As any writer will tell you, writing can be a lonely business. Most of your days are spent typing away on your keyboard, researching material, editing or talking to clients. Of course, you have your family and the cashier at your neighborhood supermarket-and they are important-but if you are not careful, you will soon lose your social skills and become a hermit altogether. That is why when I received an invitation to a networking event for women business owners, I decided to come out of my shell and see what it was all about.

I was not disappointed. Although it was not a writers’ event, I did meet another blogger with whom I was able to exchange ideas and information. The other ladies came from diverse backgrounds, but were equally pleasant, upbeat and encouraging.

The organizers, Jacqueline Jimenez and Dr. Liana C. Saenz motivated and inspired us to see ourselves as entrepreneurs and to not be afraid to branch out of our circles-my interpretation, our comfort zones.

I was used to attending writers’ conferences- those are great if you only write books– but if you are a freelance writer like myself, business meetings like this one can open you up to a whole lot of possibilities. You can grow your list of contacts, learn about new opportunities and even gain new clients.

Networking opportunities abound, but be careful to select the right ones if you do decide to network. I returned from the meeting feeling uplifted, refreshed and eager to attend more of the same, with these organizers and others.

During a phone conversation with a friend yesterday, I asked as casually as I could, “Did I ever tell you I’m a writer?”

Now, this is a friend, mind you. Someone I’ve known for decades and I’m now telling her that I’m a writer. Better late than never, I guess. Anyway, just as I expected, my friend told me she’s not a reader, but she did ask a few questions, which I was hoping for.

After asking me what my book was about–I told her it was actually a series of three books–and gave her a brief synopsis of the books. Then she wanted to know how I was able to sit down and write three books.

I explained it was not difficult because the first book was based on a true situation I knew of when I was a teacher back in Trinidad. For those of you who never heard the background to Coming Out of Egypt, here it is in brief:

It was rumored that two sisters attending the elementary school where I taught were being abused by their father. Their mother had died, and the girls lived in a secluded home with their father. They appeared very shabby, were isolative and did not do well in school. We, the teachers, had no legal authority to do anything in that society during that time period, and I transferred from that school without knowing what became of those girls.

So much for the background. How did I write the book?

1. The idea. It was easy for me to get started because I had the basic idea – the above synopsis – but the ending would be different. Instead of transferring from that school to another, the teacher would stay there and try to help those girls out.

2. The characters. I already had the protagonist – the older sister. Her younger sister June would be the second most important character. Then I added another character– the teacher–and I gave her a name. If there’s a protagonist there would be an antagonist. Guess what? The teacher’s boyfriend, a detective,  became the antagonist.

3. The setting. I already had that too. A rural village in Trinidad.

4. The plot. That is what happens in the story. How do these characters act on this idea in this setting? The pieces began to fall into place. The girls would go to school, the teacher would teach, and the detective would … He would have to find something to detect. Right? More ideas.

In order to make the book interesting, I had to throw in a few more elements. So I threw in some romance–the teacher and the detective, Marva and her boyfriend and even June has a boyfriend or rather, boyfriends. Then I included some police work –our detective is a hard-working guy–so we give him a crime to solve.

By this time I had an idea what I wanted the title to be. The real village where the girls lived is called Egypt Village. Egypt in the Bible represents a place of bondage. Since the book was being written from a Christian perspective, I used the story of the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt as a metaphor for the story of these girls’ journey out of their bondage, and thus came the title Coming Out of Egypt.

This whole process may sound easy or complicated depending on how you look at it. However, if you are going to write a book, I would suggest you become familiar with the craft by doing the foll.:
1)Begin reading, if you are like my friend –not a reader.
2)Take a few courses–online or at a community college or some such place
3) Join a writer’s group and
4) Start writing

If you enjoyed this blog post, I will suggest two things:
1. Buy the Book
2. Sign up to join my mailing list. You will be the first to know about my giveaways, special offers from time to time and updates from other authors.

In the spotlight today is An Open Window, a debut novel by P. B. Harrison. Enjoy!

I do hope you are in some warm, cozy spot as you read this. It’s the perfect weekend for reading, isn’t it? I had no idea this kind of weather would coincide with my birthday, but I’m thankful it did. So, to add to your reading pleasure this weekend, I’ve discounted my latest release, In the Promised Land from $3.99 to $1.99. Now that’s a real gift. But regardless of how much you pay for this book, there are many benefits to be gained by reading it:

1. The characters are memorable
2. The plot is based on a true event
3. The message is timely and
4. The setting is exotic

Here’s the blurb:

This third book in the Egypt trilogy wraps up the lives of the characters in a neat and satisfying way, according to some readers. Like the rest of the series, the story is set in the beautiful twin- island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. The two main characters, Marva and June, have come out of an abusive childhood (Egypt) and are now adults. Marva is a nun at a home for delinquent girls. Marva is known for being strict and well disciplined, but when her adoptive father is killed in a Muslim coup, the family relies on her levelheaded calm to help them get through their crisis. But little do they know that Marva has a crisis of her own, one that her discipline and her faith seem inadequate to handle.

If that is not enough to whet your appetite, here’s an excerpt:

Excerpt

Coming Out of Egypt, my debut novel and the first book in the Egypt series is at 99c. Maybe you should read this and the second one before you read the third book to get a sense of the progression of the story.

For those of you who prefer paperback you can get it here

While I appreciate you buying my books, may I ask you to go a step further and leave an honest review on Amazon? Authors depend on reviews as they help to guide readers in making their buying choices. Thank you, and stay warm!