Local author Kimberly Patton has recently had a story she wrote included in the new Chicken Soup for the Soul: Mom Knows Best:101 Stories of Love, Gratitude & Wisdom. She is also the author of her memoir, A Cub Among Bears: How Love and Toughness Raised me.
SOUTH LAKE TABLET: Getting To Know The Author – Meet Kimberly Patton
My husband and I moved to Clermont in the summer of 2015.
Kevin and I live with our weird pets; two bunnies and a turtle. I have housed up to 10 animals at one time (mostly fish, baby bunnies and baby turtles). The human children have yet to arrive but we have a guest room in our house and are praying for God to fill it however He sees fit.
Growing up with six brothers has given me an insatiable love for sports, exercise and the outdoors. I do a lot of running on the trail, biking on my red skinny-wheeled road bike and playing ultimate frisbee or tennis with friends.
Our favorite thing to do together is to serve at our church. He is the youth pastor and together we run the games, plan events, and go on trips. We also have a long list of TV and movie favorites over the years that we aren’t ashamed to re-watch often.
My day job is teaching Spanish and tutoring English as a second language. I tutor one-on-one and teach non-credit Spanish in a classroom setting at Lake Sumter State College. I also teach groups of retirees locally and have taught in kids’ after-school programs as well.
Don’t try to pry me away from my language students, because I won’t budge. It’s a privilege to watch young kids, middle-aged students and retirees fall in the love with the magic of a second language. Si Quieres practicar español Conmigo, dime!
My goal is to read 100 books each year and 2018 was successful. I love most memoirs, adventure non-fiction, and non-fiction by strong Christian female voices. My all-time favorite is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
I have been blogging since 2015 and have compiled an e-book called, A Project That Needs “Tweaking” available on Amazon Kindle. I also blogged at http://kimberly-patton.blogspot.com/ until I created my official author website www.kimpatton.com and have been writing articles once a month. I have spent my whole life writing but only started sharing it with the public starting in 2015! It has been such immense joy.
In A Cub among Bears, Kimberly Patton brings the readers humorous stories of being raised in a family of six rambunctious boys. We see her older brother filming her “murder,” (complete with fake blood.) We watch her cringe as she finds out about the “birds and the bees” from a cassette tape. We hear about a broken arm gone undiagnosed for two weeks, and the reason why she said “Yes” to her college choice. We travel with her from Michigan to Brazil, and then to Tennessee and back again. We also see her struggle through her faith journey, faltering at times but never giving up. As she gets older, the cocooned atmosphere of a loving family unravels, and she is thrust out toward the adventures that await her. Amazon Link
