On Saturday morning, around 10:30 a.m., the day of the Usher concert, I stretched and looked out of our high-rise hotel window at towering casinos on the strip. “We got a good view of the parade later,” I said to Ron, referring to the Stanley Cup Victory Parade for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Being a morning person, Ron had already been downstairs to grab something to eat and a coffee. As we chatted, someone knocked. We looked at each other since we left a “do not disturb” sign on the door because I like to sleep late. “That’s probably housekeeping, ask them for fresh towels,” I said, as Ron headed to the door. After she opened it, I heard a man say, “We’re security and we need to come in and search for weapons.”
WTF? I screamed, “Ron, shut that door, don’t let them in here. That doesn’t sound right!”
I sat up in bed, mind racing. Were crooks trying to rob us? Did they think we were stupid?
Ron closed the door and walked back. She looked as shocked as I felt.
“What they look like, are they in uniform?” I asked.
“It’s a tall guy with a woman,” she said.
Great, they’re working in pairs, I figure.
“I’m calling the front desk,” I shouted. “I’ve never heard of such and I travel around the world.”
Front desk answered the phone. I told the clerk: There’s a man and a woman claiming to be security outside our door and they want to search our room!
“Are they still there?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll call security and call you right back,” he said.
Feeling better, I tiptoed to peer through the peephole at these losers. As Ron said, a tall man was waiting in front of the door with a woman next to him who looked like she eats bullets for snacks. A housekeeper was also with them. I noticed the man had a wire hanging from his ear. Just then, he got a call.
I heard him say, “Yes, we’re here now. Ok. Let her know.” They’re legit. I ran back to my bed to answer the phone.
“It’s security, please let them in,” said the front desk clerk I had spoken to minutes earlier.
Ron opened the door as I jumped back in bed and pulled the covers over me.
The man with the ruler straight posture entered — let’s call him Fred. “Are you two the only ones in the room,” he asked. We say yes and he visibly relaxed. For some odd reason, so did I.
Meanwhile, the woman — let’s call her Sue –immediately searched the bathroom and the closet, where the only thing hanging was my cute Usher outfit.
“We’re searching the room for long weapons because you have a do-not-disturb sign on your door, your room overlooks the strip and they’re having a parade today for the NHL hockey champions. Any time housekeeping can’t get in and we have events on the strip, we must search.”
We learned this has been the protocol ever since the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history occurred in Las Vegas in 2017. They have to do this. My memory was jarred. How could I forget a shooter killing 58 concert-goers and injuring hundreds more from his Mandalay Bay Resorts window? (Probably because of the constant barrage of shootings my brain can’t recall them all? But still). I felt bad and immediately apologized for not remembering.
“You two did the right thing, I tell Mom to act the same way,” he said, as Sue laser-eyed the corners.
Turns out MGM has like $800 million to spend on security measures following that horrific event. Maids are trained to look for weapons when they clean the room, but since we opted for no service, we triggered an alert. For our troubles, we were treated to brunch, which turned out to be quite tasty and filling.
In hindsight, however, I wonder why they didn’t check our luggage. I know from movies, long guns can be disassembled. My brother said security took one look at me and Ron’s glasses and knew with our eyesight we couldn’t be sharp shooters. He’s a bit of a ham, so there’s that.
Anyway, we thought the day’s weirdness was over and thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon resort-hopping. Because of the parade, the strip closed down early as well as the bridges that lead across the strip from one hotel to the other. So we decided to leave for the concert an hour early, even though we were literally four blocks from the Dolby Theater. (The reason we stayed at MGM).
At 8:15 p.m., we learned the bridge from our hotel to the New York-New York Hotel & Casino was closed. Great! We went outside and saw people were still taking the escalator up to it. We hopped on the escalator and quickly learned why they were trying to restrict access. We stood in the same spot on the bridge for 25 minutes. I started to panic; was there a weight limit? We couldn’t go backwards, even if we wanted to.
Just then, I saw a towering, muscular man, followed by other hunky men, snaking across the bridge. I don’t know if was sheer force moving them forward, but I knew they were onto something. It was almost like a low-key Conga line without music. “Ron, come on,” I said, heading to the tail end of the silent train. I grabbed the shirt of the last man, who was holding onto his girlfriend and said in his ear, “I’m going to hold on to your shirt.”
“Baby, hold on,” he said. And we congaed across the bridge.
Whew. We now had 20 minutes to spare before showtime.
We leave New York-New York but all roads are closed. We can’t cross the street. It’s blocked off because the parade ended near the Dolby Theater! I’m livid because Usher brings in tons of money with his residency for Las Vegas and they end the parade in the worst spot. WTF? I ran to a cop. “We have Usher tickers. How do we get across the street to the Dolby,” which was roped off.
“Go to the guy over there, show him your tickets and he’ll let you in.”
We entered the Dolby theater 45 minutes after we left our hotel room. But so many people couldn’t get to the concert that Usher delayed his show for 40 minutes. A deejay kept us in good spirits. Honestly, all was forgotten once Usher performed. Of course, I was over the moon when he and his crew skated. I’d see his show again but my packed schedule won’t allow it.
The good news is the trip ended well. The next day, we lucked up while browsing in the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian Resort and ate dinner at the Sugar Cane Raw Bar Grill, which offered globally-inspired small plates. Hours later, the upgrade gods smiled on us on for the flight home and we sat in First Class. As we took off, I toasted to the fact it had been 20 years since we had last visited Las Vegas. We don’t recall much from our earlier visits. But we won’t forget this one.
Sunday’s book club chat with Maya and Zora Smart was all the motivation I needed to write my first blog post in years.
Talk about full circle moments.
Zora, 9, had no idea how much she inspired me to finish my debut novel, Malcolm and Me, which was released Nov. 17. I tried to tell her through tears that would not stop during a Zoom discussion where she and her mom took turns asking questions about the novel, my writing process and some of the book’s themes that we are dealing with today.
Here’s why I lost it: Maya was my business coach for a year after I was laid off from my newspaper job. We talked about much more than ways to create a living as a freelance writer. She knew my dreams, especially my desire to publish a novel about a strong Catholic girl pursuing truth at a time when the most important adults in her life have trouble telling it.
We worked together until Maya, now pregnant, decided to stop coaching. At that time she knew she was having a daughter, whom she’d name after the iconic African-American author, Zora Neale Hurston. Maya mailed me a beautiful note that ended with these words: “I am saving space on my daughter’s book shelf for your novel.”
Few words have affected me like those. But then, Maya is a wordsmith and a brilliant woman. What better inspirational message to give me than a reminder that I am not only writing for today’s readers, but for generations to come? What better validation that I had something worthwhile to say than Maya’s desire to someday share it with her daughter? Zora had not even made her own debut in the world when she started pushing me toward the finish line of my manuscript.
Over the years, Maya shared Zora’s birthday photos with me and I would promise that I’d finish my novel before Zora could read. As the years passed, I started panicking and vowed to finish the novel before Zora drove. It took so long because I didn’t outline it; I just wrote it from the heart. Also, I couldn’t find an agent or publisher.
That changed in 2019, when I won the She Writes Press and SparkPress Toward Equality in Publishing Contest. So it is with great relief Malcolm and Me is out now and Zora is 9, not 16! I am beyond elated that alongside Maya, Zora asked me questions and heard about her role in inspiring me to finish the book. Well, I hope she understood what I said in my trembly voice as I wept.
I was still trying to regain my composure when her father, Shaka, asked an excellent question. Life-affirming moments can so throw me off my game. But the very best moment? As we wrapped up the interview, a smiling Zora cradled my book to her cheek and I thought to myself: this long, winding journey — often delayed by doubt, procrastination and rejection –was so worth it.
Soon Maya’s book will be on my bookshelf. And I got a feeling, one day, Zora’s will be, too.
The exquisite scripts written by Helene Wagner serve as a template for many writers, myself included. I adore the founder of the Virginia Screenwriters Forum. She is a mentor not only because of her award winning, produced and optioned screenplays, but because she launched her writing career at age 40. This energetic University of Richmond screenwriting instructor is a lively reminder that talent and determination are ageless. May this creative dynamo inspire you, too!
You founded the Virginia Screenwriters Forum more than 20 years ago. What are you most proud of? That I created a home for screenwriters, here in Richmond. When I moved to the Richmond area 29 years ago, there was no group for screenwriters. With the help of the Virginia Film Office, I established the VSF. I believe writers need other writers to help them to grow, to learn from each other and to believe in themselves and their dreams. The film business is one of the toughest businesses to break into. Yet, throughout the years we’ve had members do just that. I am a champion of writers. I love to see writers succeed, including myself. The cliché, ‘The key to success is to do what you love to do, because it never seems like work’ is very true. I might add to that, you must also have the persistence and the determination to believe in yourself.
–What advice do you have for women writers who feel they are “too mature” to start a writing career? You’re never too “mature” to start a writing career. With age comes wisdom and a greater appreciation of life as time goes by. Writing is always about learning something new – about yourself. Who is this character? Questioning. Oh, my God, is this character too much like me? How do I solve this new ending now? Where do I go to research this true story? Writing is discovering. Don’t let life just pass you by. Take the bull by the horns and discover the sheer joy of writing while you still can. To quote Cher, ‘Life is not a dress rehearsal.’
I am astounded by the breadth and depth of your creative projects and the fact that you did not start writing until you were 40. What got you started? That’s very funny to me as I’m very much past 40,but at my age now I think of 40 as being young. I grew up in New York and both my parents were in show business. My mother was a beautiful dancer and my father was an actor and comedian. I was exposed to the creative arts early on. My mother was a great reader. When I was 11, she came home from the library one day and handed me Gone with the Wind and told me, ‘I think you’ll like this one.’ I did. So my love of reading wonderful stories came from her. My father would travel working in nightclubs and on stage. He spoke five languages and was a very funny storyteller. When he came home from a trip we would all sit around the dinner table and he’d tell us of his adventures. They also took me to many movies as a child. I remember… seeing the transition of the GWTW book into the Gone with the Wind film, which was a magical experience.
Wagner settles in her new chair, a gift for her leadership of the Virginia Screenwriters Forum.
When I grew up, I never imagined myself as a writer. I am dyslexic and a terrible speller. Thank goodness for spellcheckers. I discovered many famous writers who were Dyslexic, including F. Scot Fitzgerald, Agatha Christie and film and TV writer Stephen Cannell who kept the same secretary for 30 years because she could translate his backward dyslexic writing into scripts. It took some time for me to write because I married a wonderful man, my husband Tom, at the young age of 19. I was lucky enough to be a stay at home mother and raised my two daughters, Christine and Laura, who are wonderful independent women. When they ‘left the nest’ my husband’s job took us to Dallas. Since I was an empty nester then, I thought I had to do something creative, or I’d go crazy. Frightened as I was, I signed up for a creative writing class. It changed my life. To my amazement everybody in the class loved my stories. I was accepted as a member of the Dallas Creation Writer’s Factory, lead by a wonderful man, Jim Kerr, an English Professor, previous comedian and a brilliant screenwriter. I knew I had found my home there, along with the other writers, who to this day are still my friends. While in the Creation Factory, I wrote my second short story, The Princess: An Urban Fairytale and for the first time submitted it to The Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition. It placed in the top ten short stories out of thousands of submission from around the country. That’s when I knew I was really a writer. Two years ago, it was chosen as a winner in the Mary Baldwin One Act Festival and was performed for a number of days during the festival. It was great fun to see it performed again.
–Your scripts are masterfully done. How many drafts do you typically do and how do you know when they are ready to be entered in contests or sent to agents? Robin, thank you for your kind comments. It’s always tough to know if this is the draft to send out. I have found from experience, it’s best to put your just completed draft (1st, 5th, 8th, whatever) in a desk drawer then wait at least 2 to 3 weeks before you pick it up and re-read it again. If you say, ‘Oh no! ‘ that’s a good indication it needs another draft. I typically write at least 5 to 6 drafts, or more before I submit my work anywhere. When I wrote my first mystery thriller, now entitled, Lady Justice, it took me 18 months and 12 drafts. But, it won a big competition, landed me an agent at Creative Artists Agency in Beverly Hills, was optioned and was cast as a CBS movie. During this time, I had the pleasure of working with a seasoned producer on two more drafts of the screenplay. I learned so much from him about screenwriting. I will be teaching another six-week Introduction to Screenwriting (non-credit) evening course at the University of Richmond this September. I always tell my students: ‘When you submit your writing to agents, professional producers, editors, etc. you only have one chance and that draft better be the best draft you’re capable of doing before you send it out.’
–What’s been your proudest moment as a screenwriter and agent? As a screenwriter, when I submitted my first screenplay to the prestigious Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting and placed in the top 100 scripts out of over 5,000 scripts from around the world. As an agent, the first time I was able to have one of my client’s screenplays optioned by a major production company in Hollywood. He worked as a security guard for a prison in Connecticut and was one of the best writers I ever represented.
–You teach at the University of Richmond, write new content consistently and co-own Virginia Film Tours. How do you unwind? I’m l blessed to still have my husband and my children. I try to enjoy them, along with my friends whenever I can. I love to take walks with my dog, June, go to the beach, or take short getaways and attend theater.
–You also write amazing plays. Please tell us about The French Apartment and your hopes for it? The play is now under consideration at Samuel French Publishers in NYC. I just had a full staged reading of The French Apartment, a full- length, romantic comedy with a terrific cast and directed by Melissa Rayford at CenterStage. It was the 6th draft of the play. We had an audience feedback after the play. It was also the first time I had seen the play staged entirely. it was such a great learning experience for me. I am in the process of beginning the 7th draft.
–What’s next? I intend to adapt one of my screenplays, The Marriage Tale, into a full-length stage play. Think of this romantic comedy as a story about the restoration of a heart, a marriage and 1968 Camaro. I can’t wait to dig in to create these characters on a stage and to start writing it!
Rebekah Pierce creates compelling stories in different mediums.
I so admire Rebekah Pierce’s entrepreneurial spirit and endless creativity. And her realness, which I experienced when she checked her email and saw that Debbie Allen had agreed to read her screenplay as a possible directorial project. She wept tears of gratitude as we sat in the VMFA cafe.
Sometimes unexpected moments of joy occur, especially when one is talented, persistent and willing to work hard. Rebekah self-publishes novels and writes scripts and plays when she is not teaching. She not only writes a diversity of content, she promotes it. That’s a winning strategy readers can emulate.
Can you tell us more about the screenplay? Is Allen on board? Memphis Sun is the story of Hayden Clarke, 14, an aspiring singer who finds herself the unwilling target of bullies. After unrelenting torment at school one day at the hands of her bullies, Hayden tries to take her own life. As she recuperates in a local hospital, she meets janitor and old time musician Uncle Joe who shares with her his story of success and his eventual downfall at the hands of a drug addiction. While forming an unlikely friendship, Hayden learns that dreams are worth fighting for, and that not even our own fears can stop us if we take a chance on ourselves. Debbie Allen has agreed to read the script for the directorial position. We are still waiting for her decision. But my fingers, toes and eyeballs are crossed because it’d be a dream come true to work with her.
How did you get started writing scripts? I actually started writing screenplays when I was approached by local filmmaker, Derek Wright, in 2008 to redevelop one of my plays into a short film. I as quite taken aback because my eye had always been on theatre, not TV or film. But I believe in taking advantage of opportunities, so I said yes and learned how to write in this genre.
Your latest novel, The Secret Life of Lucy Bosman, has been on Amazon’s top 100 list for ebooks in its genre since the December release. Congrats! What inspired the story?
Lucy Bosman was actually inspired by research I was doing for my first novel, Murder on Second Street: The Jackson Ward Murders. I came across a story in the 1862 edition of the Times-Dispatch where a mulatto woman was arrested along with two other women and charged with prostitution, and the corruption of white men. I was intrigued by the story because History tells us that women of all colors and class were prostituting during the Civil War. So, I started thinking about how historically, the mulatto has been portrayed as either a prostitute/Jezebel or a damsel in distress in Literature and Film. This has annoyed me, especially having taught Literature for over 15 years now. So, I wanted to challenge that perception. I wanted to give her – the mulatto – a new voice, a new dream. Out came Lucy Bosman, a widowed-mulatto and former slave who comes to Richmond, VA from Tennessee to claim property left to her by her husband. She chooses to pass as white in order to claim it as she feels it is her only option for creating a safe financial and independent future for herself. The novel has received nice reviews and then some quite angry ones, which is to be expected.
You are also a playwright. Tell us your proudest moment concerning one of your plays?
My proudest moment for any of my plays is when they are performed in front of a live audience in a theatre. There is nothing quite like seeing your work come to life with actors, props, staging, etc. To hear the characters tell their stories, it is amazing.
How do you fill up your creative well? I love to read, so I am always looking for new books by my favorite authors or new books – mostly works of fiction. But I also edit other authors, so I get to read some great stories and help birth great stories.
What drives you? Telling stories that are not often well-received because they dig up pains and dark places that society does not often wish to share or feel. I am a storyteller. I work hard to stay open to my muse, to not let the world dictate what I “should” write, but rather what “needs” to be told. I know that sounds crazy, but I truly do consider myself to be a socially conscious writer whose job it is to “tell the story. So, from the little girl who is being sexually abused by her pious step-father as her mother lies dying of cancer to the child born of a secret love affair trying to step out from behind the shadows of her parents’ sin, these stories reveal the deepest essence of all of us – the thing we all desire and are worthy of: love.
When did you officially consider yourself a writer? Oh, I have always known I was a writer. I cannot remember not ever writing. But perhaps the one moment when it was solidified for me was when I wrote my first story/book in the 8th grade for a book fair contest. It was called Cool Times at Clairemont High, and my partner drew the illustrations. It featured a group of friends who worked together to solve a mystery. We won first place. I could not believe it!
How much time do you set aside to promote your work? I try to get online at least twice a day, every other day or so to promote my work. It doesn’t always work because I am a mother, wife and teacher, so my schedule gets in the way sometimes. So, I do pay for certain daily promotional campaigns which helps keep my name out there when I am unable to personally do it.
Are you still teaching? Yes, I am still teaching. I teach not only English, but I am back in my first career, Medical Office Administration. So, now I am teaching Anatomy & Physiology for Medical Assistants/Medical Office Administration as well as another core class for the field for a local allied health school. I’m tired, ya’ll!
What’s next? Well, I am considering producing another play here in the Richmond area this summer. I am also still working on the screenplay for Memphis Sun as well as for another project called Stitch. Then, somehow, I must find time to complete the screenplay for The Secret Life of Lucy Bosman, and the second book in the series Murder on Second Street. Did I mention I also need to finish writing my first fantasy-adventure novel, Captain Jack? Yep….
What do ROOTS, BLACK BEAUTY, THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT, WATERSHIP DOWN and BROTHERHOOD have in common? The authors were older than 50 when their debut novels were published. So seasoned writers, raise those flagging spirits, lift those graying heads and shout along with me and author Anne Westrick, “Honey, we are just getting started!”
By now we know that goals are dreams with deadlines, right? And that pithy truism is a wonderful segue to Westrick, author of the critically acclaimed BROTHERHOOD, which debuted when she was 50+.
Westrick’s awards and lovely reader feedback could not happen to a more gifted wordsmith and positive lady. Just thinking about Anne brings a warm smile to my face. Knowing her story as a late blooming writer gives this aspiring debut author, who is, cough, well north of 50, not only hope, but a winning template. We are never too old to aim for greatness with words. Read on to see how she can inspire you to persevere.
When did you first start thinking about becoming a writer? Probably when I was about ten years old. Then I abandoned the idea. It was hard for me to accept comments/criticism (even when critiques were constructive), and I lost confidence in my ability to write. I didn’t understand the process, and wasn’t ready for it, so as much as I loved to write (I continued to journal and send lots of long, handwritten letters to family and friends), I stopped writing stories for about 30 years.
At age 50, you enrolled in an MFA program. Why? At the point when I was turning 50, for about a decade I’d been taking creative writing classes, exchanging my stories with critique group friends, improving my craft, and collecting rejections from agents and editors. I’d progressed from receiving form letters (the kind where agents put check marks in little boxes next to sentences like “I could not establish an emotional connection with your main character”) to rejections with personal notes of encouragement — but rejections nonetheless. I decided that I needed to push myself to the next level, and thought an MFA program would help me do that. I researched lots of programs and applied to only one — the one I thought was the right fit for me and the types of stories I wanted to write. I was accepted, and it turned out to be a great fit. My research paid off. (No two MFA programs are alike!)
How long did it take to write the award-winning BROTHERHOOD? It took approximately two years — not full time for those two years, but off and on. During two of the four semesters in the MFA program, I drafted and revised a lot of the story that became BROTHERHOOD. When I finished the MFA, I spent a few months polishing it — tightening the prose and shortening the manuscript before sending it out to agents and finally getting a “yes” from one.
How has life changed? I used to have a part time office job (administrator for a nonprofit), and I stepped down from that position in order to write full time. When I’m not writing, I’m speaking in schools and at conferences for librarians and educators. I love what I’m doing!
Describe your typical writing routine. I try to write fiction daily — six days a week from approximately 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM (eating breakfast and lunch at my desk). Then I answer emails and attend to the business side of writing for a couple of hours. When I’m scheduled to go to a school or conference, the writing doesn’t happen on that particular day, and as much as I enjoy speaking, I miss it. I feel its absence and look forward to getting back to my desk.
How do you relate to an audience that is a generation or two younger? I love writing for young readers. I have four kids of my own, and I really enjoy spending time with them, and with young people in general. I enjoy their energy, their sometimes irreverent view of the status quo, and the way they question authority. I don’t try to write what I think kids want to read, but instead write about issues that interest me, then put them in settings with young characters. I remember asking big questions when I was a kid, and in some cases, I’m still asking those same questions! I like to wrestle with issues, and I think kids do, too. Sometimes I feel like a kid on the inside , like I haven’t quite grown up.
What advantages do you think an author published “later in life” possesses? When I was younger, I didn’t appreciate the extent to which writing is a process. Well-written stories never fall into place on the first draft (or even the second or third), but evolve. They require time, and demand patience and perseverance… and maturity. Rejection is a necessary part of the process, and the process is messy, but I didn’t understand any of that until I was older. I just thought writing was hard and I couldn’t do it well and wouldn’t succeed at it. Now I understand that — yes — it is hard, but I can succeed. If you start writing later in life, chances are that you’ll have developed a tough skin, and that’s a good thing for a writer to have.
What advice do you have for writers whose goal is to publish their first book after 50? When I hit 50, I started saying, “Hey, I’ve made it through half a century. Got half a century to go!” According to this article at Book Riot, http://bookriot.com/2014/09/10/8-authors-success-after-age-50/ , Laura Ingalls Wilder was 65 when she published her first book, LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS. Richard Adams was 52 when he published his first, WATERSHIP DOWN. Don’t think you can’t do it because you’re over 50. You can! Seek out feedback , listen hard to the constructive criticism that you get, and push yourself to improve your craft. Be fearless in cutting words, sentences, paragraphs, scenes and chapters that aren’t working. Commit yourself to the process (sit down and write on a regular basis) and you’ll succeed.
What’s next for you? I was invited to contribute a short story for a Richmond-based anthology for young readers, and I’ve just finished a first draft of that story. Meanwhile, I’m on the bazillionth draft of a new young adult novel. This one is set at a summer music camp and involves a student who isn’t prepared for the diversity he’s encountering in the student body. I’m passionate about telling this story, but it’s hard to write!
Author, columnist, speaker, book coach and a full-time communications pro, Stacy does it all with panache.
Whenever I juggle a million things, “I pretend to be Stacy,” as in Stacy Hawkins Adams, author of 10 books, a speaker, writing coach, full-time communications pro, columnist and mom of two active wunderkinds. Stacy obviously practices winning time-management strategies and is a master organizer. Learn what works for her and maybe you, too!
How do you consistently meet your writing goals? I sincerely enjoy all I do, so I view organizing my personal and professional schedules as a necessary task in my goal-setting tool box. I put systems, or schedules, in place that I then work backwards from to achieve my goals. With my parenting columns, for example, I typically write 24 columns a year, so I’ll sit down at the beginning of each year with a calendar and brainstorm potential topics for the entire year, and then research individuals whose areas of expertise fall in line with those topics.
With my novel writing, I gauge how long the manuscript will be (usually about 350 pages), how much time it will take me write and revise, and then break that project into bite-sized chunks that are based on the deadline by which that manuscript needs to be finished in order to send it out to editors, have the cover designed and prepare for the book release and promotion.
I try to do this with my personal life as much as I can as well – adding my son’s soccer schedule to my calendar as soon as I receive it, for example. Knowing these details in advance helps me plan my writing, speaking and coaching endeavors around those necessities.
We achieve what we believe. What is your daily mantra? I agree with the mantra you’ve shared. It succinctly conveys what my several “tried and true” phrases signify. Rather than one mantra, I have a few that I recite as needed, depending on the task at hand, my frame of mind, and the challenge or opportunity that awaits me. My overarching mantra is a faith-based reminder that I can do all I desire to accomplish through my Creator’s presence and power within me. It’s a reminder that with this kind of foundation, there’s really nothing to fear.
Beyond that, I remind myself that “To whom much is given, much is required,” and because I view my ability to impact others with my writing as a gift, I treat it as such, and I feel a responsibility to honor this gift by producing the best work I can. I also truly believe the mantra “As a man or woman thinketh, so is he or she,” and with that in mind, I tend to have a “Why not me?” outlook on life.
When your schedule becomes overwhelming, how do you prioritize? One of the most important things I’ve done has been to adopt the discipline of saying no to many good (and fascinating or exciting) opportunities so that I can be prepared and available to say Yes to the opportunities that best serve or fit my goals as an author and journalist. I consider the deadlines for ongoing projects or activities and try to be as present as possible for the task. That may sometimes require that I ask my kids to help with meals or chores more than usual because I’m trying to meet a book deadline, or I may ask an editor for a brief extension on a column due. Or if my schedule is too full to accept an assignment or request, I’ll often recommend a colleague.
Do you use any particular software to stay on task? A lot of my author friends use Scrivener, but I still tend to work in Word and create Google docs to store plot or character details.
What’s your longest period of not writing? It has actually been the season I’m coming out of now. My most recent novel, Lead Me Home, was published in July 2013, and a month later I wrapped up three years of study toward a master’s degree in women’s leadership and empowerment. After writing and revising the book, then writing and revising a thesis, my brain was mush! So I intentionally gave myself a long break – no creative writing from September 2013 until January 2015. I contined to write my parenting column and also taught writing workshops and delivered speeches; but I wanted to just”live” if that makes sense, so that when I sat down at the computer to create new stories and characters, they’d be springing from a place of renewed and refreshed creativity.
What do you do when discouraged as a writer? (I watch bad reality TV, but I know you are better than that!) Lol! What does a little reality TV hurt? If I get discouraged while I’m on deadline and have no choice but to keep writing, I just go for a walk. Something about getting away from the project for a while and allowing my thoughts to wander tends to help center me and remind me that I’m not competing with anyone other than myself, and if I don’t push through, I won’t have anything to revise and strengthen. When I get discouraged in between projects, I just try to remember that the stories that come to me are ideas that I specifically am meant to birth for some reason.
Who are some of the writers that have influenced you? During adolescence I discovered and fell in love with the work of Maya Angelou. Over the years I also have been influenced by the wonderful work of author and playwright J. California Cooper; and I also appreciate the work of renowned journalist and author Anna Quindlen, who, like me, tends to tackle social issues and women’s personal growth in her fiction.
Tell us about your other projects. I spend considerable time coaching aspiring authors through teleclasses and private sessions I offer via www.AuthorInYou.com, and I occasionally teach writing in other arenas. I also serve as a professional speaker, inspiring audiences to emulate many of the themes I write about in my novels- self-acceptance and confidence, goal-setting and purpose, leadership and relevance. While I write more than books, everything I do is related to my role as a wordsmith, and my mission as a writer is to “Use words to enlighten, uplift and inspire.”
What can we expect in the future? In addition to re-releasing my very first three novels in ebook form this year (Speak To My Heart, Nothing But the Right Thing and Watercolored Pearls), I’m also writing a couple of short stories that will be released in ebook form. And my 10th book – the third novel in the Winds of Change series – is slated for release in the fall. So I’m spending a lot of time in my “writing cave.”
