I’m a retired Washington State high school
principal (and English teacher) who traded Seattle’s gray skies for sunny
California in 2000, decided to write suspense novels, signed up for the golf
experience at Cypress Ridge Golf Course in 2001, started writing...and never looked back.
Sixteen years later, I realize my adventures in
writing matches my journey to become a skilled golfer. I’ve learned golf and writing share the same
pains and joys…and I wouldn’t give up either endeavor.
Let me show you how my golf and writing careers
have followed parallel paths. For
instance, after writing eleven novels in nine years, I was picked up by Wild
Rose Press-my thriller, LAST RESORT. In golf, I chipped away at
my index, dropping from a 28 to an 18. For
those of you who know the game, that means I took ten strokes off a round of
eighteen holes of golf. Yippee!
And I challenged myself by playing difficult
golf courses, pocked with bunkers, and plagued by narrow fairways that took
right and left turns at will. As an
author, I challenged myself at every crossroad,
following LAST RESORT with a quirky series of three novels about a boutique funeral planner
whose dead clients refuse to rest in piece.
Every book presents a new ‘golf course,’ forcing me to dig deeper for
confidence, skill, and persistence.
You’re well aware of the old saw that we
learned everything we need to know about life in Kindergarten. Forget that.
I learned everything I know about writing from golf. I whack at a golf ball with the same
intensity I attack a sentence, no holds barred.
Each ‘lie’ (or plot sequence) is different. Every hole (or scene) requires fresh insight. I must learn the ins and
outs of a new character…same with a new golf club. Choosing a club, aligning the ball and calibrating my
swing match my deliberate word choice and word order. I love playing with great golfers as much as
I’m inspired when I read novels by fabulous writers. Conflict? Oh yeah! Novels are juiced up by conflict, as
is competitive golf. Each 'game' can go down because of a psych-out.
But the most important thing I learned from
golf is the ‘practice’ element. You
can’t be a great golfer or writer without consistent, repetitive, focused
encounters with the skill. I write every
day, revising and crafting new stories…and my golf index improves if I play two
or three times a week.
I will tell you that in many ways, golf is
easier than writing a novel. Most books
take me eight months to write, with the editing part as painful as labor. In golf, four hours may produce a score of
82…or not.
I ask you to pick up a glass of champagne and
join me in a cyber toast: Here’s to golf (and chipping two more strokes of my index) and the launch of my new golf/geology/Italy/cave novel, BAD LIES. Big sales and tiny handicaps to us all!
To celebrate, I’m offering BAD LIES, in
e-version, free for three days, July 10-12. Download
it, read it, and please review it on Amazon/Goodreads. If I get 20 reviews, I can promo the novel on
Book Bub…that’s my goal! Thanks for
helping me get there!
Italy’s haunted
caves spell danger for an American golfer and a NATO geologist
****
Sophie Maxwell is a late-blooming,
unorthodox golfer, and mother of a precocious thirteen year-old. Determined to
put divorce, bankruptcy, and a penchant for gambling in her past, Sophie goes
to Italy for a qualifying golf tournament.
Jack Walker turned his back on a pro
golfing career to become a geologist. As a favor to his ailing father he’ll
caddy for Sophie; off hours, he’ll find caves on the Mediterranean coast,
suitable for NATO listening posts for terrorist activity.
Someone is determined to stop Jack’s
underground hunt and ruin Sophie’s chances to win her tournament.
On a Rome golf course and in the Amalfi coast’s
haunted caves, all the odds are stacked against Sophie and Jack. In their
gamble of a lifetime, who wins?
Seven
Suspense Novels Spiked with Romance
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13 comments:
Great analogy, Rolynn. You are a determined golfer and a terrific writer. I love your suspense novels. Haven't read the funeral home ghost stories yet. Good luck with getting those 20 reviews. As soon as I finish Bad Lies, I'll get a review up.
Done. Not sure when I'll have time to read it, but I'll try to get to it soon! Congrats on your improved golf game, too.
Diane, you are so kind about my writing and my golf. I get lots of aggressions out on the golf course...probably in my writing as well :-)
Thanks, Jannine. Writing about golf has charged up my desire to get to a 15 or 16 index. Next year! (As hard to knock of strokes as it is to get reviews :-)
Writing isn't easy, is it? I've never golfed, but my daughter-in-law used to...until she got breast implants and her enhanced bust line ruined her swing. Maybe you could add that analogy in somewhere. "Too many boobs spoil the story line. Keep it to one or two." Awesome post, Rolynn.
Consider the glass hoisted, Rolynn, with a hearty hear! hear! to boot. Congratulations on improvement on both fronts. May your ongoing success continue!
OK, now I'm looking forward to you tying into one of your books Vonnie's tale of boobs ruining a golf swing. Nice analogy, Rolynn-and here's my cyber toast of champagne.
Vonnie, the skilled pro will help any woman do the 'work-around' of the boobs. The male pro might blush, but they'll give the golfer a couple preparation approaches. SOP. John Daly's got the big tummy...hey, we all have 'issues'...shouldn't keep us from having fun playing golf. I'll keep that analogy in my mind! (BTW, my hero DEFINITELY likes my heroine's swing, boobs included!)
Margo, I appreciate your enthusiasm...so much of me is bluster...but I do get through things by telling everyone my goals...so I don't forget what I promised to me and to the world :-)
Thanks, Andi. Vonnie used a comment I made in one of her books...I better use hers ASAP...she gave me permission as I did her (love darts was the term I gave her...'expressed' by snails, that is)
I used to love to golf, long before I wrote. I was young. I bought my golf clubs in turquoise blue to match our convertible. I wouldn't practice, refusing to go to the practice range with FDW. On the Biltmore Estate golf course, a man who had joined our tee time told me, after I duffed a ball, to not worry about it. It's how you look doing it that counts, and you looked damn good. FDW agreed, but told me the guy was obviously flirting. Anyway, I don't golf anymore, but I do approach writing differently than I approached golfing...more like you, Rolynn. I've downloaded your book!
Oh, you'll love Sophie in BAD LIES...she's the color coordinated queen...just like you. You HAVE to feel good about your outfit, your clubs and your swing. Looking good matters! Thanks for downloading my book!
Sorry I'm late! Love the golf analogy! My hubby and sons are avid golfers, and I do everything I can to get them out of the house and onto the course (any course!) whenever possible. :-)It amazes me how golfers can tell you in detail about every hole they play, and they never seem to forget! Like, "I was going to use the 5-iron, but then I got to thinking the last time I played the course, in 2013, I overshot the hole..." :-) I took advantage of the sale and grabbed my copy of BAD LIES yesterday. Can't wait to read it! It's next on my list.
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