Author Kim Berkhof Bolt

Author – Speaker – Mom of 3 (+1 dog)

Author: Kim

  • LMWP Writing Camp Curriculum (July 2025)

    LMWP Summer Camp

    For the past few weeks I have been writing curriculum for one of my favorite weeks of the summer, the LMWP summer writing camp.

    I have been a member of the Lake Michigan Writing Project (affectionately known by us insiders as LMWP), which is a chapter of the National Writing Project. The LMWP serves to provide a community and professional development opportunities for teacher-writers to grow in both areas of their world.

    I’ve led LMWP summer camps for nearly a decade, first with middle schoolers in grades 6–8. More recently, I’ve been working with a younger group—rising 3rd through 5th graders. My co-teacher and I, both more experienced with older students (she teaches AP at Hamilton High), walk into the week with what we call “organized chaos” and a healthy dose of humility. We fake it ’til we make it, and somehow it always works.

    What I love most about this week is that all the writing stakes are off—for the kids and for us. In schools today, writing has become a high-pressure subject. From an early age, students are taught that the final product is what matters most. Rarely do they get the chance to enjoy the process or discover who they are as writers. Writing is graded, and grades quickly become labels.

    By time they arrive in my Developmental English class at the college where I teach, most of them tell me the same thing on the first day: “I’m not good at writing.” When I push back and ask them to tell me how they know, they refer to low grades or negative comments from previous teachers. But none of them actually know if they’re “bad” writers, and as I find in my class over the course of the semester, it’s not true. They’re not bad writers. Perhaps a bit unpolished, most lacking in confidence.

    Historically, writing has been a form of punishment. Staying in at recess to write lines, writing forced apology notes. That’s a quick way to strip the joy out of it. It’s similar to how making a kid run laps can take the joy out of running.

    On the fourth Friday of each month, I offer a writing prompt or a story starter. And I wonder how many of my readers actually take me up on my invitation. I often wonder how many of you actually write from them—or if not from those, how many of you carve out space for writing at all. I wonder how many of you find joy in writing. In the simplicity of putting thoughts on paper. In the beauty of creating a word or phrase that sings to the ear or resonates with the soul.

    I don’t expect the twenty campers I’ll teach this summer to all become lifelong writers. A few show up for the wrong reasons—one was sent because she got in trouble at home. Another came “to become a better speller.” (Spoiler: we don’t do spelling lists.) But most of them will walk in on Monday morning with a new pen and a hope that writing can be fun again—light, expressive, and pressure-free.

    Just the way it should be.

  • What I read in May (2025)

    1. Turtles All the Way Down

    Author: John Green

    Length: 304 pages

    Published: October 2017

    Genre: fiction

    Audience: young adult (mental health, strong language, description of teenage-level relationships)

    Summary

    Aza Holmes never intended to pursue the disappearance of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Pickett’s son Davis.

    Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.

    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35504431-turtles-all-the-way-down

    My Review

    After struggling through my last two books, I was ready for a book which I wanted to dive into and never return.  Reading had been hard, and I wanted to make it easy, effortless again.  For me, the middle grade/young adult genre almost always does that for me. 

    I have been a long-time fan of John Green. While he is most likely known for A Fault in Our Stars, I personally preferred Looking for Alaska.  I had seen this book advertised on in the young adult section at Strand Bookstore on my recent trip to NYC; when I saw that it was available for immediate pickup at my local library, I went over that very day and claimed it. 

    In short, I began and finished this book on the same day.  It captivated me the way I hoped.  The characters were real and believable; Aza is clearly struggling with her own personal issues, but that does not discredit her friends Davis and Daisy from their  equally real problems and daily struggles.  Through this Green paints an important picture that no one’s life is perfect. 

    In the same way that Shu beautifully captured the difficulty of understanding an eating disorder in Louder than Hunger, Green walks the reader through the world of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. 

    I would highly and readily recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of young adult.  And I just learned that it is also a movie, and I love to watch movies based on books because I love to remind myself how the book is always better than the movie.  Every time. 

    2. The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club

    Author: Helen Simonson

    Length: 432 pages

    Publication: May 2024

    Genre: fiction

    Audience: adult (could be young adult if the time period/topic interested them)

    Summary:

    It is the summer of 1919 and Constance Haverhill is without prospects. Now that all the men have returned from the front, she has been asked to give up her cottage and her job at the estate she helped run during the war. While she looks for a position as a bookkeeper or—horror—a governess, she’s sent as a lady’s companion to an old family friend who is convalescing at a seaside hotel. Despite having only weeks to find a permanent home, Constance is swept up in the social whirl of Hazelbourne-on-Sea after she rescues the local baronet’s daughter, Poppy Wirrall, from a social faux pas.

    Poppy wears trousers, operates a taxi and delivery service to employ local women, and runs a ladies’ motorcycle club (to which she plans to add flying lessons). She and her friends enthusiastically welcome Constance into their circle. And then there is Harris, Poppy’s recalcitrant but handsome brother—a fighter pilot recently wounded in battle—who warms in Constance’s presence. But things are more complicated than they seem in this sunny pocket of English high society. As the country prepares to celebrate its hard-won peace, Constance and the women of the club are forced to confront the fact that the freedoms they gained during the war are being revoked.

    Whip-smart and utterly transportive, The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club is historical fiction of the highest order: an unforgettable coming-of-age story, a tender romance, and a portrait of a nation on the brink of change.

    ​https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/review-the-hazelbourne-ladies-motorcycle-and-flying-club-by-helen-simonson/

    My Review:

    I chose this book because I had seen it on a stand in a local bookstore in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia while on vacation. It turns out that I had read another of Siminson’s books years ago, The Last Stand of Major Pettigrew. I don’t remember any of the details of that book, but I do remember enjoying it.

    What I enjoyed most about the Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club was the time period in which it was set. Post World War I was a fascinating time globally, but especially England where the warfront was a much closer geographical reality than here in the States. Add in the complicating factor of gender, where the post-war story is told from the perspective of women, and you have a delicious plot. Similar to World War II and Rosie the Riveter, women in the 1920s were asked to fill in roles while the men went away to fight. They offered their employable skills and appreciated being part of the workforce. However, after the war, the men returned and all was expected to fall back to normal. But how can you go back when you’ve tasted freedom and experienced independence?

    I found the historical gender rules of the day to be fascinating, especially in high society. Chaperones and propriety were the main concern of the day. But thrown in a few women wearing chaps, goggles and helmets, and you have the recipe for a perfect storm.

    ​
    This book was truly delightful from start to finish, and even if the story closed up a little more neatly than I personally prefer, sometimes in this life we all need a happy ending.

    3.  Our Last Days in Barcelona

    Author: Chanel Cleeton

    Length: 320 pages

    Published: May 2022

    Genre: fiction

    Audience: adult (provocative)

    Summary

    Barcelona, 1964. Exiled from Cuba after the revolution, Isabel Perez has learned to guard her heart and protect her family at all costs. After Isabel’s sister Beatriz disappears in Barcelona, Isabel goes to Spain in search of her. Joining forces with an unlikely ally thrusts Isabel into her sister’s dangerous world of espionage, but it’s an unearthed piece of family history that transforms Isabel’s life.

    Barcelona, 1936. Alicia Perez arrives in Barcelona after a difficult voyage from Cuba, her marriage in jeopardy and her young daughter Isabel in tow. Violence brews in Spain, the country on the brink of civil war, the rise of fascism threatening the world. When Cubans journey to Spain to join the International Brigades, Alicia’s past comes back to haunt her as she is unexpectedly reunited with the man who once held her heart.

    ​https://www.chanelcleeton.com/our-last-days-in-barcelona

    My Review:

    Our Last Days in Barcelona is the fifth book in a series of fiction books set in Cuba. My husband and I were fortunate enough to visit Cuba in the fall of 2016 before tensions once again arose between our two countries, all but shutting down the border for American tourists. Cuba is a beautiful and complicated country, and even in my short visit there of only a few days, I left part of my heart there. I read the first book, Next Year in Havana, and was immediately hooked on the plot which was largely historical fiction about Castro’s rise to power, the violence that tore the country, and the heartbreak between those who fled and those who stayed. The next books in the series have followed the same family, although they have greatly differed in topic and therefore my interest.

    This novel was not my favorite in the series. I have owned it for some time but finally decided to read it as my family is traveling to Barcelona this summer. While there is a base of historical fiction in this novel–Cleeton always does her research–this one was a little too “beach read-y” for me. Lots of complicated romantic relationships, “longing” and whispers and glances and soft touches. And unfortunately the feminist in me cringes when a woman who is escaping a bad relationship and finally tastes her own freedom and independence simply lands in the arms of a new man.

    ​
    ​If you enjoy a good romance and want to learn more about the Cuban-Spanish historical relationship, I would highly recommend this book.

    4.  It’s All or Nothing, Vale

    Author: Andrea Beatriz Arango

    Length: 272 pages

    Published: Feb 2025

    Genre: fiction (verse)

    Audience: middle grade (ages 10-14)

    Summary

    No one knows hard work and dedication like Valentina Camacho. And Vale’s thing is fencing. She’s the top athlete at her fencing gym. Or she was . . . until the accident.

    After months away, Vale is finally cleared to fence again, but it’s much harder than before. Her body doesn’t move the way it used to, and worst of all is the new number one: Myrka. When she sweeps Vale aside with her perfect form and easy smile, Vale just can’t accept that.

    But the harder Vale fights to catch up, the more she realizes her injury isn’t the only thing holding her back. If she can’t leave her accident in the past, then what does she have to look forward to?

    https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/744518/its-all-or-nothing-vale-by-andrea-beatriz-arango/

    My Review:

    As I have mentioned previously, my favorite genre is middle grade fiction. Recently, I had been introduced to novels in verse and have come to appreciate how other titles I recently read offer a full, worthwhile narrative tale in a concentrated amount of words.
    ​

    Unfortunately, It’s All or Nothing, Vale didn’t live up to the level of my previous middle grade verse novels. It just felt that Arango was working too hard to sell a heartbreaking tale, and I just never deeply connected with the main character. The plot felt to me too stereotypical with a character wanting to overcome an obstacle. Overall, I found I didn’t care much about the plot, the main character or what happened to her. It just all felt flat.​
    ​

    The novel did offer a fascinating look into the world of fencing, and it did provide the reader with a strong cultural angle. It is also a quick read, as many novels in verse can be.
    ​

    Overall, I simply cannot recommend this book, as I just believe there are too many other books and not enough time to read them all. If you’re interested in a novel written in verse, I would instead recommend Enemies in the Orchard by Dana VanderLugt or Louder than Hunger by John Schu.

  • Barefoot Stories (June 2025)

    National Go Barefoot Day was celebrated on June 1. It holds two purposes:

    1. To kick off (pun intended) the first summer month and warmer weather by going around sans shoes
    2. To bring worldwide awareness that an estimated 300 million underprivileged children are forced to live barefoot because they don’t own a single pair of shoes*

    🗺️ Write the places your feet have traveled

    Visualize your life as a walking journey—where have your feet taken you, literally or metaphorically?

    🌞 Remember a barefoot summer moment

    Let a warm memory surface—can you feel the grass, the heat, the joy?

    📝 Make a list of 5 things you like about going barefoot

    Focus on the small joys—freedom, connection, sensory details, or even silliness.

    🔍 Write what your (naked) bare feet expose about you. What makes you more vulnerable?

    Bare feet can mean truth, exposure, and honesty. What do yours reveal?

    ⚖️ Write about the choice to go barefoot. What are the freedoms? What are the limitations?

    Explore both the literal and metaphorical meaning—freedom vs. protection, vulnerability vs. boldness.

    *Soles4Souls created National Go Barefoot Day after the 2004 Tsunami disaster. Visit the ​Soles4Souls organization​ for more information on how you can help bring shoes to children across the world.

    Story Starter: Arnie the Doughnut Dog

    Version 1.0.0

    Friday, June 6 is National Donut Day. Laurie Keller took American’s love for doughnuts and wrote about it in her book Arnie the Doughnut. In the book, Arnie and Mr. Bing are both frustrated by a future that seems impossible—until they form an unexpected friendship that fulfills both of their dreams.

    Read Arnie the Doughnut and begin writing your own story after the last sentence. What happens next to Arnie and Mr. Bing in “Arnie the Doughnut-Dog”?

  • AI: Tool or Trouble? (June 2025)

    Artificial intelligence is the buzzword of the moment. While we barely spoke of it five years ago, some now fear it’s on the verge of taking over our world. And yes, there are headlines that feed those fears—self-driving Teslas crashing into driveways, a young woman dating a chatbot boyfriend created through ChatGPT. It’s unsettling.

    But if we think about AI as simply the newest form of technology, then history is simply repeating itself. Parents were convinced the introduction of the television into homes would destroy their children’s brains forever, turning them into mindless zombies. When computers became mainstream, access to the internet and frequent use of email became the concern d’jour. CNN wrote an article in 2005 claiming emails would damage our IQs “more than pot” (​https://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/04/22/text.iq/​). Each of these innovations caused panic—and each eventually found a place in our lives. They didn’t destroy us, though they certainly changed the way we live.

    Personally, I enjoy turning on my television and sending a quick email, and I’m not convinced either have made me less intelligent. Just last night I watched a hockey game with my family which was being played hundreds of miles away, and then we all watched the news at 11:00pm in order to track the storms in our area and to see if we were at risk for a tornado. This morning I communicated with someone through 6 different email messages, something that would have taken weeks via snail mail.

    So here we are with AI—somewhere between excitement and unease. Don’t you think Henry Ford felt the same way when he sent his first Model T out on the roads?

    Here’s my personal take on AI: it’s okay (even wonderful) if used as the equivalent of a calculator. But calculators are best used after you’ve learned how to do the math. They’re tools—efficient and useful—but not substitutes for understanding. The same should go for AI.

    AI lives in a world of gray. All of us in the creative industry worry about how and when AI will produce creative projects that are our livelihood. Spines, a new company which promises to streamline the process for authors using AI to edit, format, design and distribute, is being met with much scrutiny. Writers and publishers are understandably skeptical, worried about quality, ethics, and the future of human-made stories. (​Here’s a recent article​ that’s worth reading.)

    And yet—true confession—I use AI as an author. Wait! Don’t sound the alarms. I use it as a tool, like that calculator I mentioned earlier. Let me explain.

    Back in March, I went on a writing retreat, hoping to create a series of short stories based on a family who lives in a funeral home. I only had three days, and I wanted to crank out as much first-draft material as possible, so I made sure to do some brainstorming and outlining before I left. I knew I would need a number of names of old people who had died and were at the funeral home; I also knew that stopping to google while I wrote would be a recipe for disaster. Every good writer knows they are looking for a distraction, and too often we find ourselves falling down the rabbit hole of meaningless internet scrolling, all in the name of “research.” Knowing this danger that would possibly await me, I went to Chat GPT and asked it to give me a dozen “names traditionally associated with old people.” It spit out Harold and Hazel and Gladys and Eleanor and George and Henry and Frank and Francis among others. Boom. Done. During my writing time, when I needed to add in a new name of a deceased person, I went directly to my list, chose a name and continued typing. No time wasted.

    After writing my stories, I had a fellow author friend inform me of another clever option from Chat GPT. I entered one of my short stories and asked it to find any plot errors or loopholes in my writing. To my surprise, it offered the perspective of a critical reader, informing me that I had written about someone breaking into the funeral home, but I did not write if there was a keypad or a traditional key and lock on the door. How would the individual break in? Did they find out the code? Did they have a copy of the key? Brilliance. Thanks to AI, I had feedback but still needed to do the revision work on my own.

    AI is a slippery slope. We discussed at our family dinner table how AI is a great tool which gets abused in the hands of unethical or lazy people. But that’s true of many other things.

    So here’s my final thought: let’s welcome AI, but cautiously. It’s just the new technology kid on the block. It will cause concern from those who fear it will take over the world, just as cars and radio and television and computers and the internet. And traditionalists will forever fight anything that is new and different in our world (I think they’re still solely sending out snail mail). But let’s use the most powerful tool we have–our brains–to critically examine it, to predict issues we might be facing, to avoid using it in place of our own creative work, and above all to hold ourselves to an ethical standard in which we only use it for the good and never for evil. And let’s keep doing the real work of creating, revising, and imagining ourselves.

  • Author Query Letters (June 2025)

    I’ve finished my manuscript. I’ve had it read by a test audience and made significant revisions based on their feedback. I’ve launched a website, started a newsletter (hello!), and gathered nearly 300 subscribers. I just wrapped up my book proposal.

    So… I should be all set to publish now, right?

    Unfortunately, no. Traditional publication contracts are only made these days through a literary agent. And as of the writing of this newsletter, I do not have one. And in order to get one, I have to send out query letters—essentially, carefully crafted pitches that ask an agent to represent me and my novel..

    There are over 1,000 literary agents in the United States, which might sound encouraging at first. But once I narrow the field to those who represent middle grade fiction (my novel’s category), the list shrinks dramatically. Many agents focus on adult fiction, and quite a few work with picture books. Middle grade and young adult literature often sit in the “forgotten middle”—another reason I feel so passionately about writing for this age group. This is one of the reasons I so passionately want to write for this age group, since I believe they should be offered quality literature which is neither below their reading level nor too adultish in their topics.

    My number of potential agents is further reduced when I check the “accepting query letters” button. It turns out that many agents receive more query letters than they can handle, so they often close their own submission page to new applicants.

    Of those still open, each has specific guidelines: some want queries emailed with no attachments, others prefer online submission forms; some request only a letter, while others want the first 5, 10, or even 50 pages of the manuscript included.

    The query letter itself is fairly standard: a brief description of the novel (title, genre, word count), a one-paragraph plot summary (think back-cover blurb—teaser + summary), and a short author bio that includes credentials or relevant experience. This is also the moment to name-drop any noteworthy mentors, editors, or writing-related accomplishments.

    The challenge, of course, is standing out. With dozens (if not hundreds) of submissions pouring in on a regular basis, how does one letter rise above the rest? What is the magical term, characteristic, plot detail, name that gets you noticed?

    I don’t know yet. But I’m trying.

    Since I had never sent out query letters before, I asked the internet how many queries a new author should send out. The consensus seemed to be that new authors should send around 30 query letters—enough to reach a diverse group of agents with a differing level of interest and amount of availability. However, more than 30 was noted as unnecessary. As one agent put it, if you’ve been denied by 30 agents, you might need to step back and reevaluate your project.

    I recently finished sending my 30th query letter. Agents typically take anywhere from 2 to 12 weeks to respond—if they respond at all. Many say, “If you don’t hear from us, assume it’s a no.”

    So now I wait.

    Fingers crossed that one amongst the 30 notices my letter, finds something special in my synopsis, believes my novel to be a worthy publication.
    ​

    If no agents accept me, I might send out a second round of query letters or I might consider taking the self-publication route. It’s quite common these days and is months faster than traditional publication.
    ​

    But I’m not crossing that road yet.

    For now, I’m holding out hope for one small “yes” in a sea of “no.”