Do I have talent?

There's a post here at Writer Unboxed titled "Do I have writing talent?" You're asking the wrong question. The post talked about why this question didn't work and posed some different questions that would help us gauge our writing progress.

There have been several times I've seen people come to Compuserve, post some writing, and ask, "Do I have talent? Should I keep writing, or should I give up?" Maybe you've seen this in your writing groups, too.

Writing is a difficult profession.  We all need positive feedback.  We have to have some encouragement because there is a lot of discouragement in the process. But if you have to ask the question "should I give up?" then the answer just might be, yes.

Because there is so much discouragement in writing we have to know, in and of ourselves, that this is what we want to do. That this is what we NEED to do. We have to have the conviction so we can keep going.  If your only commitment is from outside sources maybe you should put down the pen and save yourself a lot of hurt later. Or maybe you just need to take the time, think about what you want and you'll come to that conviction on your own.

Absent

When a person lives with something for a long time, an addiction, an illness, a child, a spouse, it becomes the new normal. It’s easy to forget what it was like to live without it. When that thing is taken away we are dropped in a whole new world. Maybe a good world, maybe a bad one.  For a time we may be lost, confused and alone, wondering how in the world we can adjust. How we can get back to normal.

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, humans are adaptable. The events in our lives mold us, refine us.  Yet no matter how horrible, or how good, we move on, we find a way to change, grow, and deal with those events. We may struggle while doing this, but the possibility to adapt is there, even while wondering what to do, or how to live with that absence.  

Gradually we remember how to be the us we once were.  The us that lived without it. The person a part of us still is. Only now we’re tempered with the wisdom that life has brought us.  

Lest any of you believe I have lost a loved one that is not the case. For me the absence is a good one.  It won’t be gone forever. It will return sooner than I wish. But for now, I am rejoicing in the me I once was, in the freedom I currently have.

Sacrifice

Friday, after months of struggling, our router stopped working for good.  To our surprise, our dishwasher followed along within an hour of the internet being gone.  We've had problems with the dishwasher from day one and The Engineer has had to fix it several (lots of) times. This time he couldn't.  He looked me in the eye and asked if I would rather have a dishwasher or the internet.

Easy question.

"Internet." I said without batting an eye.

I can wash dishes by hand, even the amount we go through with two kids and a mom who loves to cook. But I can't stay in touch with friends, my writer's websites, or my career without the internet.

I knew taking up writing professionally would require some sacrifices, Though I hadn't really thought about the dishwasher. I knew that I might not get out socially much. Hobbies have been dropped to the wayside. My house isn't as clean as it once was. But I have no regrets.

 If you need me, I'll be washing dishes.

Who am I kidding, I'll be on the internet.

What would you choose?  What have you given up to write?

I'm back!

Hey all!  It’s good to be back at the blog.  I want to apologize to all the comments I didn’t get back to.  I’ve been out of town but I plan to come visit everyone soon. 

Congrats to all you A-Zers. I hope it was a great experience for all of you! 

After a month of taking it easy I’m not up to speed on what’s happening in the blogging world.  I do know DL Hammons is kicking off his yearly Write Club.  If you are at all interested I suggest you do it. It’s a blast! 

So what have I missed?  Anyone with good news, an announcement, or just something to say?

Winner

Time to announce the winner of IN PURSUIT OF TAMSEN LITTLEJOHN.

Congrats to Morgan!  

I've sent you an email, please respond before Wednesday or I'll have to pick another winner. 

Thanks to all who participated or commented, I hope you all enjoy the book.

Release day and give away!

Today is release day for Lori Benton's  THE PURSUIT OF TAMSEN LITTLEJOHN! 

 

   Isn't that a beautiful cover? I was lucky enough to be given an ARC (Okay, I begged like a fan girl, but it was worth it!) of the book and I can tell you the story is equally as good.  

Blurb:  In an act of brave defiance, Tamsen Littlejohn escapes the life her harsh stepfather has forced upon her. Forsaking security and an arranged marriage, she enlists frontiersman Jesse Bird to guide her to the Watauga settlement in western North Carolina. But shedding her old life doesn’t come without cost. As the two cross a vast mountain wilderness, Tamsen faces hardships that test the limits of her faith and endurance. 

Convinced that Tamsen has been kidnapped, wealthy suitor Ambrose Kincaid follows after her, in company with her equally determined stepfather. With trouble in pursuit, Tamsen and Jesse find themselves thrust into the conflict of a divided community of Overmountain settlers. The State of Franklin has been declared, but many remain loyal to North Carolina. With one life left behind and chaos on the horizon, Tamsen struggles to adapt to a life for which she was never prepared. But could this challenging frontier life be what her soul has longed for, what God has been leading her toward? As pursuit draws ever nearer, will her faith see her through the greatest danger of all—loving a man who has risked everything for her?

 Lori was gracious enough to answer some questions for me.

1. Let's start at the beginning, how did your love of words begin?  When did you know you wanted to be an author?

My love of words began when I was nine years old. I wrote my first story after my best friend announced one day that she had written a story. I guess it never occurred to me before then that I could write a story, though I already loved to read. It was simply too intriguing an idea not to give it a try. I did, and I was hooked.

When did I know I wanted to be an author? All through my teens I had the niggling urge to write a “serious grown-up” sort of story, and made a few false starts. But it wasn’t until my early twenties that I buckled down and got serious about pursuing novel-writing as anything like a career. Once I finished that first novel, I knew this was how I wanted to spend my days.

2. This is your second published book, did you find publishing it easier or harder than the first one?

A little of both. The editing process on this second book was far more difficult and stretching to me as a writer, which isn’t a bad thing. Just challenging. As far as the publishing process, it’s been easier because I’ve known much better what to expect.

3. Your main character, Tamsen, loved fabric and sewing. Do you sew? Does your personality influence your books or characters at all?

I can manage to sew on a button, but that’s the extent of my ability. For a woman happy in her jeans and 90s-era flannel hoodie, I was surprised to find myself writing about a character with a passion for clothing, both the wearing and the creating of them.

Does my personality influence my books and characters? How could it not? If you want to know a writer, read her books. There’s no hiding who I am on the pages. It finds it way there. That doesn’t mean every character I create is a carbon copy of me, obviously. How boring! Yet there is something of me in every character (even the antagonists; I create them too, after all).

Characters—mine anyway—often spring into being with personalities and interests that hold firm despite my efforts to shape them. I gave up trying with Tamsen Littlejohn, embraced that “girlie” aspect of her character, and soon saw how I could use her preoccupation with clothing to show the stages of her growth—her rejection of the cage she feels caught in, her shedding of her old life, her attempts at “trying on” various aspects of frontier life, until we see her constructing a set of clothes unlike any she’s ever imagined, for the sheer joy of creating. Which I can fully embrace and understand.

4. How much research do you do for your historical novels? What is the oddest thing you've ever researched?

A tremendous amount, and it never stops. It’s become a way of life for me. The oddest thing I’ve ever researched? Some might think it odd that I’ve researched the history of undergarments, or the way 18^th century scholars at Oxford were required to curl their hair, or how to tan hides using an animal’s brains, or the erratic spelling and capitalizing of 1700s penmanship, or how a woman could manage to get trapped in her stays. None of it seems odd to me. Learning how our 18^th century ancestors lived is endlessly fascinating.

5. The cover is gorgeous! Did you have any input? How did you feel when you saw it for the first time?

I’m very pleased with the cover for The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn. It’s beautiful. I’m thankful that my cover designer, Kristopher Orr, is willing to discuss this aspect of the book with me. In this case I was given a choice of three models for Tamsen. While all three women were lovely, one of them so strongly embodied not only Tamsen’s physical appearance, but her inner person—her vulnerability, strength, and sweetness—that there was no other choice for me. She’s the Tamsen who appears on the cover.

Seeing a cover for the first time is always, for me, a bit of shock to the system. I’ve carried around potential covers in my head for months before that moment, my own hopes, ideas for what I think it should look like. When I see the cover for the first time there are a lot of happy feelings because my cover designer does beautiful work. At the same time, all those possible covers in my mind die a little death. After a while I cease to remember them, as I fall in love with the cover that is.

When you've finished this book, go ahead and pick up her first book BURNING SKY which is also brilliantly done.  

We do have a copy of THE PURSUIT OF TAMSEN LITTLEJOHN to give away to one lucky person.  It would be awesome if you wanted to add her books on Goodreads, or leave reviews somewhere, buy her books or give a shout out about the book or contest on your social media but I hate making people jump through hoops (probably from years of filling out adoption papers) So, the only thing you need to do to enter is leave a comment on my blog sometime before Friday the 18th. That's it. I'll announce the winner next week. But if you want to do those other things too, feel free. Sorry, but this is limited to postal addresses in the United States. 

If you want to find out more, here are some links. 

Lori's website here.  Facebook page here.  Her pinterest book boards, which are really amazing are here.  Amazon here.  And, if you want to read the first two chapters free, you can find them here.  Enjoy!

Compete much?

I just saw that Business Insider listed 'poets, lyricists and creative writers' as the second most competitive job in the country.

Go us!

Agents are listed at number ten.

The thing I find so amazing is that even though it is competitive, whether we're selling to agents, publishers, or readers, we are still friends.  The writing community as a whole is supportive, friendly and always willing to offer advice. So even if we do have a competitive job, we also have the best co-workers.