Lake Zurich author asks 'What If You Made It Up?'
Sometimes in life you have to "make stuff up" to break through your own barriers. Local author Kathleen Kolze, resident of Lake Zurich, has a red thread in her novel about how people make things up for both good, and not so good, reasons.
"What If You Made It Up?" was originally intended to be a business book about transforming your career. As I reflected on my goals for writing, I realized the important point was to share the impact of life coaching and conscious choice. That's when I created the heroine, Eva Karlsen, a life coach living in the fictional town of Bear, Wyoming. Weaving coaching into the eclectic tale of intrigue, romance and adventure has proven to be an exciting way to share about life coaching.
"What If You Made It Up?" unraveled over four years of early Saturday mornings until it became a full length adventure of Eva and the town of Bear. I mostly kept my writing private, wanting to make sure I finished the novel and didn't distract myself from my "real" job. I didn't share it with my husband until I had 100 pages written. Most of my friends and family didn't know I had written the novel until it was in the final stages of publishing - so I surprised a lot of people.
Twenty years ago I took a "Writing Fiction" course at Harper College and still have the encouraging notes from the instructor. Throughout my corporate career I've written internal communications and also social media sites and blogs. Being an avid reader, writing a novel was always a dream - but something other people did. This is where life coaching and personal choice made a difference in my reality.
I starting writing about Eva when my company was sold to another firm back in 2007... just in case things didn't work out for me. I ended up gainfully employed, but kept on writing. Before I knew it, there was a chapter, and another -- and then a complete story. I love the outdoors and being in Wyoming, so that locale was a natural place for Eva to live. I got to travel there in my mind every time I wrote.
Having the vignettes of coaching calls gave me a chance to show rather than tell what is life coaching. As an epilogue, there are conclusions on actions Eva's clients take as a result of their coaching relationship. Comments from readers on the life coaching part include Can you help me find a life coach?, My daughters and friends have to read this book, to I never knew this existed.
Even with all this talk about life coaching -- it is mostly an exciting and fun story. Don't take my word for it -- check out my website for an unbiased review! You can purchase an ebook or paperback online at Amazon, BN, or order from indie booksellers.
Visit www.kathleenkolze.com or http://www.amazon.com/What-You-Made-It-Up/dp/0984880607/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
You can also view guest blogs I wrote that feature the story:
http://girlillawarfare.com/one-moms-advice-just-make-it-up-in-your-favor/
http://www.thecoaches.com/blog/2012/03/
Thoughts or questions? Contact kathleen@kathleenkolze.com.