Writing the Author Bio. DUN Dun dun.

I've been asked to rewrite my author bio. Make it fresh. Basically, not boring. 

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I researched a bit online and there was so much conflicting information! What to do, what not to do, adding in what my publisher is looking for. One of the best tips I did find, though, was to remember that we are writers! We write prose and description and emotion for people we make up, but when it comes to bios, we sound like boring history professors. So write like you write!

*No offense to the exciting history professors. Great job.* 

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So, I'm posting the before and after and I'd REALLY like to know what you think. 

Before (*note: I've never liked this one. Urg.):

Krista Lynne Jensen grew up in Washington State, attended Brigham Young University, lived in Oregon for many years, and now lives in Cody, Wyoming with her husband Brandon and four children: Chelsea, Braeden, Jacob, and Maren. She loves to cook, garden, read, and explore the inspiring beauties of the country. Her laptop always comes along.

Growing up, Krista loved the English language, read constantly, and wrote poetry and journal entries. But she didn’t begin writing seriously until her youngest child started school full-time and she joined a writing group, where she quickly rediscovered her passion for words. She places her characters in the settings she loves and challenges them to dig deeper and fight for what they want. Her family life is busy, but she keeps up with the stories playing out in her head while trying to ignore the dishes and laundry.

After:

Nearly every one of Krista Lynne Jensen’s elementary school teachers made a note on her report card pointing out that she was a “day-dreamer”. It was not a compliment. So, when Krista grew up, she put those day dreams down on paper for others to enjoy. When writing, she fuels her creativity with chocolate-covered cinnamon bears and popcorn. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, hiking, her family, and sunshine. But not laundry. She never day-dreams about laundry.

What do you think? Any more tips? Writing a bio is hard, and most authors don't care to talk about themselves anyway, but it's a great way to connect to readers in a simple paragraph at the end of your book. What do you like to know about an author?

Okay, 40, You're Up. Let's See What You've Got

The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, which helps us regain our equilibrium.  ~Norbet Platt

 As promised, for my 40-eth birthday, I have composed a bucket list. Some of you may have noticed I am greeting the idea of having a 4 at the beginning of my age number with a bit of trouble. Not too much, but more than I expected. I don't feel 40. As a matter of fact, I wish I could go back and do my 20's again feeling the way I do now. Kind of. Some of you may know what I mean.
As I began this undertaking, I was a little down, and I had 5 things listed. And I was stuck. Really? FIVE things before I kick the bucket?
So, I reviewed my list of things I'd done during my 30's. Then I thought of a few more.

• Hiked through a rain forest
• White water rafted near and far
• Toured a cloud forest canopy on a zipline hike
• Swam with sharks
• Climbed Chichen Itza
• Explored Palenque
• Swam in a cenote
• Became a dog owner
• Climbed Heart Mountain

And I started to kick into gear, because there are a lot of cool things I haven't done yet, and I started to remember faded dreams and little goals, and if I feel like I could do my 20's over again, can't I put some of that energy and confidence into accomplishing a few of these things? Wouldn't that be SO much more beneficial then just wishing? All of a sudden, my 40's don't seem so forty-ish. They just seem... next.

My Bucket List

• Visit Ireland, Wales, and the island of Anglesey, which is my maiden name
• Learn conversational Spanish
• Build a house (or rather, have someone build a house I helped design, for me)
• Have 10+ novels published
• Visit Machu Picchu
• Write something non-LDS
• Keep my back as strong as possible 
• Get my personal story in book form
• Be a better swimmer
• Learn to fly fish
• Play piano more often (I'm not great, but I could be better)
• Take a latin/ballroom dance class
• Own a jet ski
• Go on a cruise
• Visit Israel
• Rent a catamaran and sail the British Virgin islands
• Grow a beautiful cottage garden
• See all of Cary Grant's, Kathryn Hepburn, and Audrey Hepburn's movies (for my feelings about Cary Grant, read here)
• Get a college degree (I'm this close)
• Eat in Italy
• Participate in NANOWRIMO
• Achieve HARD level on Rock Band drums
• Take photography classes
• Create a home with a comfortable, welcoming, joyous atmosphere
• Be a temple worker
• Learn some Tai chi
• Ride a bicycle built for two

What do you think?

Thirty-seven, Thirty-eight, Thirty-nine...

With an upcoming birthday of a moderately astronomical number I never really expected to find attached to my name, I've been considering writing a bucket list. But another list kept pushing itself to the forefront. So, before I make a list of things I want to do before my time is up, I've made a list of things I did in my thirties, in no particular order. It was a fun decade for me, and I'll miss it.

1) Stepped into an airplane and flew for the very first time (Nebraska was my eventful destination)
2) Ran my own home business for 4 years
3) Smiled for my first passport
4) Used said passport to go to Costa Rica, my first time in a country NOT touching the USA
5) Dreamed in Spanish
6) Tiled a kitchen backsplash all by myself
7) Swore never to do that again
8) Built a picnic table
9) Gave birth to our youngest child
10) Potty-trained the third child
11) Moved twice
12) Discovered, then forgot about Tae Bo
13) Went to Mexico three times
14) Potty-trained the youngest child
15) Joined a book club
16) Read many, many books after youngest child turned three (and that's a magic number)
17) Joined a writing club
18) Wrote a memoir for my posterity
19) Canned about 400 quarts of peaches, pears, and applesauce
20) Taught the oldest child to sew, cook, and drive
21) Found my first gray hairs
22) Home-schooled 2nd child one semester
23) Taught Freshman Algebra. Which I loathe.
24) Was complimented by 2nd child's Geometry teacher on child's knowledge of freshman Algebra
25) Started a book club
26) Taught classes on canning, gardening, sewing, scrapbooking, rubber-stamping, religion, roasting meat, making pies, chocolates, and lip balm
27) Started a cookbook blog with my best recipes
28) Started a family blog
29) Learned to cook with Elk and Antelope
30) Learned to filet a fish
31) Wrote a novel
32) Wrote five more
33) Started this blog
34) Went to a Bon Jovi Concert, Wicked, and various band, choir, and piano recitals and concerts
35) Won a short story contest
36) Submitted three novels
37) Connected with a bunch of old friends and made a ton of new friends
38) Made it to nineteen years of marriage and counting

And...
39) Had two of my novels accepted by Covenant Communications

Goodbye, thirties. You were good to me. Forties, I have another week; enough time to work on that bucket list. It's going to be a doozy, because I've seen what dreams can do.