"Have you thought about writing your family history, but found yourself stuck from the start? Writing a family narrative can be a daunting task, but Karen Jones Gowen found a way to bring her mother's story to life." (Homespun Magazine)

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Writing from Life

I finished my second novel, House of Diamonds, and it's being reviewed by the editor for the second time. I believe I may have another set or two of revisions and then we can call it good. I hope so. I feel really good about this one. Here's the handle (And thank you to some fantastic blogging friends for helping me pull it together):  "Two sisters, one facing opportunity the other tragedy. Can their bond endure?"

It's written about things experienced by my sister and I (Cindy and Marcie in the books) at a particular time in our lives. I wouldn't call it an autobiographical novel, because I make so much stuff up. But the background comes from true experiences. I wrote it because I wanted to tell this story:

When the lives of two sisters take a much different course than expected

When one sister is on the verge of realizing her lifelong dream and the other faces a terrible tragedy

To give a voice to a beloved baby who had none

To show the incredible power that comes to families when they pull together to overcome challenges. At these times, a house of pain can become a house of diamonds.

House of Diamonds is up on Goodreads if you want to add it to your to-read shelf. (hint hint).

6 comments:

  1. Congrats; This is wonderful and I love that facets of you n' your sisters childhood will gives us glimpses of your story. It sounds amazing!!!

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  2. Oh what a premise for a novel!! GOOD LUCK with this!!!!

    I really must investigate this goodreads business! LOL!

    take care
    x

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  3. Congratulations! It sounds like it will be a powerful read. :)

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  4. That's a great handle. Much better than mine. Was it difficult to write since it's part autobiographical?

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  5. Theresa, I'd say yes because I had to remove myself to get it right, and that takes a bit more effort when it's based on memories rather than imagination. But once I got past that and let the imagination take hold, it got easier.

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  6. They say write about what you know, which is a lesson that I have yet to learn. Congratulations.

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I don't post very often, but if you leave a comment I'll know someone is out there reading. And then I will post more! Bwa ha ha!