Author Bio:
Living on the east coast, I love to travel to Maine. It is just far enough away to enjoy time with my wonderful family without the weight of work or competing schedules, but close enough that most of the short time to escape is not taken by travel. The beautiful scenery and abundance of woods and rocky beaches offers us peace and tranquility. I am the mother of three wonderful children and work in a law firm. Writing is something I never thought I could do. My vast work experience is more in accounting and legal work dealing with figures and asset allocation. Writing became a way to allow my mind to escape for short periods of time while my body stayed anchored to care for two dying parents and ensuring that I could still provide a warm and loving home to my children who agreed to be uprooted to help care for their grandparents.
What inspires you to write?
Writing for me was born out of the necessity for some peace and relief during a draining and guilt ridden time in my life. My three wonderful children and husband underwent the difficult ordeal of uprooting our lives to care for my parents who were each dying of cancer.
Drastically altering our lives to ensure that the wonderful people who cared for me during childhood and were giving and loving grandparents to their only grandchildren had their family caring for their daily needs during the three years of their waning lives when cancer ensured they could not take care of themselves, was both rewarding and heart wrenching. The guilt of drastically changing the lives of my children and impairing their freedom led to many a sleepless night and the birth of this novel.
Tell us about your writing process.
The process started truly as a complete surprise. Speaking to a client who had gone through a similar experience that we were in the midst of, she suggested that a way to deal the warring emotions would be to sit at the computer and write them down, especially when you can’t really talk to those closest to you because they are experiencing the tough time and need you to be strong. I did sit down, but then how do you complain about a situation that you chose to enter into, were not mad about, but felt guilty over not being there for everyone 100% because so many people needed you. Sitting there, staring at the screen my mind suddenly drifted toward the road that became an escape route in my prologue. My fingers began flying across the keyboard, but truly, I wasn’t reading the words, I was describing the images that began forming in my head. The next evening, when everyone was asleep, I opened the computer and was absolutely shocked at what was before me. I’m not saying that it was well written, some may say it still needs help and probably does, but for a numbers person, I was truly astonished that anything, even somewhat creative came from me. As I got to the end of the writing, the pictures began forming again. I could see what happened next and my fingers began flying once more. Now that it has started, the process is always rattling around somewhere in my mind, no matter what else I am doing. I have the pockets of paper with jotted notes and written sections of chapters to prove it. I now find that even when I’m working, participating in an activity with my children or taking a run, the characters of this book are never far behind. Thankfully, I have determined that it is best to carry around small journals to keep notes. Seeing how young children need continuous reassurance to move forward and how the feelings of fear, desperation or even despair gives rise to individuals believing they are stuck traveling is circles, having the same conversations over and over again until they can find the courage to break free from their situation or overcome their fears, inspired the direction I took with the main characters of this book. During the evening after everyone has retired and I need time to unwind, I take the opportunity to open the computer and put into words the movie that begins playing in my thoughts. After several reviews, edits and some beta testing, my first book was born.
What advice would you give other writers?
Writing is intensely personal. It can take you anywhere, allow you to do anything, and provide a creative outlet that is not destructive to yourself or others when dealing with issues you feel are challenging and sometimes more than you can handle. Write first and foremost for yourself and see where it takes you. If you want to publish, do so. Don’t let anyone else’s opinion take your gift away from you. Not every writing style appeals to everyone, some people will hate it, others will love, and still others may mock it, so keep trying until you find the person who will help you get to where you want to go or you yourself get you there. Don’t let rejection close off your opportunity to grow as a person through your writing. Every rejection is someone’s opinion only and usually we can learn something from it, improve as we move forward and get stronger because of it. If your story only touches the life of one other person, makes a difference in their life by providing them relief during a troubling time or a laugh when they need it, you have done a lot, and may even inspire them to touch the life of someone else.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
Publishing was never something envisioned when the book was being written. However after revealing it to show a creative and non-harmful way of dealing with stress, we came up with the idea of passing it along to readers who did not know who authored the story with a survey attached. The feedback led to the idea of publishing the book with the purpose of trying to start something good for charity, hospitals in particular, which assist children fighting cancer and their families.
Despite our trials, as we looked around us, we realized for everything we felt, it is nothing compared to parents who are dealing with young children who fight the deadly disease and the siblings who struggle with guilt as they enjoy pleasures that their brother and sister are sometimes unable to participate in because of their long hospital stays.
Grateful for the blessings that we have and aware of the trials and tribulations of so many families struggling when cancer strikes, this book is dedicated to them and the publishing of the book for free with a note to the reader that if they find it offered them a few hours of entertainment to consider donating to a Boston hospital serving children with cancer or their own local hospital will hopefully provide donations that can help someone else.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I am hopeful for the future of publishing. I believe that the internet is offering a tremendous opportunity to indie writers who cannot break into traditional publishing because they get lost in the maze of you need a literary agent to find a publisher, if you are not published, the literary agent who is already inundated by the requests they are receiving on top of trying to service established writers in the limited hours per day they can work doesn’t have the time that you have to get your words out there. Sites such as bookgoodies, smashwords and others allows a writer who has a story to tell, which others may enjoy, to put sweat equity into their work and utilize tools that would not otherwise be available to bring entertainment to those who may enjoy a good read.
What do you use?
Beta Readers
What genres do you write?
Romance, Mystery
What formats are your books in?
eBook
Website(s)
Link to Author Page on other site
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