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I’ll let you know a secret. The best way to do something that scares you is to become a writer.

In service of my stories, I will eat the exotic delicacy, spelunk in the cave, and jump off the high dive. For a moment, I forget I could get sick or hurt. It doesn’t matter if I will enjoy the experience or not.

“It is a good story,” I say.

When we let stories happen, we are playful. We are willing to jump into our life stories before they’re complete. And we always have the excuse, “The story made me do it.”

I live and create in the Land of Enchantment (otherwise known as New Mexico). I write memoir and tell personal tales (i.e. “The Moth”). I write what I know so I can learn what I don’t know.

Visit my blog if you’re interested in flash memoir, book recommendations, and to learn about upcoming events in New Mexico.

“Kimberly Gotches tells a story as if she is giving a person-to-person call from her heart to yours. She doesn’t just share the story; she shares herself. You take away a sense of having been touched by an authentic, sensitive, joyous, and caring person—and truly enriched by the experience.” —Joe Hayes, nationally recognized author and teller of Southwestern tales from the Hispanic, Native American, and Anglo cultures

“Her stories are always somehow affirmative, showing us that we can survive being mortal, helping us better understand the sometimes devastating magnificence of life.” —Benjamin Percy, American novelist, short story writer, essayist, comics writer, and screenwriter

Even though she’s a spring chicken herself, Kimberly reminds us of the importance of intergenerational relationships and that age is something to celebrate. – Esme Raji Codell, author