October 2021
Here are two quotes I’ve always liked, each saying the same thing from a slightly different
perspective.
“It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” George Elliot.
“A journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step.” Lao Tzu
What I see with these is that if you have a dream, you have to begin somewhere and there are no timelines as to when, but every dream will require work. Being one of those people who thought about writing on and off for many years, I finally decided it was time to sit down and do that work. There is discipline required, goals to be set, things to be learned, and you have to begin somewhere.
I did complete three young adult novels, but then decided I wanted to try my hand at writing an adult novel, while knowing I had a lot more to learn. So I’ve been on hiatus for the last five or so years and during that time, I’ve done classes, webinars, joined several writers’ groups and did a lot of reading—a lot of reading is what we must do if we want to write well. During this time I also made some major changes in my personal life. I now have two new books ready for publication and several more in progress. I’m excited to be back and hope you will check out these new efforts.
Like most readers, I gravitated to reading my favorite authors repeatedly. What I now try to do is read more reviews and try new authors, even some of those who don’t write mysteries! What I want to do each month with this newsletter, is to introduce you to some who are new to me and whose writing I really enjoyed….though knowing some you might already have read.
First: Kristin Hannah and The Four Winds. I have not read romance or historical fiction for some years, but I kept seeing this writer’s books everywhere in the book stores. I had great difficulty putting this down. It’s set in Texas during the Depression and both the characters and the setting are beautifully described. I would give it 5 stars!
Second: Alex Michaelides and The Silent Patient. This is a mystery of sorts, but with psychological twists that completely surprised me. I was also surprised to go back and see so many negative reviews. People apparently loved or hated this book. This is the writer’s first novel and I would definitely want to read another. I gave it 5 stars as well!
If you have read, or end up reading these authors, I’d love to hear what you think!