Someone to Lean On #OpenBook Blog Hop

 

Feb 1, 2021

Do your family and friends support your career as a writer?

This is a tough question to answer because the answer depends upon how I’m feeling at the moment. I’ll give it a shot.

First, the good stuff.

I have one talented sister who is a graphic artist. She’s responsible for making my covers come to life. She’s also been known to gently laugh at my feeble attempts to put together memes for advertising and lead me in a better direction. I appreciate her efforts and tell her so as often as I can. Thanks, K.M.!

Another sister is a faithful reader of this blog. She may not comment, but I’m thinking of her as I write each entry, trying to see it through her eyes. (She was an English major and worked as a technical writer. I’m looking for errors she might point out.)

I have a sister-in-law who is a big fan of The Harmony Duprie books, and I appreciate her quiet support. My mother doesn’t always understand some of the crazier things I include in my books, (the Free Wolves books aren’t her cup of tea) but she reads them, anyway. And comes up with amusing comments. “Joe and Luke (from the Harmony Duprie Mysteries) are “interesting,” aren’t they?”

Then there are my coworkers. They put up with me, and several buy my books even if they aren’t my target audience. One guy admits he’ll never read them, but has bought a paperback copy of each of my books as a way of supporting my efforts. My boss buys copies too, and even cracks them open in his spare time. And then there’s Jenny, who has done photo shoots for me when I needed new author photos. I appreciate it, Jenny, even if you’ve moved away and deserted me.

With all that support, some of you are probably asking how I can have anything to complain about.

Here’s the thing: I come from a large family. And my hubby is from a large family. (Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten to mention him. I’m saving the best for last.) If all of my extended family members bought my books on the day of release, I’d have a top 100 book each time. (Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but only slightly. The families are that big if you include cousins and nieces and nephews.) Most of them are vaguely aware that I am a writer, but I suspect they’ve never picked up a copy of one of my books unless they wandered across one at my mother’s house.

I will accept the blame for that. I moved far away from the rest of my family when I was 18 , and most of them have only met me once or twice. Or not at all, when you count in the spouses and great-nephews and great-nieces. (Geesh, I feel old now.) It’s not like they actually know me.

Not everyone is as lucky as me, so I’ll gladly take what I can get. The complaints stem from that fragile writer’s ego at work. I want everyone to love my stories as much as I do!

Back to the best stuff. My dear hubby. I can’t say he loves the hours and hours that I spend writing, because it takes time away from him, but he doesn’t complain about them either. (Well, not as much as he could!) He tries to understand how important writing is to me, and encourages me to keep at it, even when I’m feeling discouraged. I’m glad he’s stuck around all these years, I like having him around.

Now that I write it all, I feel lucky compared to some other writers I know. I wonder how the other authors on this hop fare? Let’s go find out by following the links below.

Until next time, please stay safe!

Feb 1, 2021

Do your family and friends support your career as a writer?

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

 

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