The source of what you write

A lot of my writing stems from my daughter's struggles. A second novel (yes, I know I need to finish the first one) deals with a young girl as she grows from 12 to about 18 years old. She has been abandoned by her mother, doesn't even know who her father is, and is raised by her maternal grandmother. Is she what her mother said by abandoning her, or what her precious grandmother tells her she is, through the gifts of love and grace? It's about identity, in a different way then my current book is.

I'm finding that nearly everything I've written since my daughter's birth has been about identity. It's plagued me before, but took on a different perspective when I became a mother. As a military kid without roots or many real ties to extended family, I always felt somewhat adrift. I think now that this was a gift from God to give me more empathy with my daughter.

The identity of an adopted child affected with attachment disturbance is in constant flux, which causes upheaval. During the rough times, my life is all about her. During the calmer times, as I evaluate the situation, I also tap this rich source of angst and stress in our lives for my writing. I won't go into any detail about what our lives are like. Suffice it to say it's tough and it's precious--and every minute of grace counts. I will say I believe I can use those emotions to help me create real and relatable characters without exposing my husband's or daughter's personal secrets (I am pretty transparent about my own issues); and perhaps I can help bring healing to someone who reads and identifies with my characters. While I am sometimes a bit uneasy about how much of myself will be revealed in my work whether I intend it nor not, I think that is part of the healing process. And I do hope that as we heal in our household, some of my readers will come along with us. I don't write my books specifically to bring healing, but I do hope what I write will be more than just a fun ride.

since you asked

Helen,

I suppose it would be nice to give blog readers an idea what my book is about.  Anna is a 30-ish journalism professor who has always been the dutiful daughter of her academician father. He's the dean of the J-school where she works, and he disdains fiction. She has moonlighted with a few mystery novels and has been very successful under the name Claire Donaldson, which she doesn't want Daddy to know about. Now, Claire is becoming famous, some people are beginning to wonder who she really is, Anna's stepmother wants to interview a celebrity for a feature article (and of course, chooses Claire), a new landscaper is in town and may not be who he appears to be... Well, you get the gist of it.

I always liked the old romantic comedies, so that was my model as I started. Now, the book is becoming an exploration of why we get stuck doing things we really don't care about, about our identities--do we choose who we are, are we formed by those around us, is identity thrust upon us by divine design? How do we find and nurture our individual identity? Anna has a few sidekicks in her adventure: an older sister who seems to have always known who she is, a best friend who is willing to go to the mat for Anna while being beset with twin toddlers and an infant in tow, a mother who understands what taking a stand against Daddy really means...  And I hope the thing is funny, as well as thought provoking. My writers critique group laughs. 

I hope a publisher friend of mine is right: she says any writer who can sum up a book in three sentences is probably a better marketer than writer.  At least I don't seem to be a very good marketer--and I hope that bodes well for the writing in the book!