365 Inspirations—239: Are you an Actress?

My true namesake, Katharine Hepburn

"Each of us has that right, that possibility, to invent ourselves daily.  If a person does not invent herself, she will be invented.  So, to be bodacious enough to invent ourselves is wise."—Maya Angelou

 I had one of those surreal moments at the bank today. Yoon and I had just walked around Greenlake, dined in Wallingford for lunch and made our way up to the bank so that I could deposit a royalty check from my agent.

I handed the banker my check and he said, "I see that you have a royalty check there. I don't see many of these. Are you an actress or something?"

I had to just stand there for a moment and soak those words in.

Am I an actress?

Could I be an actress?

After staring off into space for several seconds, I came back to the task at hand.

"No, I'm not an actress, " I heard myself say, "I'm a writer."

I'm a writer.

A writer.

I let those work sink in. Did I say them? Is that what I am? Is that how I would define myself?

And then it dawned on me that yes, you are a writer. You have an agent and published a book in North America, Croatia and soon Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong. Who knows where else?

Sometimes this just doesn't seem real to me still.

"A writer?" The banker said in amazement, "That's not easy to do...to publish a book I mean."

"What's the genre?"

"I write memoir...nonfiction."

"What's the title of your book?"

I wrote the title of my book and my name on a piece of paper and handed it to the banker who said he'd check it out. For all I know, he may be reading this blog post right now.....

Just before I left the bank I said, "My name's Kathy, what's yours?"

"Chase," he responded.

"Chase as in the bank Chase? As in where we are right now?"

"Yes, that's right."

I looked at his name tag and sure enough it read CHASE. And right behind him in big letters on the wall the same word was there.

"Well, I guess I won't forget your name, have a good day..."

And with that I left the bank and joined my husband who was across the street peering into a shop window.

"That was an interesting encounter," I exclaimed as we journeyed down the street arm and arm.

I sucked in a deep breath and whispered, "an actress" on exhale.

"A what?"

"Oh, nothing."

Have you ever had an interesting exchange with a stranger that made you think about your life in a new way?

365 Inspirations—Five: Rhododendrons in Winter

“Nobody sees a flower - really - it is so small it takes time - we haven't time - and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.” 
― Georgia O'Keeffe

Winter is here. Where I am a from it tends to be cold, rainy and dark. On occasion, we have snow or sun, but it doesn't last very long. We had snow in mid-December that lasted a day or so. Everything was frozen and silent. Nothing seemed to be growing under the blanket of snow. For many animals, it's a time to go into hibernation and wait for spring. Sometimes I feel like doing the same.

A few days ago I went on a walk with my husband. It was very cold outside and I had on my down jacket, gloves, and hat. The trees were bare. Fortunately, the sun was out and that tends to make all the difference in the world in the winter in Seattle.

As we got closer to Puget Sound I stopped dead in my tracks. I couldn't believe what I was seeing along the side of the road. It's January and a rhododendron bush (our Washington State flower) was fully in bloom. I have only ever seen these flowers bloom in the spring.

I got closer to the bush to examine the flowers. They were a pale pink and were in clusters. What were they doing there? Why were they blooming?

I have no idea, but they made me happy. They made me believe that anything is possible. That even in nature, there are no set rules. Things and people can change.

Just because all the other flowers are blooming in the spring doesn't mean that this bush has to do the same. Why not show it's true colors at a time when there are no colors to be found? Why not do something different?

We could use a little color this time of year and I was inspired by this little rhododendron bush. I hope that I can also be an inspiration to people in times when life may seem cold and dark. I hope that I can also show vibrant colors when there are none to be found.

365 Lessons-Lesson 103: You are Next

When we see other people's success in something we feel is only meant for those with super special talent, there is always someone who pipes up and says, "You are next." I always laugh at that statement. Who am I anyway? Why would I deserve anything like this? But sometimes it feels so close. Like someone is giving you a preview of what's to come.


Today I played hooky from work and if my boss is reading this now, I'm actually flattered. I called in with the stomach flu, but I was really at a book reading in Seattle. I LOVE my job, but this was an important event that I promised myself I wouldn't miss.

I was talking to my husband today on a walk around Greenlake. I said, "My mother, my best friend Lena, two of my co-workers and original Writers Rising members, my co-worker's friend, and my writing coach/editor are coming to this event. I feel like this is my book reading, but it isn't."

My husband said, "In a way, it is. Everything is connected."

Laura Munson kept appearing in my e-mail inbox one day. I had no idea who she was. I opened up one of the e-mails from her and found out that she is a writer in Montana who was published in the New York Times. Her article, Those Aren't Fighting Words, Dear was so popular that it ended up temporarily shutting down the comment section. After years of trying to get a book published, she landed a book deal with a very large publishing company.


A friend from college recommended my blog to her and that's how she found me. We ended up talking on the phone for over an hour. At the end of our conversation, she encouraged me to contact her agent. I had just finished a book proposal, so I sent a query out to her agent. Within a week, I was offered representation for my book Lessons from the Monk I Married.

It is still all very surreal to me. Laura was in Seattle today for her book reading and I knew I had to go. I read her book in three days. While I was sitting with my family and friends at a table in the cafe which was attached to the bookstore, she came over.


I gave her a hug and it really felt like I had known her before. But this was the first time we had ever met. She was a messenger to me of what is possible.


There were so many people at the reading that the tiny little space they had for her really wasn't enough room for all the people who attended. It was a nice reading and afterward there was a book signing. People formed a long line to get their book signed. Laura signed my book with "To Katherine, Sister in Words, Yours, Laura."


I felt very good this evening. I needed to have this experience. I needed to see that everything is connected. That Laura's success is my success.

When you see someone doing something amazing, don't be surprised when someone pipes up with the statement, "You are next." Don't toss those words aside as ridiculous. Hold on to them and realize that anything is possible.