As Long As You Need Me

Yes, there are times when it is nice to know we are needed. I would think authors would want to know this more then anyone else...well, maybe actors would too. Where would we be if readers did not want our books or books at all? To be needed by our peers, family, fans and readers is very important. I doubt there is a person on earth who would disagree with that statement.

I took a little break from reading, writing, and enjoying this wonderful weather we're having to peek at my book on Amazon.com. You remember the name of it but just in case; "As Long As He Needs Me" was published on June 22, 2009. Oh my, that was almost a year ago; where has the time gone? Anyway, the book has received eleven reviews. I am proud of and thankful for each one of them.

I can't say it is or has been a best seller but I can say it has been read and that is why I write to begin with. I plan to continue writing for as long as I'm able because I enjoy it; not for the numbers sold or the fame that follows but for the thrill of it. You know, they say if you have two best friends in the world you've got something to feel good about. As long as I can bring enjoyment and entertainment to one person with my books then that too is something to feel good about.

A New Discovery

 The following is a comment I received from my last post which I admit was some time ago. I enjoyed this comment as it got me thinking. Anything that gets my mind working I count as a benefit - it keeps us sharp. Anyway, back to the comment I was talking about. Here it is for you to read:

"Your last post dealt with age. I believe this goes hand in hand with today's post because as we age we experience more experiences! It truly is a wonderful teacher. It is much easier to write about something we've experienced first-hand, however, I've found at times I get an idea for a story that I have no experience in at all....or maybe I do but it has been a good many years and I have to update myself to make it more timely. Those are fun times of writing too as I get to learn... I love being taught by my characters, which you'll probably agree with me that we are taught whether they are walking through something we've previously experienced or not."

This comment brings about a great point. As nice as it is to write about what is known and within our comfort zone it is equally enjoyable to write 'outside the box' of our comfort and learn in the process. Research is a wonderful tool that not only develops our stories but enriches life. It is a win-win situation. However, I believe there needs to be a middle ground, a gray area if you will. Experiences we have in life can add a special element to our story and an intimate knowledge of a setting can add a new level of vivid description but we also need to sprinkle in the element of new discovery. It is in this new discovery that authors find their fire to progress a story to the end.

Writing is an extension of discovery. Even if we write a story about marriage because we have many years of experience being married there is still an element of discovery. Though writing we get to inspect a topic from different vantage points which oftentimes leads to learning something new that we may have missed before.

My thought on this is to find that balance between memory/experience and research/new knowledge. When combined properly we will end with a new discovery.

My Newest Release - As Long as He Needs Me

They Thought They Were Getting a Vacation. Their Marriage Might Not Survive It.

In honor of their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary, Kitty and Clem Johanssen set off on what's supposed to be a dream vacation: a gracious cruise up the East Coast from New York to Montreal. But in a hectic rush to embark, Clem foolishly loses his cash to a couple of street swindlers. Unbeknownst to Kitty, the incident sets off a profound introspection of Clem's weaknesses, regrets, and mortality - amplified by the sudden appearance of his old war buddy-turned-politician, T. McCollough Boyle, during a shore excursion. As Clem grows more distant throughout the trip, Kitty falls in with an attractive - and mysterious - Englishman named Toby Knight, who offers everything Clem doesn't: grace, charm and hopefulness. Now, the slowly smoldering confrontations of the last three decades - the deep-seated resentments, half-buried insecurities and burning passions - will surface in a confrontation so powerful it will test the limits of the couple's love.

At once unsettling and compassionate, As Long as He Needs Me is a psychological novel of faith, memory, love and the unyielding supremacy of time.

You Can Purchase Here