In the Midst of Creation
Hi, I’m Bev Kaufman, author of this website and a few things besides. I have been a hopelessly addicted bookworm since I got past the Dick and Jane nonsense in the first grade. I still remember the thrill of my first real book, telling me stories about characters that came alive through the power of words. How could I not become an author?
Before my teens, I got roped into the mystery genre by Agatha Christie. And I have been fascinated by history since early adulthood. So it makes sense that my first major work would be a mystery story set ten years after the Revolutionary War. Old Sins Bite Deep (previously released as In the Midst of Death . . .) is my first finished novel (not counting an embarrassingly awful sci fi attempt decades ago), but it is not my last. Transformations: A Whimsical Medusa Tale, an irreverent look at the story of Medusa, has just been released on Amazon.
Then there’s The Madwoman in the Attic, an experiment in narrative poetry using first person present tense. This has been done, just not published. I also plan to release a collection of poems and short stories. And I am collaborating with Johnathan Naranjo of Flamewrite Entertainment on a book about Gilgamesh, which blends Biblical and Sumerian mythology with science fiction.
Finally, the drawing above refers to The Hambleton Saga, begun during my involvement with the medieval re-enactment group Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), when I was known as Sanchia the Sly. Alas, that tale still languishes in a dungeon called writer’s block–literally. Where it left off, the brave knight lay seriously wounded on the battlefield, the king had been captured, and the serf who is supposed to stumble to the rescue is locked in a dungeon. He’ll get out … someday.
With all that on my plate, it helps to be (semi) retired. A former reporter, editor, and then—in a midlife career change—programmer, I still work one day a week at my old job with MicroComputer Resources.
I also hone my skills with the Fort Lauderdale Writers’ Group and the Davie Writers’ Group, am an active and enthusiastic member of the River of Grass Unitarian Universalist Congregation, and spend two or three days a week at the Lifelong Learning Institute.
And I still find time to write.
A Floridian since 1980, I lives in Sunrise, Florida, where creativity is constantly sabotaged by the pitter-patter of furry feline feet.
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BTW, if you’re wondering about the cartoon representation, I am the direct opposite of photogenic, and the pig with pigtails, a cartoon of me from my SCA days, is actually an improvement on most of the pictures I’ve had taken in my life. My heraldic device included a winged boar in homage to one of my favorite childhood authors, Lewis Carroll. You may recognize the verse:
"The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things: Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—- Of cabbages—and kings— And why the sea is boiling hot— And whether pigs have wings."
Balam Abello, leader of the Davie Writers’ Group, finally took a real picture where I don’t exactly turn people to stone like Medusa, so yeah, you finally get to see what I look like.