Perseverance is the Key-Annette Snyder—Novelist
I knew I was a writer the day I woke up with a story idea in
my head, wrote it down and it worked. I
was surprised that I actually wrote an entire book. The fact that I’ve now written so many
different stories, and the ideas keep coming, still is a shocker.
I want to tell anyone who ever thought of writing a book or
memoir to just do it. The magic formula
is that there is no magic formula.
Write because it comes to you and if it amounts to more, great. If you have questions, most everyone in the
writing world is willing to help or knows someone who can.
The hardest thing for me to learn was curbing my point of
view switches. I’m always trying to
control which character is doing what and when.
I had a great editor who showed me how to fix head hopping and now I can
control it at least a little. My problem
is really that my brain works faster than my fingers.
Because I’m a writer, I do all that writing stuff plus promo
and keeping up with the writing world plus work a real job. I don’t have as much time to read as I’d
like. I save my reading days for my
vacations. If I wasn’t an author, I’d be
doing laundry and dishes—maybe dusting—scratch that, never dusting. Here’s a
hint, if you don’t move anything, you never have to dust because you can’t tell
the furniture is dusty.
If you’re into Historicals, you might want to pick up
something from my WWII Viveka’s War Series. This line begins during the
Depression years with two friends and follows the decisions they make while
growing to adulthood starting with the first books Viveka’s War and Eureka
Springs. My third novel in this
series, releasing this month, is Respectable
Affair. This particular book clues
readers into where the story began. I
got the idea from a reviewer of Eureka
Springs who wrote, “Who is Virginia Seidle and why was she single?” That’s
when Virgie started talking and the third in the series was born.
Here’s the blurb for Respectable
Affair:
Broken promises affect everyone.
A relationship with an unsavory criminal was only the
beginning of Virginia Seidle’s terrible run with men.
Would her life always be shadowed by previous mistakes?
Would a career change turn bad luck around or was this boss
just another man to avoid?
As a husband, Nolan promised to love in sickness and
health.
As a father, his mission is to protect his son.
An affair? What woman
deserved the backyard gossip that surrounded a secret relationship?
A pact of friendship and a secret love—was that all Virgie
and Nolan had?
Was protecting the future of a boy and a madwoman the most
important?
Can two people in love sacrifice everything to keep an
affair respectable for the sake of family?
Excerpt for Respectable
Affair:
Was Truman right? Was Frank Walters the person who robbed Main
Street Liquor? To Virginia, it just
didn’t seem possible. Frank was with her
all night or at least until a few hours after the basketball game at the high
school.
“Let’s go meet up with Hank and
Pete.”
That’s what he proposed when they
discussed the post game party with Frank’s friends in the country and Virgie
declined. It was, after all, a school
night and she had to study for her senior finals. “Don’t you have to look for a job?” she
asked.
“Sure, but I got it covered.” He leaned over and kissed her hard on the
mouth before turning back to the steering wheel. “See you tomorrow.”
Virgie had no reason to doubt that
Frank was going to the party to drink beer because that’s where he said he’d be. Why would Truman say Frank robbed the store
when Frank was probably hanging out with his buddies?
“Virgie,” Truman whispered, “I was
outside the store talking on the pay phone.
I saw him there. Where do you
think he got the beer in the first place?
He isn’t old enough to buy and he doesn’t have any money.”
Sibling disagreements weren’t anything new between Virgie and her older
brother but they’d become far more frequent since Virgie started dating Frank
Walters. With this latest bit of obvious
gossip, Truman annoyed Virgie even more.
She squinted and felt the muscles in her jaw tense. Truman stood at the foot of her bed and she
slammed her book shut wanting to throw it at him. “Isn’t it dark out? You probably couldn’t see. I say it was a case of mistaken
identity. I know you don’t like Frank,
but this, making stuff up like this, that’s really a low blow.”
“I don’t like Frank because he’s
using you. He quit school. He doesn’t work. His friends are no accounts. He takes you for
granted and I know you give him money, and whatever else, whenever he wants
it.”
Virgie picked up her bed pillow and
threw it at him. “Shut up! You don’t know what you’re talking
about!” She didn’t care if her parents woke
up and heard them fighting. When the
truth came out, Truman would have to apologize. “Besides, if I’m giving him money, why would
he have to rob a liquor store? And one
more thing! Frank and I love each
other. What do you have to say about
that?”
Truman turned to open the door. “I’d say that tomorrow he’ll be in jail and
you won’t have to worry about it anymore.
Let’s just hope dad and mom don’t find out that you were with him
tonight or you’ll be in deep trouble.”
“It isn’t going to matter. You’re wrong about Frank and they won’t care. You’ll see.”
She was surprised he closed the door instead of slamming it. If she were in his shoes, she’d slam it so
hard his eardrums would burst.
Use this link to purchase Respectable Affair, my latest
historical romance, or any of my work:
You can find more information on my website, http://annettesnyder.atspace.com
or www.whiskeycreekpress.com My work is also available online and in
several stores throughout Nebraska--listed on my website and blog. Visit my
blog http://annettesnyder.blogspot.com
for the most current appearances and contests plus learn about authors from all
over the USA.
Annette’s Bio:
I call a small town in the heart of
the Midwest, habitat of cornfields and combines, my home. In an old house, with my husband and two
dogs, I sit and write.
My four grown children visit often and the grandkids
cause beautiful havoc.
All my life, I paid attention to things around me,
stories from my parents, friends, grandparents and great-grandparents and one
day I compiled those stories together and wrote a book. It was that one book that started a wave of
ideas and the story characters just keep pestering me so I continue to write
all the time, work when necessary and vacation as much as possible.
