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"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are often more dull than otherwise. Life is like an old-time rail journey...Delays, side tracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas, and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride." (Jones, September 25, 1973) I recently came across this on a friend's personal blog. Such a simple, yet powerful message. Of course when one stops to think about it, they know it's true, but most days I think we're just human beings who don't always remember that nothing about life is easy. Without a doubt, we're going to crash into a few rocks, ride some wild waves, and head toward the beautiful finish we all want. But nothing worth having comes, or should come, easy. As an author, I could certainly apply this to writing because there's nothing easy about that. But when you hold that published book in your hands, you realize that every rock and wave was worth hitting. When you welcome a new life into your family, you're in awe of the miracle, despite the challenges ahead. When you ride the euphoria into wedded bliss and come out on the other side, you realize that no matter how tough some days are, what you have and what you've built is worth a few stormy skies. I recently had a truly lovely conversation with a fellow author who has published her first book with a small traditional publisher, and I might add, with great success. I teared up a time or two when she spoke about how her dream had finally come true, but how with it came a little heartache at criticism. We didn't go into detail about it, nor did I ask, but it comes with the territory. When one works so hard to fulfill a dream, to have it beaten down, if only by a single person, can be a bit heart-wrenching. The trick is to remember that success will always be met with controversy. This author inspired me, motivated me, and I believe I found a kindred spirit in her. Life is a ride and an upward journey with the occasional meadow when we need a rest. I love my life, but I don't kid myself into thinking it's perfect. Perfection would send me into a tail-spin wishing for a new challenge. I know I'm not alone in having to stop and remind myself that no matter how weary I get trying to keep up with life, every single step is worth taking.

There won't be too many more of these snowy sunrises left in 2018, and I plan to enjoy every one of them! Are you eager for spring or holding onto winter? "What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness." ~John Steinbeck

When whispers the moonlit night, Upon my heart this star shines With the magic of a radiant light, All through the moonlit night. When twilight’s melody calls me near, In darkness’s glow I embrace a dream With the silence of the shadows’ gift, All through the moonlit night. —MK McClintock

Glacier National Park, a gem of the National Park system (there are many), put on a beautiful display for visitors this weekend. I escaped my writing cave for a much-needed recharge, to drive and walk around the park. I added all the new images to the Montana Photo Gallery. Sunday afternoon found me in the kitchen were I tried out a lemon doughnut recipe from a Country Living UK magazine. They were delicious! I modified the recipe slightly, but have some more tweaks to make before sharing it on the website. They did turn out pretty, though. Mondays are always a busy business day. I like to get less-than-fun tasks completed and out of the way so I can enjoy the week. I'll be getting to all that now, followed by writing time with the Gallaghers. A trip to Glacier always sparks something for one of the Montana stories. Now, if you follow the blog, you'll notice that this Monday did not deliver an Upbeat Authors post. Due to a lot of factors making my writing and business schedule crazier than usual, and Monday postings at The Captivating Quill for both my alter-egos, I will not be blogging regularly with Upbeat Authors posts. However, you can visit the page where I have only those posts and a gallery of graphics past, present, and future. The gallery will be added to ongoing, and most of the graphics shared online each Monday. I hope you continue to search out the #UpbeatAuthors hashtag on social media, and help the authors share positive thoughts. Be well, be kind, and stay bookish! ~MK

I came across this saying a few weeks back, and I don't remember from where, but I really liked it. I've heard variations over the years, one of the most famous being, " Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." (Einstein). If we don't push harder today, how can we expect tomorrow to be any different? How can we expect to be come better people, be healthier, or succeed at anything we do if we do today exactly what we did tomorrow? Now, for some the sameness of every day is a good thing. They're happy with what they have and what they've accomplished. That must be a wonderful feeling. I haven't yet achieved the point in life where I'm content with where I'm at. I've accomplished much, but my dreams and aspirations go beyond who I am today. In the end, all we have to do is be happy with who we are and what we've become. Fear has a way of holding a person back (it holds me back more often than I'd like to admit), but I'm always hoping for a different tomorrow. If that means pushing myself beyond my own limits, then so be it. I love this son by Gloria Estefan. It conveys beautifully the message of reaching for one's dreams, pushing harder to achieve one's goals, and never giving up, all the while believing that anything we work for is possible. She sang this for the 1996 Olympics . . . so inspiring! It's worth watching often.

I don't celebrate Memorial Day beyond a BBQ with family and usually a quiet drive or hike in nature. It's a weekend when I get in a little extra writing time, some R&R, and just quietly reflect on life. Of course, I tend to have too much energy to just sit and do nothing for more than a few minutes. Memorial Day is often rainy and overcast, and though we've had lot of rain lately (and I hope more to come) I woke up to a beautiful and clear morning. These are some pictures from my morning walk and the weekend. It was a rare occasion when I didn't have my regular camera, so these were taken with my non-smart phone, so my apologies for the poor quality. Wishing everyone a beautiful day, wherever you are and whoever you're with.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." JOHN F. KENNEDY Do you show your gratitude in words or in actions? What is one thing you're grateful for today? Think of it, remember it, and hold it in your heart all day. If you have a moment of sadness or frustration, remember that one thing and I can almost guarantee in that moment, you'll be able to think of another.

Success has always been my goal in life, but success in what? When it comes down to figuring out what I really want and what it will take to achieve my goals, the whole concept of success becomes quite daunting. Failure I've learned to live with as a natural step in any successful venture, be it writing, photography, relationships, or life in general. Oddly enough, I'm almost as proud of my failures as I am of my successes because those failures mean I tried. I didn't sit around waiting for something to happen, I took action to make something happen. I have a lot going on in my head right now, and it's reached the point where I can't quite seem to separate out the things I should do with the things that I want to do but take up too much time and energy. Writing is my passion. When I wake up in the morning, it's the work that gives me a little jolt of excitement knowing that I get to spend the day with characters (people) I adore, creating stories and worlds I can't wait to visit. It's the everything else that I have difficulty letting go of, but which does nothing to advance my greater goal of writing, and yet I still do them. Why? I suppose it comes down to courage, or the lack of it. You see, I don't need to impress the general population; I'm just not wired that way. I don't give a flying leap what people think of me personally. I'm a quiet, private person who loves nature, taking pictures, appreciates handsome men and believes chivalry should never die, adores her pup, and would rather jump out of another airplane than go to a party where I know I'll spend most of the time trying to enjoy myself, all the while thinking about a walk in the woods or the book waiting for me to read. I don't need to impress anyone. However, I don't like to let people down, and this is where I often lack the courage to say "I can't help you," or "I don't have the time." I'm better at saying those things now, and still there are times when I want to say, "Yes, I can help," or "No problem, I have you covered." Unfortunately, when I lack the courage (or wisdom) to say "NO," my ultimate goal (that would be writing more) isn't achieved and I remain as I am, trying to do it all. At this point, one might be wondering what this randomness of rambling has been all about, and you'd be right to ask. This is after all my own little online writing journal so the topics and posts are bound to be as unpredictable and fickle as I am. Just go with it. I know for a fact—because it's statistically impossible—for me to be the only one who finds themselves with a goal and plan in mind only to be waylaid by the inevitable "I'm the person for the job" mentality. Have you been in this situation? How did you find your way out of it . . . or is it still a struggle? Like me, do you try to do it "all" only to find that you're run down and unable to focus on what matters to you most? A return trip to Scotland (pictured above) has been on my to-do list since I was last there in 2005. Eleven years and my only excuse has been, "I'm too busy." How lame is that? Granted I'm not crazy to get back on an airplane anytime soon, but Scotland isn't the only to-do on my list that has fallen victim to "I'm too busy." It's a daily struggle for me, but one I'm working on.

I've been down in the muck for a couple of months now, ever since my sweet Nara pup started to show signs of illness. Even then I had hoped and prayed for a few more years with her by my side. Someone else had other plans for her, and Nara said her goodbyes with a wagging tail and bright eyes filled with love. This last weekend I went for one of our favorite walks, a peaceful walk of four miles that she hadn't been able to enjoy since she became sick. I haven't been able to go back since she left, feeling somehow disloyal to her because I was still here to enjoy it. She loved to go for a dip in the river and meet up with other dogs who happened upon us. Most of the time we had the trail to ourselves. I returned because I knew it's what she'd want. I took pictures, basked in the sunlight, and listened to the rushing river wend its way through the valley and into Flathead Lake. I finished a poem, contemplated life and work, but mostly I sat by the river, enjoyed a long walk, and remembered all the many blessings that have touched my life, especially in the darkest times. I didn't realize how much I needed this balm for the soul, to remember the happy moments instead of the final sad days. I needed to remember that I love writing, because I'll admit, the past few weeks I've thought otherwise. I enjoy regular email communication with a friend who lives back east, a friend I haven't seen in seventeen years but still we keep in touch, and we've both been quite maudlin, though for different reasons. I enjoyed the company, though it wasn't good for either of us to continue on as we were. I wanted to feel sad because somehow it made me feel better, in my own twisted logic. When I started to think about taking a break from writing, giving up on something I love, I knew I'd hit a really low point. Sadness can do that to a person. Walking along the river again, listening to nature's quiet wisdom, I felt Nara with me and knew she'd never really left. I sat on our favorite rock, took out my notebook and pen, and wrote. The rush of love and hope brought me great peace, more than I'd been able to find elsewhere. As I wrote, I once again found joy in doing what I love. The floodgates opened, a new story emerged, and the block in my writer's imagination crumbled. Her love is a gift that has given time and time again, and as I walked home, she was there beside me. A New Angel A new angel ascended to the heavens, Welcomed by celestial sunshine. Her pain forever forgotten, Old friends forever remembered. The wind carries her spirit, The sky glitters with her star, The mountains remember her footprints, The heavens rejoice in her homecoming. I whisper her name, And warmth fills the empty room. Our souls touch beyond time, And comfort overflows the void she left behind. She’ll frolic and dream and play, Gazing beyond the grassy knolls. With her wait two friends, Their paw prints etched upon our hearts. When at last, our eyes meet Across the bridge of colors and dreams, Our hearts will rejoice to unite again And run free together in the fields of paradise. —MK McClintock *** In memory of Nara “McClintock” Best Friend & Four-Legged Companion August 2009 – April 2017

I've come and gone from Montana a few times, mostly throughout my twenties, on a quest for that "something greener" on the other side of the fence. Some called it running away, I called it exploring. I would ask, "How will I know what I want unless I live in a lot of places first?" I'm grateful for those years of fun and exploration, but I'm even more grateful that I discovered how much I love the wondrous and seemingly never-ending peaks of the Rocky Mountains. These mountains inspired my first stories, and brought me together with my beloved Gallaghers. They gave me the loving and interesting characters of Crooked Creek, and they've provided a backdrop for Whitcomb Springs and the courageous men and women who call it home. I feel as much affection for Scotland as I do for these mountains, but this is where I live. This is home. It inspires me daily, and I like knowing that if everything else in my life went awry, I would still have them. The world and society are fluid creatures, and I've always done better with the reliable four-legged kind that eat grass or the furry friends who curl up on my lap. I spend far too much time trying to figure out how to make it all STOP! I can't, of course, it's folly to even spend time thinking on it, but I do. I want everyone and everything around me to slow down, breathe, take a break and let the current "new thing" have a chance to make an impact before the "next new thing" is introduced. Enter writing, and the mountains. My solace in the storm of craziness. My comfort in a moveable world. My escape from the ruckus. For some authors, it's about making money. For others, it's about the joy of writing. For most, it's about both. For me, it's about fulfilling a dream every time a new book is published. No, it's more than that. It's about the daily escape. If I spend five minutes or five hours in the worlds I've created, writing or thinking about them, I've fulfilled that dream. What is a dream you've always wanted to have come true? This is "Going Home" by Mary Fahl. It's a stunningly beautiful song that I listen to in one of my writing music rotations. Enjoy! Have you visited The Captivating Quill yet? Me and a few other authors each post once a month, and on Wednesday we host fabulous guest authors who share excerpts from recent, new, or upcoming releases. There's also an annual giveaway. Don't miss it!

Montana is calling and I must go. John Muir said of Glacier National Park, "Give a month at least to this precious reserve. The time will not be taken from the sum of your life.Instead of shortening, it will indefinitely lengthen it and make you truly immortal. Nevermore will time seem short or long, and cares will never again fall heavily on you, but gently and kindly as gifts from heaven.” (Our National Parks, 1901) I played hooky yesterday for some family time and ended up taking a drive to Glacier National Park. Normally I drive around a little, but yesterday I should have brought my snow shoes. I took someone who had never before been to the park, and though we could drive almost nowhere (seriously, so much snow), it was well worth the jaunt. The look on a person's face when they see those majestic peaks for the first time . . . It was a gloriously spectacular day. The cold was forgotten with the sun high above—a rarity in winter—and I stood on the snowy banks of Lake McDonald and stared in awe. It's a sight I've seen many times before, yet one I look upon each time with new eyes. The off-season is special for locals, for it feels as though we often have the park to ourselves. The winter, especially, is peaceful. The cold keeps many away, but I find myself drawn to the rugged peaks and frozen waters. I wish a mere picture could do it justice.