Have you ever finished reading a book and felt super encouraged to try something new? Visit a place you’ve never been? Or maybe even change the world? Keep reading to learn more about how a secondhand paperback inspired me to chase a big dream.
The author engagement team at Harlequin has encouraged us to share more about our writing life. Today’s prompt is all about the books and authors that inspired us to become writers. It’s such a fun prompt and one I’m thrilled to chat about.
When I was about five, my sister brought home a book from school that she’d made. That’s the day the writing bug bit me. I wanted to make a book so badly. Eventually I drew my own illustrations, pecked out a few words on my grandfather’s typewriter, then bound it all together with glue, cardboard and not a small amount of staples. Not bad for a first effort. I still have that masterpiece on my bookshelf.
I spent the first half of my childhood in a rural area in southcentral Alaska. Thankfully we had access to books, either from the school library, summer visits from the bookmobile, or when we went ‘to town’ to shop. My parents always made time to stop at the bookstore in the mall. (Shout out to the old Waldenbooks in the Northway mall in Anchorage, Alaska!!)
Sometime in elementary school, my best friend’s mom opened a small bookstore in her home. I read Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke then devoured the rest of the series. Life on the Alberta prairie and the chaste marriage-of-convenience romance captivated me. Then someone gifted me a secondhand paperback copy of Catherine Marshall’s Julie. It was the longest book I’d ever read and when I finished, I remembered thinking that someday I was going to write a book like that. Marshall and Oke inspired me to write the kind of fiction that offered readers hope and encouragement.
Fast forward to my college years, I was afraid to be an English major because I didn’t think I’d get a job after graduation. I had zero interest in being a teacher. God had a calling for my life and He had gifted me with creativity and an overactive imagination. Reading novels and writing essays were two of my favorite things, but I couldn’t figure out how to build a career that used my gifts. One of my classmates was Debbie Macomber’s son and I overheard him talking to his friends about his mom’s career as an author. Little did I know how those few minutes of eavesdropping would eventually change my life.
A few more years went by and I earned a master’s degree in sports medicine. My first job was at a university working as an athletic trainer. It didn’t take me long to realize this was not my passion. Watching sports for a living is a wonderful opportunity, but long hours and nontraditional schedules did not suit me once I met my soon-to-be husband. After we started a family, I retired from athletic training. One evening I was at home with our first baby when I watched Cedar Cove on television. I thought about Debbie Macomber again and wondered if I could write books in a similar vein because I loved the way I felt when I watched that show.
About 11 years ago, I decided to get serious about my writing. I’d already been blogging for a few years and researching how to pursue publication. There were a few rejections, some detours and frustrations. I wouldn’t trade experiences, milestones achieved and lessons learned along the way though. It’s been an exciting journey. In 2015, I entered a writing contest with Harlequin Love Inspired. That entry eventually became a manuscript, which eventually became my first traditionally published novel. Including both independently and traditionally published works, my 11th romance novel was just published and there are many more in the pipeline. I still marvel at the way a secondhand paperback inspired me to chase a big dream.
Thank you, Catherine, Janette, and Debbie plus the countless other trailblazers who’ve inspired other authors to create more stories our readers love.
