Published with the permission of Karen Andrews @Miscmum
My first connections with Karen Andrews are buried somewhere in the mists of time. I started blogging back in 2005 and perhaps it was in the following year, after following her for a while, that I met her face to face at the Horse Bazaar at a meetup we attended organised by ProBlogger (Darren Rowse).
Back in those days, Karen's children were small. The blog did not look like it does now (what long term blogs look the same as their original versions still?) and it was called, if memory is correct, Adventures of a Miscellaneous Mum. Karen's determination was quite clear way back then. She was determined to write and be recognised as a writer.
My guess is that Karen is not, even yet, where she would like to be but she is well along the road. Just look at the brief bio - Author, publisher at Miscellaneous Press (some marvellous clues to determination and the literary world in that story), unapologetic personal blogger...and, of course, a dedicated mother and wife as well. Behind each of those activities is a great personal story...a narrative of a determined and talented life.
All serious professions demand determination and talent but none more so than the literary world: a world of break ins and break outs, of genres and personalities, where effort and talent can sometimes be unrecognised or insufficient. There are the schools and courses where learning takes place and people can meet or be met....but not even the best students in these halls of learning are always the successful ones. Then there are the literary festivals and assorted literary talkfests - and here Karen is starting to break through along with a particular blogfest as well.
A new blog design has hit the digital world this week. I am often up and at my email early enough to see the latest post drop in. I frequently marvel at the pithy quality of a brief post/paragraph and detect that somewhere, sometime in the previous PM Karen has taken time to craft carefully this handful of words to ensure their professional quality and adequacy. I envisage her doing this with the noise of kids in the background or in the unusual peace once children are breathing their deepest in the realms of sleep.
As followers and readers of Karen know, there is something about the feet. The cheeky person finished up barefoot at one literary talkfest. Now we have a picture of her shod in red for the princessly sum of $6.99.
Please take note of Karen Andrews. She is on the right track in so many ways. And one day, you will - like me - be able to say: now, I remember when.....
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