Writing can be fun! Just think about it. You can invent your own world with made up people who can do whatever you want them to do, be whoever you want them to be. I’ve always admired authors who can create a truly separate world that does not exist our current reality; think J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter), George R. R. Martin (The Song of Fire and Ice aka Game of Thrones), L. Frank Baum (Wizard of Oz) J. R. R.Tolkien (the Lord of the Rings) just to name a very few examples and ones that I enjoyed. I don’t know if I could do that but it’s fun to think about. These stories all have a very dark side to them so you would need some pretty evil characters to counter the good ones and a fascinating place for the story to happen that is very different from ours. Hmmm. I’ve been asked if I could, which fantasy world would I want to visit? I’ve had a hard time coming up with an answer. I rather create one instead because then I could visit it anytime and be sure I won’t get hurt just by changing the script.
A brief look at how Seeking Glory came to be
Fantasy worlds aside, I always wanted to write a story that took place on Cape Cod. When I was a child I loved reading, especially mysteries, so I decided I would write a murder mystery that took place on the Cape. I don’t remember the details now and my manuscript is long gone of course, not that I ever finished it. I just remember it had a woman as a central character, no surprise I suppose. I mean, I can understand and empathize with the character of Kate in many ways and, well, I created her of course. We both love the Cape but I can also relate to her insecurities, her worries about her daughter, her determination when it comes to discovering Glory’s origin and also her desire to resolve her own religious dilemmas. When I think of it I picked up bits and pieces of the characters from things I read or heard. For instance some of the idea for Glory came from an article I read about therapy for selectively mute children and some of Ally’s character came from reading an article about growing up living on Cape Cod, a place with a small year round population where winters can be lonely followed by an explosion of summer residents that might inspire jealousy and resentment in teenagers.
And you can get advice from your pre-publishing readers
I had the basic plot and characters in my head before I started actually writing Seeking Glory but that doesn’t mean I didn’t add people and places as I went along. One major character I added was Sam Ritter. I did that because one of my early readers suggested that a love interest was all but essential for Kate plus I later realized it would help counter a criticism I received that Kate whined too much. I really didn’t believe that last part too much. I thought Kate’s situation would make pretty much anyone cry and she did take action after all not just whine. Maybe some of my readers can tell me if she seemed to complain too much . Anyway I came to think a love interest was a good idea and I had fun creating Sam, what he looked like, what he did for a living, where and how he and Kate met and whether they would have just the suggestion of a more intimate relationship or would it would it happen in real time or within the time frame of the story. If you’ve read the book you would know which it is.
You self publish–and then what happens
I had lots of time with Seeking Glory too. I wrote whenever I felt like it, no pressure, except from the one in my head that (occasionally) kept saying get on with it. I started writing the other stories too (I’m currently writing a book tentatively called Where Spirits Dwell) but I kept coming back to Seeking Glory. I wasn’t sure I’d publish it so why rush? But I did finish it and when I did I thought that’s it! I’m done and I can move on to the next book! Unfortunately for me, now I thought well, I wrote it, I have to try to publish it. I mean I’d written it, right? That’s when it started to get harder. A literary agent? no luck. A traditional publisher? Not without an agent. Self-publishing? Okay, not easy but I can do it. Marketing? the hardest of all. Writing is easy and much more fun.