THE COURAGE TO PURSUE A DREAM

My guest is historical romance author, Victoria Roberts. She's the author of Bad Boys of Scotland series and her current release is To Wed A Wicked Highlander.

Many writers look at those who have made the cut, gotten the agent, or the contract, as lucky. In some ways, yes, they are. They were in the right place at the right time and with the right story. Of course, they worked their butts off to get there and probably have enough prior rejections to paper a room or two in their house, but they had the courage and tenacity to follow their dream of being published and got the brass ring. A writer's life does change when they sell and chances are they have now added writing deadlines, editors, and promotion to their already busy lives of juggling jobs, kids, and life. 

Victoria talks about her life as an author before and after getting the contract. 

Thank you so much for having me today. It’s great to be back.

Being an author isn't easy. Really. Most of us aren't fortunate enough to be J.K. Rowling or Nora Roberts. I have a full-time day job, husband, two kids (8 and 12 years old) who have homework every night and who are both involved in sports. I’m a laundress, taxi service, cook, wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt—yep, I think you get the point. When in the world do I find time to write?

I make time.

It all starts with goals. I used to scoff at the idea of setting them. I didn't have enough time in the day to even figure them out. When I started my writing career, I knew setting a personal target was a must. In fact, it took me a week to figure out not having a goal was definitely not working in my favor. Without goals, I wouldn't have much of a word count. Without a word count, my story took forever to finish. So how do you pick a reasonable goal?

Start small.

Everyone is different and we all have craziness in our lives. Figure out what you can easily handle and then gradually increase your writing goal. For instance, I used to have my goal at 500 words/day or 2,500 words/week (no weekends.) As my kids got older and my day job changed a bit, I was able to increase that goal to 1,000 words/day or 5,000 words/week. If I did not meet my goal by Friday, I worked the weekend until I reached the mark. You want your goal to be challenging but not overwhelming.

I also found that surrounding myself with supportive writer-friends helped me to plug along. How many times have you tried talking shop to a friend who is not a writer? It’s quite difficult. I've lost track of how many times those friends gave me the “deer in the headlights” look. No one understands your struggles and personal triumphs better than a fellow writer because we've all been there. Heck, we still are there! This job is not easy, but writing stories is our passion. It’s something we choose to do. And that’s the basis of what makes a story great.

Writing the book is only the beginning…

At least 25% of time is spent marketing, promoting, blog tours, interviews, guest posts, book signings, etc. Don’t forget, this is all done while you’re still writing the next book! Oh, yes, word counts still apply. I don’t think they ever really go away. 

So why write?

If you have to ask yourself that question, this is not the job for you. Write. Your. Passion. Believe me, I wanted to be traditionally published in the worst way, but even if I wasn't  I would still be writing. At sixteen, I remember pounding out stories on an old typewriter. There was nothing like that feeling of being so engulfed in the story that you could feel it, taste it. This is your baby. You have all the power. Tell your story to the world. And if you keep knocking, one day someone will answer.

I’ll leave you with my favorite quote.

“All dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.”—Walt Disney

Thank you so much for having me today. Now back to the darned book. 

• Name your passion whether it’s writing, reading, music, etc. 

Sourcebooks will give away one copy of To Wed a Wicked Highlander to a lucky commenter. (US and Canada only, please)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, INDIEBOUND

She always wanted to be one of the boys...

Sybella would do anything to prove she's just as valuable to the MacKenzie clan as her brother is. She'd go on any hunt, take any dare. But her father has a different sort of mission in mind: marriage. It's simple, he explains. All she has to do is marry Alexander MacDonell and report back on his family's secrets. It will be easy, he says, as long as she doesn't do anything foolish...like fall in love.

Until she got a man

As laird of the MacDonells, Alex has a duty to produce an heir. It's a duty he won't mind with the lovely Ella as his wife―even if she is one of the dreaded MacKenzies. He's wooed and won many ladies, but Ella is a challenge like no other. He can tell she's holding something back. But not for long. Because inch by inch, he plans to expose everything she's been hiding and claim the ultimate prize: her heart.

“Roberts has created the baddest boy of the Highlands for her third in her series. This action-packed romance has everything Roberts’ fans adore: a strong heroine who meets her match in a to-die-for hero, deception, betrayal, love and redemption..." 

―RT Book Reviews Reviewer Top Pick

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Victoria Roberts writes Scottish historical romances about kilted heroes and warriors from the past. She was named by RT Book Reviews as "one of the most promising debut authors across the genres" and was also a 2012 Reviewers Choice nominee for Best First Historical for Temptation in a Kilt. X Marks the Scot and To Wed a Wicked Highlander (Bad Boys of the Highlands #2 and #3) were reviewer TOP PICKS, and the first of Victoria’s new Royal Rebellion series is scheduled for release fall 2014. 

Represented by Jill Marsal of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, Victoria is a member of Romance Writers of America®, Celtic Hearts Romance Writers, several local chapters, as well as a contributing author to the online magazine Celtic Guide.

Victoria lives in western Pennsylvania with her husband of twenty years and their two beautiful children—not to mention one spoiled dog. When she is not plotting her next Scottish romp, she enjoys reading, nature, and antiques. She also drags her clan to every Scottish festival under the sun. You can find Victoria:  Website, Facebook, Goodreads, Celtic Guide

FELLOW WRITERS—A GREAT SUPPORT NETWORK

Emily Greenwood is a new voice in historical romance. She writes playful, sexy Regency romance. Emily has written a three book MISCHIEF series and I'm highlight the first, A LITTLE NIGHT MISCHIEF. 

Emily's road to publication wasn't fast or easy but along the way she learn the value of associating with fellow writers. I'll let Emily tell you more about that.

Thanks so much for having me here today. Love the site music!

I’m pulling up my cup of herbal tea (wish I could drink coffee, but it does me in) and letting out a big sigh at the end of this month of promotion for my debut, A LITTLE NIGHT MISCHIEF.

Seems like the release of this novel has been a long time coming. I started writing it several years ago, put it away for a while, reworked it, and sent it out. I got requests from agents for partial and full manuscripts, and some really helpful suggestions from a few agents that helped me improve the story, but no offers. There was a little angst J

So I put that book aside and started another one. But when the Golden Heart submission deadline was looming, it wasn't ready to go. A writing pal suggested I enter the first book, A LITTLE NIGHT MISCHIEF, and I figured I had nothing to lose, so I made another pass at editing and entered it in the 2008 Golden Heart under a different title. It finaled! I was surprised and delighted.

Finaling brought me some great attention and also allowed me to connect with the other writers who finaled that year. We called ourselves the Pixies, and were immediately a great support network. Having this connection with other romance writers really made a difference in my publishing journey and helped me keep motivated as everybody shared inside knowledge and successes and failures on the road to publication. Finaling in the Golden Heart also helped when querying A LITTLE NIGHT MISCHIEF and the book I’d written after it. Two years later I signed with a terrific agent.

Then began the process of reworking my stories with my agent’s suggestions, which took a number of months. If there’s one thing I can say about writing, it’s that it takes a lot of time to get a finished product! Also, I hadn't really picked up on the whole “books in a series” thing, even though as a reader I’d enjoyed, like, Mary Balogh’s Slightly series. Somehow I hadn't figured out that I needed to write books that were linked together. A little slow on the uptake, wasn't I?

Finally the books were ready to go out on submission, and Sourcebooks picked up A LITTLE NIGHT MISCHIEF as part of the three-book Mischief series. Yay! The publication date was two years off, which is not uncommon, and it was a good thing, because it gave me extra time to write those other two books in the series.

Balancing writing and life is a struggle, but I suppose if I truly had loads of uninterrupted time to write, what I wrote would get stale. Or at least I tell myself that when I can’t write because I need to cook dinner, take kids to appointments, exercise, and do all the other things that can nibble up a day. They’re all also things I’m grateful to have in my day J

But it can be very hard to get back into the story when I've been away from it for a day or more. And it’s especially frustrating when I need to read all the way through to get a sense of how the story is working and I have to keep putting it down for interruptions. I try very hard to do something with whatever I’m working on every day.

So, there have been tears and smiles, and I’m sure there will be more, but one thing that is definitely a fun part of publication is interacting with readers through blogs like this one!

                                                                                                                                                                                                      

A LITTLE NIGHT OF MISCHIEF

Emily Greenwood

Every Prize Comes with Complications...

A game of chance saves James Collington from the prospect of debtors' prison, and grants him ownership to Tethering estate. Little does he know that his winnings come with serious complications--not least of which is a beautiful but impoverished young lady who insists his new manor belongs to her.

If He Can't Stop Her, He Might as Well Join Her...

Felicity Wilcox is determined to run Mr. Collington off her land, Though James's charm and devilish good looks are a serious distraction. What she doesn't know is that she may be haunting him right back.

EXCERPT (scroll down to excerpt heading on Publisher site)

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, BAM, INDIEBOUND

                                                                                                                             

Emily Greenwood has a degree in French and worked for a number of years as a writer, crafting newsletters and fundraising brochures. Bur she far prefers writing playful love stories set in Regency England, and she thinks romance is the chocolate of literature. A Golden Heart finalist, Emily lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters.

You can find Emily on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, and her website.

MONDAY MUSINGS: TIME WON'T STOP PULLING ON ME.

Photo attribution-wikimedia

“I'm livin' in a world that won't stop pullin' on me

I'm not complaining but it's true

It's like I owe my time to everyone else

'Cause that's all I seem to do…” 

Keith Urban, WHAT ABOUT ME?

There are times that no matter what you do there just aren’t enough minutes in the day to get everything done. There are things you must do, a list of things that should be done (but aren’t set in stone), and then there is that list of things you want to do. Guess which list gets balled up, more times than not, and tossed across the room?

I think juggling life is one hardest things a writer has to do.

I know it is for me.

Carving out time to write isn’t always easy. There is always something tugging on me and demanding my time. Then there are the characters in my head doing the same. I’ve tried to set aside small sections of time to write and overall I’ve managed to add small chunks of words to my manuscript. The hard thing is having a workable amount of energy remaining when I’m finished with my MUST DO list. I don’t have the luxury of burning the candle at both ends if I want to remain healthy and that’s a juggling act in itself.

The past few weeks my early mornings, the time I do my best writing, has be stolen by college stuff for the kid—people to meet with or contact and a cazillion forms. I hate forms! Then there is the reviving of my online presence after being ill, books to read and reviews to write, correspondence to handle and promotion.

If I have outside appointments, as I have recently, by the time I get home from those appointments, I’m usually wiped out—remember, I live in the middle of nowhere. Other than the local grocery or feed store everything else is at least thirty-five to fifty miles away. So you’re looking at travel time, which is a minimum of an hour, but most of the time, it’s more like two hours. The cost of gas being what it is I tend to maximize my errands. That usually takes up the whole morning and when I get home my brain is already mush and all I want is peace and quiet, no people, something to eat, and somewhere to slither for a short nap. Then it’s onto the list of things that have to be done here on the ranch and then dinner and socializing with the family. I’m fortunate in that I can write nonfiction in the evening but even there, if I’m up too late, which seems to be the pattern recently, it cuts into that early morning creative writing time. A bit of a vicious circle at times.

I’ve been thinking about that. My conclusion is I need to get better organized and a better schedule. I have a window of time that I do my best creative writing. I’ve determined that I need to apply some tough discipline and set that as the focus first. Let the dog out, grab my coffee, open my word document, and spend that hour or two in the morning and write. The housework will still be there when I’m done, ditto with correspondence, Internet, reading blogs, and appointments. I need to be firm with those things.

The later part of last week I implemented part of that. This week will be the kicker. Nose to the grindstone and do it. At least I feel better knowing what I have to do. I’ll let you know how it goes.

• So, how is your writing going?

• How do you juggle life to accommodate your writing, job, and family?

What About Me-on Youtube

Keith Urban 

http://youtu.be/PbXy_CNPcGE 

MONDAY’S MUSINGS: I DID IT MY WAY—A-Z REFLECTIONS

FYI. As Alex Cavanaugh mentioned: several sites were hit with malware warnings this past weekend. Some of us, because we were link to those sites, have also received warning flags—even after removing the links. Over Coffee is absolutely clean from all malware.  

REFLECTIONS: I DID IT MY WAY 

This was the second challenge I followed and while I didn’t participate officially, I did put up articles that corresponded to the letters when I could. I tweeted and Facebook articles where I could and visited as many blogs as I could. I met so many new people, read so many interesting articles and commented on them. There are so many fascinating people blogging these days.

What I noticed more this year was the camaraderie between most of the bloggers. That was cool. I also noticed this year, many had particular themes that were interesting to read. An enormous amount of work went into blogging everyday and making the articles interesting. I loved the humor. Face it, blogging every day, visiting blogs everyday is exhausting and many of the blogs I visited humorously alluded to scraping the barrel for both energy and creativity to put those articles up. Daily.

I loved the separate A-Z blog site. This year it was so much easier to follow the participants. The co-hosts worked together both in supporting the contributors and providing encouragement and help along the way. This on top of contributing their own articles.

Round of applause on a job well done host team!

I had people ask, what’s the purpose of such a challenge. It’s too much, too time consuming, and time that could be used for other things, like writing.

Here are my thoughts on doing blog challenges: 

• Creativity and presentation isn't limited to writing fiction. The whole purpose of writing blogs is the desire to share something with others. Whatever your something is, you have to capture and keep your readers’ attention.

Think of the teacher who has certain points students have to know. The teacher can make it fun and engage the class or just present the facts—cut and dried. Boom. They’ve done their job and probably lost half of the class to daydreams. There is a seminar you have to attend for work. Certain facts have to be relayed. You can make it interesting or a boring monologue. It’s up to you.

It’s all in the presentation.

So challenges like A-Z sharpen those skills. Challenges teach you to think outside the box about subjects that may or may not interest everyone.  It stretches you. If you think about it, you can make just about any subject interesting to your readers by knowing your audience and streamlining the subject matter to meet and capture the majority of that audience. Again presentation and playing to your strengths to get your thoughts across to that audience.

• The other lesson that comes from such challenges is discipline—for writers. You have a deadline. To meet it you have to write every day or regularly and you have to juggle life with that writing. Thought has to be given to what and how you’re going to write. It takes discipline to sit your butt in the chair and get it done.

• The third lesson that comes from such a challenge is learning how to promote you and your writing or blog. Promotion isn't always comfortable, is it? Regardless of whether we are introverted or extroverted, promotion is a necessary task. The challenge allowed each participant to strengthen those skills. Helped all to see we can promote and make connections. Making those connections weren't as difficult as many thought. Connections, networking, cyber friends.  All good things, and you learned could be yourself and accomplish good promotion for your name, your blog, and your writing.  You didn't have to be anyone but you.

As Frank Sinatra sings, “I did what I had to do and saw it through without exemption. I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway. And more, much more than this, I did it my way. Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew when I bit off more than I could chew. But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out. I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way.”

Congratulations! 

SARAH HUMPHREYS—A LEAP OF FAITH

What do you do when your schedule is full to bursting and the juggling act is next to impossible? My guest, para-romance author Sara Humphreys faced just such a situation. But, I'll let her tell you about it.

For the past few years I’ve been juggling my family (I’m married and we have four boys), a full-time job, side gigs from time-to-time with Taney Speaker Training (my company) and a writing career.  It’s been exhausting but exhilarating as well. However, the grind of doing it all was taking a toll on me and I realized that something had to give.

So what are the options?

1. Give up the family. Not in this lifetime. Not in any scenario. Family is everything. 

            Ok…clearly not giving up the family. What else?

2. Give up writing. Not happening. First of all, I’m contracted for two series and I’ve got    more books to deliver. Secondly, I love writing. I adore creating new characters and weaving a unique world for the readers to get lost in. 

            Ok…not giving up the writing. What else?

3. Resign from my full-time job and build Taney Speaker Training into the company I know it can be. Hmmmm. This one had possibilities. Let’s look at the pros and cons.
Pros:  Work for myself doing something I love. Work out of my home office, which will give me both the time and flexibility to accommodate my family and write.             Cons: No steady paycheck.

          Yikes. That’s a big-ass con.

My husband and I sat down for a major heart-to-heart and discussed the options.  Our boys are in middle school and high school and they’re going to need me around now more than ever. Time is flying by and I don’t want to miss out on this special time in their lives but I still need to make a living.  No matter how many times we went over it…we kept coming back to the same thing.

Option #3.

The interesting thing is that once we decided that #3 was the obvious choice…doors began to open for my company, Taney Speaker Training.  Within about two weeks, I had four or five potential gigs come my way and proposals starting to go out. Funny how that happens, isn’t it? The universe seemed to be sending signals that I’m making the right choice.

I’ll be honest and admit that I’m terrified.  I’m aware of the risks. I vacillate between being excited about what the future holds and wanting to vomit for not knowing what exactly that might be.

I worry that my books won’t sell or that my company won’t get proposals but on the other hand…I can envision success and feel as though it’s within my reach.

At the end of the day, this is an enormous leap of faith. I’m going to practice what I preach and follow my passion.  If I don’t try…then I’ll never know.

Sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and leap.

• How about you? Have you ever made a giant leap of faith?

BUY: AMAZON, B&N,
INDIGO ca

UNTOUCHED BY SARA HUMPHREYS – IN STORES APRIL 2012 

She should be seen, but never touched… 

Kerry Smithson's modeling career ensures that she will be admired from afar, which is essential since mere human touch sparks blinding pain and terrifying visions. 

Every good model needs a heavenly bodyguard… 

Dante Coltari is hired to protect Kerry from those who know who she is—or more importantly what she is—and want her dead because of it. Nothing could have prepared him for the challenge of keeping her safe. But, strangely, his lightest touch brings her exquisite pleasure rather than pain, and Dante and Kerry have an otherwordly connection that might just pull them through. EXCERPT

Red-hot love scenes punctuate a well-plotted suspense story that will keep readers turning pages as fast as they can.

—Publishers Weekly Starred Review

Sara Humphreys has been attracted to the fantasies of science fiction, paranormal, and romance since her adolescence when she had a mad crush on Captain Kirk. An actress and public speaker, Sara lives with her husband--who is very considerate of her double life--and four amazing boys, in Bronxville, New York. For more information, please visit http://sarahumphreys.com, Website. http://www.facebook.com/Amoveo Like her on Facebook 

https://twitter.com/#!/authorsara. Follow her on Twitter.

HOW WRITING HAS CHANGED MY LIFE—Alex Cavanaugh

My guest today, is Sci-fi author, Alex Cavanaugh. I'm glad to have him visiting again, Over Coffee (psst don't tell anyone, but Alex is a favorite of mine).

Alex wasn't a blogger, nor did he have a online presence, until his first novel, CassaStar, was soon to be published. He literally went from unknown to what he is today, intrepid blogger, the host of various blogfests, and now has well over a thousand followers. Pretty amazing, isn't it? However, to achieve this calls for a lot of time. I think he mentioned his time went from fifteen minutes a day to two, sometimes three hours a day, online. That's a lot of hard work. His life changed drastically once he sold his first novel.

How, I wondered, did all that change his life? He tells us a bit about it.

Life used to be simple. I worked. I watched movies and played games. I jammed on my guitar. I volunteered at my church and spent quality time with my wife. My life wasn’t adventurous but I liked it.

And then, I found that old manuscript.

I’d enjoyed writing when I was a teen and thought it might be fun to tackle a rewrite of this story. The plot was crappy, but the characters were strong. So I spent the next couple years rewriting it and then submitting it. After many rejections, I landed a small publisher, and a release date was set.

I was told to “get my butt online,” which I did. And through blogging I met some really amazing people. They were encouraging and supportive and saw me through the release of CassaStar. I was excited and having fun.

What happened next sent me into a panic. Fans began to ask about the next book. So did my publisher. Next book? I’d never planned on more than one. You mean I had to go through the process again?

Yes, it did. And life wasn’t so simple anymore.

It has taken some serious adjustments and time management skills to make it all come together. My game playing time took the hit first, and over the past few months. I’ve seen far fewer movies. I do still play my guitar, as it’s my way of relaxing, but the jam sessions are shorter. Even time with my wife decreased. (Fortunately, she’s very understanding.)

What takes up a lot of my time now is promoting and networking. I’m blessed I can blog from work while performing my duties and during down times. I’m also on Twitter and a couple other sites. But on a busy day that can take six hours. That doesn’t count the time it takes to compose blog posts either. Or do guest posts or interviews. And since I run the Insecure Writer’s Support Group and I’m an A to Z Challenge co-host, those take time as well. Toss in the promotional requirements from my publisher, and some days it’s just insane.

Safe to say, I never planned on all of this. And I’m supposed to be working on the third book!

I won’t be able to keep up the pace forever, but there are a few things that make it worthwhile right now. Such as the amazing friends I have made online. I draw energy from their enthusiasm and triumphs. They are also the most supportive bunch of people I’ve ever met. I would’ve given up ages ago if it wasn’t for my blogger buddies.

And I would’ve given up without the support of my wife. Some days we don’t spend a lot of time together. But when we do, I make sure it is quality time. We never miss dinner together, either. That often becomes our time to talk. She’s just amazed at what I’ve accomplished so far with my books and my blog, though. And you know every guy wants to impress his wife! I also promised her a killer vacation in the next couple months, which scored one for the Ninja!

So, for any writer who is seeking publication, just be ready for the changes. (And be ready to write another book!) Know that life won’t be so simple anymore. But you know what? It will be better! 

• Visit the author’s site and leave a comment during his book tour for a chance to win CassaFire, CassaStar, and a CassaFire tote bag and mug!

COOL BOOK TRAILER

CassaFire

CassaStar was just the beginning...

The Vindicarn War is a distant memory and Byron’s days of piloting Cosbolt fighters are over. He has kept the promise he made to his fallen mentor and friend - to probe space on an exploration vessel. Shuttle work is dull, but it’s a free and solitary existence. The senior officer is content with his life aboard the Rennather.

The detection of alien ruins sends the exploration ship to the distant planet of Tgren. If their scientists can decipher the language, they can unlock the secrets of this device. Is it a key to the Tgren’s civilization or a weapon of unimaginable power? Tensions mount as their new allies are suspicious of the Cassan’s technology and strange mental abilities. 

To complicate matters, the Tgrens are showing signs of mental powers themselves; the strongest of which belongs to a pilot named Athee, a woman whose skills rival Byron’s unique abilities. Forced to train her mind and further develop her flying aptitude, he finds his patience strained. Add a reluctant friendship with a young scientist, and he feels invaded on every level. Excerpt

All Byron wanted was his privacy...

CassaFire is the sequel to Cavanaugh’s first book, CassaStar, an Amazon Top Ten Best Seller:

“…calls to mind the youthful focus of Robert Heinlein’s early military sf, as well as the excitement of space opera epitomized by the many Star Wars novels. Fast-paced military action and a youthful protagonist make this a good choice for both young adult and adult fans of space wars.” 

- Library Journal

BUY: AMAZON, BARNES and NOBLE

Alex J. Cavanaugh has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and works in web design and graphics. He is experienced in technical editing and worked with an adult literacy program for several years. A fan of all things science fiction, his interests range from books and movies to music and games. Currently the author lives in the Carolinas with his wife.

You can visit the author’s site at http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/

Book trailer available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa6VINRGtyE.

Monday's Musings: Defining Success

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote historical romance. Did you know that? 

Now, let me reassure you manly guys, in Doyle’s time, adventure fiction was considered romantic because the story consisted of idealized, adventurous or heroic characters—larger than life. Since there was no genre designation for science fiction, stories he wrote such as The Lost World, were also under the term romance. Yes, some of his stories had some romantic interest between characters, but the thrust of the story was always the adventure.

My husband and I were talking about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this weekend, and the things in his life that affected his writing and his perspective of that writing and how he defined success. We're both fans of his writing and have read his biography.  His mother was a storyteller. She told him heroic stories from babyhood. Doyle's going to college (where he entertained many with his oral stories) changed his outlook on life. He got another point of view from going adventuring, getting married, juggling his work as a practicing physician and father with his ambition to be an author. How life experiences can change a writer’s perspective of what they write. The difference between critical acclaimed work and commercial success—especially in the writer's mind.

For instance, everyone knows about Sherlock Homes. It’s probably the most famous and financially successful series that Sir Arthur wrote. He met the inspiration for Sherlock while attending medical school in Edinburgh, Scotland. Dr. Joseph Bell, who was known as "a master at observation, logic, deduction, and diagnosis." Sound familiar? 

When Sir Arthur was 27, he wrote, A Study in Scarlet, introducing us to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (although that wasn't their names in the original manuscript). Watson was loosely based on Doyle's own adventures as a medical officer serving on board a whaling ship sailing the arctic waters (which he loved) and again as a doctor on board another ship sailing between England and the west coast of Africa (which he hated). Sherlock Holmes was born from a young man's sense of adventure and the respect and admiration of a mentor.   

Even though Sherlock Holmes stories skyrocketed him to the bestselling lists of his time, Doyle didn’t particularly like his character. You see, Doyle wanted to be known as a serious author, in other words, he wanted critical acclaim.  He attempted to kill Sherlock off when he was thirty-four in The Final Problem.

Why would Doyle do that? The Sherlock Holmes Series was a moneymaking success and made him famous. Doyle, at the ripe age of thirty-two, felt Sherlock Holmes was too commercial and eclipsed his more serious work. What many don’t know is Doyle’s first love was the historical novel. The White Company was one of those novels written from his heart. It’s set during the Hundred Year Wars with brave Knight, Alleyne Edrickson, the squire hero; Sir Nigel Loring, the knight errant; Samkin Aylward, the master archer; and Hordle John.

“Thirty years later, he told a journalist, "I was young and full of the first joy of life and action, and I think I got some of it into my pages. When I wrote the last line, I remember that I cried: 'Well, I'll never beat that' and threw the inky pen at the opposite wall." “

Doyle wrote other tales of Sir Nigel and the White Company. They’re great stories, actually, and if you like Doyle’s writing and haven’t read them, you should check them out (you can find many of them on Amazon, BTW).

Not long after this, his life took a downswing. He got influenza, which which almost killed him, it took him some time to recover from it. He killed off Sherlock (although he didn’t hesitate to resurrect him, later, when he needed the money), his father died, and not long after that, first wife, Louisa, contracted tuberculosis. It was a dark time for him, he suffered from depression, and his writing reflected that. He delved into the “Spiritualism” of the time and became fascinated with life beyond the veil. Remember, this is Victorian times and many were interested in things of that nature. He wrote about these things in papers and some later became part of non-fiction books on the subject of the occult.

After nine years of being sick his wife died. A year later he married the love of his life, Jean Locke (allegedly related to Rob Roy which delighted Doyle). He loved his life, his wife, and their children. A couple years later he wrote his next commercially successful series, The Lost World, with the outrageous and larger than life hero, Professor Challenger. He wrote four more novels with Professor Challenger. I think he had a lot of fun with the humorous professor and his adventures. Plus, like with Sherlock, they were wildly popular with his fans and brought in a good amount of money.

Isn’t it funny, Doyle wanted to be thought of as a serious author?  I’d say he achieved that. He wanted critical acclaim and didn’t feel his popular series gave him that. Boy, was he wrong. If he could only see what’s been done with these two famous and long-lived characters. His body of work is quite substantial. King Edward VII, a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, Knighted Doyle (at the age of forty-three) for his service to the crown and work during the Boer Wars (including a non-fiction book written about his findings as a doctor).

Life changes us. We grow, our priorities change, as does our perception of life, but our desire to write, either as form of making sense of life or to tell stories, remain. 

When you read Doyle’s body of work, you see reflections of those types of changes  The stories of a young man’s sense of adventure, historical novels from the heart, various short stories and novels that were born in depression, books highlighting Doyle’s intellectual pursuits whether as a doctor or as a man fascinated by the unseen world of the occult, happy fun adventures written during a very happy time in his life.  

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, if he were here today, might debate over the terminology of being called a successful author, but in my opinion he was certainly a successful author and he continued to write regardless of what life threw him.

• What do you think? Do you feel he achieved critical acclaim or merely success?

• How would you define success for your writing?

  

Monday Musings: From The House Of My Faddah

This is on my newest coffee cup.

I was born, yonder, in the house of my Faddah. Wait, wrong origins. Sorry, I was channeling Tony Curtis’ character Myles, in The Black Shield of Falworth.

Still, it’s not too far removed from my origins as a storyteller. My father was a fabulous storyteller, as many Celtics can be. He would have made an excellent warrior bard. He entertained his children and wife with stories on many an evening. Hot summer nights we’d sit outside and do round robin stories with each of us taking turns. The story might have started as a dream Dad had, or something he saw from his travels, and he’d embellish it with details. Dad told his stories in installments. While Dad worked he’s be thinking up the next installment for us. We loved it.

The apple didn’t fall far from the tree. As kids, my brothers and I would also make up stories to act out in—‘let’s pretend’. We took turns making up adventures to play pretend and they, too, lasted days. A living adventure series. We couldn’t wait to get outside for the next adventure—which worked great for mama because we had to do our chores before we were free to play. Ah, waiting was agony for us!

My parents encouraged the free reign of imagination. There were many times Dad and Mom would get rid of the TV set, entirely—not a TV to be found at our house. Instead we were encourage to listen to or play music and we had tons of books to read, we are all good artists and crafters, great singers, and good conversationalists. And, we all can tell stories. J  

As long as I can remember, I’ve told stories. My mom still has some drawing from when I was 4 and 5—think comic book style—of stories I made up. Then came Barbies and more stories, only Barbie was rarely allowed to be a princess, mostly, she and the GI Joes (Gads, do you remember how wimpy looking Ken was?), were taking part in some kick ass adventure of discovery and danger.

I don’t think I consciously thought of writing as a career, but I did win contests as a kid for poetry and stories I did and some were even published. Any project I had in school had as much time spent on the creative words as the nuts and bolts of the project. I had teachers who encouraged me to develop my skills, but painting pictures with words was as natural as breathing for me. I figured everyone could do it and why were they making such big deal about it—until I got older.

College was the first time I actually considered writing. That was about the time I was taking some clinical psych courses that involved detailed journal entries of children and adults I dealt with. I always got A’s on that, not only for the applied technical content but also for telling a compelling story on each of my clients. Always, there had to be a story at the heart. My professors would always add on the comment page that I should really consider writing because I could paint pictures with words. About that time I was also working part-time with radio and newspapers writing up articles and in radio doing the scripts for commercials. Every job I’ve had used my writing skills. It’s something I’m good at.

I have various notebooks filled with stories and several complete novels written. They were fun to write—it was always something I did on the side and it fed my creative side just as much as music and art do. Frankly, my life was so full I simply didn’t have time to pursue publication for fiction. I had a demanding high power job that consumed most of my time and utilized much of my creativity. I hardly had any inspiration left over, although I still wrote fiction. 

I moved from the San Francisco area, settled in Missouri, to be near my family. I left behind the corporate world for a different sort of life. Fulfilling dreams of being a mom and ranching, raising hay, vegetables, creating flower gardens, horses and Great Danes.  My life is still full, fulfilling, but in a different way. Much of my storytelling was channeled towards my son, but still...I found myself thinking much more about my writing.  There are a lot of stories out here beyond the back forty.

Friends and a few family members who had read my stories urged (okay, browbeat) me to move forward with it. Finally, I decided to enter one of my stories in a contest a few years ago (2007). I placed at the top 25%. I decided to query them. Got some positive feedback and joined a writing group which I’m still part of. All this showed me just how much I didn’t know about this business of writing. For me, that was unacceptable. The need to know has always a driving force for me. Knowledge of a path always gives me confidence to continue to walk it and if I get knocked down, the ability to dust off the dirt of the pratfall, stick a bandage on the boo-boos and move on.

I’ve spent the last few years learning about my craft. I’ve read and reviewed books to learn current market expectations, did judging gigs, experiment with various promotion platforms, and gained name recognition. In 2009 I created my blog. For me, it’s never been a race for followers (although I love them) but sharing other writers’ journeys, what they’ve faced and overcome. What they’re still overcoming despite their successes.

What’s next? That’s still work in progress and is still evolving. Definitely more writing, and the editing what I’ve already written and more querying.

From the house of my father to who I am today has been a living story. I’ve enjoyed it all.