Skip to main content

Guest blogger Kimberly Stuart

Captain’s Log, Supplemental

Today, I have mom-lit author Kimberly Stuart!

Kimberly's latest novel is Balancing Act

With her baby on one side and her career on the other, what’s a girl to do?

As maternity leave comes to an end for Heidi Elliott so does virtually everything she thought she knew. The substitute filling in for her high school Spanish classes has made a complete mess—not just with her students, but perhaps in way far more personal. Her husband has made a habit of going out of his way to help a beautiful, wealthy, thin client and to further complicate things, an old boyfriend has moved back to the neighborhood.

Fiercely independent, Heidi has never been one for group activities, much less church chats and teas. Pushed into accepting an invitation to the Wednesday night Mom’s Group, she finds herself in a sea of polyester, polka dots, big hair and, surprisingly, strong women, who just might hold the lifeline she didn’t think she needed.

And now, here’s Kimberly!

I like my marriage. I love my husband, he loves me, we coexist peacefully. My husband is a good man. He laughs at my jokes and buys me pedicures. He changes the raunchiest of diapers. He still finds me sexually attractive after birthing two children, or at least is smart enough to lie about it. But Marc does have one serious flaw that is contaminating our Eden: He can’t understand his wife’s fixation with books.

There were signs early on in our relationship. After the initial period of wanting only to drink in the heady pleasure of one another’s company, the fog cleared and we set about being normal people again. We went to movies, ordered take-out, and resumed interest in our hobbies. My hobby: reading. Marc’s hobby: badgering me until I stopped reading and played Frisbee. Our conversations went something like this:

Marc: Kim?

Kim: Mm? (Doesn’t look up from Plainsong, by Kent Haruf)

Marc: Are you going to be reading for a long time?

Kim: Likely.

Marc: Like, for how many more minutes?

Kim: Don’t know.

Marc: Wanna go ______ (for a walk? to the mall? to the world table tennis championships?)?

Kim remains silent in hopes that Marc will pick up woodworking.

Marc: Kim?... Honey?...

It isn’t that Marc is opposed to reading. He has two advanced degrees and has put in his time before the written word. This might very well be the reason for his aversion. For so long, reading was a means to an end, whereas for me, reading is the end. Bookstores and libraries beckon to me when I should be engaging in more practical activities like grocery shopping or memorizing the Bill of Rights. A roaring fire in the fireplace has little to do with listening to jazz or engaging in quiet conversation over a hot toddy, but it has everything to do with the new Barbara Kingsolver or another indulgent dip into Nick Hornby. The same is true for airport delays, road trips, waiting rooms, porch swings, dog walking and subway rides.

There have been a few sweet occasions when I’ve convinced Marc to read a novel. I can think of three within the last seven years, so we need to work on our annual average, but I will say he’s loved all three. So much so that he is insistent that everyone within his sphere of influence read A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, and my own novel, Balancing Act. (There were some shady motivations involving his look at that last title, including a not-so-casual perusal of the Acknowledgements and sharing a bed with the author, but let’s assume the best.)

He still chuckles about Owen Meany and his squeaky voice. He has gifted numerous copies of the Enger book to all the males in our family, I suppose with the assumption that there’s a chromosomal aspect to its literary power. And he’s like a bulldog in social settings, working the room like Don Ho as he does PR for his wife and her writing.

I’ve concluded, then, that my husband is able to get sucked into a story and be changed by it. While he’ll probably always try to lure me away from my curled perch under the lamp and will never understand how I can choose books over sleep, I have reason to hope. In my heart of hearts I must believe that, on an afternoon ripe for badminton, Marc will look at me and say, “Babe, let’s just stay in and read.”

“What a splendid idea!” I’ll cry, letting him draw me into a heart-stopping embrace before jumping onto the couch, under a shared blanket, and into our books, gleeful on our shortcut back to Eden.

Camy here: Thanks, Kimberly!

Wish I could say the same for my S.O. He has yet to read a single book in the 9 (almost 10) years I’ve known him. Isn’t that sad? He’s currently trying to slog through my manuscript (yeah, the one that sold and is bringing in income to the family coffers).

Popular Posts

I sold to Steeple Hill!

Captain's Log, Supplemental Remember that romantic suspense proposal I blogged about earlier? Well, it just sold to Steeple Hill’s Love Inspired Suspense line! I am so jazzed! I am beyond jazzed! The story’s working title is Sinister Spa The story's title is Deadly Intent and here’s a blurb (but it’s probably not what will appear on the back of the book): Massage therapist Naomi Grant could use a massage herself. With her father at home recovering from a stroke, Naomi is put in charge of the family’s elite day spa in Sonoma county. The new responsibilities sit awkwardly on her shoulders, and things only get worse when handsome Dr. Devon Knightley breezes into the spa, demanding to see one of the female clients. And the woman is found dead in Naomi’s massage room. Suddenly, Naomi is a suspect and her family’s spa is shut down. How could God let this awful thing happen? Devon only needed to see his ex-wife about a family necklace she still hadn’t returned, but when she dies and...

I got my cover!

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Blog book giveaway: To enter, go to the blog links below and post a comment there. Eyes of Elisha by Brandilyn Collins Tangerine by Marilynn Griffith I GOT MY COVER!!!! What do you guys think?

Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And...

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures...

Brainstorm - character occupation

Captain's Log, Stardate 03.23.2009 Hey guys, I could use some help. In my current manuscript, The Year of the Dog , which is a humorous contemporary romance, I have a minor character, Eddie. He’s my heroine’s ex-boyfriend, and they’re on good terms with each other. He’s a bit irresponsible, but not so much so that he’s a complete loser. He’s got a very easy going attitude, he forgets to pay his bills sometimes, he’s friendly and charming. He’s adventurous and fun to be around, but he’s a little forgetful sometimes, and he tends to spend a little outside his income. I need an occupation for him. What would a charming, easy going, slightly irresponsible guy do for a living? He’s not too irresponsible, because otherwise readers will wonder what in the world my heroine saw in him to date him in the first place. She was attracted to his charm, his easy going attitude (her family’s uptight, and he was a nice contrast), and his adventurousness. But his forgetfulness and irresponsibility ...