Summertime, and gun violence and the weather are out of control

Hello CK Westbrook readers,

Summer is here and we have had extreme weather and extreme gun violence.

All over the world temperatures have crushed average highs and broken records for days. People have choked on forest fires, suffered from flooding, heat waves, deadly storms, and heartbreaking drought. Some oceans are almost boiling and the real hurricane season has not yet begun. It infuriates me and breaks my heart to think about how this is impacting wildlife and nature. They can’t move away from dangerous weather, buy bottled water or find AC.  

And we had 26 mass shootings in the first five days of July, which left 20 people dead and 126 injured. The U.S. has set a new record for gun violence in the first half of 2023.  It is total insanity.   

What can we do?

Some experts recommend we start conversations about these crises with friends, family, and neighbors. We will not find a way to shake our politicians into action until everyone gets involved. We will get change if we all demand sane regulations to protect us from guns and pollution.

Of course, these conversations are hard.

One way to start them is to read “The Impact Series”. In a way, that is what this series was created to do. Each book includes questions and topics for discussion. I hope this series triggers emotions and stimulates conversation and meaningful action about the many crises we are facing. We must all do what we can before it’s too late.

But on to happier matters –

I do hope you are all having a fun, SAFE, summer!

“The Impact Series” has had fun at the famous Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Lotus and Water Lily Festival and tubing the Shenandoah River in West Virginia.  It’s important to get away from the computer and out in nature for fun, and physical and mental health.

I submitted the final manuscript of The Aftermath to 4 Horsemen Publications on July 21 and I will soon have a publication date!

The manuscript has just begun the process. It will go through two rounds of editing, then it will be formatted for paperback and e-book (and more rounds of editing). Simultaneously, we work on cover design, blurb approval, pronunciation of all names, etc. for the audio reader and marketing strategies. My publishing company, 4 Horsemen Publications, moves fast, but getting to PUBLICATION DAY is a lot of work!  

I’m so excited about this story. It takes place five years after the worldwide mass shooting. What will the world be like?

PSYCHOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

I am still surprised and flattered by the interest in the series regarding its physiological elements. The series addresses dark and depressing issues including gun violence, sexism, pollution, and the climate and biodiversity extinction crises and their impacts on our collective mental health.   

I was thrilled to be interviewed a second time, this time for The Collision, by Dr. Karyne Messina on her Psychology and Climate Change Podcast. Dr. Messina is a psychologist, psychoanalyst, author, and member of the Climate Psychology Alliance of North America. She is a host for the New Books Network (NBN) and her channel is “News Books in Psychology” with an additional Special Series section called “Psychology and Climate Change."

The mission of NBN is public education. It is the largest book-focused podcast network in the world and reaches around 1 million people a month with listeners in every country in the world except North Korea. NBN listeners download almost 5 million episodes a month. 

 She said she found “The Impact Series” intriguing because it touched on so many important and complicated issues sensitively.  We did the interview for The Shooting on June 23 and The Collision on July 14 and they are both available for your listening pleasure. Let me know what you think.

 https://newbooksnetwork.com/the-shooting

 https://newbooksnetwork.com/the-collision-2

 DRINKING WITH AUTHORS

 For the “not so serious” readers, my interview on DRINKING WITH AUTHORS is now available. I absolutely drank too much and found this interview to be very fun!

 Episode 375 - CK Westbrook | Drinking With Authors (podbean.com)

 INTERESTING QUESTIONS

 I have been getting questions about specific pages in the books. The most often so far have been about page 109 in The Collision. Yes, all those statistics were correct when I wrote it. Many things have gotten worse since then, unfortunately.  I do think the fact that on average two Americans are shot and killed by their dog every year (most often in Florida), surprises people. Kind of makes one think about the old saying “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” I think it’s the guns. 

REVIEWS

THE JUDGMENT NEEDS REVIEWS!

HUGE THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL REVIEWS! I REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE THEM!  I CAN’T THANK YOU ENOUGH!

If you have not given a review yet and want to – the details are below.

Feel free to email me with any comments or questions about the series. I would love to hear from you!  Ckwestbrook.author@gmail.com

Please follow me at - Author CK Westbrook (@WestbrookCK) / Twitter and CK Westbrook (@ckwestbrook.author) • Instagram photos and videos and TikTok

The Impact Series is available in paperback, e-book, and audio wherever books are sold. https://books2read.com/impact03

As always, a huge thank you to everyone that has read The Shooting, The Collision, and The Judgment!

I can’t express the deep gratitude I have for my readers. Thank you for coming on this fantastic adventure with me!

CK

To write a review or give a rating on Amazon: Amazon.com: The Shooting: 9781644504970: Westbrook, Ck: Books and for The Collision: Amazon.com: The Collision (Impact): 9781644506226: Westbrook, Ck: Books and for The Judgment: Amazon.com: The Judgment (Impact): 9781644507124: Westbrook, Ck: Books    Just click on stars and scroll down until you get to the place that reads “write a review.”

To write a review or give a rating on Goodreads: The Shooting (The Impact Series Book 1) by CK Westbrook | Goodreads and The Collision: The Collision by CK Westbrook | Goodreads and The Judgment: The Judgment (The Impact Series Book 3) by CK Westbrook | Goodreads You do need to create an account to give a review on Goodreads.

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Lotus and Water Lily Festival

Beautiful nature in the middle of a big city.

Summer fun with friends!

Relaxing on the Shenandoah River on a hot July afternoon.

Note to self - do not drink during interviews!

Bruichladdich helping me make the bed.