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NOVEMBER 5 QUESTION: When you began writing, what did you imagine your life as a writer would be like? Were you right, or has this experience presented you with some surprises along the way?
Whoa! Great question. Writing was a merry-go-'round life for me as a writer. After getting my degree in journalism and communications, I started writing copy and commercials for radio and television in Scranton, Pennsylvania, then moved to Clearfield, Pennsylvania, where I wrote public relations copy for the local school district. I was hired to teach "math" for the GED program of the Central Intermediate Unit, but later became the director of a career development program where I also helped to write resumes for participants getting into the job markets.
My last stop was at our Clearfield Country Career and Technology Center in adult education. There, I wrote technical grants, curricula, advertising, newspaper articles, and the list goes on and on and on until I retired.
What did I like the best? What did I find out? I knew I was always a writer. Along the way, and after retirement, when I started writing more fiction: novels, novellas, short stories etc., I discovered I'm a true dreamer. I found that I just love to "create." I love to ask the question: "What if....." I'm also a woodworker and make small wooden objects like pumpkins, snowmen, birdhouses, etc., that I design myself. Even when I'm working with my hands, which allows me to chill out, I still dream, thinking up new ideas for the next story I want to write.
OCTOBER 1 - QUESTION: What is the most favorite thing you have written, published or not? And why?
Wow. Good question. I guess I have two things. The very first book I ever wrote was "Red Fox Woman," a historical novel which was rejected by an editor. Thinking I was a failure, I was so disheartened, I shoved it in a desk drawer and years later, I pulled it out and resent it to a small press in Texas which accepted it. I later had the copyright taken back and reissued it with two more novels to make a series called the Ashmore Brothers. It's been my best seller of all time.
My favorite novel to write was "Four White Roses," a romantic mystery of a widower as well as a lawyer who returns to Pennsylvania with his young daughter to sell his deceased grandmother's house and teams up with a female landscape owner. He hopes to discover his grandmother's request to find a missing relative and a small stash of WWI jewels. Grandmother Gertie comes back as a ghost to badger him. It's full of snarky humor, mystery, and family life with two little girls and a stray cat to stir up trouble. It also won three awards.
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It feels great to get your copyright back, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteYes, it feels good because it gives you the rights to change the key words, the price, the cover, and other essential information that a publisher will not always allow. Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day.
DeleteI have shoved a manuscript in a drawer before! Pulled it out years later and it became my first published novel. We never give up on them, do we?
ReplyDeleteOh, interesting. I wonder how many of us this happened to? My mistake was allowing only one person/editor to make comments and a decision about my work(s), and I "believed" him since I was then a novice writer to fiction. I now tell all writers, seasoned or novice, to take all comments with a grain of salt and believe in themselves. Just keep trying. Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteI'd hoped to become a songwriter, but after a bicycle accident, started losing my hearing in one ear and that was the end of that.
ReplyDeleteOh, sorry to hear that. But if you are a dreamer, writing in print can bring you joy. I'm also betting you might be good at poetry which is something I struggle with.
DeleteI love all your wood creations!
ReplyDelete'What if...?' is a great question to ask when you're stuck while plotting.
Looks like you are a dreamer and creator, too. So glad you stopped by.
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