FAILURE AS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE BY AUTHOR CJ WARRANT

CJ Warrant is an award-winning writer of dark romantic suspense, sensual thrillers and contemporary romance that pull at your heart, make you shiver with fear, and hope for a happy ending. She loves coffee, baking and family, but not in that order. Learn more about her and her books at her website and blog.

Failures From Start To Finish

Today I would like to talk about failures I’ve had in my life. Through out the years, I’ve learned from experiences and people that failures are not all bad.

Over the years, I’ve learned to write in the dark. What I mean by this is that I never shared with anyone that I wrote stories and poems. Family, friends, and co-workers alike, I’ve kept my talent to myself. So when I seriously decided to tell the world what I did, I got a response like “You write?” Imagine a quirked brow, eyes wide with surprise, and sometimes with a slight frown as they absorbed the odd news.

I used to think not speaking up was my first failure to myself. But I know now that back then I wasn’t ready to tell. It was just one part of many stepping stones I had to climb to become an author.

As much as I wanted to be published, I needed to hone my craft—at every level in my writing. Granted, I still have trouble with grammar and mix tenses, which I find another failure, but as I write more and with each book, I’m learning to correct it before it goes in the hand of my critique partners. Mostly…I can be honest and still have pitfalls with my grammar, but I’m learning.

After writing my very first book, which won’t see the light of day, I pitched it to an editor at a well known conference. That was my next failure. I didn’t know what I wrote. Or my voice. I always thought I wrote contemporary. Who knew I had a darker side in me? It showed in my writing, which the editor graciously pointed out. But I learned from that experience and learned to hone it.

Another failure is learning about the publishing world, which is scary for some. It’s vast, with so many rules—and many players jockeying for contracts. What’s even scarier for me is finding an agent who would represent and support what I write. Some of my author friends don’t see it as a failure. But I do see my fear of rejection as one, more so than a publishing house rejecting my book. I think everyone has—at one time or another in their writing careers—had those fears.

Now, since I’m published, I’m more confident in submitting to an agent. But I don’t let it rule my head with worries. I know there is an agent out there for me. My purpose now is to strive for that next book deal. With or without an agent, I’ll move forward with my career.

Over all, my career is like a newborn. I have to nurture it, learn from my mistakes, and let it blossom. With each failure, comes success. I see all my failures as way of learning to grow as an author and as a woman in this crazy world. So take strides with what failures you’ve had in your lives—no matter personal or business. It’s another lesson to learn from and move forward with great knowledge.

Forgetting Jane

Amnesia and an unspeakable crime have stolen everything from Jane Doe except the haunting image of a girl in a yellow dress, which replays itself over and over in her mind.

Small town cop Elias McAvoy is haunted as well, by the crushing guilt he feels over the deaths of two women, one by his own hand. He can’t-he won’t-let Jane down too.

Together they delve deeper into Jane’s case, battling against her memory loss, and an increasingly tangled web of lies and murder that span forty years-and ties Elias and Jane together in ways they never imagined. As the mystery of the girl in the yellow dress unfold, so does Elias and Jane’s love for each other. However, when the killer reappears, intent on finishing what he started, Elias must face his demons in order to save the woman he loves or lose her forever.

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