Tag Archive | author

Writer Wednesday: Kendra Broekhuis

Nov5
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Writer Wednesday: Kendra Broekhuis

I’m happy to welcome author Kendra Brockhuis to my blog to discuss her writing journey.

When did you decide you would be an author? Was it something you fell into, felt called to…?

My husband and I got married and one month later moved to Guatemala to teach at an English immersion school. I realized the “cool” thing to do when one moves overseas is to start a blog, so I did. This is where my deep love for writing began. While in Guatemala, writing became much more than a way to keep in touch. It was also a way for me to process whatever was happening in my life, including our move overseas, my passage into motherhood, and my grief. I wrote Christian nonfiction articles and social media for about a decade before pivoting to fiction in 2020.

What’s your pet peeve?

I asked my husband for help on this question and he said: “You don’t love clutter.” He’s right. It’s not about having a perfectly clean house—though I do enjoy the two seconds after I’ve cleaned my house that it stays clean—it’s more about holding onto things our family doesn’t use that take up space in our home and make me feel sensory overload.

What was your most embarrassing moment as a writer?

I once visited a book club who’d just read and discussed my book. A few days later, one of the women from that book club posted a review online saying how much she didn’t like it. Readers are very much entitled to their opinions on what they enjoy, but it was slightly embarrassing to rub elbows in the intimate space of a living room with someone who goes on to publicly bash your work.

What has been your most difficult challenge as an author?

See above answer. I love getting to create. I love getting to work with a publishing house of people dedicated to helping me write the stories I want to write! The hard part is learning to be okay with my work not being everyone’s cup of tea. It’s all too easy to focus on the negative, even when you have encouragement coming from people who both enjoy and invest a lot in your work.

How do you process rejections and/or negative reviews?

Rejections are hard because in the writing world, they often come after 6-8 weeks of waiting and checking your phone for email notifications an unhealthy amount of times. Negative reviews are hard, and I’ll stop jabbering about why. Here’s a random list of a few things that help me:

  • Giving myself a day to feel hurt by those things, then opening my computer and getting back to the work that I love.
  • Buffering myself from reviews in general. Author Camille Pagán shared the idea of having someone you trust read your reviews and give you the basics. My husband has done this for me recently.
  • Being around people who “get” the difficulties of writing books—they remind me I’m not alone.
  • Being around people who know nothing about writing books—they remind me there’s a great big world out there I am not the center of, and there’s more to life than this work.
  • Clarifying my motivations and mindset. I am playing the long game in writing and publishing. This requires an attitude of accepting feedback and realizing how much I still have to learn. Also, I’m creating stories for the joy of creating stories. The work is the reward. The most joy I experience as an author is not even reading a positive review, but those precious days of getting to stare at the Word document of my current Work In Progress.

What do you feel is the best success so far in your writing career?

I’m constantly having to redefine success, and maybe that’s a success in itself? Here are a few things that make me feel successful as an author: Being adaptive to the publishing world in order to keep writing. Putting in the time to finish writing an entire novel. Getting to connect with other people—both authors and readers—who love the joy of books.

Creativity and connection—those are things I celebrate as a success!

What is your current work in process?

My next novel is a quirky dramedy called The Housewarming. It’s about a family who moves into a strict HOA neighborhood and, on their first night there, the house next door burns down, sending the block into juicy, what-just-happened spiral of drama.

Bio: Kendra Broekhuis writes stories on life’s heavy stuff with a dose of humor and a lot of love. She is the author of the novels Nearly Beloved and Between You and Us, as well as the nonfiction book Here Goes Nothing: An Introvert’s Reckless Attempt to Love Her Neighbor. For her day job, she stays home with her four kids and drives them from one place to another in her minivan. She and her family live in Milwaukee.

Website: http://www.kendrabroekhuis.com

Newsletter: http://www.kendrabroekhuis.com/newsletter

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kendrabroekhuisauthor

Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Kendra-Broekhuis/author/B06W5CRG3K?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=45a40d7e-7426-4551-872e-11065655c2fc

Latest book release: Nearly Beloved with WaterBrook.

Author Confessions: Just Write

Jun2
Reading Time: 5 minutes

Author Confessions: Just Write

When I started writing, it was a mere lark, a response to a dream and I had a blast putting those words on a page. That first novel (The Virtuous Viscount) underwent years of rewrites and revising and I still love the story even if it was an arduous process. It wasn’t the first book I published either, it was my tenth published work, my fifth full-length novel. By the time it was published I had accumulated a series and was writing in other genres and lengths. But it began with that one story I had dreamed about for years.

I remember one of the first conferences I attended, surrounded by other writers and it felt like home! They understood the writing life, the lessons to learn, the arduous path and the long shot of monetary success.

Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to talk to others who want to write. They want to know all there is to know before they start writing that story on their heart. I tell them to write it. Just write it. If you worry about all you need to know before you write, you never will. Even attending a conference can seem like drinking from a fire hose with the amount of information that comes your way.

My advice? Just write. 

Then start getting the information you need to edit and revise. You cannot edit a blank page.

I have done critiques for conferences and at one I got two different submissions from one person. The first one I struggled with. If this was the start of the story, I didn’t understand what he was trying to do. The second was stellar. When I met with him face to face to share my thoughts, he confessed they were part of the same story. The one I didn’t get, was the first chapter. The one I loved, was fifth. I told him maybe it would be better if he started there. He whined about all that wasted work. Nothing is wasted. Every thing you write, even if you have to take it out, adds to the experience of your story and makes you a better writer in the long run. I’ve thrown out a few first chapters on my journey as a writer.

Kind of true with life isn’t it? We go through tough times, make mistakes and can think it was all a waste of time. Yet on the other end we have grown through the process to hopefully be more mature and make wiser decisions. Yeah, I know that doesn’t work for everyone. Especially in this current climate where everyone is a victim and have no desire to take personal responsibility for their lives.

That doesn’t work as a writer. Don’t even bother then. Don’t pin all your hopes on being a New York Time’s Best Seller and being offered a boatload of cash for your years of hard work and learning. Sure, we would all love that, but the reality is a combintation of things: 1) There are a lot of writers publishing, even self-publishing, which can make it hard to push through the noise, 2) The attention span of most has become quite short. Add to that the possiblity that what you want to write and enjoy doesn’t have a wide audience ready to read it, publishers call it a niche market.

Does that mean a wanna-be author shouldn’t write? Absolutely not. But do so realizing that you may be a long time away from ever seeing fame and fortune from those wonderful words that pour from your pen or fingertips.

I apologize if I’m being a Debbie-downer.

Writing is lonely and criticism can be brutal and the journey to publication isn’t a glorious ride on a cruise. It can difficult and filled with hard work. It can be fun and enjoyable as well, especially if you connect with other writers.

I was at a conference where there was a contest and the winner would get a contract with a publishing house. The head of that house murmured that he wasn’t sure if it was a blessing or a curse, because once that person had a contract, the really hard work would begin. He wasn’t joking.

The winner wasn’t me but I have had contracts. I even had to terminate one when the publisher wasn’t following through on their end of the contract. That was hard. I had an agent, but never got anywhere with getting one of those coveted contracts with a big publishing house. I eventually stopped waiting for that big break. I don’t need fame to prove I’m a writer or that my words matter.

I was able to get published, but that didn’t come right away. I started writing for fun in 2009 and my first book wasn’t published until 2015 although a flash fiction and a short story were published in 2012 (shortly after that first conference!). Pretty much nothing more than writing credits. Six years but I had written so many books in that time and alternated between writing one and then setting it aside to edit a previous one, then writing another… you get the idea.

The reality is, I write books I want to read. My agent begged me to write Amish romances, but I refused because I thought they were cultish. I’ll tell you now, that after having adopted two Amish puppy mill rescues, the only story I would likely write would be one exposing how horrible they are. I have a sweet pup who has been with us for almost a year, just turning four–and is still traumatized. She didn’t produce enough puppies so they were going to kill her. My other dog, was going to be drowned because they couldn’t sell him for their exhorbitant prices.We got him at six months and in spite of a break in his tail which is camouflaged by the hair there, and a slightly wonky jaw, he is a delight to our home.

If you feel called or compelled to write, do it for yourself first. Yes, the common theme at writer’s conferences is to know your audience. Well, you are the first person in that audience so write what you would want to read and don’t worry about the rest. Not everything you write needs to be published, either.

There is no one right way to write a novel or non-fiction book. Sure, there are prinicples that need to be there, but you can get there by writing, reading, and learning along the way. Attend writer’s conferences if you can. If money is an issue, some have scholarships that can help.

It’s fine to dream of publication, but there’s no point in doing that if you haven’t written a word. Writing for the sake of writing has value as well.

My advice? Just write. 

 

Author Confessions: Author Pets

Oct14
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Author Confessions: Author Pets

One of my fave pics with Spatzle. I had him for 10 wonderful years.

Funny, I almost typed author pests. Maybe there is some truth to that because I sit and write I sometimes have a puppy plop into my lap or pull at my pants for attention. Sometimes they can be a pest.

Benji with my hubby, Ben. He picked us and we loved him for a short 18 months.

Some authors use their animals in their fiction. I did model a dog after my Spatzle when I wrote Donuts and Detours. That was the image I had in mind when I did that. Of course, my book reviews have been done by my dogs for many years now and that has been fun.

The sad part was when I had to say good-bye to a dog.  We got Benji to help Spatzle in his old age and it worked but he passed away in early 2022 and never had a chance to write for me as Spatzle did such a great job. Then we adopted Cooper because Spatzle was grieving and that gave us many more months with my sweet dog. Spatzle passed away at the end of 2022 Cooper took over for Spaztle on the blog. We never got him a companion because he was happier as an only dog. Cooper died February of this year (2024) as his health deteriorated so rapidy.

Cooper was silly and fun, we miss his antics.

Marley was with us for too short a time. We were sad to lose him too.

Oliver keeping watch. He reminds me so much of Spatzle, but is far more hyper and affectionate.

The day after we put Cooper down, I found Oliver. A 6 month old, and the same breed as Spatzle had been. Because our grief was great, we adopted the puppy. I didn’t want a puppy. Too much work. I wanted it potty trained. I discovered that “mostly potty trained” meant I still had messes in the house. Ah but Oliver is a cute little shenangiator and we’ve come a long way since we got him after we put Cooper down.

Two weeks later we adopted a senior dog, Marley, to help Oliver learn how to “dog”. It helped a lot but we only had a few short months with sweet Marley. Anticipating Marley’s death, we got an Amish puppy mill rescue who was three. Minnie was terrified. She’s come a long way since then but we hope that these sweet pups will be with us for a long time to come now. Marley had been our fourth senior dog to  be put down in a little over two years. That’s a lot of heartache.

Minnie has a lot to learn but she’s getting there!

Now these younger pups bring life and laughter to our days. When my hubby is off working on his various projects, they keep me company and I can’t sit at my computer for hours like I used to before dogs came into my life. That’s a good thing although I do find it sometimes annoying.

Many authors do have pets. But then, many humans do. Being an author can be isolating and having a devoted fuzzy friend can be a comfort on any day and a delight on many of those with their shenanigans.

Since I’ve started adding Oliver and Minnie and having them share the book reviews here on the blog I figured it would be good to let you know where the other ones have gone. They may not be in our home any more but they are forever in our hearts.

Author Confessions: Owning My Mistakes (Ouch!)

Jun10
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Author Confession: Owning My Mistakes (Ouch!)

I would rather not write this post. I used to be in a relationship with someone I called “the blame-shifter.” Nothing was ever his fault. Anything that happened, was due to someone else’s nefarious sins. Any failure in our relationship was always my fault because he was perfect. It always bothered me. I don’t ever want to be like that.

This past week I discovered that something slipped by me with my editing work for another author. Ugh. The last time something like that happened was when my father was dying and I thought we were all done with edits on a manuscript and so didn’t think about it only to realize, oops! It still had one more round to go! I blitzed and and so did the copyeditor, of course after copious apologies from me. We got it done because I caught it soon enough. Grief can do amazing things to our memory and while that might be true, the reality is, I should have been more diligent. You’d think I’d learned that lesson.

Last fall I sent two manuscripts to an author whom I’ve been working with for about ten years now. She’s always been on time with returning edits and somehow when I looked at our tracker for our projects I didn’t realize that she still had the documents. Odd. Not her fault though. We had a computer glitch in the fall and documents (as in edits) were not being sent out via the system like they should have. It never dawned on me that they never got to her.

So the other day I was in the tracker getting some stuff input for Christmas novellas when I realized this author had a book scheduled to release in two months. Shouldn’t be an issue if we were finishing up copyedits or final proofs but it had only been through one round of edits. Yikes! How did I miss this? Yes, life is busy and to be honest, there is no good excuse for this. The author never inquired as to where the edits, however,  I am the editor and I’m responsible to manage the project and I failed miserably, aided perhaps by a computer glitch, but still, I screwed up.

I instantly emailed the author with the edits (it really impacted two of her projects coming out close together). Once I got those sent, I called my Editor-in-Chief to confess my flub. She was gracious. Yes, we had computer issues and email issues. She said, “It’s OK, Susan.” I responded. “No, it isn’t. While I appreciate your forgiveness and understanding it is causing a ripple effect for everyone.  I messed up. It shouldn’t have happened.”

The author was gracious as well when we decided that the project due in two months would get pushed off to March 2025 due to no other room in the publishing schedule to get it out this year. The upside of this is with two other manuscripts she has releasing this year it will make her work load a lot lighter and she’ll be able to stretch out her marketing for each book so they get the attention they deserve. Less work? Why would that be a bad thing?

This is a multi-published author who has been down the path to publication many times so for her this wasn’t as devastating as it might have been for a first time author. I had that happen with my first novel when someone messed up and we had to delay the release by a few months. I was crushed. I cried. Life happens, but it still was hard to swallow. Fast forward several years and I had some major edits on a story (long story I’ll probably never tell here, but it was agonizing). This came as I was recovering from  surgery and planning a move and a wedding in a short period of time. Even without all that happening I would never have been able to do what that copyeditor wanted me to do and get it done in time for publication. It is unusual for publishing dates to be pushed off, but unexpected things can crop up on the process. I had another book project with another publisher early on in my career, that kept getting delayed so much that I finally had to cancel my contract with them (they violated the terms of the contract).  We parted ways amicably and while that book (non-fiction) is still awaiting publication, I hope it will release someday when God deems it is ready. Not like I don’t have enough to do right now as it is. My plate is full.

With this experienced author, we could have skipped steps to try to make the deadline, but I’ve learned enough through the years that we need to respect the process and unfortunately, time is an essential part of that. Due to the fact that we are not machines, but human beings, editing needs time and space between work done on a manuscript so the author, and editor, can review it objectively.

So, I’ve now shared with you the truly human factor in publishing. People mess up. We make mistakes.  We miss things. I’ve been on both sides of the issue. I am never offended when an author asks where things are at with a submission or in the editing process because I recognize that it is important to them and sometimes those reminders help keep me on track or take a second look to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I shouldn’t need those reminders, but life does get busy for all of us. I’m not making an excuse or blaming anyone else but myself. Any good author, editor, or publisher will be willing to own their mistakes along the way. Ultimately, God is over all of this and perhaps this delay for this particular author will give her not only more time to do the work that needs to be done and do it well, but bless her writing in untold ways. I don’t know. I’m not blaming God. It’s a truth that even when we mess up in life, and own our mistakes, HE is still capable of bringing good out of it. Owning my mistakes though is an important part of the process, even though it hurts to admit just how human I am.

Author Confessions: My Children are Unimpressed

Feb19
Reading Time: 3 minutes

My Children are Unimpressed

It’s funny that my kids are not impressed the fact that their mother has published a long list of novels. I’m not a famous doctor or multi-millionaire who owns corporations or a private jet. Maybe those would garner attention?

I doubt it. I’m Mom. I’m the one who was always there, making meals, picking them up from school, cheering them on in their sports endeavors.

Some people are impressed but it’s usually followed with “I’ve always wanted to write a book.”

“Great!” I reply. “You should do it.”

I’ve met with people who want to know how. If I were to inundate them with all the things they need to now to be published they’d never write a word. I tell them to write the story on their heart. Whatever it is. Then they can decide what they want to do with it.

I thought I knew how to write when I wrote my first book. Boy was I wrong! I learned so much through the process of those first few books. It’s humbling. I’m still learning. Sometimes I try something new but it flops with my editor and I have to go back and rewrite. There are skills I’ve haven’t mastered yet as well as I’d like to. I am also an editor, so I try to help my authors get to those next steps as well. Hopefully, every book I write is better than the last one.

Recently some people at church have realized that I’m an author and they are starting to read my books. I’m still Susan to them. They enjoy the stories and that is so sweet to hear their comments. I’m not a celebrity though. The work I’ve done conveys no special honor in my church family. There are a few who are honored to be my close friends and have encouraged me on my writing journey through the years.

When my first book hit the best-seller list at number one shortly after publication it was surreal. It lasted a week and only because the publisher dropped the price. Basically it only sold more than the other books out there that week. I realized then that it was an illusion.

Will my children ever realize the hard work I’ve done? Will they ever even read one of my books and be amazed that their Mom wrote them? I often read something I’ve written and been amazed. Not that I’m so great, but that God allowed me to write it. I am fully aware that the gift of telling the stories I do, are from Him. He is the One who I pray will guide my imagination as I seek to write stories that will not only entertain but also encourage or challenge people, that there will be a heart impact. That their faith would be stronger because of the story. I’m often blessed by the words as well which makes me more aware of the spiritual nature of my work.

So maybe I will not be a famous author or my name lauded on the New York Bestsellers list. That’s OK because I write out of obedience to God. Maybe someday my kids will appreciate that even more than the books they’ll be left with after I’m gone someday. Will my children stay unimpressed or become impressed?

Author Confessions: Fun or Hard Work?

Jan29
Reading Time: 3 minutes

When I first wrote a book, it was in 2009 and it was such a rush. I was filled with delight as the story progressed. That high quickly diminished when I began to understand just how much I didn’t know about storytelling–at least not the kind a publisher would want. The Christian market has different standards than much of what I had read in the secular market. Oh, I had so much to learn.

I kept writing. Many of my friends who are writers will exclaim at how fast I can write a story. Most of the time that is true but I have to be really focused to put in that kind of sustained effort. The reality is, as someone who does not plot a novel, writing fast helps me keep track of all my characters and plot points. Sure I make notes as I go but usually I just try to get the story out. The more stories I write you would think the easier it would get. Not true. Sometimes I think I don’t want to get to the end of the story so I will find other things to do. But why? Because then the really hard work comes, the editing, tearing it apart, eventually submitting it and having it either accepted or rejected. If there is a contract then the harder work of editing begins. And marketing. Let’s not forget that.

They tell writers we need to toughen up — but sometimes it is hard to do the edits. It can feel like a personal attack because this story was birthed out of my imagination. I’m not a tough person. When I was in grade school, all someone had to do was look at me with anger and I’d burst into tears. I’m not quite so prone to that now, but in some ways that’s a loss, not a gain.

The more one writes, the better they hopefully get. I had one novel where I tried something different. I wrote two concurrent love stories. One was primary and the other secondary but that meant four,not two points-of-view (the perspective of the one character, what they see, feel, hear, touch, or in anyway experience). It got contracted but I had to remove the points-of-view of the secondary love story. The romance was still there but was only seen through the eyes and ears of my two main characters. Ugh.

It doesn’t matter how you feel about it–the work has to be done. I have some books that I’ve written that due to hassles during the editing process, I almost don’t want to pick up and read when they were done. If I do read them, I’m often amazed at the story and those yucky feelings from the editing disappear as I get lost in a story I should know by heart, but don’t because I write so many. I’ll enjoy it immensly.

So there is fun in the process. There’s an awe and wonder when I read words on a page, enjoy them and marvel because then it hits me. I wrote that. Me? Little ol’ me? Obviously, God was at work. I’m not that great on my own. Many authors refuse to read their books. Of course, the down side is every time I read an older novel I think of ways I could have done it better. I wrote it the best I could at the time, with what I knew. Time gives perspective. If older titles are not longer available someday, I’ll need to consider whether I want to revise them for another run, totally understanding that it would mean another few rounds of edits in the process. Because making changes always seems to mess up something!

Is writing hard work? Yes. The pay is crappy and my employer (me) is an inconsistant taskmaster. Life is full and busy without all that, but as long as God calls me to do this work, I’ll continue on.

Writer Wednesday: Cathy Krafve

May4
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Today I welcome author Cathy Krafve as she shares a little bit about her writing.

When did you decide you would be an author? Was it something you fell into, felt called to…?

I call myself an accidental everything. Podcaster, speaker, comedienne, you name it. But really, from the beginning I knew I wanted three things, to write, to pray, and to be a mom.  Those last two go together well, don’t they?

What’s your pet peeve?

I try to control myself about double standards and hypocrisy. Politicians tend to make me a little crazy, for example. Yep, I have to dial it down. But seriously, hypocrisy is dangerous for the hypocrite, and we’ve all been there. That’s why Jesus called hypocrisy out with so much strength and love.

What was your most embarrassing moment as a writer?

Since my books came out I find myself on stage a lot more. I’m kinda klutzy. Klutziness is a gift; the gift of humility. Recently, I stumbled and my friend jumped up from the pew to catch me. I announced into the mic, “See, God is just like my friend. He knows we’ll stumble and He’s ready to catch us!” Tripping is pretty inevitable, so I just try to roll with it, sometimes literally!

What has been your most difficult challenge as an author?

Not bragging about how great the books turned out. People don’t realize how surprised I am. But I had amazing teams of people helping me on both books. My editors and publishers are super-stars!

How do you process rejections and/or negative reviews?

The reviews have amazed me. If I have negative reviews, I don’t know it. I’m too busy pedaling so my life stays upright. Besides, my books are not for everybody. After the first person told me the first book helped them figure out some stuff, I quit worrying about reviews. One person helped is enough for me. But so many people tell us they’re sharing our books with their friends. We hear their sacred stories and we rejoice!

What do you feel is the best success so far in your writing career?

Beyond success, we feel blessed! My whole family joins me in feeling like God is blessing us all in this process. We see Him in action. Plus, we do so many of our tasks as a family; jumping in and helping each other. For example, Anna, our oldest daughter is a frequent co-host of Fireside Talk Radio and we just finished the manuscript for a book together. Family conversations on Sunday at lunch are energetic and hilarious!

What is your current work in process?

Right now, I’ve been focused on getting the word out about Marriage Conversations: from co-existing to cherished. Mainly because we notice a need for women to feel they have options when it comes to rebooting stagnant marriages. A lot of women feel lonely in their life. We’ve all had those isolated moments. The Well: the art of drawing out authentic conversations focuses on moving from isolation to influence in our communities. So the books are very different, but complementary. I am writing the sequels for both this year. Plus, Anna and I are working on the next book in our series of character/communication building for moms and teachers of elementary-age children.

Bio:

Queen of Fun and Coffee Cup Philosopher Cathy Krafve puts a snappy spin on deeply spiritual truths. Host of Fireside Talk Radio and author of books about communication, Cathy understands life is about companionship and community. Truth with a Texas twang spoken here!

Website: CathyKrafve.com

Newsletter:  Join the Fireside Tribe at CathyKrafve.com

Facebook: Cathy Krafve

Pinterest: Pinterest

Twitter: Twitter

Amazon Page: amazon.com/author/cathykrafve

Latest book release: Marriage Conversations: from co-existing to cherished

Lessons Learned While Writing: God Led Me Down a New Career Path

Apr18
Reading Time: 2 minutes

When I started my writing journey, I was a stay-at-home mom with a master’s degree in counseling psychology leading a ministry to women at my church. I didn’t anticipate going back to work for a few more years as I firmly believed in being there for my kids, even though it involved steep emotional and financial sacrifices. Not need to dredge that all up here.

I wrote a book. Gothic Regency Romance. I wondered if I could write contemporary and tried it. Then I wrote another Regency. Then a contemporary and on and on it went. Flip-flopping back and forth and trying to keep my language straight: not putting modern words in a story taking place in the early 1800’s and not putting Regency-era language in a modern romance. Then, of course, cultural differences. And I was enjoying myself immensely. And learning more and more about the craft and editing.

I fell into editing because a friend suggested a position to me. I applied and after much prayer accepted the offer. I could work from home. I set my own hours. Oh, but I only got paid when the books sold and based on the book’s sales. It wasn’t much but I was learning more and more with every novel I not only wrote but edited. And then I started teaching on faculty at Christian Writer’s Conferences as well as meeting with and encouraging other authors who were where I was not that long ago. Again, not a huge financial boon to my family, but I was making an eternal impact in the lives of my readers, my authors, and those who read those books.

I’ve added teaching a continuing education class at my local state university and that’s been well received. And I keep writing.

I don’t know what I thought I’d be doing by the time my kids left the proverbial nest, but writing is perfect for me as my retired but very busy husband likes that I’m home, and travels with me when I speak. He understands the bigger picture of what I do and supports that endeavor regardless of how much, or little, money I might make.

I may not have gone to school to become a writer, but writing well is what allowed me to succeed in school and in my first career. I still use those skills more than you might think. None of that degree was wasted. And the Hard Knock School of Writing doesn’t give out degrees until you’re dead so I’ll keep plugging away at it.

Have you seen God take you down a different career path from what you originally intended or went to school for? What happened? Please share!

Lessons Learned While Writing: I’m Not As Good As I Think I Am (aka Humility)

Apr4
Reading Time: 2 minutes

I had started writing in a way many in that genre write, from an omniscient narrator perspective which meant I’d hop from one character’s thoughts and experiences to another without pause. Well, if older writers could do it, why not me?

Oh, how wonderful I thought my first book was, until I began to get the critiques back. What was head-hopping? What do you mean I have too may points of view? What is a point of view anyway?

Because that was then and this is now. I read, and got feedback and I rewrote the book taking out one character as it was too long. Then I rewrote it again with only two points of view. I revised it another time sparsely adding the point of view a villain who appears in subsequent books to give it a darker, more suspenseful tone. Instead of writing a lighthearted Regency-era romance, my novels were more Gothic!

Every time I write a story there is a mixture of pride and fear mixed into the process. Will it be good enough? Will the story resonate with readers?

Sometimes I wonder if big sales have eluded me because I’m poor at marketing or because God is protecting me from pride—that erroneous belief that I wrote those books and I’m wonderful.

I did write them—with God’s help and that of others. And I am wonderful, as a child of God which means I’m also a flawed human being.

Every round of edits can bring up fears of not being good enough. But in reality, I’ll never be good enough. I can only hope to grow to be better than the last book I wrote.

My daughter told me not to worry: “You’ll be famous when you’re dead.” I laughed. Guess I’m not in a hurry to be famous then because I have a lot more living to do should the Lord allow me to remain here.

Sometimes I wonder when it will end. Writers don’t really “retire,” so as long as I have the ability and the imagination, I suppose I’ll keep writing, and leave fame in the hands of God.

What projects do you struggle with to find humility? What works for you to keep you from wallowing in self-pity or puffing yourself up too much?

Writer Wednesday: Gail Pallotta

Mar2

Reading Time: 4 minutesWhen did you decide that you would be an author? Was it something you fell into, felt called to… ?

I’ve written stories for as long can remember, but considered it a hobby until I enrolled in a professional writing class in college. I realized then I could work on a magazine and make a living, so that’s what I did for many years. In the back of my mind I always wanted to write a book. Often when I wrote freelance articles about successful people, I asked the person I interviewed what inspired him or her. Many times they spoke of their faith in God. Most of the magazines took that out. I declared then that I would write books and put Christianity in all of them.

What’s your pet peeve?

As an author who is not computer savvy, I have so many responsibilities, especially online, that have nothing to do with writing that I barely have time to squeeze in time to write.

What was your most embarrassing moment as a writer?

When my daughter was a baby, I answered an ad for freelance writing for a local magazine. The editor asked me to bring my portfolio to his office. I easily arranged for a baby sitter, but I didn’t have a briefcase. I rummaged through our belongings until I found a picnic basket a friend had given us for Christmas. I pulled out the fancy glasses and napkins and tossed in my writing samples. I was frazzled by the time I got to the editor’s office and was quite ready to sit down. I put the basket in my lap and the editor leaned over his desk and stared at it. “Are we having a picnic?”

I explained about the portfolio and ended up writing many articles for him for many years. My daughter eventually visited his office on her career day in high school, The day I met him I had rushed around so much and concentrated so hard on how to carry my samples, the picnic basket had become a briefcase in my mind. I was totally embarrassed when he jarred me back to reality.

What has been your most difficult challenge as an author?

Marketing.

How do you process rejections and/or negative reviews?

I try to ignore them.

What do you feel is the best success so far in your writing career?

It depends on how one measures success. I keep trying to improve my writing to make my books better, so I see my success as a time when I’ve nailed a new technique or when I understand what an editor or agent was talking about when they told me to change something. As far as books go, I’d say Barely Above Water is probably my most popular, and it is a 2017 Reader’s Favorite Award Winner.

What is your current work in progress?

I’m working on a couple of romantic suspense books.

Bio: Award-winning author Gail Pallotta’s a wife, mom, swimmer and bargain shopper who loves God, beach sunsets and getting together with friends and family. She’s a former regional writer of the year for American Christian Writers Association, a 2013 Grace Awards finalist and a 2017 Reader’s Favorite Book Award winner. She’s published six books, poems, short stories and two-hundred articles. Some of her articles appear in anthologies while two are in museums.

Website: https://gailpallotta.com

Newsletter:  https://www.gailpallotta.com/mainphp.html

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorsandMore

Twitter: Gail Pallotta @Hopefulwords (https://twitter.com/Hopefulwords)

Amazon Page: amazon.com/author/gailpallotta

Latest book release: Stopped Cold, a young adult sports mystery and an Amazon Best Seller in  Teen and Young Adult Christian Mysteries and Thrillers for one month.

Things aren’t what they seem in peaceful Mistville, North Carolina. Margaret McWhorter enjoys a laid-back Freshman year in high school flirting with Jimmy Willmore, swimming and hanging out with friends—until that day. Her brother, Sean, suffers a stroke from taking a steroid. Now he’s lying unconscious in a hospital. Margaret’s angry at her dad for pushing Sean to be a great quarterback, but a fire of hatred burns inside her to make the criminals pay.

Looking for justice, she takes Jimmy and her best friend, Emily, through a twisted, drug-filled sub-culture. A clue sends them deep into the woods behind the school where they overhear drug dealers discuss Sean.

Time and time again they walk a treacherous path and come face to face with danger. Even the cop on the case can’t stop them from investigating. All the while Margaret really wants to cure Sean, heal the hate inside, and open her heart to love.

Buy Links

Amazon – Amazon.com/dp/B07R7RHF5K

Barnes and Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stopped-cold-gail-pallotta/1117352035?ean=9781522398578

Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Stopped+Cold+by+Gail+Pallotta

 

Meriwether High School, the fictitious  school in Stopped Cold, has its own Twitter page, Meriwether Christian @MeriwetherCS (https://twitter.com/MeriwetherCS). The heroine, Margaret, would love to have readers follow it.