A look back . . .
Well, here I am world.
This past week has been spring break and I've taken the time to rest after a long and stressful year of teaching. Don't get me wrong though, it has still been an awarding one.
After much consideration and deliberation, I decided to self-publish my first novel, The Timekeeper's Daughter. I truly hope that anyone reading this will take the time to check out the book. It is currently listed for sale on Amazon as an ebook and a hardcover by clicking here.
I wanted to take the time to look back on my journey from conception to now. I first came up with the idea for The Timekeeper's Daughter in December of 2012; this was during my sophomore year of college. I didn't begin drafting the novel until January 2013. Early drafts of the novel are significantly different from the final product.
I remember working on the novel and realizing that this was the first time that a story idea that I had was coming out full-force on the page. Previous writing attempts, as far as long works of fiction go, often didn't make it past a 5,000 word count or so. But by spring break that year, I had around 30,000 words or so written and I knew by then that I was going to finish this one.
When it comes to writing for me, I'm all over the place. I don't really like to outline anything. I try to sit down and do it, but I just get frustrated and end up going straight to writing. I thought this was the wrong way to go about things until I met other writers and even a published author, only to find out that every writer has a different way of doing things. My way, while it may seem completely over-the-top for some or just downright confusing for others, is to usually write the beginning and end and fill in the rest as I go. So, that is how the book came to fruition. I had the ending; I had the beginning.
After a couple months though, things slowed down and I stopped for a while. I wasn't quite sure where I was going with some things. I didn't quite know how I wanted to build this world of the timekeepers. And then, in July 2013, my step-grandmother passed away in a car accident. While I usually just referred to her as Paula, she was my step-grandmother, and really at the end of the day, she was my grandmother. She was always in my life from day one, so that is how I looked at her. Because of our relationship, I've never considered blood to be what makes someone family. What makes a person family is simply love and a desire to be in that person's life.
As I mentioned in my dedication and acknowledgments of the book, Paula had a profound impact on my writing. I remember the last time I ever spoke to her and I will never forget it. It was about the book I was writing and I how I was having trouble finishing it. I don't remember exactly what was said, but I specifically remember her telling me I needed to finish it so that she could read it. She died before it was done.
Before her death, I had already planned a trip to visit my other grandparents in Colorado. My parents urged me to still go, so I did. During my time there, I continued writing after a long period of not doing anything with my book. I strengthened the relationship between my main character and her adopted mother and I began to write Paula into my book. Abigail's adopted mother now had a huge garden in her backyard, similar to Paula. She began to look like Paula as well. I know people often say not to write parts of your life in your story, but how else would stories take off and become something?
It took a while for me to finish the book still. I can honestly say that I had the first draft from beginning to end the following summer of 2014. After that, I can say that my book was 100% done in March of 2017.
Since finishing it completely about a year ago, I have spent time sending out queries to literary agents in hope that someone would want to take on this story. I mostly received formal rejections, meaning that they probably didn't even look at the sample work I submitted. I understand how difficult publishing is and I totally get it. Honestly, I probably could have spent another year attempting to find an agent again. It took a friend of mine almost a year to get an agent, and then her first book was never even published.
I think that's why I went ahead and made the decision to self-publish though. I will, of course, attempt to get future books not related to this trilogy I am writing published in the traditional sense. But I needed to get my story out in the world now. It means something to me. It means something so much more than just a book that needs to be published. I want people to read it and go on the journey that I went on as I wrote it.
So, this is my first post. I hope that you check out my book and please give me honest feedback. You can write a review on my book's page at Goodreads (click here) and you can also write a review on Amazon. I hope that you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing. It is sad and upsetting at times; I mean it does take place during WWII after all. However, I also think it is uplifting and positive when it needs to be. So, please let me know what you think and check back for future posts!
This past week has been spring break and I've taken the time to rest after a long and stressful year of teaching. Don't get me wrong though, it has still been an awarding one.
After much consideration and deliberation, I decided to self-publish my first novel, The Timekeeper's Daughter. I truly hope that anyone reading this will take the time to check out the book. It is currently listed for sale on Amazon as an ebook and a hardcover by clicking here.
I wanted to take the time to look back on my journey from conception to now. I first came up with the idea for The Timekeeper's Daughter in December of 2012; this was during my sophomore year of college. I didn't begin drafting the novel until January 2013. Early drafts of the novel are significantly different from the final product.
I remember working on the novel and realizing that this was the first time that a story idea that I had was coming out full-force on the page. Previous writing attempts, as far as long works of fiction go, often didn't make it past a 5,000 word count or so. But by spring break that year, I had around 30,000 words or so written and I knew by then that I was going to finish this one.
When it comes to writing for me, I'm all over the place. I don't really like to outline anything. I try to sit down and do it, but I just get frustrated and end up going straight to writing. I thought this was the wrong way to go about things until I met other writers and even a published author, only to find out that every writer has a different way of doing things. My way, while it may seem completely over-the-top for some or just downright confusing for others, is to usually write the beginning and end and fill in the rest as I go. So, that is how the book came to fruition. I had the ending; I had the beginning.
After a couple months though, things slowed down and I stopped for a while. I wasn't quite sure where I was going with some things. I didn't quite know how I wanted to build this world of the timekeepers. And then, in July 2013, my step-grandmother passed away in a car accident. While I usually just referred to her as Paula, she was my step-grandmother, and really at the end of the day, she was my grandmother. She was always in my life from day one, so that is how I looked at her. Because of our relationship, I've never considered blood to be what makes someone family. What makes a person family is simply love and a desire to be in that person's life.
As I mentioned in my dedication and acknowledgments of the book, Paula had a profound impact on my writing. I remember the last time I ever spoke to her and I will never forget it. It was about the book I was writing and I how I was having trouble finishing it. I don't remember exactly what was said, but I specifically remember her telling me I needed to finish it so that she could read it. She died before it was done.
Before her death, I had already planned a trip to visit my other grandparents in Colorado. My parents urged me to still go, so I did. During my time there, I continued writing after a long period of not doing anything with my book. I strengthened the relationship between my main character and her adopted mother and I began to write Paula into my book. Abigail's adopted mother now had a huge garden in her backyard, similar to Paula. She began to look like Paula as well. I know people often say not to write parts of your life in your story, but how else would stories take off and become something?
It took a while for me to finish the book still. I can honestly say that I had the first draft from beginning to end the following summer of 2014. After that, I can say that my book was 100% done in March of 2017.
Since finishing it completely about a year ago, I have spent time sending out queries to literary agents in hope that someone would want to take on this story. I mostly received formal rejections, meaning that they probably didn't even look at the sample work I submitted. I understand how difficult publishing is and I totally get it. Honestly, I probably could have spent another year attempting to find an agent again. It took a friend of mine almost a year to get an agent, and then her first book was never even published.
I think that's why I went ahead and made the decision to self-publish though. I will, of course, attempt to get future books not related to this trilogy I am writing published in the traditional sense. But I needed to get my story out in the world now. It means something to me. It means something so much more than just a book that needs to be published. I want people to read it and go on the journey that I went on as I wrote it.
So, this is my first post. I hope that you check out my book and please give me honest feedback. You can write a review on my book's page at Goodreads (click here) and you can also write a review on Amazon. I hope that you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing. It is sad and upsetting at times; I mean it does take place during WWII after all. However, I also think it is uplifting and positive when it needs to be. So, please let me know what you think and check back for future posts!
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