Hard work does pay off! I recently got an offer to be in WOMEN OF DISTINCTION MAGAZINE, available on-line. You can get there by clicking on this link, http://go.epublish4me.com/women_of_distinction/10090069#.WFAef4WcFAk Click on the ON-LINE EDITION and use the arrows to advance to page 13.
When you are lucky enough to get a magazine layout like this there is a lot of interviewing that goes on between you and the editors, as well as conversations about layout and photos you want to have included. It takes some time before the article actually appears in print and on-line. You kind of forget what you said. Reading what you told them about yourself gives you a perspective on what you think is important in the journey you are currently on.
The more I do interviews or have the opportunity to talk to other authors about our craft, the more I realize how much of what I am and include in my writing reverts back to my experiences as a teacher. Teaching exposes you to so many people. Schools are a microcosm of society, not little enclaves set aside in an ideal world. Students bring a lot to the table. Their experiences growing up are as varied as the stories they inspire, and are inspired by.
What any teacher will tell you is that you can create a world in the classroom that transports students from their varied backgrounds to a land whose sights, sounds and textures are new and exciting, making them eager to learn. The key to doing that successfully is the same key an author uses to “hook” the reader into the stories in their books.
The richness of the classroom has provided me with characters, 125 new ones every September, and the settings and knowledge that make for plots. You will see when you read the article that I tried my best to create ways for my students to use their skills to learn what they needed to. Eventually I translated those adventures into my Annie Tillery mysteries.
Retirement was another milestone for me. I never really did it. It sounded too much like disengaging from the adventures I was having. That’s when the writing, publishing and marketing of Annie Tillery Mysteries, better known as “Nancy Drew Meets CSI” really got off the ground with radio, blogs and my local access TV show, The Writer’s Dream. I hope you get a kick out of the article, and I hope it gives you the courage to get moving on your own journey, whatever it may be.
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