included three short acts, each its own scary tale.
He also spent his time painting and building sets as he has in the past, then running out on stage between scenes to move pieces around for a new look. But he graduated from the heavy lifting of backstage to the more cerebral lifting in the booth.
As I said, it was also his last time on stage. Since most of his responsibility was in the booth, he only had time for a short appearance in the third act. He’s a wonderful actor and has sharpened his skills all throughout high school, but as much as I wanted the on-stage experience for him, he prefers to stay out of the spotlight. His character for this show had no lines and only about ten total minutes of stage time but audience members agreed his character had the most impact.
Between intermission and the third act, only about ten minutes time, he had to run from the booth to the dressing room and change into costume. His spooky non-verbal character wore a maintenance man’s jumpsuit and silently pushed a broom back and forth across stage. He knew all and saw all, but never spoke. He hid out of sight and overheard other characters’ horrible plans to close the wax museum where he worked. If he were to say “boo!” at any time, his single word would have rocked the scene in every way possible.
It was a pretty good way to close out the last fall show of his high school career. Up next, his final spring show and final performance of his high school career. They have a very popular show on tap with many more sound cues and characters than this show. I’d love it if he stepped on stage again, but I understand that his love lies in the tech side of things and in the sound booth above. It’s where he fits.
Where have you found that it took a while to get where you belong? Let’s talk about it on Facebook!
by Keri Rozansky | Oct 23, 2024 | Blog
I don’t know what anyone is going to get out of me writing this blog. I’m just a stay at home dad who loves his son. He’s a teenager, so of course he’s bound to do some stupid things now and again. He and his best friend Jay, who is like another son to me, recently turned 17. It was a special birthday for them, since it’s the last one they’ll spend together without the worries of college and adult life beyond.
The party my wife and Jay’s mother threw at our home was great. It always is. A pool party, all of their friends – even girls this time – and plenty of food. But with good sometimes comes heartbreak. I know I’m not supposed to give away too much here, but let’s just say the event rocked everyone’s world and Turner’s the most. He’s losing so much and even though I’m his dad, I can’t help him.
I want to help him and love him and support him and get him through this upheaval a kid his age shouldn’t have to deal with. But I can’t. There’s just no way. Add to that my own worries about it and our lives are just a mess.
But you want to know more about me, right? We won’t reach all the way back to childhood, but I was born and grew up in Glass. A lot of its residents did. Pam and I got married shortly out of college and we had Turner in what seemed like the blink of an eye. He’s our only child. We agreed on the ‘one and done,’ especially once Pam’s father handed us the reins of the family insurance business. There were some old-fashioned requirements he had, like passing the business on to a male heir, but Pam was his only child. He decided he wouldn’t give the business to her while he was alive, unless she married. I don’t want to think she married me because of this, but it seemed just days after signing our marriage certificate I was signing the paperwork to put the business in my and Pam’s names. That’s other backstory and I’m getting ahead of what I wanted to talk about.
While the business puttered along at a steady pace, I began my psychology practice. Pam got pregnant and we turned to daily outside childcare when Turner was born and while I ran my practice and she ran the insurance business. She had plans for the business. She wanted to go national, and eventually international. She and I spread the company nationally, and have a reach in 28 states. There are boring ins and outs you don’t want to hear about. The international expansion was where I had to step back. I didn’t know the first thing. As I said, Pam had a plan. She assembled a mostly trustworthy team and got to business. We’re on four of the seven continents.
Turner became school age, and our lives changed again. When Turner showed promise in swimming, our world, or rather mine, started to revolve around it. Meets, morning and afternoon practices, travel, and all the rest was a big joob. My psychology practice was struggling, and I opted to step away in favor of raising Turner. I don’t know what I’d do without him. He’s a great kid. He’s starting college along with his senior year of high school – how awesome is that?
Thanks for listening. I’m really working through my own problems at the moment. But Turner, he’s the best. I love our little town and our life here.
– Brad
