I’m invited to join a blog tour – and I go off on vacation! I can tell you, Alaska is well worth the trip, but then I lived there for fifteen years. Now, I’m back in Texas.
Suzanne Purvis invited me to join the World Blog Tour. She is an author and artist and has published several books.
Stop by her blog: http://www.suzannepurvis.blogspot.com/ or her lovely website: http://www.suzannepurvis.com/ .
Who am I? Easier to say who I am not. Eclectic is a pretty good
description, but I’ve been called ‘jack of all trades….’ And you know the rest
of that one. I’ve been an airplane pilot student, a bike rider (Harley
Davidson, of course), a dog musher, and a traveler driving the highways and
byways of the USA. However, I’m a horse woman, a science and reading teacher, a
wife, a mother of three, and Gramma to seven. I built my own house – twice. And,
I’ve been writing stories since childhood. Now I weave that childhood into
fanciful stories of girls and ponies. To date, I’ve self-published three chapter
books with a dozen more on the table. I’m the impatient sort, so after only a
year of queries – I do it myself. Oh, yea, did I mention that I’m hard
headed?
The four questions of the tour:
What am I working on?
Scrambling like mad with revisions on another volume of The
Black Pony Adventures, middle grade chapter books. This one is called Legend of
the Superstition Gold. The story sprouted in my head on my first ride into the
mountains and has been rattling around in there for forty years. I’m also
putting the final touches on a book of short stories inspired by the art of
children who entered my contest. They’ll both be on the shelf in September
2014, whether I get any sleep or not!
I have a romance on the back burner, centered around horses, of
course. I even belted out a 65K mid-grade adventure for NaNoWriMo. That burned
out a couple of brain cells, but I’ll get up the nerve to revise it one of these
days.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Horses. Horses with a voice. Maybe that’s not so different from
others, but with my own experiences thrown in, and using the language and terms
I truly love, maybe my words will stand out.
Why do I write what I do?
Because not writing is not an option. Brain clicks – fingers
twitch – heartbeat races – and if I don’t find a pencil and paper quick I may
hyperventilate. So much of my work has been confined to a classroom, but a few
articles have popped up in magazines. The novels flowing from my pen now are
simply the reflections of a girl who suddenly found herself in a creaky old
body.
I don’t expect to get rich, or even make a living – but it’s fun
to dream. I write for the joy of watching a child’s imagination grow in the
pages of a book.
How does my writing process work?
Did I mention eclectic? Does that translate to crazy and mixed
up? Sometimes I word-barf, free-write without stopping to make changes or even
to correct grammar. If I don’t like the way a scene is running, I skip a line or
two and write it again, just as it plays out in my mind like a movie. Sometimes
I start with an idea, draft an outline, create scenes and characters, then join
them together in a rich setting and rushing adventure. Both systems take me back
to the drawing board many, many times, with more gray hair each trip.
I also attend conferences, workshops, and online classes to hone
the craft. And I listen to my critique partners and editors.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to join the blog tour. Thank
you, Suzanne.
However, I’m so very new in the real world of writing
professionals that I don’t know too many bloggers and I wasn’t able to locate
three hearty souls to follow the path. But I sincerely hope that my generous
readers will trace the wanderings of this particular tour and treat themselves
to truly amazing talent.
Let not the trail grow cold at the end of my path, but press
onward – to the stars and beyond.