Monday, March 12, 2012

A Milestone

I was interviewed.

As an author.

By an author.

I can't tell you how validating that feels. Even though I have two books out and a number of blogs where I write regularly, I can not find it in myself to tell people I am an author. Why is that? It feels like I'm not allowed to call myself an author until .... what? Until I earn enough by writing to support myself? That means almost no one ever has been or ever will be an author. Even people who write bestsellers often have a day job.

Am I waiting until someone else calls me an author? If that's what it is, then today I am an author. (Look Ma! An author!). :D

Go check it out. You'll fall in love with The Sarcasm Goddess. Maybe you'll like me, too.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

What It Is

Writing is a lot of things. It's work. It's a process. It's a ride. It's imagination (even non-fiction writing takes imagination!). It's pounding your head against your keyboard in frustration and desperation. It's a catharsis, a balm and an open sore. Which is why we love it, I guess.

After a year of thinking and rethinking, writing and rewriting, my second novel is in the process of being released. It's on Amazon and Smashwords now and will soon be available nearly everywhere else that ebooks are sold. I hope.

For me, this series is something of a journey. It started many years ago with a homework assignment that planted the seed of a story in my brain. I had to grow up, get married, have children, get a career, have grown children and have more freedom before I finally took the time to grow that story seed.

Then I had to decide who the characters were going to be. That's always my first step in any writing project: who am I writing about? I might be writing about me or my dog or my momma on my blog. For a novel, I need to know who I am writing about and whose story I am going to tell.

The first book was finished; that story was told. Now I had to decide who the sequel would be about. Did I want to continue where the first book left off? That's always a good choice. But I decided to head in a slightly different direction. (Don't read any further if you are worried about spoilers). I chose to start with a new main character: Geneva, a woman who is a distant relative of my first book's main character, Sarah. Geneva has her own challenges and her own attributes, but she shares the same gift as Sarah.

Sarah makes a cameo appearance in the sequel, and I'll let you in on a little secret. That was foreshadowing. In the sequel, Geneva and Sarah learn of each other's existence through one of Geneva's sons. The third book is going to bring that idea to fruition. 'Nuf said.

I started by telling you a story. So far, with one exception, readers have been telling me that you enjoyed the ride. Now the second part of the story is ready for you and I hope you love it, too. In a year or so, we may meet again to talk about the third book.