Recovering from January by Alison Henderson

I was all ready to buckle down and get back to work in January. Really I was. 

Since I don't have contractual deadlines to meet, I like to take time after a new book releases to concentrate on promo and catch up on life. Since I usually time my releases for early fall, the holidays tend to sneak in gobble up big chunks of my time, too. Before I know it, it's January--time to dive head-first into a new project.

Until this year.

I started off fairly well. I came up with a basic plot outline for my new female bodyguard book Child's Play and completed my character profiles. I even managed to write the first chapter. Yay! That took me through the first two-thirds of the month. Then, for fairly obvious reasons, I hit a creative brick wall. Every day the news got worse, sucking up all my energy and natural optimism. By the 31st, I'd had it. Something had to change. I refused to let malevolent outside forces steal my life any longer if I could help it.

Along with everything happening in the nation and the world, my mood was not improved by the fact that I hadn't been able to exercise since the first week of December because of a nasty case of bursitis in my left hip. I'm not a fanatic--I don't run marathons or anything--but I am used to walking briskly on the treadmill five or six days a week. It boosts my energy and supports the illusion that I'm still young and lively. Since the main treatment for bursitis is rest, I had to abandon my routine when I needed it most.

On February 1st, I decided I'd given my body enough time to heal, and I got back on the treadmill. I'm starting slowly and alternating days with strength bands in an attempt to avoid another flare-up, but it feels good to move again. I'm also getting back into my book.

While I couldn't think about words, I worked with pictures. I like to have an image of the cover in mind while I'm working on a book for inspiration, so I played around and came up with this. What do you think? For continuity and branding, I used the same basic color scheme, fonts, and design elements (legs and gun) as the other two books in the series.

The heroine in this book is a PhD student in Child Psychology who goes undercover as a nanny/bodyguard to the four-year-old niece of a Professor of Egyptian Archaeology after he receives a veiled threat directed toward the child. The story includes stolen artifacts, a bad-tempered monkey named Balthazar, and an enigmatic villain named Fermin LeBlanc. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Now all I have to do is get busy and write it!

Alison
www.alisonhenderson.com 

Why I Write (It Sure Isn't the Money!) by Alison Henderson

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I’m gentle with myself about goal-setting. I’ve never had a prescribed daily word count, and I’m not starting now. I may not accomplish as much as other writers, but I’ve reached the stage of life where I avoid all avoidable stress. Been there, done that, paid the price. For the most part, I’m all about the Zen these days. But I do have writing plans for 2016, even if they’re quite flexible.

Mainly, I plan to keep writing. But why?

After publishing five books, I’m not sure why I’m asking myself that question now. Shouldn’t I have sorted that out years ago? Maybe, but sometimes it takes the perspective of time to reach the truth.

Unlike many writers, I haven’t always written. I haven’t even always wanted to write. I came late to the game after a lifetime as a dedicated reader. I’ve heard other writers say they have voices in their heads, demanding their stories be written. I don’t. My characters don’t tell their own stories, with me serving merely as scribe. While I love the creative process of crafting characters and plots and the emotional rush of letting my imagination run free, I’m not driven to do it. So why put in all the time and effort required to write an entire book?

I’ve thought about it and have come to the undeniable conclusion that one of the reasons I write is for validation. It’s embarrassing, but since we’re being truthful here, I might as well face facts. I’m sixty-one years old and quite comfortable in my own skin. I shouldn’t need or want the validation of others—and generally I don’t—but there’s something different about writing.

I don’t write deep, heavy, soul-searching stuff. I write to entertain myself and others, to brighten readers’ days and lighten their loads. But even when we aren’t flaying ourselves open on paper, we writers spill our guts in more subtle ways. What could be more intimate than sharing your fantasies with strangers? And what is more satisfying than knowing someone else “gets” you—laughs at what you find funny and sighs at your romantic flights of fancy?

Do you remember Sally Field’s acceptance speech when she won the Oscar? She gushed, “You like me. You really like me,” and people made fun of her. I didn’t understand at the time, but I understand now. She put her creative product out in the world and needed validation. I feel that way about reviews. Some writers say they never read their reviews. I couldn’t do that. I need feedback from readers. I don’t need to be told I’m a good writer; that’s a skill I’ve worked on and continue to improve. I need to hear that someone understood and enjoyed my view of the world. I think we all need that. It’s like a hug that says, “You’re not alone.”

And that is why I write.

Alison
www.alisonhenderson.com