On this Thanksgiving Day, I'm thankful for three
things.
It may sound absurd, but first of all I'm
thankful for all of the
challenges I've been given in my life. What? Why would I be thankful for
challenges I've been given in my life. What? Why would I be thankful for
them? It's because each challenge provided an
opportunity to grow into the
writer I am today. How can you write about a
character's loss, and make it
resound with the reader, if you haven't
experienced loss in your own life?
Sure, a strong imagination can help, but if you
don't have true empathy
for your character borne from your own
experience, a reader will pick up
on it. Your story will not resonate with
them.All the bumps in the road
over the years caused by death of loved ones,
sickness, low income, love
loss and unemployment have forced me to look
carefully both inward and
outward. I've had to examine my reactions to the
challenges and I've had
to analyze what drove others to place them in my
path. The long process,
often excruciating, has strengthened my resolve
to pursue this dream of
living the writer's life. And it has also given
me valuable perspectives
about human nature.
Would I rather have had a life that was free of
any sort of troubles? Of
course! However, that would make me quite the
bland writer. Challenges
forced me to rely heavily on my senses, to see
clearer and listen
carefully. This makes for better writing. People
always joke about artists
suffering for their art. I'd like to think of it
as I've been growing for
my art.
Second, for every challenge placed before me, a
person or a group appeared
that served as my guide or mentor to see me
through the troubles. I
believe these angels are my true muses. They
have made me laugh as well as
cry, they have been frank with me, they have
held my hand, and they have
directed me safely down a dark path toward
a brighter future. For all of these angels I am
extremely thankful.
Third, I am extremely thankful for my readers.
They have willingly trusted
my invitation to explore a world created in my
imagination. They have been
very generous with their feedback. And they have
told their friends to
read my books. So thank you, my readers, because
you make all of my
efforts worthwhile.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, all!
Along an elm-canopied boulevard rising from a quaint Finger Lakes village
stands a magnificent Queen Anne-style house. In the summer of 1920, when
Mame McGrath and her family move in across the street, she notices a
catatonic young man rocking on its wraparound porch. Mame, a newly hired
elementary school teacher, proclaims boldly that she can, and will,
restore this man’s psyche—devastated by a drowning in Keuka Lake. What she
doesn't anticipate is that he and this house will become the center of her
life.
The House With the Wraparound Porch weaves a riveting tale of the four
generations to whom this home becomes more than a shelter from life’s
storms. It houses their memories of triumphs and failures, of joys and
sorrows that ripple across nine decades. Though many will move on, this
house will always be a part of them, because it resides always within the
deep heart's core.
BOOK LINKS:
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Author Mary Pat Hyland is an Amazon Top 100 list writer who has published
six novels and one collection of short stories. Her next work, the first
of a five-part mystery series, will publish in late 2015/early 2016.
Hyland's work all takes place in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes
regions of Upstate New York. When not writing, she is also a cook,
singer/musician and teaches writing fiction and the Irish language at a
community college. Learn more about her work at marypathyland.com and sign
up on her mailing list at http://bit.ly/17eiRrE
Her bestselling work is The House With the Wraparound Porch, a riveting,
four-generation tale filled with drama and humor about a family and the
Finger Lakes home that is the center of their lives.
Follow Mary Pat Hyland at these links:
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Welcome to the blog Mary Pat. You are so right. I know the challenges that I've experienced in life have made me a better person. So thankful for them. Happy Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the honor of being on your blog today.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving to you, Angela, and to all your readers.