I’m Alive!!! Now What??? By Sarah Raplee McDermed

 

Eight months ago a near-death experience plowed through my Baby Boomer delusions of immortality (Don’t worry, Seventy is the new sixty! Eighty is the new seventy! Death is the new ninety!)

Being kept alive by advanced technology, a top-notch team of medical professionals and most of all, the Grace of God, does that to a person. To paraphrase a truth I read in the holy writings of the Baha’I Faith, ‘We are all but one step away from eternity.’

While waiting for life-saving open heart surgery in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic’s winter surge, I had a number of days to think about how our choices define us. I need to make some hard ones because my time on earth is limited.

Some choices are needed to support my mental, physical and spiritual health. Some are needed to nurture important relationships. Some are needed to revitalize my writing life.

Even before my brush with death, I was wrestling with how to go forward with my writing career. I got some wise guidance from Author, Writing Instructor and Publisher MaggieMcVey Lynch. I’ve written and Indie Pubbed a novel and had short stories included in two anthologies. I like writing short stories because they are fast and fun. I like writing novels because they are complex.

It’s become clear to me I don’t want to spend much time on promotion (which I hate). And making money is not the big goal for me (although it would be nice.) I do want to reach an audience and uplift them with my stories.

I choose to concentrate on writing short stories.

I plan to volunteer to write grant proposals and press releases for a charity of my choosing.

What’s next? When I feel overwhelmed by the choices I am facing, I say a little prayer and trust my intuition.

So far, so good…

 What do you do when faced with a difficult decision?

 

My Dream Almost Came True by Paty Jager

Acceptance, that seems to have always been my struggle. Growing up in a small rural community where most of my classmates were from families that homesteaded the area, I felt like the "California Girl" all of my childhood even though I was 2 when we moved to Oregon.  I didn't fit in. I read all the time, I was shy, and I was always around boys when I wasn't at school. My two brothers and my mom's best friend's boys. Our families did lots of things together so it was me and six boys.

I went to college for one year. It was my father's choice of my career not mine. But I wanted out of the county. I felt it would help me find me and find acceptance. The college I went to was mostly male. I ended up hanging around with guys in the diesel program more than with any girls. I made one close female relationship, but that wasn't until halfway through the year. But the last trimester when I was only taking classes I wanted to take, I had a creative writing class. I loved that class but felt picked upon. When the papers were handed back out mine always had more red marks all over it. I finally got up the courage to ask the instructor why. Was I that bad at writing? He told me "No, the opposite. He saw potential in me and therefore took more time in correcting my work. That made my little heart pittypat. And I worked harder at getting less red marks.

Time passed. I married, had three kids and they were soon to all be in school full time. I told my hubby I wanted to take some college writing classes and an art class. He loves me and indulges my creative side. :) I took the classes, loved them, and started writing children's stories. My daughter's kindergarten teacher loved my short stories I wrote about trips the kindergartners made(this was before kindergarten was put into public schools in Oregon) I also wrote and illustrated a story about Zero the Hero. That inspired me to attend a Children's Writing conference by Highlights for Children in New York. I saved up the money, my mom took the kids, and I flew to New York. Only to be told by Dayton O. Hyde and several other instructors that I wrote too adult.

Undaunted I returned home, and started writing what I loved to read- Mystery. I volunteered in the school's new computer room at my children's school to learn how to use a computer because I hated making revisions on the typewriter. Soon the head instructor allowed me to come in early and type up my work on a floppy disk I bought. When I received a small bit of inheritance money, I bought my first computer. I was in heaven. Revision were so easy now and I was cranking out the pages. 

But I was wise enough to know I didn't know enough about mystery writing to do it justice. Unfortunately, at that time, none of the mystery groups allowed anyone in who wasn't already published. How was I to find help? There wasn't as much online presence as there is these days. I gave up on mystery writing and turned to writing historical western romance. I'd read LaVyrle Spenceer and loved her stories. They felt like something I could write. Then I was introduced to Romance Writers of America and I had my place to learn craft and hone my skills.

I attended the RITA awards during their 25th anniversary. This is like the Oscars for romance writers. That year they gave everyone a chocolate RITA that was wrapped in silver paper. I kept that for years, wanting to be a finalist or recipient of that award. It hasn't happened.

However, this year I was a finalist for the Daphne du Maurier award. This one is given out by the Kiss of Death chapter of RWA and is one of the top 3 mystery awards. While my dream hasn't come true, I came pretty darn close this year. I'm hoping to eventually win one of the top mystery awards and maybe, just maybe a RITA.

Paty Jager is the award-winning author of the Shandra Higheagle Mystery series. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it. This is what Mysteries Etc has to say about her Shandra Higheagle mystery series: “Mystery, romance, small town, and Native American heritage combine to make a compelling read.”

blog / website /  Facebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest   / Bookbub


Photo source: Canstock

The Seven Year Switch

Since we’re celebrating the seven year anniversary of the Romancing the Genres blog in May, I thought I’d get in early and write an abridged or smooshed account of the last seven years of my life.

You could say the last seven years of my life have been pretty eventful. So much so, I can hardly remember what my day-to-day life was like seven years ago.

Baby steps

Back in 2011, I was a pregnant lady, getting ready for the birth of my second child, with a gorgeous little two-year-old boy also running around my ankles. I was also working part-time in a corporate communications role that meant commuting to the city, plus juggling home and work life in a way that didn’t always come easily.

Fast forward a few months and I found myself at home full-time on maternity leave, with two little boys under three years of age. Then I was literally juggling, with baby in one arm and toddler in the other, changing two sets of nappies (diapers) trying to remember if I’d had a shower that day or whether I had remembered to make lunch. One day I forgot how to buckle the baby into his car seat. In short, I’d just about lost my mind.

It wasn’t just mummy brain – I was totally exhausted. After a few visits to the doctor I found out my thyroid was playing up. I have Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.  It’s an autoimmune disease that affects metabolism, how fast or slow your body runs, body weight, concentration and alertness. I already had Coeliac/Celiac disease, so I understood about needing to manage your stress levels, diet and overall health to keep an autoimmune condition under control.

Once I started taking some medication, the fog lifted from my head and I began to think clearly again. Hooray!

The write life

Around the time my little one was 18 months old, I went back to work two days a week and started to think about whether I wanted to stick with that job long-term. In the back of my mind, I’d always harboured a desire to write a novel. I remember I’d just joined Twitter and was starting to read romance novels on my commute, when I saw a tweet about the So You Think You Can Write contest. I don’t know exactly what spurred me on to give it a try, but it kick-started my fiction writing.

I wrote and wrote. And wrote some more! At lunchtime, at night, during my son’s afternoon nap on the days I was at home. I taught myself to write a book based on the super helpful tips and advice from authors in the Harlequin Community and shared my work with a fabulous group of writers at much the same stage as me.

I managed to write a 60,000 word manuscript in a couple of months, along with a synopsis and pitch. In retrospect it wasn’t a great attempt at a novel, but I did learn heaps. I may not have got anywhere in the contest, but I was hooked on the writing life.

An unfolding saga

Since 2014, I figure I’ve written three complete manuscripts, two complete short stories and many more partials. I’ve entered many more writing contests and even won the We Heart New Talent contest. That resulted in my debut novel, Girl on aPlane, being published by HarperCollins UK. The book was also translated and released in the Czech Republic as Letuska last year, something so wildly unimaginable to me just a few years ago, I did pinch myself. I have actual fans in Prague!

In 2016 I made the decision to quit my corporate job, and concentrate on writing. So far it’s paying off...okay, not financially yet! But in other ways, my writing is going well and I’m not so tired from being pushed and pulled in all directions. I’ve picked up a few freelance business writing jobs too.

I can’t quite believe my two babies are now school boys, but it’s great to have work with the flexibility to spend more time with them. I’m home to walk my boys to school and back, cook proper meals and read to them every night. Oh, I also spend a bit more time with that man I married!

Now I’m looking to the future, with a plan for a hybrid writing career combining traditionally published and self-published work. I’m working on another novella that I hope to finish writing soon, plus thinking about indie publishing some print versions.

My life has done a grand switcheroo over the last seven years and I’m thankful that I had the courage to give it a go. My health might not be 100% perfect, but I'm going well, managing not to overdo my work hours, and still progressing with my writing. 

What about you – have you had health challenges or life-changing circumstances in the last few years? How has your life changed, for better or worse?

About Cassandra O'Leary

**Winner of the global We Heart New Talent contest. Nominated for Best New Author in the 2016 AusRomToday Reader's Choice Awards for excellence in Australian romance fiction.**

Cassandra O'Leary is a romance and women's fiction author from Melbourne, Australia, drinking coffee, dreaming of Italy and Spain, and raising two mini ninjas with her superhero husband.

In 2015, Cassandra won the global We Heart New Talent contest run by Avon Books/HarperCollins UK and her debut romantic comedy novel, Girl on a Plane, was released in July 2016. She was also a 2015 finalist in the Lone Star contest, Northwest Houston Romance Writers of America, and a 2014 finalist, First Kiss contest, Romance Writers of Australia.

Read more at cassandraolearyauthor.com 

The Year of My Way

And so, the end is near...

The end of 2017 that is. So many writers will be publishing their Best and Worst of 2017 articles in the next few days and sadly it seems I’m a cliche too. Or maybe not, because I’m not exactly following the herd. I’m hereby naming 2017 the Year of My Way.

My way or the highway

There’s an expression here in Australia, “My way or the highway” meaning get on board, or hit the road and get going. There’s a bad case of this syndrome going around. Writers, publishers, well-meaning friends and others who have no idea about how to write a book, actually telling people how it must be done.

Apparently, depending on who you listen to, If you don’t do it their way, or whatever way is the professed wisdom of the moment (since it seems to change quite often) you’ll never be able to understand your characters, plot a book, finish a book, get a book finished quickly, write quality work, get a publishing contract, promote a book properly or have a bestseller. Whatever.

I decided early on this year to block my ears and metaphorically say “Lalalala, I can’t hear you” to all of them. You say, you have to write to the latest trends? I say, “Lalalala” I need to write the story that’s calling to me right now. You say, you must write every single day or you’re not a real writer? I say, “I can’t hear you…”

Meanwhile I’m busy not writing every day, since some of my days are devoted to purely Mum-related tasks. Some days ill health gets the better of me, and it’s all I can do to get through the bare minimum daily tasks.

Write what you know...or what I tell you!

I have a particular pet hate for other people telling me what to write, since they know (somehow) that’s what will sell, or get me noticed, or make my sales take off. I can tell you, these days I know a lot of writers. If I haven’t tried something personally, I can probably name someone off the top of my head who has. These ideas or snippets of advice are simply not right for everyone.

For example, a couple of years ago, Rural Romance (or Ru-Ro) was the hottest thing in Australian publishing. If a book couldn’t have a girl in a cowboy hat on the cover, it probably wouldn’t interest an Aussie publisher. If you knew all about horses or farms, or even outback police, more power to you. But otherwise, you were on the outer.

The thing is, no matter how many people told me to write an outback romance (and there were quite a few), I knew I couldn’t, and I didn’t want to. Probably because I have zero experience living in the outback. None. Zilch. Diddly.

I know it may surprise some US and international readers, but about eighty percent of Aussies actually live in cities or by the coast. Personally, I live in Melbourne, a city of about four million people. I worked in the central city for years in a high-rise office building. I occasionally took holidays, usually to the beach. I didn’t know the first thing about a muster, or a cattle station, or any of the other vaguely country-ish things in the rural books. And yet, people were dead-set that was the way to publishing success.

Guess what? It wasn’t. At least, not for me.

Wrong way, go back

Many people tried to advise me that what I needed was to finish about five or six books in quick succession. This wasn’t going to happen. First of all, it doesn’t seem to suit the way I instinctively work. I can work quickly, for a while. Then it just...comes to a grinding halt. I know this because I tried it. I have at least two or three ‘partials’ sitting there on my hard drive, not moving, not even uttering a sound. Seriously, not even a peep of voices in my head from the characters. Working fast has generally failed me so far.

On the other hand, there are writers who labour over every sentence, adding and deleting a single comma over hours of exhausting time. I’m not one of them either. Sometimes, I can dash off a scene that’s in my head and know, instantly, that it’s good. Other times, there’s nothing. This doesn’t mean I don’t try, it’s just a whole lot of nothing words that don’t advance the story or add much of anything. I need to allow myself time to think and brew the story like a strong cup of tea.

I also know that I want to write the type of books that entertained me as a commuter, reading books nearly every day on the train. Romantic comedies and sexy romances, not the hard brain-straining literary matter that yet other people advised me to write. You know, the type I don’t really even want to read. Sigh. So, I followed my instincts.

My Way

This year I wrote a shorter novella, Heart Note, that was calling to me. I didn’t think it would fit with what my publisher was looking for, it wasn’t a full-length novel for starters, and frankly when I went to the Romance Writers of Australia conference, publishers and agents were all saying they didn’t want novellas.

I didn’t care, since I knew this was the next thing I had to write. I’d self-publish it. I’d work out the timelines and everything else, because that’s the way this particular project needed to be done. Now it’s complete, published, it’s been moderately successful already (hitting the top 100 Humor Fiction lists on Amazon in a few countries, thanks very much!), I can breathe a sigh of relief and satisfaction.

I'm heading in my own direction. I’m doing it my way, and it’s going just fine.

Don't talk to me about making detailed plans or road maps, or new year's resolutions, but bring on 2018!

Reinvention or Invention? (a game of Warmer-Cooler)

by M. L. Buchman

I remember a game in a personal growth workshop that I took ages ago. There's a simple kid's game called "Warmer-Cooler." For those of you who missed it, one kid is blindfolded. They take a step and the target answers with warmer or cooler depending on if you are moving toward or away from them. Eventually, the blindfolded kid reaches the target by following the general trends of "warmer" and avoiding the "cooler" directions. (Does this mean we were all uncool as kids? Hmm...)

At the workshop, the instructor reminded us of this game, then he stepped onto the floor. Warmer, cooler, warmer...a big jump in the wrong direction earned him a "cold!" And then he simply stood still and waited. And waited. And waited. No movement by the instructor equaled no response of the target.

Well, that was a huge lesson for me in a Duh! sort of way. If you don't take action (and listen), you don't move forward. I had never stopped moving, I was still too young and excited by possibilities. Since then I've done it with intent and attention.

A second story. My Dad got out of college, looked at the world, and decided that it sucked. His comment, "I gave up introspection at twenty-five as a waste of time." He was very successful at this career, and as far as my sister and I could tell, happy for none of it. He'd stopped trying. He saw the track ahead and followed it relentlessly without any thought to, well, anything.

I spent thirty years as a corporate project manager. I built computer systems, changed policies, and made office operations more efficient. I saved corporations thousands and occasionally millions. I was hard on that track to success. 

But I was also always looking for what was interesting. I think I was more excited about the challenges of each of my jobs than my father was for his at almost any time.

Warmer. Cooler.

Here's where the writing comes in.

There I was in full corporate mode...well, sorta. I'd burned out badly and was taking a break, but I knew I'd go back to corporate--as I eventually did. However, I also decided to write a story. A silly story. One that turned into my first novel and eventually my first novel sale.

http://www.mlbuchman.com/deities-anonymous/

A fantasy novel made perfect sense to me. I loved science fiction and fantasy. There'd been decades where I wrote nothing else. My next big book was a massive science fiction epic (still one of my personal favorites even if it is early writing).

http://www.mlbuchman.com/books/nara-reaction/

That was the path of my reinventing my project manager self as a writer. But I was a long, long way from making this into a career. I moved a major step closer when I decided to plunge in and try my hand at writing romance.

I hadn't known about romances growing up; I was an SF/F geek after all. Then I was dragged to my first ever romance conference at about the same time as the initial release of Cookbook From Hell. I read my first romances during the nights...rather than sleeping. Totally hooked! Though it would be another ten years before I felt I'd read enough of them to try my own hand at them.

http://www.mlbuchman.com/where-dreams/

The Where Dreams series was the result. Five romances set in the heart of Seattle's Pike Place Market. (BTW, this title is currently on a rare $0.99 sale to celebrate all new covers for the series if you want to try it out.)

From there I launched into the military romantic suspense series that I'm now known for: The Night Stalkers, Firehawks, and Delta Force.

I'm a corporate project manager...except I'm not anymore. I'm a full-time writer.

I'm an SF/F writer, except I'm not anymore. I now have series in: SF/F, contemporary romance (3), military romantic suspense (3), and even thrillers.

By not buying into anyone's view of myself other than my own, I have avoided stagnating to others' stereotypes. By not buying into my own view of myself, I grow and evolve as a writer. (You've all read those writers who stop growing? The ones you stopped reading because they just weren't fun anymore? Well, guess what, they weren't having fun either...and it shows.)

I finally decided that I haven't reinvented myself. Instead, I've never stopped inventing myself. I just read an interview with Nicole Kidman: I Still Act Like I'm 21. Is it any wonder that she has four separate films up for awards at the Cannes festival?

I want to always write like I'm 21. Unafraid, seeking to always be better than I was yesterday. Taking risks. Because guess what?

Every single time I take a risk, I get a response: Warmer / Cooler. 

I'm getting warmer all the time.

M.L. Buchman started the first of, what is now over 50 novels and as many short stories, while flying from South Korea to ride his bicycle across the Australian Outback. Part of a solo around the world trip that ultimately launched his writing career.

All three of his military romantic suspense series—The Night Stalkers, Firehawks, and Delta Force—have had a title named “Top 10 Romance of the Year” by the American Library Association’s Booklist. NPR and Barnes & Noble have named other titles “Top 5 Romance of the Year.” In 2016 he was a finalist for Romance Writers of America prestigious RITA award. He also writes: contemporary romance, thrillers, and fantasy.

Past lives include: years as a project manager, rebuilding and single-handing a fifty-foot sailboat, both flying and jumping out of airplanes, and he has designed and built two houses. He is now making his living as a full-time writer on the Oregon Coast with his beloved wife and is constantly amazed at what you can do with a degree in Geophysics. You may keep up with his writing and receive a free starter e-library by subscribing to his newsletter at: www.mlbuchman.com

When A Realignment With Writing Career Is The Way To Go

by Michelle Monkou

My 2017 is a year of change. Whether for the mind or the body, my goals have covered it all with big plans. Initially, it felt easy to call it a reinvention. But after checking the definition, I've realized that my next phase is more of a realignment.

According to dictionary.com: Reinvention is to make over as in a different form or to revive.

Realignment is an adjustment to a line; a proper adjustment of the components for coordinated functioning.

I've taken my writing skills, business knowledge, and core passion to realign with my writer identity . What I've chosen to do is to follow the inner voice that has been quite loud and insistent for me to stop what I've been doing and refocus. What brought me passion for close to 15 years in my writing world no longer motivated me to continue down the same path.

And to get on that new path required time, patience, and not too many intrusive, even if well-intentioned, input. The process of determining exactly what the next phase of my journey would be reacquired a certain level of humility, but also a large dose of confidence.

During this time, I also found that listening to motivational tapes and instructional webinars did help to hear from experts outside of the writing community. A fresh perspective is always welcomed to see things from angles that were not used or relied upon for its unique position.

After much soul searching that I believe will be ongoing for several months as I tweak, I was able to start writing a list of what I wanted to accomplish. I didn't censor the list or hesitate over any of it. It was a stream of consciousness that wouldn't be limited by current circumstances or shaped by what others may have done in their career.

So for anyone walking in similar shoes, I wish you well.

Stay tuned and if you'd like to keep updated with my goings on, feel free to sign up for my newsletter.

Michelle
Website

Busting Burnout

by M. L. Buchman

I've been seeing a very disturbing trend here in early 2016—I'm losing writing friends. They're still friends, but they're dropping out of writing.

"I'm just not selling enough."

"Look at xxx's huge successes. If I can't sell a 10,000 copies a month like them, what's the point?"

Or they just go quiet, really quiet.

Having burned out of careers in the past (more than once), I've done a lot of thinking on this. And with friends "disappearing" around me, I've had to stop and look at myself as well. Losing my job, career, and house again and then being such a mess that I decided the only sensible cure was to go on an 18-month solo bicycle trip around the world—it's just not a place I want to go to again. (Though I did see some incredible places and meet some cool folks along the way.)

A Japanese family who invited me in so that they could practice their English.

Badly losing a beauty competition with a 2,000 year old Indian statue.

I think the problem is three-fold:

Fold #1

The gold rush days of indie publishing are over..and have been for a year or so. Indie publishing hit with a splash. The "Kindle Christmas of 2011" brought the revolution into the mainstream. For 3 years after that people were making big splashes with $0.99 books and then mega-bundles and then... In the last year all of those have faded away. We're now to the point where indie publishing is as mainstream as traditional and (depending on whose numbers you read and how you read them, almost as large). This means that the get-rich-quick crowd, or even the get-a-major-jump-start contingent are now headed only for disappointment.

In traditional publishing it often took years to get a contract (I have 440 rejections over a 13-year period in a file somewhere). Then another 2-3 years to release after contract and we hoped that we could, over the next 10-20 years, turn it into a viable career and "retire" into full-time writing. Even my most time-advantaged and gifted traditional writing friends took a minimum of 5-7 years. The Kindle Christmas was only five years ago.

Fold #2

Some of us can run a small business and some can't. Traditional publishing took most of the mechanics out of our hands, along with most of the money. I find that the time investment for a traditional versus an indie book is little different, but they took care of finding copyeditors and designers, etc. The tasks were equally time consuming, but the details were handled for us. 

I've often heard that indie publishing is simple, it's just not easy. Sorry folks, it just ain't true. Being a writer is hard work. And then to have to found a business and enjoy that part of it as well...that's knocked a lot of my friends out of the running. 

Fold #3

Validation. It used to be that we were validated (stamped and marked as the anointed who were "good enough") by a traditional publishing contract. But in the indie world, what's our validation? The Amazon engine that says "Your book will be available in 24-48 hours" doesn't quite cut it, does it? Nor Kobo's "We'll take it from here."

Finding that motivation to drive yourself forward, sans validation, is one of the hardest tasks of all. It must come from inside. It must come from the writing. 

Friends who ask me how to keep going, I tell them they must go back to the beginning. Write. It is the reason you started this in the first place was to tell stories. Do it. If you're in it because you wanted to get rich quick...good luck with that, but don't whine to me when it doesn't work out.

Unraveling the Folds

By this time, if you haven't "folded up," you're wondering how to survive at all. I can only speak from personal experience. When I've hit the wall before, it was when my career became too important. It sounds weird, but there it is. I would work ungodly hours and apply unreasonable pressures on myself to succeed. I often crossed 100-hour work weeks (before the burnout bike trip I had done it steadily for 7 years).

There is supposed to be joy in life, at least that's what they tell us. Well, guess what. When there isn't joy, everyone can see it. It was as obvious when I was leading million dollar projects as it is when I'm writing a short story.

On The Voice this year, Pharrell Williams said something to a contestant that I think lies at the heart of this matter:

Show them how much fun YOU'RE having!

Because frankly, if you aren't having fun, you will burn out; that's a guarantee. I still work 70-hour weeks and I feel none of the edge-of-burnout that I know so well. Why? I love what I do, all of what I do. That's my guideline. That's why I do so little social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc, just don't bring me joy). But I enjoy business. I like the occasional mindless tedium of publishing, and I love visiting new places and new characters with the written word. My books are where I go to have FUN! And as long as I keep doing that, I expect the burnout will stay at bay. 

Follow the joy, I highly recommend it.

Look for my latest form of fun on February 2nd.

My newest Night Stalkers novel.

More info at my website: www.mlbuchman.com

M. L. Buchman has over 40 novels in print. His military romantic suspense books have been named Barnes & Noble and NPR “Top 5 of the year” and twice Booklist “Top 10 of the Year,” placing two titles on their “Top 101 Romances of the Last 10 Years” list. He has been nominated for the Reviewer’s Choice Award for “Top 10 Romantic Suspense of 2014” by RT Book Reviews. In addition to romance, he also writes thrillers, fantasy, and science fiction.

In among his career as a corporate project manager he has: rebuilt and single-handed a fifty-foot sailboat, both flown and jumped out of airplanes, designed and built two houses, and bicycled solo around the world.

He is now making his living as a full-time writer on the Oregon Coast with his beloved wife and is constantly amazed at what you can do with a degree in Geophysics. You may keep up with his writing by subscribing to his newsletter at www.mlbuchman.com.

Writers at Work

by M.L. Buchman

When my kid was little, she was riding with her mom in the car. A flagger stopped them at a construction site and they both watched the happenings around them in a comfortable silence. Then my kid turned to her mom and delivered her first-ever complete sentence with absolute seriousness, "Men move dirt."

I've done a lot of jobs over the years; some fairly normal, some rather peculiar, and yes, some moving dirt. I spent five years odd-jobbing in restaurants, rebuilding a 50' sailboat, as an electrician and technical director in live theater, etc. Then I stumbled into corporate and for the next few decades I did a wild array of law, computers, construction, opera, and even designing tourist maps. I was on the leading edge of IT, Lean, Project Management, and a dozen other things that have turned into a blur.

And then 2-1/2 years ago, I became a full-time writer. That's not a leap you make idly, or should make at all without massive savings or a large retirement fund. We had neither but by dint of hard work (and totally awesome fans), it's working out okay.

So, we decided to take our first vacation in a long time. Let's just say that having a kid in college during a recession that cost me two different jobs and the loss of a house I'd designed and built to last as long as we lived, we haven't had one in a while. But we checked the bank account, and then we checked it again, and it said, "Sure, but don't go wild."

Oddly enough, that was easy. We live in the Pacific Northwest and it is one of the most beautiful places on the planet (No, wait! Don't move here. It rains all the time. Honest...No, really!). We thought about it a little and I also happened to think about the book I was presently writing. The lead female character was being reluctant about revealing her past...in other words, she didn't have one and was falling flat on the page due to the lack.

And then I thought about a nice trip and I turned to my wife, "Victoria, BC on Vancouver Island seems like a nice place to visit, doesn't it?" We've both been there several times and it is truly one of the highlights of the Northwest. "Sounds like a good place to come from as well," my stumbling character stood upright and nodded knowingly to the north.

It did.

So we drove from our home on the Oregon Coast, up along the Olympic Peninsula, and took a ferry over to Victoria. And that's when things started getting strange. As the ferry was pulling in, I looked out the window and saw the town's gorgeous skyline. Which I didn't get a picture of, because I was taking this one instead.

Little known fact, Victoria is the second busiest seaplane port in North America (the busiest is Skagway, Alaska because it's the only way in or out). And parked right there was the plane that I had already decided would be the featured aircraft in my current novel (a DHC-6 Twin Otter). At this point my character was chortling over my shoulder, "That's where I learned how to fly." I'd been wondering.

Then we visited the BC Royal Museum, one of the nicest small museums anywhere. My wife had arranged a behind the scenes tour where we, by pure chance, managed to meet the Head of Exhibits, the guy who heads the group that builds, installs, and maintains all of the exhibits. No pictures, but a great half hour conversation. My character thought this was almost as cool as I did and insisted that she wanted to work here before joining the military.

Then we wandered down to the docks where I was able to see my planes a little closer.

Even a lot closer.

I also spent about a half hour chatting with a pilot about handling characteristics and a tricky landing he made in Malta that is definitely going to end up in the book somehow.

We drove all over Victoria to find out where my character lived. We explored libraries and finally took a little ferry ride to see what her daily commute would be like. These ferries are just too cute for words. They're so cute, they even do ballets. Watch this, you'll thank me. (Ballet begins around 1:00.)

As we were taking this tiny ferry tour along the harbor, my wife and I were taking photographs and discussing what my heroine might see and think as she passed different sights. We were afloat in a beautiful harbor on a gorgeous day and would soon be out having a nice English tea in the middle of our first vacation in seven years.

Then I was struck by an interesting thought and I turned to her in astonishment and said:
"I'm working right now."

Let's hear it for being a writer!

My character who grew up in Victoria, won't actually have her book out until next September...it isn't even finished yet. But my next Firehawks book will be out in two weeks, so you might want to catch that in the meantime. It's set in another lovely part of the Pacific Northwest.

Release August 4th - available for pre-order now

This is definitely my favorite job yet!

Celebrating Becoming an Author - Or How My Life Took a Right Turn

I never thought I would be an author; that possibility never crossed my mind. I went through my life, changing careers as circumstances demanded. High school teacher, stay-at-home mother of four, food service, travel agent, teacher again. The kids grew. The end of college bills were in sight. Now was my chance!

I could do whatever I wanted to do with my next career. But I had no idea what that would be.

I didn't know I wanted to be a writer. I started on a whim, inspired by Diana Gabaldon's statement that "the best way to learn to write a book is to write a book." That sounded like a challenge. A fun one.

So I bought a laptop and began writing my first manuscript on August 1, 2006. And that's when my life took a hard right turn.

The words flooded out like I had turned on a faucet. The characters emerged, three-dimensional and suitably flawed. The plot had twists. And the story turned out to be a trilogy, following the same couple for three years.

Over the next four years, I learned how to write "right" for today's market. I rewrote the rewriting. Again. I won over an agent. Eventually I self-published, and after that a publisher offered a multi-book contract for one of my ongoing characters. Five books, so far.

Along the way, I began to see how my previous experiences could help me in my new career: art background for graphic design, event planning from running proms -- plus countless other Student Council events, using my speaking and teaching skills to help others do what I have learned to do.

Everyday I celebrate that very fact: I am using all the various skills I have acquired over my lifetime in this, what is possibly my culminating career.

I don't know if I will ever do anything else, and I say that for two reasons. First, I was already 53 when I started, and I will turn 60 in September. Secondly, I am having more dang fun than should be legal! Don't get me wrong, I'm working my fanny off about 60 hours a week. But I can't see a reason to ever quit writing and publishing.

No one ever told me as I grew up, that who you are today will be different than who you are tomorrow. Each day our experiences mold us. I don't think we ever finish that process. Our future is always new uncharted territory. We can always try a new path.

Now THAT'S a reason to celebrate!