WHAT DOESN'T COME NATURALLY
HANK: Hi Mom! And thanks for everything. Even the thighs. But we'll talk later. I just got to do a really fun thing. Many weeks ago, I invited my dear pal Avery Aames to guest blog here at TLC, and she was eager to do Mother's Day. Because Avery is a lovely person. (I promise you this has a point.)
Because Avery is also astonishingly organized, she wrote her blog a few weeks ago, and sent it to me.
Because the universe is an amazing place, and you never know what wonderful thing will happen next, turns out Avery's biography changed between then and now.
In the one she sent, it said Avery's book was nominated for the Agatha for Best First Novel.
Aha. Last week, Avery's book WON. Hurray and congratulations. And I just got to change Avery's bio. I'm sure her mother is now even more proud than ever.
M others make the memories
U nderneath the memories:
M orning's undertow.
By Avery Aames
It's Mother's Day. How I wish my mother had given me one of her talents. She aspired to be a journalist, but she set her life on hold for other things that became more important: family. But she had a gift. She could write with such ease. I wish I had her gift. I do have her love of the language. {Thanks, Mom.}
But let me say in all humility that I'm not a natural writer. It does not come easily to me. I work hard; I take classes. I know some people can simply crank out a good book in no time flat, but I stress over every sentence, every plot point, and I never feel it's good enough.
All my life, I have written. Little stories, fantasies, plays that I could put on if I rented a barn. I attacked everything with abandon. [My mother kept a few in my baby book. She thought I was pretty good.]
But then in 7th grade, things changed. My writing dreams were dashed. Here's the story. We were assigned a creative writing project. I wrote "The Girl with the Pearl Necklace." I loved what I had written. I presented it proudly to the teacher…who ripped it to shreds and said if I was considering becoming a writer, I should give it up. [My mother consoled me, but to no avail.]
Gack. As if that critique weren't enough, I had another teacher in college who railed at my treatise on Shakespeare and the use of eyes in his work. Okay, maybe I'm not a full-blown intellectual, but it was a decent paper. And he gave me a B, for heaven's sake!
But alas, I left my young years behind and decided I could never be a writer. Never. Luckily, I also enjoyed acting and put all my efforts into it and I was good. I worked. I made a living. But if I wanted to get ahead in the acting world, a good script to star in was required, so bravely I wrote a screenplay. Though I won a few awards, I could not get the attention of agents. I wrote a treatment for a TV sitcom and sold it, but even that didn't open doors for me.
When my husband wanted to move out of Los Angeles to further his career, I moved willingly. But I was a creative person. Even far from Hollywood, I needed to put my creative energy into projects. I loved reading mysteries and thrillers. I always had. So I turned from writing screenplays to novels.
Guess what happened? You bet. As I faced rejection after rejection from agents, that little voice from my 7th grade teacher came back to haunt me. "You can't do it; you'll fail." I had to prove him wrong. Had to. And I did. I'm now published. But even with success in the past year, I continue to feel that I'm at the precipice and might fail. After all, I'm writing under an assumed name. Doesn't that make me a poseur?
Okay, if you're a writer, have I got your attention? Are any of you feeling like I do/did? Now, I'll do what I do best. Cheerlead. Yep, I'm a cheerleader (and I'm good at it) because I have learned in this life to never give up. If you're a "late bloomer" as David Seidler, the screenwriter who won the Oscar for "The King's Speech" this year, called himself at the youthful age of 74, keep trying. If you're just starting out but there are voices in your head telling you that you're no good, tell them to take a flying leap. If you're in the middle of your career and you've taken a few headers, as an old song says, "Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again."
You can do it!
So what was the worst thing a teacher, mentor, parent said to you? And do you still believe it?
Three commenters will win copies of LOST AND FONDUE.
Bio:
Avery Aames is the author of A Cheese Shop Mystery series. The first, The Long Quiche Goodbye, is a national bestseller. Avery just won the Agatha Award for "Best First Novel." Avery blogs at Mystery Lovers Kitchen, http://www.mysteryloverskitchen - a blog for foodies who love mysteries. And some of her characters show up on the Killer Characters blog, http://killercharacters.com You can order LOST AND FONDUE here: http://www.averyaames.com/book_sellers.html
