New book, new cover

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author, books, Design, entertainment, Family, Life, relationships, Writer

 

Under Cover

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arts, author, books, Design, inspiration, Writer

The ideal book cover gives away just enough to persuade the reader and capture the story inside – without revealing too much. It’s the reason you pick up a book from the shelf (or order it online.)

During the pandemic, I’ve been working with a terrific artist at Babski Creative Studios, who also designed the cover of my award-winning first book, The Anchor Clankers. (Some of the first idea boards for the new book appear above.)

I know it’s important to make a good first impression on potential readers, who often assume that a poorly-designed cover indicates a poorly-written book. The design is one of the most important aspects of marketing, because we’re all drawn to items that are attractive. Wish me luck!

Renee interviews author Robert Jacob

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author, Awards, books, Writer

Digging deep into the true history of Piracy and those who lived this life, Robert Jacob unearthed a treasure of information that allows his readers to experience the true life and motivation of pirates in their Golden Age. His book, A Pirate’s Life in the Golden Age of Piracy won a Gold Medal in the Education category of the 2019 Florida Authors and Publisher’s President’s Book Awards (and a Silver Medal in the Coffee Table Book category.)

Tell me about your background. Where you grew up, where you live now, education, work experience? Share some interesting things about yourself that we should know about.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and got involved with living history in 1971. I did Revolutionary war re-enacting all through the bicentennial. I received a BS in education from Duquesne University and a MA from VCU in Richmond. I served in the United States Marine Corps for 31 years (1982-2013)
While serving in the Corps, I continued with my living history hobby, doing Rev-War, western gunfighter and mountain man rendezvous along with my wife, Anne, who always participates in these events. In 2006, I became interested in pirate re-enacting.
I retired from the Corps in 2013 and moved to Florida.

What inspired you to write this book? What is the story behind the story?

When I became interested in pirate living history, I wanted to learn about the time period, so I read every book I could find. I quickly realized that most of them were highly inaccurate and none of them told the complete story. Most were re-hashes of one book written in 1724, which was not historically correct and was filled with embellishments and incorrect “facts”. After several years of searching for a good and complete book on the subject, I decided to write the book I was searching for.

What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle?

Finding a publisher.

What has been your biggest “aha” moment or success?

I have many of them, each time someone tells me that they really enjoyed reading my book.

What authors do you like to read? What books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?

I exclusively read history books. Most of them are difficult to read. Not only are they exceptionally wordy, but the jump around in the historical timeline when telling their story. Their influence on me was to develop a style that is NOT theirs. My narrative is easy to read and is chronological as much as possible. There is one author whose style did influence me, James Burke. He also did a TV series in the 1980’s titled “The Day the Universe Changed.”

Do you write every single day? Any writing rituals?

My writing seems to go in spurts. I may write constantly for a week, then not touch it for a month.

What are your interests outside of writing?

I still do living history and give lectures on pirate history. I also enjoy fishing.

Share some tips for other Authors or Aspiring Authors: What would you do differently? What would you do the same? Please share anything you think would be beneficial to those reading this.

Getting the right publishing team is everything. No matter how good your writing is, getting it formatted and getting the right cover design is very important. I found my publisher by joining local groups of writers and asking them to introduce me to their publishers.

Renee interviews author Nancy J. Cohen

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author, books, inspiration, mystery, Writer

Nancy J. Cohen writes cozy mysteries set in Florida. Her stories contain a touch of humor and a hint of romance. Her book, “A Bad Hair Day Cookbook,” received a Five Star Review from Readers Favorite.

Tell me about your background. Where you grew up, where you live now,
education, work experience? Share some interesting things about yourself that we
should know about.

I grew up in New Jersey. My Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing was earned at University of Rochester in NY and my Master’s Degree at University of California in San Francisco. I worked as a Registered Nurse for ten years before retiring to write full-time. Currently, I live in South Florida with my husband. We are empty nesters with two grown children and a grandson.

What inspired you to write this book? What is the story behind the story?

I love to talk about food. I attend cooking classes and read food magazines. I like to cook and experiment with new dishes. I’ve posted recipes on my website and photos of dishes I’ve made on my Facebook page. The recipe list on my website got so long that I considered compiling them into a cookbook to save storage space. It would be a legacy for my children, containing all my favorite recipes and ones I’d inherited from my mother.

Food is a happy topic. When writing a mystery, we deal with sad events. Eating brings comfort, and so food is the light that balances the darkness of death in these stories. My heroine sleuth, Marla Vail, likes to cook. Working in the kitchen offers an escape from daily strife. She’s the narrator for the cookbook, adding her own commentary and anecdotes to flavor the recipes with her perspective. I meant this as a tribute to my fans. The cookbook is a companion to the series. With the excerpts included, it’s also a great introduction to the series for home cooks who haven’t read any of the books.

What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle?

Regarding the cookbook, getting the measurements and ingredients listed to be precise and consistent was my biggest challenge. Regarding my career as a published author, the biggest challenge is that I’ve had to change publishers several times. When I wrote for Kensington, I got “orphaned” and they dropped my series after nine books. Five Star dropped their entire mystery line after I did four books with them. Then Kensington licensed rights to some of my books to Open Road Media, so there was yet another version out there. Rather than seek another publisher for this series, I decided to go indie starting with book 14. It’s been a good decision. Readers have been my biggest supporters. Easter Hair Hunt, book 16, will be out in March. Then I’ll see where I want to go from there.

What has been your biggest “aha” moment or success?

Interacting directly with readers has been highly gratifying. We couldn’t do this in the earlier days of the publishing industry. Now we can communicate directly thanks to social media. I am accountable to my readers more so than to any publisher, and readers are ultimately our audience. Success is being asked, “When is your next book coming out?” In terms of awards, and my books have earned several, the biggest honor was getting an Agatha Award nomination for my instructional guide, Writing the Cozy Mystery.

What authors do you like to read? What books have had a strong influence on you
or your writing?

A series that greatly influenced my writing was Horatio Hornblower. As I progressed through the stories about this young officer in the British Navy, I realized that what drew me to the next book weren’t the sea battles. It was how Horatio grew and changed throughout the series. If you think about Nancy Drew, she hardly evolves in the original titles. You get a fun mystery in each book, but her character doesn’t change. That was okay back then but it wouldn’t appeal to me now. I like to follow the personal lives of characters from book to book, and we need to do the same as writers. Our characters must evolve and change. They become friends to our readers who want to follow their personal lives.

Do you write every single day? Any writing rituals?

It depends on if I’m in a writing phase or a revision phrase. I’ll give myself a daily quota to achieve. Once I’ve met my page count, I spend the rest of the day on marketing. Social media and book promotion are incredibly time-consuming. I write very early in the morning so I can usually take the afternoons off to do other things.

What are your interests outside of writing?

Reading, dining out, cooking, cruising, and visiting Disney World. Now we have a new grandson, so that’s changed the family dynamics.

Share some tips for other Authors or Aspiring Authors: What would you do
differently? What would you do the same? Please share anything you think would be beneficial to those reading this.

I would still advise new authors to get a publisher. It’s important to cross that line for validation. A publisher can give your book wider distribution and promotional support in ways you cannot do for yourself. Also, determine your audience. Don’t bounce around from one genre to the next. Stick with the one you love and keep producing more material. Make sure you maintain the rights to your characters and series. Then you can take them elsewhere if necessary. Be versatile and realize you have options, especially if you get dropped by your publisher or your line folds. Most importantly, be active in the writing community. Join online listserves, participate in writing groups, go to conferences and workshops. Always learn and always keep striving toward success. Follow the 3 P’s – Professionalism, Practice, and Perseverance.

Renee interviews Author Jayne Rose-Vallee

Tags

author, book, children, Humor, Life, school, Writer

Jayne M. Rose-Vallee. Jayne is an author and publisher of children’s books. Her mother’s love of poetry and quick-witted humor sparked an early appreciation for a good rhyme. Being raised on a farm taught her hard work and a little bit of dirt builds character. After raising three children on the east side of Detroit, she found time in the next chapter of life to follow her passion and write. The hesitant Jayne was encouraged by her daughter to publish her first book, Dinosaurs Living in My Hair, which catapulted her into a new business venture. Dinosaurs Living in My Hair is now a series with the third book currently being illustrated. The educational DLIMH!2 Coloring Book takes much of her dinosaur research and presents it to children with creativity and fun.

Tell me about your background. Where you grew up, where you live now, education, work experience? Share some interesting things about yourself that we should know about.
I grew up in the Midwest. Attended Michigan State University. Married. Three children before the age of twenty-six. Stay-at-home mom. Volunteered and served on a variety of non-profit boards and community organizations. President of the Mothers’ Club of Grosse Pointe South High School and board of directors. Baked thousands of chocolate chip cookies for children’s athletic teams.
In summer, I cheered from the steamy pool deck; fall I watched from the sidelines of a muddy soccer field; winter I was bundled up under heat lamps in an ice arena; spring I was outside stiff from anxiety holding my breath through tennis rallies. My life was consumed with my family. When the last one went to college, we continued to drive and watch tennis matches, however, life as I knew it shifted.

What inspired you to write this book? What is the story behind the story?
My daughter was an ambassador for Lululemon (she’s an Ironman/triathlete). As training for her ambassadorship, she underwent a program which asked her to identify life goals. She began mentoring me. She wanted me to publish a poem I wrote for her when she was four. After a year of ignoring her, I began to wonder, “What if?”
I found an illustrator, Anni Matsick, who agreed to undertake this project with an unknown, unpublished author. We worked together with Chris Schechner, (art director), and published books one and two. Bonnie Hawkins will be illustrating book 3 which is an underwater reef book where DLIMH tackles the subject of caring for Mother Earth.
Twenty-eight awards later, hundreds of school visits done, and thousands of hugs given, I am grateful to Lauren, my daughter, for her persistent encouragement to publish. It’s been an amazing journey. Not only is she the protagonist for the main character, but she single-handedly kicked me to get here.
Dinosaurs Living in My Hair is a poem I wrote for Lauren which details early childhood living with a mass of blonde curls. She would come in from play with sticks and dried leaves stuck in her tight spirals. It pulled and hurt to brush, comb, wash, etc. Parts of her hair never saw the light of day. I used to say, “Lauren, dinosaurs could live in that mess and I’d never know?” She’d shrug with those round blue sparkling eyes and dart out the side door to go play. Dinosaurs were the most ridiculous thing I could think of to say. I love the word imagination. I think to write the ridiculous is fun and persuade children think like this. Adults ask “Why dinosaurs?” Children know the answer is, “Why not dinosaurs?”

What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle?
As an author/publisher the most difficult challenge to overcome was to believe in myself; to take myself seriously. Traditionally published authors and traditional publishers used to make me feel ‘less than.’ It’s taken five years, but finally I acknowledge in my heart, I’m legit. It’s the students who cheer, laugh, applaud, hug, and love the books, who changed this for me. They are the best indicator of quality. I trust them.
Recently I founded, Literacy for Kids, Inc., (LFK) a non-profit corporation whose mission is to promote literacy, advocate education, support tolerance, and encourage acceptance. We are busy organizing our first AUTHORS: IN-Detroit program where the purpose is to unite award-winning authors/illustrators with students at a face-to-face event. Each child will receive an autographed book from the respective author assigned to their school. LFK will selectively choose titles which promote vocabulary, history, culture, acceptance, and self-esteem. Since we have seen firsthand how students respond with excitement and optimism when engaged in this personal educational experience, we felt Detroit Public Schools would be a great place to launch our first project.
I am currently editing my first YA novel. It’s a cross between John Paulson’s, “Hatchet” and John Grisham’s “Client.” I wanted to write a book where Mother Earth was also a character. We have a piece of property in the middle of nowhere which speaks to anyone who has walked there. It feels sacred. My intent is to paint this emotional reaction into words. What I lack these days however, is time.
The second DLIMH!2 book has been adapted into a Spanish version. This is currently being printed and will be available soon. The book series is in rhyme and it was challenging to give it a beat and rhythm through the translation. We look forward to its addition to our selections.

What has been your biggest “aha” moment or success?
Most of my writing ‘ah-ha’ moments come early in the morning when I first wake. A year ago, we travelled to Africa. I was able to write for three weeks continuously while overlooking a watering hole. Every animal imaginable within walking distance made its way to drink directly in front of me. The marmot monkeys flitted around the treetops overhead, the baboons strolled down the dried river eyeing me cautiously, the padded grey elephant feet snuck in quietly, and the towering giraffes blended into the trees miraculously. Sleeping outside in a tent for three weeks, waking and writing, falling asleep and waking to write again, was one of the most magical times of my life. The wee hours, with my sleep angels having answered manuscript questions, were still fresh in my mind when I started typing each day. I find if I’m struggling with writing plot – characters – etc. – I pose the question in my mind before sleep, invariably I have my answer in the morning. It’s best to keep my pencil and paper next to my bedside to jot down before the day erases all of my secrets. I think I have sleep fairies.

What are your interests outside of writing?
I am an avid fly-fisherman. It’s an activity my husband and I learned together about year ten (10/40) in our marriage. We began in Montana streams and rivers and fell in love with the speckled trout. Now, we fish most in saltwater. We divide our time between Michigan and the Florida Keys. I still prefer wading in water – but being in the back country of the everglades is also spectacular. I have a half-written book (where fly-fishing is a character), sitting in my bottom drawer. Time. It’s my worst enemy.

What authors do you like to read? What books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?
I read a lot of children’s book because I like to introduce my granddaughter to the world of words. She loves rhymes which makes me happy. I love Jory John’s humor; Kenneth Kraegel’s, “Green Pants,” is awesome. When I hear my son read Mo Willems’ “Pigeon Needs a Bath” out loud it tickles my heart. It’s funny when his scratchy voice and scrunched up eyes recite words like, “too hot, too cold, too deep . . . “, it makes a mother proud to see him interacting with his daughter and a book. My all-time favorites though will always be nursery rhymes. They speak to me.

Share some tips for other Authors or Aspiring Authors: What would you do differently? What would you do the same? Please share anything you think would be beneficial to those reading this.
My advice to anyone who wants to write is simply, “Write.” There’s no doubt the more you write the better you become. I love George Orwell’s advice when it comes to rules:
1. “Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.”
2. “Never use a long word where a short one will do.”
3. “If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.”
4. “Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.”
5. “Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.”
He goes on to say notice the words ‘never’ and ‘always’ suggest these rules are absolute and must never be broken. Although with all rules – he was known to break them often!
I would add two more rules from my experience:
6. When proofreading take out the word “that” It’s seldom needed.
7. Editing is done best when work is read out loud. If you stutter through a sentence, something isn’t right.
We must encourage children to be creative and use their imaginations. It’s a dying art. God bless the children and the young at heart.

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers. To suggest an author interview, email her at rgarrison@bestversionmedia,com

Renee interviews author Cara Cobb

Tags

author, Culture, inspiration, Religion, Writer

Cara Cobb is a resident of Cassadaga, Florida, a small community known for having a large number of psychics and mediums. She’s written a memoir about her life in a religious cult.

Tell me about your background. Where you grew up, where you live now, education, work experience? Share some interesting things about yourself that we should know about.

My mother, a wealthy young Hungarian, was engaged to be married to a Nazi officer after WWII. Unfortunately for her, after the Allies won the war, the Americans allowed the Russians to first enter the cities that had been sympathetic to the Nazi cause. As our then allies barged through these marked cities, they plundered, raped and murdered the innocent populace.
My grandfather sent my mother and her two sisters out of Budapest ahead of the onslaught. They eventually trekked their way into Southern Germany, where they settled in a refugee camp high in the Bavarian Alps.
At the foot of the mountain was an American base, temporarily commandeered by a sergeant, an imposing New York Jew with a big heart, my father.
The Hungarians were hungry, cold and lacking in water and milk for their children. They needed help but were afraid to approach the Russian allies camped below. No young men were available to solicit the Americans, so the decision was made to send a beautiful woman with a big mouth.
My mother walked into the American camp— The rest is history.
I was born in Germany (February 14, 1952) and raised in the military. As we traveled, my mother insisted that we learn the language, participate in the culture and eat the foods of each locale.
After graduating from Berlin American High School in 1969, I married a GI from Hollywood, Florida. We returned to the states and settled in South Florida, where our first child was born in 1973 and I obtained an AA in Elementary Education.

What inspired you to write this book? What is the story behind the story?
My father-in-law was a founder of a worldwide religious organization. My husband and I became very involved with the group and migrated to Fitzgerald, Georgia, to establish a community of “like believers” in 1978. Due to marital issues, I left my husband and the community in 2009.
My book, We Walk on Water, is a memoire of my 30+ years in the Move. My life there was unique, interesting and fulfilling. We gardened together, raised animals, birthed our babies at home, taught our own children and lived apart from the “world.” I left with no documented work experience to begin a new life at age 57.

What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle?
After leaving the Move, I learned of sexual, physical and financial abuse within the group that had been covered up. After my in-laws and mother passed, I decided to document my own experiences with candor, humor and love as an expose of this little-known, world-wide group.
The Move is the subject of a recent People’s Discovery Investigates Cult series for which I was interviewed. It is presently available on Amazon Prime Video and other venues.

What has been your biggest “aha” moment or success?
My biggest “aha” moment was when the UPS man delivered six boxes of my book to my door-step. I measure any success by the reactions of my readers, some of whom are former students from whom I have not heard in decades calling or writing to tell me how much my book means to them or how I have positively impacted their lives.

What authors do you like to read? What books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?
Books that have influenced me….. hmmmm, starting as a child with Edgar Allen Poe, Inspector Maigret and most recently, Educated by Tara Westover and The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. And I love Bible stories, especially the ones they don’t read in Sunday school.

Do you write every single day? Any writing rituals?
I do not write every single day. I keep an electric typewriter open to type quick thoughts or reminders of things to add to stories later into my laptop. When I do serious writing, I usually go in spurts, having to stop every so often to “clear my palate” with housekeeping, errands, phone calls and such.

What are your interests outside of writing?

Outside of writing, we are very social and enjoy entertaining friends. My partner and I are yard-sale and thrift-store junkies. He owns several properties (three of which we use, the others are rentals) and we fill them with found art and unique furniture pieces. Oh, we also have a mannequin population in our Cassadaga home that I enjoy posing and dressing. In addition, I have three children and six grands (although, I see only one regularly).

Share some tips for other Authors or Aspiring Authors: What would you do differently? What would you do the same? Please share anything you think would be beneficial to those reading this.

If you are a writer, you know you are a writer. Write!!!! Keep a journal, write little stories. When I went into the religious group, I burned much of my youthful writings. I do regret that, although I have retrieved much from memory.
Yesterday, a writer friend gave me a profound insight. “Pretend you and I were driving to Winn Dixie together. What would you see? Cars, stop signs, street corners. Now pretend we are walking the same route to the store. What would you see? Perhaps a dead bird on the side of the road, perhaps a lost shoe, maybe an abandoned kitten. Write as if you are walking.”

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers.

Taking care of the caregiver

Tags

Family, inspiration, Life, relationships, Support, Writer

While being a caregiver for an elderly loved one can be deeply rewarding, it can also be extremely stressful. During those moments when my nerves are frayed and my patience is wearing thin, I’ve discovered some helpful techniques to remove myself from the situation and calm down.

How do I keep strong feelings from getting the best of me? I remember to “take five.” Best of all, my little mantra can take many different forms:

1. You could take five (literal) steps back from the situation if your loved one with dementia has become belligerent.

2. Count to five before you answer if you’re stuck in a cycle of repeated questions or comments.

3. Take five whole minutes to yourself (set a timer!) if you’re just worn out. While you relax, put on a calming television program or hand the person with dementia a favorite snack and leave the room.

4. In the evening, of course, you can always try five sips of wine…

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers. She is currently writing the sequel.

Conversations with strangers

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Conversation, inspiration, Life, read, Writer

A reporter’s notebook is a license to talk to interesting people.

Ever since I declared journalism as my college major, I’ve been striking up conversations with strangers. The notebook gives me a reason—and permission—to do it without feeling intrusive. Since my first reporting job at The Tampa Tribune, I’ve interviewed architects, designers, chefs, inventors, entrepreneurs, authors, activists – even a fashion designer (who paused during our conversation to give me tailoring tips for my suit.)

The interviews I conduct still challenge, inspire, and move me.

A reporter’s notebook is also a ticket to interesting places. Readers want to be taken somewhere, and, as their surrogate, I have “stomped the divots” at polo tournaments, broken speed records in an offshore power boat, drifted over Florida in a hot air balloon, watched the filming of “This Old House” for PBS and sashayed into Playboy Bunny tryouts. The key to bringing these experiences to life, is to convey the details.

Funny how my notebook – such a low-tech device – is the only thing I need to capture the sights, smells, sounds, and excitement of our world.

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers.

Renee interviews author Tabitha Young

Tags

author, books, inspiration, Writer, writing

Tell me about your background. Where you grew up, where you live now, education, work experience? Share some interesting things about yourself that we should know about.
I grew up in Virginia, outside of Washington D.C., but moved to Orlando to attend UCF (Go Knights!) where I received a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. It was five years ago when I met my husband, who is a graduate from Deland High, and two years ago, we moved back to Deland. During this time, I have fallen in love with the town and community.
Currently, I’m an active alumna of Kappa Alpha Theta and serve on the Advisory Board as the Facility Management Advisor for the Epsilon Theta Chapter at Stetson University. During my free time, I love being with my family (although we are usually working on our small family farm) traveling, and of course, watching college football.

What inspired you to write this book? What is the story behind the story?
The idea for The Burden of Trust was literally a dream. This dream was different than my others because even after I woke, it continued to replay in my mind. A co-worker suggested that I write it down, and as I began writing the dream started to expand. What started as a doodle has turned into a full trilogy.

What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle?
My biggest challenge has been learning how to write. Writing a novel is completely different than composing an email or an essay. You have to learn how to tap into character’s feelings and emotions, and transport the reader into their world.

What has been your biggest “aha” moment or success?
Most people don’t know that I initially had self published The Burden of Trust back in 2014. I sent it off to a reviewer and got a life lesson in criticism. She had explained that while the story was good, the writing was horrible. I was devastated. I remember sitting in a hotel room (because I was traveling with my husband) sobbing. It felt as though it had all fallen apart. Twenty minutes later and some support from my husband, I made the decision to start over. It was now or never, and I was determined to write a successful novel.

What authors do you like to read? What books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?
I tend to read what I’m writing. If it’s romance, I’m reading a Nicholas Sparks or Kristin Hannah. When I find that I’m lacking for descriptive language, I always turn back to Gone with the Wind, my all time favorite.

Do you write every single day? Any writing rituals?
I try to write every day, but sometimes life tends to interrupt that. When the mood or motivation strikes, I sit down and write…even if it’s a napkin at a restaurant.

 What are your interests outside of writing?
First of all, I love college football! My family has a small farm, just a few cows, chickens and ducks and I enjoy going out in the mornings with my husband to take care of them. I love traveling to off-the beaten path places, meeting locals and learning about their culture.

Share some tips for other Authors or Aspiring Authors: What would you do differently? What would you do the same? Please share anything you think would be beneficial to those reading this.
If you are writing your first novel, I would suggest hold off on publishing until it’s been edited by a professional and tested by a few reviewers. Don’t rely on friends and family for critical feedback. I learned a lot writing The Burden of Trust and one of the biggest things that I helped me was to read my book out loud. It’s amazing all the little errors you find. Always remember writing a novel is 10% writing and 90% editing!

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers. To suggest an author interview, email her at rgarrison@bestversionmedia.com.

Renee interviews author Talya Boerner

Tags

author, books, inspiration, Life, relationships, Writer, writing

 

Tell me about your background. Where you grew up, where you live now, education, work experience? Share some interesting things about yourself that we should know about.

I grew up on a cotton farm in the Arkansas Delta (where my family goes back five generations). I have an economics degree from Baylor University. For twenty-five years, I lived in Dallas and raised two children while working as a commercial lender. About four years ago (as empty nesters), my husband and I moved back home to Arkansas. We now live in Fayetteville in the gorgeous Ozark Mountains with our two schnauzers, Lucy and Annabelle. I’m editing my next book and working to turn our backyard into a butterfly garden.

What inspired you to write this book? What is the story behind the story?

The inspiration for my book came from my childhood. Although the genre is southern fiction, flashes and situations within The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee are autobiographical, inspired by the farm where I grew up and the people who influenced me. One of my favorite writers, Eudora Welty, said, “One place understood helps us understand all places better.” The setting for my book, Mississippi County, Arkansas, is my “one place understood”. The Delta, my small country church, the schoolhouse, the all-encompassing nature of farming—these things inspired me to tell Gracie’s story.

What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle?

Leaving a successful banking career to follow my writing dream felt both exciting and frightening. While the solitary nature of writing fits my personality, I had no idea how difficult it would be to reach readers, to grow an audience, to earn an income from it.

What has been your biggest “aha” moment or success?

My most rewarding moments have resulted from connections made with readers who are eager to tell me that Accidental Salvation took them back to their own childhoods, to places or times they had all but forgotten. Also, having my book featured on NPR’s Arts & Letters was a definite high point!

What authors do you like to read? What books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?

A few of my favorite authors include Carson McCullers, Robert Olen Butler, Eudora Welty, Dorothy Allison, Charles Frazier, Zadie Smith, Stephen King, Jeffery Eugenides, and Nell Leyshon.
Childhood books that first sparked my love of reading include The Secret Garden, Little Women, Nancy Drew, Tarzan of the Apes, Alice in Wonderland, and any Newbery award winner.

Do you write every single day? Any writing rituals?

Yes, I write most every day early in the morning with a cup of coffee. I start by recording in my journal the date, time, place, and current weather conditions. As a farm girl and gardener, knowing the weather forecast is ingrained in me. I can’t get started without checking the conditions. Crazy, I know!

What are your interests outside of writing?

Besides writing, I love nature and gardening, and I am a voracious reader.

Share some tips for other authors or aspiring authors: What would you do differently? What would you do the same? Please share anything you think would be beneficial to those reading this.

My advice to aspiring authors is to read excellent writing. Slow down and don’t be in a rush to publish your book. Hire a professional editor. Spend your spare time perfecting your craft rather than on marketing.
It’s my belief that good writing will be discovered. At least I hope so.

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of “The Anchor Clankers.” To suggest an author interview, email her at rgarrison@bestversionmedia.com.