Submitted by Elsie Varn Harrell
Long before I even thought about writing seriously, I wrote. As a teenager, if I had a fight with my boyfriend, I would write pages and pages about how I felt about things and him in particular. I guess it was my way of letting off steam. I know I always felt better afterwards. Even today, sometimes my fingers just itch until I can sit down and put thoughts on paper.
I can be having a terrible day, everything going wrong, but when I sit down at my desk and boot up my computer, my troubles just disappear. I so lose myself in my story that all the problems just go away. I sometimes sit and type for 5-6 hours and don’t even realize how much time has passed. I get so wrapped up with my character’s lives and events that mine just fade into nothing.
I mean, the vacuum cleaner quit working, or what shall I fix for supper, those are so trivial when compared to the murder and mayhem that Josh and Charlie are dealing with.
Speaking of murder and mayhem, my first four books were all in the mystery/suspense genre. They were all filled with murder, rape, arson and kidnapping, to name just a few main events. My fourth book, The Color of Thunder, is more of a Christian novel. It tells the life story of a minister and his association with a newspaper reporter who is not a Christian.
Of all four books, can you guess which one had to have a disclaimer? Yep, you guessed it. It was the Christian novel. I was so afraid of offending any of my minister friends that I had to write a disclaimer, avowing that the pastor in my book was totally fictional and was not based on any minister that I know.
Shattered Dreams is nearly finished, it’s pretty exciting. Josh and Charlie are having a hard time with this particular case, so Sheriff Dodge Brewster (you may remember him from Fire Light Fire Bright) joins the chase. Shattered Dreams has three murders, plus a fugitive on the FBI’s ten most wanted list. Attempted murder, using a pick-up as the murder weapon, plus much more. I think it’s my most action-packed novel to date.
The only problem is that when I type the words, “THE END”, it’s not the end for me. I still have several months of editing and re-writing ahead of me. For those of you anticipating the release of book three in the series, I hope you’ll be patient; I think Shattered Dreams will be well worth the wait.
Elsie Varn Harrell is a TGIM Best Selling Author and avid supporter of Writing for the Soul Workshop™. Follow her on Twitter at @elsievharrell
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