For years, when someone asked me what I wrote, I fidgeted, cleared my throat, and forced out the words, “I write romance and women’s fiction.” You can imagine the comments, the raised eyebrows, the little smirks that made me want to say, “No, wait! I write stories like Joyce Carol Oates…and Margaret Atwood.” That certainly would have squelched the look. Problem was, that’s not what I wrote. More importantly, that’s not what I wanted to write. If you are going to write a book, you had better darn well want to hang around with those people and their problems for three or four hundred pages…and in simple terms that can be anywhere from several months to years.
So, why did I fidget and want to hide my true passion? That silly need for acceptance, I’m sure. Everyone wants to be thought of as brilliant and cutting edge. While I do enjoy reading Joyce and Margaret, I don’t want to actually have to write what they do. That’s quite a lot of pretending to be someone I’m not. You see where this is going, don’t you? I would love heartfelt praise and page after page of great reviews, but I’ve got to write what’s in my heart—what I’m most passionate about. For too long, I worried about what the outside world said—editors, agents, the writing world—and I didn’t listen to myself. Then after one particularly stressful day of aimless wandering, I said, “Enough!” It came shortly after taking Barbara Samuel’s writing class where she told me I might be doing myself a disservice by looking too much at the outside world for both validation and direction. By tapping into my passions, (gardens, food, dogs), I would find the most success. Such a wise woman! I began to explore self-publishing opportunities and oddly or maybe not, months later, the book that has garnered the most attention and success in the self-pub arena, is the contemporary romance/women’s fiction one I once told a major publisher no to….A FAMILY AFFAIR.
I write romance and women’s fiction about second chances and that one true, seeped in near insurmountable circumstances. There is almost always a morally ambiguous situation. I’ll clarify that:
In A Family Affair, the mistress is more likeable than the real mother. (Real families aren’t always the ones you know about…)
In The Way They Were, the heroine married one man but never stopped loving another as evidenced in the once a year letter she writes him, (which she’ll never send.) (Tragedy tore them apart, now destiny may bring them back together.)
In Pieces of You, a mother’s disappearance isn’t really a disappearance at all but a planned abandonment that leaves a son scarred for future relationships. (Sometimes hiding in the shadows is the only way to protect your heart.)
And my soon to be released, Pulling Home—The heroine loves one brother but marries another. (She’ll risk anything to save her child…even the truth.)
And lest you think these are fly-by-night ideas, most of them live in my head for years before they spill onto the page. A Family Affair (5 years), The Way They Were (3 years), Pieces of You (3 years) Pulling Home (10 years). Sometimes, the story isn’t ready or I’m not ready to tell it the way it needs to be told. Pulling Home morphed and changed several times until finally, finally, I got it the way I wanted it!!
That’s my story and I am sticking to it!
Write true, my friends!
Happy Holidays!
Mary
Glad I discovered your work! You are a lucky woman who obviously has some great stories to share with the world.
To your continued success,
Sylvia Williford
Hi Sylvia!
Thank you for the kind words. I love to hear from readers and am honored you took the time to write. I look at the challenges I’ve encountered in my life – and there have been many – as the perfect writing material! If not for second chances, I would not be a writer, or happily remarried, or even have taken in a rescue dog! The opportunity and belief in second chances have given me great joy and this is what I hope to share in my writing.
Best to you,
Mary
Mary,
I just found A Family Affair and just couldn’t put it down! I loved the twists and turns you take the reader through and the several places where you brought tears to my eyes – not all sad tears either. I can’t wait to read your other books. I am so glad I found you!
Jean
Hi Jean! I’m so glad you wrote and delighted you enjoyed A Family Affair! Before I forget, there will be a book 2, A Family Affair:Spring. Hopefully, it will be available toward the end of this year. I’m thinking I might do a book for each season, like the seasons of a life/relationships. I’ve already got the cover in mind – a park bench in spring. I have a few other projects ahead of AFA 2 and must stay focused so I can complete and get into book 2! I’m already plotting and planning – have big ideas for Uncle… Read more »
I stumbled across A Family Affair, and it was so wonderful, I had to seek out other stories by you. I read Pulling Home next, and it was just as great. I can’t wait to read more. And this post, about being true to yourself, hits home in a big way. I write, and though I’ve published lots of non-fiction work, I haven’t dared to take the plunge and get my fiction out there – for many of the same reasons you hesitated to tell people what you wrote. I fear it won’t be “worthy” – people expect me to… Read more »
Hi Elizabeth! I am so sorry for my late response. I always receive notification when I have a comment and either I missed this one or it got lost in my spam folder. Many apologies. Thank you for the very kind words – I’m so happy you are enjoying my work. There are more to come! I hope to release A Family Affair:Spring by the end of the year, followed by ‘Summer’ and ‘Fall’ books. Next month, I’ll release Book 2 of The Betrayed Trilogy, called Secrets of You. A few weeks after that, will be Book 3, a novella… Read more »