My Writing Journey ~Part #1

I planned to be an author from a young age. I filled a notebook with stories and told my mom that I was sure I’d publish a book by the time I was twelve.

I wrote a story for a Christian teen magazine in the 1980s. I won $10, and the magazine published my name in the honorable mentions. I remember my dad editing the story and telling me that I couldn’t use exclamation points! (That’s sad!).

The story is pretty bad if I do say so myself, but not as bad as the epic novel I wrote when I was 11. It included tragic stories of triplets dying on the same day. I blogged and wrote stories on Facebook and in our family scrapbooks through the years, and I tossed around ideas for a book, but nothing ever worked out. I didn’t have time, and I wasn’t in a season of life to learn how to write well.

One day years ago, I ran errands and saw a vintage pink convertible Cadillac drive past. Three women sat in the front seat laughing. I wondered where they were off to and how they knew each other. Their big smiles and wind-blown hair stayed with me. They belonged on the front of a novel.

I tossed around the idea of a novel about a road trip for ages, but since I prefer to stay home and hate road trips, I didn’t find any wonderful ideas.

Writing a book was on my “someday” list until my biggest cheerleader–my mom–died in April 2020. In my grief and taking stock of life, I decided to work toward my lifelong goal of writing a book. When I was writing terrible tragedies, my mom always cheered for me. I so wish that I’d have written my first novel while she was alive to see me accomplish my goal.

Now that I knew I wanted to work on writing my first novel, I needed to figure out how to do the work. One day, I opened an email from Jerry Jenkins inviting me to a free webinar about writing your novel. I attended the webinar and learned about his course to write a novel, and guess what I did? I drained my account from selling on eBay, and I signed up for Your Novel Blueprint.

And then I thought I might get sick because it wasn’t cheap.

And then I thought, “What an impostor–you can’t write a book!”

And then I thought, “Okay, you spent that money, now get it done!”

Signing up for the course may have been the best decision I made. The course walked me through everything, including how to set up a page for my rough draft in Word. A nice bonus includes participation in a Facebook group that Jerry pops into and answers questions.

I failed my “elevator pitch” (Two-minute explanation of my story ) so often that I quit counting. I tried to explain my idea to my friends, watched their eyes glaze over, and the whisper that I couldn’t do this got louder.

I sat at the computer and worked so hard on my first ten pages so I could submit them for a critique. The critique was hard to hear, and the whisper got louder.

I remember when the number count on my manuscript reached 5,000 words, and I sat in my computer chair and cheered for myself. I was doing it!! (Sorry, Dad, the exclamation point fit there.)

I wrote and wrote and wrote and fixed and fixed and fixed. My story changed into a split time (two storylines) novel in the middle of writing, which caused a lot more work. I promised myself that I wouldn’t do that again–haha.

I sat at the computer and watched as a character changed her story in front of my eyes. My jaw dropped. I’d heard authors say that happens, but experiencing it was crazy.

Eventually, it was ready to send to a group of people to read and critique–my alpha readers. They are my best tool, and I appreciate every single one of them. They pointed out my mistakes, and oh boy! The first read-through had so many mistakes–so many. UGGG.

One thing I learned was that I needed to do my first rewrite before I send the book out to my alpha readers.

From Jerry Jenkins, I learned to have a thick skin, which came in handy with my alpha readers. I admit I felt a bit deflated at first, but I bucked up and took Jerry’s advice, and listened to every comment. Did I change every single thing pointed out? No, I did not, but their time, support, and care for me and my story helped my book, and I’m so thankful.

I based The Road Home in Wisconsin–where I live–and in Appalachian Kentucky–where my Grandma grew up. We took a road trip last year and stopped to visit cousins and see the town.

I am far past twelve, but my first novel is ready to publish, and I’m so excited. I even managed to work a road trip and even a pink Cadillac into my book.

Thank you for joining me on my journey. If you sign up for my email list, I’ll share a sneak peek of this novel and information on upcoming projects. Novel #2 is in the rewrite stage, and I’m sure you want to be the first to hear all about it, right?

Sometimes your past catches up with you. Sometimes you confront your past.

When a life of tragedy leaves Audra March with a desperate desire for acceptance, she blurs the line between right and wrong. She runs from her tainted past and creates a new identity in a small Wisconsin town.

When she discovers a vintage recipe box, her search for the owner takes Audra across the country and sets her on a collision course with the truth. With the help of an Appalachian preacher and the long-buried deception of an elderly woman, Audra learns the value of honesty and trust. For the first time, she finds hope for her future.

But when her carefully crafted identity is at risk, her resolve is tested. Will she run again? Or will she confront the consequences of her past?