How I got started writing

I’ve always written something since around middle school.  From poems, short stories, etc., mostly poems though, especially for special occasions like birthdays, or if someone, family or friend, was going through a rough time. 
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Motivation to write something substantial came after my father passed away in 1992 from alcoholism and ultimately suicide.  The idea was in the back of my mind for several years, but life got in the way, and it wasn’t until I was on maternity leave in 2006 that I wrote my first biography.

That short work took me over a year to write.  It was horrible writing and formatting…lol.  Because of that and the fact that it was controversial among family some members, I took it out of publication.  It was called ‘The Message in Dad’s Bottle’.
The second work I completed took me three months, surprisingly.  It again was a biography.  Horrible writing again, and very short, but that one is still in publication.  It’s called ‘I’ll Never Wear a Backless Dress’, and it discusses my experience with Bilateral Scoliosis. 

In case you’re wondering, I use different pen names for things.  The above books are under the pen name Sandy Appleyard, which is also my real name.  I also use Sandra Alex, as you know, for steamy romance, and Denice Shaw for self-help books.
The third work took me several years to write, but not because it was difficult, more so because it was a collection of diary-like memories saved as my kids grew up.  It was the most fun writing this one and watching it grow into what it is today.  I still update it from time-to-time.  It’s called ‘No Thanks, Mommy, I Peed Yesterday’.  Although it doesn’t sell much, my kids just love the fact that their mom wrote a book about them.  And it’s hilarious, by the way, or at least most of the readers who have read it think so.

After those works, I realized that there wasn’t much more left for me to write about myself at that time, so I started with fiction.  At the time, I was torn between writing a suspense and a romance, so I wrote both.  The suspense, called ‘The Wife of a Lesser Man’, I loved writing so much, that I ended up writing a trilogy.  The second book in that series, called ‘Don’t Mess with Daddy’s Girl’, earned me my first publishing contract with a small press publisher.  I later got out of the contract and decided to self-publish for reasons I’ll get into in another post.

‘Blessed and Betrayed’ was my first romance.  Loved writing that.  But I also still loved writing the suspense novels, since at that time I was a huge fan of the ‘Criminal Minds’ series.  So it took me off into a couple of different directions. 

Today, while I write in many genres, I have completely fallen in love (pun intended) with steamy romance.  The Ford Brothers Series has been the best writing experience yet.  It has brought me to the highest level of writing that I’ve ever been at, both with the writing itself, and with marketing, selling, etc.  Book five, ‘May Explode if Heated’, sold 100 copies within the first week of publication.  I’ve never sold that many books…ever.  The third book in the series, ‘Handle with Care’ also earned me a five-star review from Readers’ Favorite, a highly recognized and reputable review company.  The second book, ‘Enter at Your Own Risk’, reached number 2 on Amazon in its category in January, 2020.  None of my paid books have ever reached that ranking.

Writing has always been a part of me, and every day, it becomes more a part of me.  I love it.  It’s hard work but very rewarding, and in my opinion, I think it keeps me young