The Secret

I received a surprise text from an acquaintance last night, a woman I don't know well, who read my book recently. She had asked me, a month or so ago, how the book was doing, and I lamented that I've done virtually nothing to market it. Her reply, "Badass doesn't expire!" made me laugh and encouraged me to keep taking those baby steps forward toward my goals.

Her text, last night, indicated that she is going through a surprise divorce and she added, "I keep telling myself that Badass doesn't expire!" And that's the truth, whether you're 15, 51 or 115

Badass (which is the now-ubiquitous term for anything that is cool, awesome, amazing, powerful) doesn't expire. It doesn't fade. It is not only given to certain people and it can't be stolen. We each have an inexhaustible supply of badass, but some of us choose to deny it. We convince ourselves we can't do something because we are too young, old, fat, ugly, poor, unskilled, etc. Countless people have told me they wish they could write a book, wish they could fly an airplane, wish they could afford to go to college, wish they could own their own business, wish they could find someone to love. The list goes on and on. I believe we can do anything that we believe we can do. That is the message from the popular book/movie "The Secret" and there is nothing really secret about it. Believe it, take baby steps toward it, and your goal will become a reality. We manifest our own destiny.

My beautiful niece Leah

Pictured to the right is my badass niece who, through sheer willpower, overcame a childhood of economic deprivation to become a successful attorney. (Yes, she practices in Seattle, and yes she consulted on the legal scenes in "Silent Sky," and yes there is a little bit of her in Reina).

There is no time like the present to start down the path toward your dreams. When the fears and doubts arise, shoo them out the door. Begin today to take baby steps toward eating more healthy, getting that education, learning to boldly live on your own , becoming a derby skater - whatever it is that calls to you. It is not always easy to forge forward, but when you do, the universe aligns with you to make your dreams come true.

XO,Cate

Weapons Training

I've received great reviews from many of you on my new book, "Silent Sky." I also received some constructive criticism in the gentle offer of a couple male friends to take me shooting so I could learn something about firearms. As I intend for my heroine, Reina, to become gradually more badass in each subsequent book, I was anxious to accept this offer to learn about, handle, and shoot some guns.

Yesterday, I went to the local shooting range with friends Dave and Todd. Having never shot a pistol before, they provided full instruction in the safety etiquette of handling them: always treat a gun as if it is loaded, always check its status upon picking it up (check clip and chamber), always point away from people (all of which Reina completely disregards in the book, but hey, it's an action series, folks!)

My first attempt was with a Ruger 22, a sleek gun with minimal recoil. My target is pictured to the right in pink. At 25 feet, all ten shots went straight to the head. After removing the cartridge and laying the gun down on the table, I turned to high fives from Todd and Dave, both sporting big grins and comments like, "She's a natural."

After a couple rounds with the 22, I tried my hand at the Kimber 45. This gun has a much greater recoil, but still I managed to land the first shot smack on the x in the middle of the poor target's chest. I told myself that I was going to put the next one right through the first, and sure enough that's where it went. The third went south a bit, but the fourth drilled right through the first two. That sucker was dead, dead, dead. I turned around again to Dave and Todd laughing and shaking their heads.

After more rounds with the 22 and the 45, I tried a Smith and Wesson revolver and a sweet little Derringer Texas Defender with a hell of a kick. I think I could get hooked on this stuff. The guys at the neighboring table suggested that I try out the club's IPSC, which is a timed competition where you work your way through a course identifying and shooting appropriate targets as they pop up. Fun!

After gathering our targets and cleaning up our shells, we lugged the gear out and headed home. Later, over beers, Todd was telling a few friends about the day and warning the crowd at large "not to mess with dead-eye Oakley Annie."

Well, I figure, that's not a bad thing to have the world know about me . . . .

Hope your day is grand!

xo, Cate

Still True

A New Way to Live

On this day in history, when airplanes were used as weapons and religion was used as justification to kill, I lift my eyes to the sky and continue to believe in the human spirit. I believe we can evolve past the need for weapons and past the desire to kill. I believe we can choose a new way to be human, a way that sees we are all connected as creatures of the universe, with no exclusions.

If you believe that one skin color is more desirable than another; if you believe that one religion is more right than another; if you believe that one style of life is more correct than another, I challenge you to shake up your beliefs. When societies and religions are governed by fear and hate, judgment and righteousness, exclusivity and superiority, they destroy the very fabric of our precious human existence.

Know that deep down we are all made of the same core atomic structure. When we rebuild our world in love and acceptance and inclusiveness, we will all be safe, and we will all be able to fly free, in whatever way we choose, without fear of attacks, military crises, or vengeful retaliations.

It starts one person at a time. It starts with you and it starts with me.

This is a repost of what I wrote last year on September 11. It hasn't changed. With so much strife and violence in our world right now, I felt it needed to be re-said.