All About Sally Kilpatrick

I should have known I wanted to be a writer when I requested my own personal card catalog. Sure, mine was a tin recipe box instead of the massive chest of many tiny drawers, but even as a youngster I had a dream of writing enough stories to need a catalog.

Writing became a compulsive habit in middle and high school, and my favorite place to write was the closet because it was a handy spot to hide out from chores. Eventually, I moved out of the closet and to the University of Tennessee where I met my own Prince Charming. Then I did some time teaching Spanish. (Because that’s what you do with an English major, folks.)

I just finished my Masters in Professional Writing and am now wholly devoted to mothering and writing—when something doesn’t go wrong with the Moonlight & Magnolias Conference I’m partially running. My fifth novel, Beulah Land and the Happy Hour Choir, won the 2010 Duel on the Delta Single Title category and finaled in the same category for the 2010 Maggie Awards of Excellence.

After disastrous forays into westerns, paranormals, and category, I’ve settled into Southern women’s fiction as my genre of choice. My stories often include humor and a touch of the supernatural, but I like action/adventure and paranormal as well.

Fitness is another passion although it’s at war with my love of food. I had lost over thirty pounds, but I did a little too much stress eating while finishing my Masters and working on the conference. Part of my journey as a Healthy Writer will be to get back into the exercise groove, to figure out why I allow myself to eat poorly, and to come up with strategies to lose weight and make that weight loss permanent.
the healthy writers
past bloggers
Connect with Sally

     

Sally's News & Fun Facts
  • I'm the co-chair for 2011 Moonlight & Magnolias Conference in Atlanta, GA.  If you're interested in presenting a workshop, please let me know.
  • My next project's working title is Married to the Mortician.
Blog Posts from Sally

Not So Weekend Update

Posted by Sally Kilpatrick Feb 17 2012, 6:06 am in , , ,

For those of you wondering why the world almost ended on Tuesday, I can explain the earthquakes and the disappearance of the sun. My oldest child, The Hobbit, received caramel-filled chocolates from his Grandma and offered them to me. I reached deep within to find stores of will power previously untapped and politely declined his offer. He was so relieved.

Today marks two complete weeks of logging what I’ve been eating and exercising regularly. Here are the stats:

  • Lost/gained 0.5 pounds for a total of -0.5 (But, hey, my pants are looser)
  • Ran 5K last Saturday and had my best time in at least 15 years, 36:13. (I didn’t do a lot of running for most of those years, FYI)
  • Completed two short runs and am set for a long run on Sunday
  • Tried Just Dance 3—it rocks
  • Tried EA personal trainer which uses a combination of resistance training and cardio—it was surprisingly effective
  • Tried 10 Minute Solutions—Pilates on both Monday and Wednesday. Jury’s still out.

Tip of the week? If you’re really interested in running, find a good running store to get fitted for your tennis shoes. I went to Big Peach Running Company and they had me step on this doo-dad that showed them how much of an arch I had and where I tended to put pressure when I stood—kinda like a more sophisticated version of the Dr. Scholl’s machine at Wal-Mart. Then they had me run on the treadmill to watch gait, how my foot fell, and to see if I pronated or supinated. (No those aren’t vulgar terms. Promise.)

All in all, I tried on well over ten pairs of shoes and ran around outside to test them out. The clerk spent an hour working with me to find the right pair, gave hints on running form, and told me about classes they offer. The best part? They actually have a refund policy. If I had had problems with my spiffy new Adidas, I could have brought them back within two weeks. Of course, I, like Run DMC, love my Adidas and plan to keep them.

I highly recommend Big Peach for any of you in area. I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of everything I learned in that hour. I’m pretty sure the fit of my shoes and some of the tips I got are partially responsible for at least one of the minutes I shaved off last year’s time, too!

What about you guys? How’re we doing in our never-ending quest to be healthy writers?

 

»

9 Comments

Writing and Running, Running and Writing

Posted by Sally Kilpatrick Feb 3 2012, 12:03 am in , ,

As a college student I approached both running and writing in the same manner. Both were races to be won. Running was easier to keep up at first. I huffed and puffed behind my far more experienced roommates, ignoring my aching knees and burning lungs in the name of proving myself. No one told me [...]

»

6 Comments

Gone Running

Posted by Sally Kilpatrick Jan 20 2012, 12:03 am

I think I have lost my mind. It all started with my idea of running a 5K at Walt Disney World. Hubby jumped at the chance, and we even decided to sign mom up too because she had just completed her first 5K earlier in the year. We had a ton of fun running the [...]

»

6 Comments

My Love/Hate Relationship with my Neti Pot

Posted by Sally Kilpatrick Dec 16 2011, 12:03 am in , , , , ,

I like to run. Really. Okay, so what I do qualifies as more of a jog, but I’d like to get better. So far, my biggest problem hasn’t been my knees—I’ve learned to buy shoes more frequently. I moved past the muscle aches—did you know you’re not supposed to stretch until after you’ve at least [...]

»

9 Comments

Have I Been Looking for Help or Excuses?

Posted by Sally Kilpatrick Dec 2 2011, 6:59 am in , , ,

I’m seriously thinking about canceling my gym membership. First, I don’t make it over there that often, and second I’m really beginning to get into some of my videos and Wii games. I used to think that exercise videos were all early Denise Austin and Richard Simmons’ Sweating to the Oldies, neither one of which [...]

»

4 Comments

Next Page »