Links:

»	Books
»	Biography
»	Articles/Reviews
»	News
»	Events
»	Buy Book!

 Point Loma author shares cherished moments with children
Peninsula Beacon, Sept. 11, 2003, by Stephanie Odell

Thirty years ago, Point Loma resident Katha Winther detailed precious milestones in her two children's baby books. She didn't realize that in 2003, the diary entries would become part of her first book, "As I Was Saying ..."

Winther traces her happy, slow-paced childhood in Sherman, Texas, throughout the first half of her book. Her mother wrote of events throughout her own childhood, making her baby book an important keepsake. As a gift to her son and daughter, Winther wanted to do the same, keeping them connected to their pasts.

"I'm encouraging all women to do this," she said. "It's an old-fashioned thing to do. So many mothers don't have the time and then say, 'I wish I had taken the time to do that.'"

"(The baby book) is a keepsake. It just takes a minute to jot down a sentence or two and mothers will be happy that they did it," she said.
The motivation to write "As I Was Saying..." came from a New Year's resolution. Winther had written part of the manuscript a year or two ago, and most of the rest came from the baby diaries.

"I had a book and I didn't realize it was a book. I submitted it to the publisher in January and it was completed and released in August, so I finished the resolution in eight months," she said.

As a "twenty-something" mother in San Diego, Winther said her childhood in Sherman -- which contained little more than church, school, a roller rink and the movies -- diverged from her children's experience.

"My childhood was more orderly and protective. I had no surprises and my parents were very routine. It was like growing up with the 'Cleaver' family," she said. "It's the difference between small-town Texas and San Diego. We were younger parents and living in California. Life wasn't as routine, but our children had the chance to experience more of the world."

"I was trying to recreate the way I was brought up, but life isn't that way," Winther said.

Although she said that writing the book was time consuming, it has also been "a life defining moment." She does not have any future books planned now, but she will have an essay published in the upcoming book "The Published Author's Guide to Promotion." To be released by PublishAmerica, the book discusses ways in which authors boost the sales of their own books.

Winther, who holds a bachelor's degree in English from San Diego State University, is a former editor of the classical music section of the recording publication "Phonolog." She writes devotional articles and was published four times in "San Diego Commerce," a business, legal, and real estate newspaper. In the late 1980s, Winther appeared as a morning host on the Home Shopping Network and on two episodes of "The Golden Girls." She has performed national anthems and sung worldwide, including performing in two 45 minute concerts at the White House on Jan. 4, 2000.

"As I Was Saying ..." is available at all Barnes & Noble bookstores by special request at the information desks. The book has also been ordered by the San Diego main Central library.

Winther, now the grandmother of nine-month-old Natalie Camilla, offers advice to other mothers.

"They shouldn't be in such a hurry to get their children raised and out the door. Just enjoy children, because they won't be young forever. Treasure these moments, because babies don't keep. Spend a little more time with them and capture every moment. Pictures are good, but writing is your real thoughts and emotions, even though it might be years before they're interested in looking at it," she said.

Take the Time Herald Democrat, Sept. 18, 2003, by Don Eldredge, Editor-in-Chief A Sherman native whose parents still reside here has added published author to her resume of host on the Home Shopping Network, actress in two episodes of "The Golden Girls" and two vocal performances at the White House. Katha Winther, daughter of Dean and Gene Martin and a long-time resident of San Diego, Calif., calls her book, "As I Was Saying ...," a "nostalgic look at motherhood." Much of the text was gleaned from the baby books she meticulously kept of her son's and daughter's early years. It was a practice she learned from her mother, who did the same during Katha's formative years in Sherman. "(The baby book) is a keepsake," she told a San Diego interviewer shortly after her book was published. "It takes just a minute to jot down a sentence or two, and mothers will be happy they did it." One thing she realized and was able to recall easily by having both her mother's and her own writings handily available was that growing up in Sherman in the '50s and '60s and raising children in San Diego in the '70s and '80s weren't the same. "My childhood (in Sherman) was more orderly and protective," she said in the interview. "Life wasn't as routine (in San Diego), but our children had the chance to experience more of the world." She had toyed with the idea of turning her own jottings into a book for some time before making a new year's resolution in January to complete it. Lo and behold, by August it was in print through the company Publish America, out of Maryland. It's now available through Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and other booksellers. Katha's father, Dean, is a former county attorney of Grayson County. We wrote about her in "Good morning" shortly before she sang at the White House back in January 2000. And although she has no plans for writing another book, she wants to get across her point that young mothers should seriously consider keeping a diary of their children's early years. "I'm encouraging all women to do this," she said. "It's an old-fashioned thing to do. So many mothers don't have the time and then say, 'I wish I had taken the time to do that.'" It is good advice.

1970s Class Notes 360 The Magazine of San Diego State University, Fall/Winter 2003, by SDSU Marketing & Communications and distributed to members of the SDSU Alumni Association, faculty, staff and friends. 1978: Katha Winther (English) has published "As I Was Saying ..., " a book about mothering.  Also an accomplished singer, Winther has performed in Europe and at the White House.  She lives in San Diego and reports that her husband and daughter are also SDSU grads.

Heroes of Faith (article excerpt)

Power for Today magazine, Jan.- Feb. - March, 2004, by Steven S. and Emily Y. Lemley, Editors

...  In keeping with Paul's admotion, I want to honor Joe Ed and also three others, all Power for Today writers, who have accomplished great things for Christ, not only in their daily lives but also by their wonderful writing.

  Katha Winther is a writer and faithful follower of Christ in San Diego, California.  She has recently published a book titled As I Was Saying, speaking to the heart of young mothers from her own journal .... We applaud these writers who have stepped out in print for the cause of Christ to deepen the lives of believers!

To order Power for Today magazine, call:  (1-800-331-5991). 

Or, contact by mail.  Power for Today, 2809 12th Ave. So., Nashville, TN  37204    

Web-site:  http://powerfortoday.com/