Let the Obsession Begin

“You’re doing what?” That’s the response I get whenever I tell anyone that I’m writing a Fantasy / Romance series. I don’t blame them for questioning my sanity since I’m not exactly sure why I’m doing this either. I just can’t stop…I’m addicted. I’m not sure where to begin the tale of my writing journey, but since I’m telling a story about a story, let’s start the traditional way.

Once upon a time… there was a middle-aged, menopausal woman that woke-up to find an inner writing nature screaming to come out. Where did this desire come from? I have absolutely no idea. Until I started writing the Blue Fire series I had never even written a short story. As I was growing up, English classes were the hardest for me. It wasn’t that I couldn’t write; it was that it exposed too much of myself. I was terribly shy and just wanted to hide in a corner, watching the world go by. As I’m finding out, you can’t hide from anyone when you publish on the web. And then I go and post a 400+ page ebook with 4 more books close on its heels. Crazy!

So what changed?

For many years my “normal” consisted of insomnia, chronic migraines, and other medical issues. To make a long story short, in 2009 everything changed. Can you say hysterectomy and hormonal replacements? It was like being born again and I desperately needed something new in my life. I tried the red convertible, a flaming pink compound bow, and even dyed my hair but nothing quenched my thirst. Without migraines, I was able to read books so I read a lot, but I quickly became frustrated with weak female characters or strong leads that had absolutely no flaws. I wanted something in the middle. And try to find fantasy/romance that isn’t written for a teenager or are sex ‘how to‘ books. Ugh! I thought about trying to write my own story but my lack of confidence and non-existent writing background quickly pushed that urge to the side.

When my mother passed away from cancer, that was the final straw. Life is too short to be held back by silly fears of what others might think or say. So I picked up my laptop and started to write. I typed my first word on October 31, 2010 and I haven’t missed a day since. Blue Fire is just one of many stories I came up with while enduring long nights staring up at the ceiling.

For a long time I didn’t tell anyone what I was doing. Then one day at work I confided in my good friend Courtney. Instead of laughing at me, she encouraged me and the obsession began. We would spend our lunch time giggling over storylines and characters. It made me feel like a teenager again. Originally I told her I was going to write a short story but, when I broke 450+ pages (160,000+ words), I split my ‘short’ story into 2 books…which quickly became 3…finally settling on 5 books in total with over 500,000 words already written. I call it my trilogy with beginning and ending bookends. I decided to e-publish Blue Fire because what good is a story if you can’t share it with others?

Now you know how I got started and, with only the first of five books published, my journey has just begun. My book series may not amount to anything and become just one of millions that very few even find or read. I’m okay with that. At least I can say that I gave it a whirl. Someday my grand-kids are going to be able to ask me in shock, “Grandma, you wrote romance books?” and I can answer with a wicked smile, “Yes, I did.”

By the way…if you have a hidden writing nature that you’re holding back, ask yourself why. Whatever your story is for why you want to write, don’t hold back. Pick up that iPad, laptop, notebook and pencil, napkin from Chinese takeout, whatever…and just start and see where it takes you. Trust me—if I can do it, anyone can.

Until next time…