Bookshelf update: July 24, 2007

WHY I WROTE …

I’ve had readers from many professions (not all family & friends) read my finished manuscripts to critique them and give me true fan (let’s hope) feedback. Every single one of them asked me why I wrote that particular story. So, I thought I’d take a moment to share with you what inspired me.

For The Chase is Over, my first completed manuscript, I chose the inside workings of a fictitious department store that was going through a turnaround because for the last ten years of my career, that’s what my husband and I did. We were a team, like Alexandra Chase & Tyler Daniels become.

I thought it would be interesting for you to peek into that type of corporate world where the concept of change creates havoc among the population. Reorganization, cut backs, new leaders recruited from the outside cause all sorts of reactions. The fact that most people are not comfortable with change presents quite a challenge. Our jobs were to influence cultural changes quickly and efficiently to produce a profit. Not everyone wins in that scenario, but the ones who embrace change and have the courage to risk the unknown also see and share in the rewards. It is a dynamic and fast paced world, and I saw Tyler and Alexandra as powerful allies in driving change – and not just in business.

How about Passion’s Race, you ask? Well, you know I’m an Ironman triathlete and I worked in retail most of my career, but what you don’t know is that almost ten years ago, I had to give up running for two years, because I was diagnosed with a very rare bone disease (to this day, only a few dozen cases have been documented). My right tibia was riddled with holes and the doctors had no idea why. I was warned that stress and weight-bearing impact could shatter the bone, which could result in amputation below the knee.

I was lucky in that my body began producing extra bone and regenerating bone marrow to heal the holes. With periodic MRI’s and the close watch of a wonderful team of doctors, I was able to resume running and raced my first Ironman distance race in 2001. But of course, during the time of the unknown, questions plagued my husband and me – what if I lost my leg? Could I race with a prosthetic leg? How would it change our lives as we knew it?

It was from those questions that Passion’s Race was born. CJ Fallon has a choice to make - will she continue racing as a brand new Pro against her doctors wishes? What’s at stake? How will her choice affect her relationship with her coach? If she quits racing and leaves the team, can she go back to her old life as a retail executive? Once committed to the volatile world of endurance athletes, could she ever really go back?

Again, I won’t ruin the story by sharing too much. Stay tuned and maybe soon it will be available for you to read. In the meantime, please sign up for my newsletter to get updates on my writing career and to learn when I get THE CALL.

My MISSION as a Writer

In the corporate world, every company writes a Mission Statement, a governing plan that guides all thought and action. Throughout my career, I was fortunate to be included in the process. I sat at the boardroom table with top executives to define how we would reach our customers and what we would come to mean to them. Today we think of that as Branding.

Sunset in GuamTwo of my favorite CEO’s drove us to think large, push the boundaries of ordinary, and do something spectacular or brilliant. So when I chose to pursue a new career, their voices accompanied me. I decided to leave the corporate world to become a published author. I approached this new venture as I would big business, therefore I needed a Mission.

My mission was born:
I want to become published to spread a message about embracing change. I want to touch people’s lives. I want to create emotionally and intellectually satisfying stories with the help of a nationally known publishing house. I want to give back to the world some of the wonderful blessings I’ve received but in the form of fiction.  

My stories are about the relationships that surround each one of us and the altering effects they have on our lives. Even in the face of adversity, there is a light at the end of each tunnel. I believe we most often follow our hearts not our brains when searching for that light.

As I set my goals and developed a plan to reach them, my theme was born. The heart of change is the change of heart. It perfectly described what came together as I wrote. My greatest hope is to one day share this work with you through the bookshelves across the country and beyond. 

To learn more about my motivations and background, please visit the News page of this site.