Failures and frustrations,
I’m sure we’ve all had our share of them throughout our life. You learn by your
failures, people have always said. And I agree with them. It’s better to try
and fail, than not try at all. I’ve tried many things, failed and learned a
lot. Writing is one of them.
I’ve always written, notes
on plots, locked room mysteries, seen something while traveling and figured out
a plot on what might have happened there. But I never did anything with it
except get frustrated because I didn’t have time to write and didn’t know where
to start to write an entire book.
When I finally took the
leap, I didn’t tell people. I was afraid I’d fail. And I did. My first book is
hidden away. I did like the plot, but the writing... I pitched it at a small
conference. It was a failure, but I learned a lot there. Show, don’t tell;
develop your voice and develop your characters. There were a few other things,
too. I felt like a failure. I’d never get a book published. But I couldn’t stop
writing. I wrote another book and entered it in a contest. I got mostly 3’s but
I also got a 1 and a comment that said I should consider not writing anything
else. That was a huge failure. I didn’t even pay attention to the other scores,
which did have some nice things to say.
Once I recovered from that
contest I went back to writing, and at another conference found a publisher who
liked my books and published them. I kept writing and learning. Some people
like my books, some don’t. And if I can get constructive criticism I’m
thrilled.
I just released By Design. It’s a medical thriller about
designer cloning. Cloning is presently being done in many countries, and yes,
there is legislation that sets guidelines. But what if someone managed to stay
off the grid and find ways to use cloning for personal use to make money? The
idea intrigued me.
When I told anyone,
including editors and agents, they said cloning wasn’t popular anymore. It was
outdated. It’s been replaced by terrorism. No one would be interested in it. It
would be another failure. I listened and researched and plotted. Then I put the
book away. It would fail. But I kept coming back to it and decided to write it
anyway. I hoped I could suspend readers’ disbelief and they would enjoy the
story.
Everyone said – give it
up. It won’t work in today’s society. Half the people probably haven’t even
heard of cloning. It can only fail. It was frustrating because it’s a book I
wanted published. So I published it. It’s possible it will fail, but hopefully
people will enjoy the story. If not, I learned new things along the way. And now
it’s on to a new book and its frustrations.
By Design
Nurse Evie Dalton succumbs
to greed and a chance to work with sexy Dr. Adam Marsden. She accepts a
position at an isolated hospital. There’s an onsite animal farm, screams in the
night, mysterious limos come and go, and people disappear and turn up dead.
There’s no way to leave and no communication outside the town. The more
questions Evie asks, the more she’s pulled into a designer cloning operation
with less chance of escaping alive.
Dr. Adam Marsden left his
past behind. Now he has it all; a great job, money, and a chance to buy his own
hospital. He brings his own patients out to the isolated hospital and for
surgery, part of which they are unaware. He prefers to ignore what actually
happens at the hospital and focuses on his personal goal - until Evie
Dalton arrives.
Now he must choose between
his goal, Evie’s life and possibly his own. And hired killers have shown up at
the hospital. Can he find an escape and save the woman he realizes he loves?
3 comments:
Thank you, Lois, for having me as your guest.
It's always hard to put yourself out there and take a chance on something. Writing is like that because everyone thinks they can do it and that it's easy. :) Glad you kept at it!
Thanks, Melissa. You're right. How many times have you heard someone say, I think I'll write a book?
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