Checking in. How are you?

It's another good day to read something new and exciting. I love listening to my audible book, The Glass Vase. I love how this story flows. The description of the mother is so emotional and the two daughters who went on different paths paints a picture of closeness and love within this family unit. I love writing scenarios of situations that seem impossible to heal from or get out of. In my storytelling, there's always a way. Being in a committed relationship with my husband of 43 years has been the best experience of my life. I was just a young teenager of 18 when we married. He was truly my saving grace. In my stories, I like to write characters that have experienced or had that special bond of love in their life.  Many of my main characters are women. I love empowering them and making them feel like they could do anything and they are stronger then they are portrayed. 

I love to be descriptive. When I go outside, I can see everything around me that's alive. The trees, the crisp air, the wind, the smell of cut grass, people walking in the park with their children. Or maybe it's the way the leaves blow in the wind, how the rain sounds. The list goes on. I love to describe how the inside of a house looks and write like I'm watching a movie. I can see the scenarios in my mind so clearly. Each person has a role even the flat characters. Background description is crucial as well. I want to take the reader on a ride they will never want to get off of. Put out a book they can't put down. Even when I read my own books, I shed a tear or just can't put it down. 

I do whatever it takes to put out a good story. I have ideas rolling around in my head constantly. I keep a pen and pad near my bed in case I get an idea and it's too good to sleep on. I look at my surroundings and take notes. I think of what the readers want without it being raunchy or distasteful. When I first read, "Message in a Bottle," I read it before I saw the movie. I remember going into the theater with my husband on a date night and I was captivated by the story. I got attached to those characters. I told my husband, "I would love to write like that." He said I could do it. I just didn't have the confidence to put out a novel. It seemed so far-fetched and I just put it if off even though I did right short stories when I was young. My expectations were just too high and they didn't need to be. The more I thought about it, the more excited I was to start writing something good. In 2007, I began the process. From there I knew I was going to get this to take off even if it was slow going. 12 books later, here I am putting myself out there for the world to see and read. 

Some of the things I never talk much about is that I suffer from anxiety. Playing piano and writing takes away all the garbage the world has that makes us feel like we are not good enough. I'm not a quitter and when it gets hard, I just keep trying until I get better and then I'm ready for the next challenge. I walked 10 miles one day just to see if I could do it. I am a good walker and I love to do about 4 miles. Amazingly, I did the 10 mile walk and I was proud of myself even if it was hard. I was grinning from ear to ear. It made me think there isn't anything I can't do. I have done a lot of things to try and choose a career. Painting contractor, contractor's assistant, dental assistant, working in retail, self employed housekeeper cleaning vacation homes and being a wife and mother. I started teaching myself piano and I learned guitar when I was 15. I played the drums and taught myself when I was 8. I started singing when I was 5 years old and I still sing every day to make myself happy. Now I am settled at age 61, an author here in the state of California, my home state. 

Anyone can go after their dream. I wasn't going to let anything stop me from being what I wanted to accomplish. I will always be a writer and dream that one day someone will make my stories a best seller that everyone will love. No one is perfect and maybe some of the stories I write are not the forte of another person. That's okay. Some of the most prominent writers have failed once in a while. It just makes us stronger and achieve higher goals. I cherish my readers and the fan base I am creating. I love to do this for you and I hope you continue to enjoy the beautiful novels I write with strength and devotion. 

Feel free to make a comment and let me know what you love about reading something good!

Best regards, Annette Marie Stephenson