***Originally posted 10-23-13
When I was in radio, I did a little writing here and there for scripts and other such things, but I missed long form writing. In college, it was fine because I had plenty of papers to write, but once I graduated and started my career, I didn't have that creative outlet anymore and I needed it. I tell people that the prologue for "Someone Always Love You" was something that came to me and bugged me. It actually kept me awake at night, begging to be written.
So, one day, on a break from work, I sat down and wrote it out. I felt better! But the story was there and though I didn't know what it was, exactly, I HAD to finish it. It deserved that much. I had never written a novel before, but that was exactly what I set forth to do.
I honestly had no idea what was going to happen in the book. The main idea was based around a woman in a coma. My grandmother was in a coma on two separate occasions and I always wondered if she could hear the people around her...if she had thoughts, dreams, or other things going on in her mind. Though I don't know what really happens in people's minds when they are in comas, the story is based on my idea of what it might be.
What came to me for the prologue was HOW the woman gets thrown into the coma in the first place. From that point on, I really had no idea what was going to happen. I wanted her to have memories of her life and I wanted her to hear some of the things going on around her. What those memories would be and what those items she would overhear would be were up in the air. I literally just sat down a wrote.
Characters began to form and with them, an intricate story line of love, family ties, tragedy, mishaps and many other elements came. Somehow, it all came together and I completed the manuscript in a little over a month. I had no idea what to call it and no idea what to do with it.
My mom helped me arrive at the title of "Someone Always Loved You" and I approached agents and publishers and so on. Though a few asked for more chapters, no one took the bait and I pushed the novel to the side and went on with everyday life.
Years later, my husband "published" the novel in ebook form as a present to me. I went on to self-publish is in paperback form for fun as well. I hope to go back and polish the book a bit more someday now that I know a little more what I am doing. I also took the first few chapters to a writing conference in 2012 and won a contest with them.
Someone Always Loved You"Someone Always Loved You" is still one of the favorite stories I have ever written. I feel like a part of me is in every single character and the story is something that I will never let go of completely. Though I have not done all that much with it, somehow, people have been finding it online.
Just the other day, I visited the amazon link for the ebook version of the book in order to grab the link and send it to someone. I noticed that there were reviews posted on the book! I was surprised and excited to read them. There are four reviews posted. The first one I asked a reviewer to write and it is a three star review, though everything they said about the book is favorable. The other three reviews are completely unsolicited and I was shocked to see there are all five star reviews.
You can read all of the reviews here, but here's what one reviewer said:
This book was amazing! The story was not what I had expected at all. The twist and turns it took certainly made me want to finish the book. Each character had their own distinctive personalities and I am not sure who was my favorite. The title goes hand in hand with the storyline. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading the unexpected.
Reading what complete strangers thought gave me hope that someday, more people will enjoy the story that I enjoyed writing more than you can imagine. It's a story I will never forget and never completely move past. It haunted my until I wrote it and though I feel better now that it's out of my system, there will be no ridding of it completely. And for that I am thankful.
When I was in radio, I did a little writing here and there for scripts and other such things, but I missed long form writing. In college, it was fine because I had plenty of papers to write, but once I graduated and started my career, I didn't have that creative outlet anymore and I needed it. I tell people that the prologue for "Someone Always Love You" was something that came to me and bugged me. It actually kept me awake at night, begging to be written.
So, one day, on a break from work, I sat down and wrote it out. I felt better! But the story was there and though I didn't know what it was, exactly, I HAD to finish it. It deserved that much. I had never written a novel before, but that was exactly what I set forth to do.
I honestly had no idea what was going to happen in the book. The main idea was based around a woman in a coma. My grandmother was in a coma on two separate occasions and I always wondered if she could hear the people around her...if she had thoughts, dreams, or other things going on in her mind. Though I don't know what really happens in people's minds when they are in comas, the story is based on my idea of what it might be.
What came to me for the prologue was HOW the woman gets thrown into the coma in the first place. From that point on, I really had no idea what was going to happen. I wanted her to have memories of her life and I wanted her to hear some of the things going on around her. What those memories would be and what those items she would overhear would be were up in the air. I literally just sat down a wrote.
Characters began to form and with them, an intricate story line of love, family ties, tragedy, mishaps and many other elements came. Somehow, it all came together and I completed the manuscript in a little over a month. I had no idea what to call it and no idea what to do with it.
My mom helped me arrive at the title of "Someone Always Loved You" and I approached agents and publishers and so on. Though a few asked for more chapters, no one took the bait and I pushed the novel to the side and went on with everyday life.
Years later, my husband "published" the novel in ebook form as a present to me. I went on to self-publish is in paperback form for fun as well. I hope to go back and polish the book a bit more someday now that I know a little more what I am doing. I also took the first few chapters to a writing conference in 2012 and won a contest with them.
Someone Always Loved You"Someone Always Loved You" is still one of the favorite stories I have ever written. I feel like a part of me is in every single character and the story is something that I will never let go of completely. Though I have not done all that much with it, somehow, people have been finding it online.
Just the other day, I visited the amazon link for the ebook version of the book in order to grab the link and send it to someone. I noticed that there were reviews posted on the book! I was surprised and excited to read them. There are four reviews posted. The first one I asked a reviewer to write and it is a three star review, though everything they said about the book is favorable. The other three reviews are completely unsolicited and I was shocked to see there are all five star reviews.
You can read all of the reviews here, but here's what one reviewer said:
This book was amazing! The story was not what I had expected at all. The twist and turns it took certainly made me want to finish the book. Each character had their own distinctive personalities and I am not sure who was my favorite. The title goes hand in hand with the storyline. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading the unexpected.
Reading what complete strangers thought gave me hope that someday, more people will enjoy the story that I enjoyed writing more than you can imagine. It's a story I will never forget and never completely move past. It haunted my until I wrote it and though I feel better now that it's out of my system, there will be no ridding of it completely. And for that I am thankful.
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