Whenever I mentioned that I hitchhiked across America from Texas to Ohio when I was thirteen, people would always say, “You need to write a book!” For years, I laughed it off—writing a book felt like something out of reach.
 

I was no author. But now that I’ve been on this writing journey for a few years, I have a hard time imagining not writing. Reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls was a turning point for me. I saw many parallels to my own story and began working on a memoir. But with the guidance of my writing coach, Kat Terney, I soon realized that fiction would give me the freedom to explore the themes more fully. Inspired by authors like Barbara Kingsolver, Jodi Picoult, and Sue Monk Kidd, I embraced the creative process and let the novel take shape. When the pandemic lockdown happened, I finally had the time and solitude to let that long-held seed ripen. I set a goal to finish my first draft before retiring in 2023—and I did. After completing the draft, I turned it over to Bublish for developmental editing and publishing support, bringing my vision to life. Balancing writing with everything else wasn’t always easy. When I was deep into the writing process, I was so absorbed by the story that I couldn’t read anything else for weeks.

 

My writing space wasn’t exactly glamorous—just my laptop on a little TV tray table in the living room, with the woodstove crackling beside me. I’d record verbal notes on my iPhone for later and relied on Microsoft Word’s read-aloud mode to catch errors my eyes might have missed. Writing Bicentennial Summer taught me the power of perseverance and the magic of letting a story unfold. Now, I’m excited to keep writing and see where the next chapter—both on the page and in life—will take me.