As I relaunch my historical romance Stepping Across the Desert, I'm really interested in talking with book clubs who like having author engagement/interviews. My book doesn't have to be the book the club is reading, I'm just looking for clubs who like talking with authors. In September I'll be launching my contemporary women's fiction Coffee Stains and so am looking for book club engagements then as well. Let me know in the comments or through DMs if you know of one or are part of one! Thank you!

Set the timer for 15 minutes and just write!⁠ ⁠ What if we stopped trying to make the world different and instead we embraced it for what it is?⁠ ⁠ Imperfect⁠ Beautiful⁠ On fire⁠ Peaceful and falling apart⁠ ⁠ What if we walked through the street and allowed to to be?⁠ ⁠ Not judge them for where they are or where they lead to?⁠ ⁠ Straight⁠ Curvy⁠ Pot hole pitted⁠ Smooth, yet weary⁠ ⁠ What is we stopped trying to make everyone fit into a certain place in this world?⁠ ⁠ Instead embracing them as they are without question or frown?⁠ ⁠ Baggage⁠ Happiness⁠ Incompetence⁠ Curiosity and the desire to be loved⁠ ⁠ What could we accomplish if we stopped trying to hard to change ourselves?⁠ ⁠ Taking a good look with a smile and see that we aren’t so bad?⁠ ⁠ Pock-marked⁠ Scared⁠ Hopeful⁠ Dream-filled and yearning for more⁠ ⁠ If we accepted ourselves, could we accept others? If we accepted the streets, could we accept the world?⁠ ⁠ #fridayflashfiction #fridayfiction #fiction #books #writing #writingcommunity #writingfiction #writersofinstagram #writingwarmup #author #writer #writingprompt #getwriting #creative #creatives #creativewriting

This is my favorite word so far. Absolutely amazing. What about you? What do you think about this word?⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #wordywednesday #words #englishvocab #vocabulary #learning #wordstouse #wordstoknow #writing #amwriting #writersofinstagram⁠

Writing always needs caffeine and snacks... What is your drink and snack of choice when writing? #writing #writingcommunity #amwriting #fiction #memoir #writerslife #coffeetime

Creativity definitely takes practice, doesn’t it? But when your love deepens with the more you do, you know you’re on the right track! #glassartistry #artist #glassart #art #creativity #timetocreate #practice

Set the timer for 15 min and WRITE! mine below. Finding a post office in Minnesota The sky was the side of metal. I watched it from the backseat of the car, my head turning as I set my eyes on one row of corn and watched it until the car zoom passed it. The radio was quietly playing, though no one was really paying attention. Suddenly a loud blast sounded from the speakers, bringing everyone’s attention to look at the radio as though a television. From my seat behind the passenger side, I saw my mom’s hand grip the wheel tighter and heard the words ‘tornado’ and ‘stay indoors’. Her face took on a grim look as though she had just found us digging in her rose bushes. She uttered the word ‘lost’. We had left the house to mail a package but we were all new to the area, having just moved from Alabama a few months before. There were no smart phones to guide her, no Google maps. She must have asked for directions from someone before we left, but those had fallen apart as the sky got darker. “What do you do when you’re out in a tornado?” I asked from my seat. My brother turned around from the front with a grin on his face. “You lie down in the ditch.” Mom didn’t seem as enthusiastic as he did. I looked back out the window, imagining that must be why the ditches were so deep in Minnesota. In my eye I could see us lying on our stomachs as the wind blew our hair. Fat raindrops started to pound my window and suddenly the idea of lying in a ditch didn’t seem as much fun. The road we were on stretched far in front of us. There were no other cars going in any direction. After muttering something unintelligible, mom turned the car hard to the left, squealed back in reverse and hit the gas driving the opposite direction. Lying down in a ditch was probably the scientific answer but she wasn’t about to do with with two small kids and a baby. She was the lying down in a ditch type, anyway. Go to my blog katcaldwell.com/writing-warm-ups to read the rest! #fridayflashfiction #fridayfiction #fiction #books #writing #writingcommunity #writingfiction #writersofinstagram #writingwarmup #author #writer #writingprompt #getwriting #creative #creatives #creativewriting

‘Everywhere you looked, butterflies hung from limbs, from wires, from each other. Sometimes they would fall off in clumps, sailing to the ground as a whole until suddenly, right before hitting the earth, they would break away into flight.’ Your turn! Write a flash fiction with this story as inspiration! #flashfiction #fiction #amwriting #butterflies #writingcommunity #writing #writingprompt #writingprompts #flashfictionprompt

My dog is listening to a cicada. ⁠ ⁠ She leans her furry head against it, then shudders as its wing tickle her ears. The cicada walks away as her nostrils flare and wiggle. ⁠ ⁠ She watches it, then pushes its butt forward. The wings flap violently. She blows out air from her nostrils, sending the cicada blowing until it’s upside down. ⁠ ⁠ Then she lies down as a sphinx and lays her cheek against the flapping wings as the cicada struggles to get upright. ⁠ ⁠ Once it is upright, she starts again.⁠ ⁠ #flashnonfiction #creativecnonfiction #amwriting #writing #writingcommunity #writethelittlethings #writetheworldaroundyou #startwriting #dogs #cicadas #summerwriting

Wordy Wednesday: this word obviously comes from latin roots. Petardo in Spanish means firecracker and pétard is firecracker in French. Using this in English came about historically with its use for describing a certain kind of bomb used all the way back in the 1400s. Probably before as well. Interestingly enough enginer was a ‘maker of bombs’, so when Shakespeare used ‘petard’ in Hamlet int he phrase ’tis the sport to have the enginer / Hoist with his own petard’ he is saying that it would be funny (sport) to see the bomb maker blown up by his own bomb (so the schemer undone by his own plans). Shakespeare was so clever with words. ⁠ ⁠ Anyway, have you or will you ever use this word? Thanks to @rehabkitty for the word!⁠ ⁠ #wordywednesday #words #englishvocab #vocabulary #learning #wordstouse #wordstoknow #writing #amwriting #writersofinstagram #history #wordhistory #shakespeare #french #latinwordroots

It’s sad that I don’t know one generation that hasn’t lost someone to war. Today we remember the sacrifice of others for us, but also those who survived and are missing people they love. Thank you to all, those who lost their lives for us to live freely. Freedom is not free. #remembering #memorialday #rememberingthosewelost #memorialdayweekend2021