This Is Me--2024 A to Z Theme

My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2024 the theme is a personal retrospective that I call "I Coulda Been" which is in reference to my job and career arc over my lifetime. I'll be looking at all sorts of occupations that I have done or could have done. Maybe you've done some of these too!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Celery Tree Pays It Forward: Guest Karen Walker

        Nobody can argue that Amazon.com was a brilliant idea. To create an online bookstore, where, from the comfort of one’s own home, you can browse thousands of book titles, order them, and have them delivered to your home all with just a few strokes on the keyboard. And shelling out some money, of course.

        Karen Jones Gowen has taken that idea one step further. She created an online bookstore for authors to support other authors. To join, you simply agree to purchase a minimum of six books per year. In exchange, the book you’ve written is part of the pool of books others choose from.

        I loved the movie Pay it Forward, because that concept is so beautiful. I didn’t need any encouragement to support other writers I’ve become acquainted with online. I try to purchase their books when I can. But this makes it so much easier to do so, because now many of them are in one place.

        Please take a few minutes to check out the website: http://www.celerytree.com.

        If you love books and love helping others and want to do so in a new and creative way, you’ll love Celerytree.

                                                                                 Karen Walker


One of the books available from CeleryTree is Karen Walker's Following the Whispers.
      In her poignant memoir, Karen Walker traces the effects of a cold, loveless home environment and an early sexual molestation on her growth, marriage, motherhood, and career. After freeing herself from a desert of a marriage, Walker loses custody of her child and then journeys to discover who she is and to find some sense of wholeness.
      The journey takes her from her old life to new friendships, new lovers, and new professions. From New York to Portland, Oregon, and eventually to Albuquerque, New Mexico, Walker seeks someone to love her as she is. She finds that and more -- a loving connection with her son. This fifty-year emotional odyssey ultimately leads Walker to a self who can look back over her life with a contentment and satisfaction that allow her to follow the whispers that the future may bring.






Karen Walker is a writer who has published essays in newspapers and magazines, as well as an anthology series. After a 30+ year career in marketing and public relations, she went back to college to complete a Bachelor's degree and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2005 from the University of New Mexico's University Studies program with a major emphasis in Creative Writing. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with her husband, Gary, and their dog, Buddy. When she’s not writing, you can find her doing international folk dancing, singing at retirement communities with her trio, Sugartime, hiking, reading, or hanging out with friends. You can also find her online at: http://www.karenfollowingthewhispers.blogspot.com


Karen Walker's blog can be found at http://www.karenfollowingthewhispers.blogspot.com
You can also find Karen at CeleryTree



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19 comments:

  1. I'm definitely going to have to check this website out, especially at your recommendation buddy. Karen seems awesome. Following the Whispers sounds worth it just on the description alone.

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  2. Celery Tree is a wonderful idea, and Karen's book is a fantastic read!

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  3. Karen's book sounds like a powerful read~ and thanks for putting the spotlight on Celery Tree~ KarenG had a wonderful idea with that :)

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  4. Karen W's blog is fantastic and I will definitely be checking out her book.

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  5. What a lovely guest post, Karen! I too love the Pay it Forward idea. And the Golden Rule, too! It always amazes me when I hear an author say, "But I don't want to buy 6 books a year" What??? Wouldn't you want to at least SELL 6 books a year? Most of us want to sell many more than 6 books a year. It's not a one way street!

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  6. I knew karen was doing this a couple years ago. Glad to see it come to fruition. I'm going to check it out right now and sign up for it since i committed to read at least one fellow blogger and blogette's book a month.

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  7. Oh, and good luck to you Karen with your amazing book Following the Whispers!

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  8. And those of you who have put Following the Whispers on your to-buy list, I do hope you will buy your copy from Karen Walker at Celerytree.com!

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  9. And what if the whole world subscribed to 'Pay it Forward?' Wouldn't that be wonderful?

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  10. Hi Karen and Arlee. Karen your Celerytree idea is inspired. May it go from strength to strength. And Arlee, I'm already planning my A to Z posts for this year. After last year's quadragintal posts (40 words) about Leicester I'm looking for another catchy theme for this year.

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  11. Beautiful. I'm heading that way. Thanks for sharing this.

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  12. I've got Karen's book waiting on my Kindle (just need more time to read!!!!) :)

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  13. Celery Tree sounds like a fabulous concept! Congrats to the creator!

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  14. I found you through the A-Z challenge post and I'm planning to participate. (I've put the badge on my page to push myself to get started now). There are so many talented people on blogger and it's always nice to find a writer. I've purchased 5 books from fellow bloggers since December and I will go to Amazon and look at Karen book as well.

    Your instructions to new followers says to leave a link to our blog, here's mine http://fortwitter.blogspot.com/

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  15. My thanks to Karen Walker and Karen J Gowen for providing the content of this post. I wish both of you and all of the other authors involved the utmost success in the Celery Tree endeavor. Thinking outside of the traditional ways of doing things is how greatness is born.

    And as always, a big thank you to all of you who took the time to stop by to visit and leave your comments.

    Lee

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  16. Hi Lee .. I'm a non-author member at the moment .. but I think it's a brilliant idea - and I popped over yesterday to have a quick look - some new friends-to-be there too ..

    Karens both! have great books .. and the J-G version's Celery tree will be I'm sure a wonderful place to place and buy books.

    Cheers Hilary

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