Violet Yates's Blog, page 18
May 25, 2011
Meet the Author ~ Violet Yates
Hello to Everyone!
I am Violet Yates, 38 years old and born and raised in Hawaii. A recent divorcee, I live on the Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. I often feel as if I've lived several lives! I have three children, two of whom are grown. My kids are my life and my solace. I am an author of several books, short stories, essays and about 100 poems. I own more books than I could ever read, but I keep collecting more.
I lived in Upstate New York for 10 years, and during that time I went back to school and earned my Bachelor's degree in English, as well as my Master's degree in Higher Education Administration. During that time, I wrote prolifically and am just now starting to edit and publish a lot of it. While in New York, I worked at MetLife as an accounting representative, I co-managed a Domino's pizza and freelanced for a bi-monthly newspaper (in addition to being their circulation clerk).
I love, love, love to read, and I have wanted to be a published author since I was eight years old, when I wrote and colored a story and sent it in as a submission to Highlights magazine for children. This was my first rejection letter, the first of many. My first real novel, Beginnings, was really rough and contrived, and it did not get published, although I still have every single rejection letter (numbering in the hundreds, I believe!). Following this total rejection, I put myself back into college, determined to become a stellar writer.
After my husband and I separated, I stopped writing much of anything for years and drowned my sorrows in alcohol. Two and a half years ago, while living in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, I got into recovery. The last two years have been a journey of self-discovery. I have published a book of poetry, "Lost & Found," as a tribute to that journey, and to Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. While the struggle was indeed awful, I learned so much from those years and I wouldn't go back and change a thing.
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, I have just published Lost & Found (last week), as well as a short story, "Forgotten Forest of the Innocent." I wrote Forgotten when I was in college, as an escape from the drudgery of endless papers and reading assignments. I had this thought: what if a telephone found its way into a magical forest of fairies? What would the inhabitants' reaction be? And Forgotten Forest of the Innocent was born. It wasn't a conventional fairy tale; rather, it was a way to explore the affects of technology on our world, good or bad.
I hope to meet many of you and make friends during our time here! Thank you for reading!
Violet Yates
* I posted this on Amazon.com's Meet the Author Forum and thought it would be a good idea to post it here, as well. 
May 24, 2011
My Book, Lost & Found, is now available in print!
I did a lot of research and found Lulu.com. They offer print on demand. This is something I've known about, but wasn't sure about the details, for about a year. I am glad I investigated, because now people can buy my book in print as well as electronic. I was worried about this because some of my friends and family either don't like reading on a computer, don't have an ereader or just plain want it in print. Now, I have to see how I can sign the books they buy since many want signed copies!
If you're interested in a print edition, please visit: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback...
Aloha~
Hawaiian Violet
May 23, 2011
Just Don't Give Up
About ten years ago, I began writing fiction. I had a baby girl at the time, as well as a full-time job, but I wrote whenever I had time. I made time. I thought I was a great writer.
Then I started submitting my first manuscript to publishers and agents. The rejection letters began piling up. So I decided to go back to college, in part to learn how to write. Even then, I thought I was a good writer. Perhaps I was, but I wasn't polished. One of my first university-level English classes proved that right away. I received my first assignment, and did what I always did- wrote what I wanted to write. I got a D.
I went to my professor and complained that I obviously didn't deserve a D. People were always telling me I was a great writer- how could this happen? Simple. I didn't understand the basic rules of writing, because I hadn't finished high school, and the community college I'd transferred my grades from didn't teach advanced English writing.
During my years at SUNY Albany, I learned how to write, and write well. I wrote prolifically; I have a huge folder full of short stories, poetry, and a few novels on my computer, as well as numerous papers and essays. I plan on publishing most of this work.
Then I suffered writer's block. I had some personal problems in my life. I went through a divorce. I stopped writing for a long time. In recent years, I've been blogging. A lot. Only in the past year or so have I begun to dust off the shelves and consider publishing again.
If you're a writer and your dream is to write and sell your books, don't give up. It may take a long time, but as long as you're trying, you will eventually achieve your dreams.
May 22, 2011
So I'm finally a published author
I took the plunge and published a book of poetry, as well as a short story, this past week on Amazon and Smashwords. I am officially a published author. I was totally excited about this all week, but the fervor as dimmed somewhat.
I am a bit concerned with the fact that, as an independently published author, I don't have a marketing department to back me up. So whatever I publish, I have to promote, and I've never done this before. I know of the typical things, such as writing a blog (check), letting my friends know (check), starting a thread about my books in Amazon's discussion forums (check), and adding links to my books on all of my online profiles (check). But I am not sure what else there is I need to do. Also, I'm a bit worried that I'll lose track of something or forget to update things, as there are so many places I have to go on a regular basis now in order to promote my book.
Being mentally ill is not helping me. Having bipolar disorder has never been more of a curse than it is now. True, my meds are helping me immensely; I would not have been able to pull it together enough to compile a book of poetry without them. But my head is feeling totally jumbled and it's hard to focus on what I need to do. It's not unmanageable though.
Now I have to figure out how to use this blog to drive people to my books. I guess I'll start with the links to my book, as well as their descriptions.
Forgotten Forest of the Innocent:
On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Fores...
On Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...
…I wrote this short story while in college as an English Undergrad, as a way to escape from the drudgery of research papers and text books. I had an idea: what if the world of fantasy and reality were to intersect? What if, say, a fairy found a telephone ringing in the forest? What would technology mean to the people who populated the fantasy world? Voila: Forgotten Forest of the Innocent was born.
FYI: 1763 words approximately
Lost & Found, a book of poetry:
On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Found-eboo...
On Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...
Picture this: a turbulent marriage, four years of college and post-graduate work, single motherhood, a devastating divorce, disabling illness and a debilitating addiction. Anyone else might have just given up. But Violet Yates is a fighter. Embark upon a journey with her as you read thirteen years worth of poetry that comes straight from the heart.
Now I have to figure out how to drive people to this blog! lol
Aloha~
Violet Yates
