I wrote my first novel, in 2000, long before I ever heard of romance writer’s groups. I moved from Maine back to my hometown of Washington, D.C. for a job as the alumni director at the Quaker High School where I graduated (now fifty <gulp> years ago.)
The only fiction I ever wrote was when required in English class, but I always loved writing research papers and human-interest stories for the non-profit magazines where I worked. But this first story gnawed at me until I finally sat down and wrote…and wrote…and wrote. I think it ended up somewhere between one-hundred and one-hundred twenty thousand words.
The setting was northern coastal Maine in the town in which my daughter was married. I changed the name and made it a fictional town, but that town was my inspiration. Side note: oddly that town was also the inspiration for the first novella I published (The Legacy of Parkers Point) sixteen years later as part of a Maine writers anthology. The coincidence was that the anthology author group decided to fashion our fictional town after that same coastal town.
While I was editing my first book, it got wiped off my computer and lost forever (along with all the heartfelt poetry I wrote about living in D.C. and near the Pentagon during 9/11). Luckily, I tend to print things off, so the book and most of the poetry are somewhere in a box. Unluckily, I may never unearth it. Luckily, the book is probably best left buried, although maybe I will rewrite it. The story still swims through my head.
The book was about a seasoned-character who finds a second chance at love. It is her daughter’s wedding week at a seaside Maine resort and she meets a man who works in college admissions. Yes, parts of this are taken from real-life, the daughter and her wedding and the setting. But the rest is fiction. And strangely, again, eleven years after I wrote this book, I ended up working in a college admissions office. But at the time I wrote the book, I worked down the hall from a high school admissions office.
I can’t remember the couple’s entire journey to reach their happily-ever-after, but I do know that the hero’s severe depression plays a huge part in the story, as does the heroine’s hurt from a contentious divorce. Were I to ever rewrite it, I would probably try to make it a bit lighter, even while including those elements. But who knows how it would turn out? As a pantser, my characters tend to tell me their story as I write it.
Still, after twenty years, as we go into 2020, this story still has a grip on me.
Is there anything you’ve done in your life that still grips you into taking action—whether recreating or adding to the experience?
AUTHOR BIO
~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the
home fires burning ~
Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet romances and contemporary westerns
from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.
Author of the Starlight Grille
series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short
romances for Woman’s World magazine.
THE LEGACY OF PARKERS POINT
Two
lives, one legacy—the lure of Parkers Point
One Runs From …
Inheriting his grandfather’s
estate on the rocky point in Serenity Harbor, Maine is the perfect escape from
the biggest professional disaster of Grayson Mann’s life. Will distance and
space help Gray heal old family and professional wounds enough to open his
heart to love?
One Runs Toward …
Lauralee Adler struggles to save
the family art gallery as she watches her aunt succumb to Alzheimer’s.
Returning to the small coastal town is payment for the kindness that saved her
life and soul. Now she’s on a quest to find her father. Will this trip home
help her learn to trust and finally convince her she can truly belong for the
first time in her life?
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Parkers-Point-Serenity-Starlight-ebook/dp/B0743NVCC6/
Books2Read
Social Media Links:
Author website: www.delsoralowe.com
Author FaceBook page: fb.me/delsoraloweauthor
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe
Author website: www.delsoralowe.com
Author FaceBook page: fb.me/delsoraloweauthor
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe
Faces: http://www.clipartbest.com/clipart-RcdaMzRai
Seasoned Couple: https://pixabay.com/photos/beach-wedding-happy-couple-sunset-1934732/ School Building: 7fe280c7970b7e5dd68f93b3f51144a3
15 comments:
OMG I Had a similar thing happen with my very first novel!!! i had written it on an old laptop and one day the thing just died!! It was a collection of short stories that I'd been writing for almost 15 years. I was devastated. I can so relate to what you went through, dear girl!!
I know - I am still heartbroken. I know I have a copy of the book somewhere, but all those heartfelt poems about 9/11 when I lived in Washington, D.C. and drove by the gaping hole in the Pentagon to get to work every morning - I have a feeling most of those are gone.
I'm so sorry Peggy - it is a heartbreaker. Do those stories still whirl through your head on occasion? And 15 years of work - AHHHHH! So, so sorry!
Fascinating about how you resurrected that book. Our first "babies" seem to tug at our hearts and won't let go. Congrats on making it work.
One of these days.... And yes, they do tug at our hearts, for sure.
Deb,
So sorry to hear about your MS and your poems. What heartbreak.
I have changed computers 3 times? and somewhere along the way I didn't back up three old MS almost and partially done. This year when I was cleaning out the closet in the TV room I found the three MS at least the parts I had printed out! I intend to resurrect them after I finish the one I'm working on now.
Good luck, Diana. Everything got wiped out by a repairman fixing our internet - grrrrrr. Thanks for stopping by!
Great post, Deb. The first story I wrote as a romance writer is still collecting dust underneath my bed, but still has a special place in my heart. Your post has inspired me to take another look at it.
That is great, Anna - I bet you can do wonders with it now! As always, I appreciate it when you stop by.
Great blog post, Deb! It's interesting what inspires each of us. I started writing my first book during the 2004 World Series (which, as we all know, Boston won for the first time in 86 years); the hero was the son of the "goat" of the 1986 World Series forced to return to Boston in the midst of the penant race. Although I had no idea what I was doing writing-wise, I still think that book could be successful. Maybe one day I'll pull it out from under my bed and see if anyone else agrees.
You go, Elizabeth. I do remember that pennant race. Back then sports heroes weren't going over as well in romances. Now, it's a different story. Go for it! I'm glad you stopped in to say hello!
LOL! My first book was 120k too! At that time I thought the longer, the better. Interestingly, it's the only book I wrote in first person, before first person was a thing. The story stays with me as well, but I'm not sure I could ever save it from itself. But I do love the characters in that story.
Nina - I probably couldn't save the characters in mine either :-) Back then, novels were much longer. I remember writing and writing and writing :-) But, it was good practice and was what gave me a shove to seek out writing groups and how I find all of you "guys."
Deb, I once lost three chapters off my computer. No idea how. That was enough to devastate me! After giving up on ever finding them, I set out to rewrite them. When I was happy with them, I went on and was more careful about backing up my files. Months later, I found the lost chapters in some folder they should never have been saved to. When I compared the two versions, I found they were almost identical. Apparently my writer's brain worked the same way the second time around. Who knew?
Wow, Sarah, what a cool story. My writer's brain doesn't work that way. When I concoct great dialogue while I'm driving or in the shower, it never translates into the written word. Go figure. Because I'm pretty sure it was brilliant when I was thinking it :-) Although I haven't experimented with writing to writing situations. I'm glad you found it in the end. I have had that happen, when I saved something in a totally random place and finally found it.
It is interesting how first stories stick with us. Your tale is also one to remind us of backups. Because I worked in the IT industry I've been very good about backups since I've been writing on a computer regularly (since 1980).
However, that was not the case with my first TWO novels, written in 1982. I know that date because I was going through a divorce and, because I couldn't afford an attorney I talked myself into a job with the person handling my case. He needed a secretary anyway and he did pay me as well as handle my case for free.
I was heavily influenced by Gothic Romance at that time, Victoria Holt was my favorite, and the topic was especially interesting to me because of the divorce and all the heightened emotions. In my case, I'm certain that my memory of my first two novels is a lot better than the tactual articulation of them--wherever it may be in a landfill. That is because my memory is of all the emotion and nuance and surprise I intended to be in it. Who knows if that is true.
I did save copies of both novels, but they were packed in a box in a storage unit when I left Utah and moved to the Washington D.C. area (northern Virginia) for a job in 1984 (I think that was the year). About a year after my move I was ready to get my storage unit things loaded on a truck. When they went to open it, nothing was there except my Piano (probably too heavy to move). Not a stick of furniture, clothes boxes or anything else. The police investigated and suspected it was an inside job but could never prove it.
I think it's amazing that you remembered enough of that story later and re-energized at the least bones of it. I am so happy for all the success you are seeing today with your books. I do believe that writing later in life, with all of our experiences, brings a depth of character and knowledge that is special. Your books have proven that.
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