Risky Gamble
Page 12
If you receive my newsletter (http://newsletter.authorvivianward.com), you know that I talk about my grandma who passed away recently. She raised me quite a bit and she was a holy roller. I’m talking an all-get-out Bible-thumping, Jesus-praising angel. There’s no doubt in my mind where she went (heaven), and she always taught me to be honest no matter what. It’s something that I instill in my kids because it’s so important.
Anyway, this is the part that I love about writing. I get to make shit up, tell it as I go, and have fun with my works of fiction. I love writing stories for all of you, I really do, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t write them for myself. Nobody is going to write the books that I think up for me to read, so I have to write them myself. The characters tell me their story and what happens; I don’t get to choose. Okay, well, I do a little, but I let them take me on their own paths to get there and I love that about my work.
Sometimes I sit in front of the computer all day waiting for my characters to decide whether or not they want to pull the trigger (so to speak). Sometimes, they don’t want to talk to me at all (I hate those days), and other times, they won’t shut up (like now)! LOL
I took a long break before I wrote this book because I needed it. The holidays were really hard for me this year knowing that my grandma wasn’t around. When my husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I had one wish: to see my grandma. We moved to Joplin for his job, which took me away from St. Louis (I LOVE my hometown, go Cards!) and it’s a long drive to get to the cemetery where she’s buried, but all I wanted to do was visit her.
Right after New Year’s, he said, “Babe, I took vacation and I’ve got the kids. Go home and see your grandma.” As much as I love him and the kids, I couldn’t pack my bags fast enough. I didn’t even sleep that night. At 4 AM, I finally loaded up the van and started driving. I had to pull over before I got on highway 70 because I started having a panic attack. A wave of relief, sorrow, grief, and happiness hit me all at once. She’s buried at Memorial Park Cemetery and I knew that once I got on 70, I wasn’t far from her.
After I regained composure, I went on to the cemetery and went to her grave. It was freezing, and there was a light dusting of snow covering the ground as flurries continued to fall from the sky, but we had a good talk. I stayed so long that I had to get in the van several times to warm up so that I could get back out and talk to her some more.
She’s buried next to her parents, so I talked to them, too. I’m sure if any of the workers passed by, they probably thought I was nuts. I talk with my hands and I had a lot to say that day, so I probably looked like I was orchestrating a concert, but I didn’t care. I visited her every day that I was back home except for one, but it was a much needed mini vacation for me.
I ended up cutting it short because my husband was going crazy with all four kids (as you can imagine) and my daughter had a job interview (she’s now working her very first job!), and she needed me to take her shopping for work clothes.
I’d actually planned to write a different series when I got back home, but this story was so prominent in my head that I had to tell it. I’ll save the other story for another time because it’s so good! Well, I have a bunch of good stories to tell.
On another note, I’ve been busy taking quotes from the book to make teasers. I make a lot of my own teasers, but I get a tremendous amount of help from Teased by Antonette. I met her as a reader during an author takeover in another author’s group, and the two of us bonded over our love/lust for Roman Reigns. Our friendship pretty much grew from there and I consider her to be a good friend. She does amazing teasers so if you know an author in need of graphics, she’s your girl.
She helped me make some of the teasers for this book and for the series because I was so strapped for time. I have my first signing in a few weeks (Kinky in Kansas City), and it took a lot of time away from writing this book. If you’re interested in seeing me, I have several signings this year. You can check out my blog to learn more about them. I’d love to meet you!
Be on the lookout for book 2 of the Risky Series: Risky Pleasures. If you thought this book was hot, you haven’t seen anything yet! Get a fan and some ice water ready because you’re going to need it.
Thank you for all of your support and for showing us Indy authors some love. We need it more than you’ll ever know. Many of us (me included) bust our asses. We don’t get paid for the graphics that we spend time making, the parties that we do, the emails that we respond to, or the many other things that help better our career. But one thing that lights up our faces more than you can imagine is getting reviews and receiving emails from you guys! I respond to each and every email that I get whether you message me on Facebook, email me directly, or use one of the social media platforms. I take it upon myself to set time aside each day to answer those messages and look forward to doing it, so please, don’t be shy! Authors LOVE hearing from their readers, and if they don’t, they’re in the wrong business.
Here’s a fun fact about me that most people don’t know, and this drives my husband nuts! I sleep with my phone right next to me and often wake up to email myself about dreams that I have so that I can turn them into stories. Yes, I email myself story ideas in the middle of the night from a dead sleep. Now if that’s not dedication, I don’t know what is!
Read Risky Pleasures
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About the Author
Vivian Ward was born in Brooklyn, New York but now lives in St. Louis, Missouri. Growing up the daughter of a single mother, her life was a struggle from day to day. When things got hard, she retreated to her room where she would write about fantasy worlds that would take her away from reality. Even as an adult, her passion for writing never went away and now she hopes to share it with the world.
www.authorvivianward.com
vivian@authorvivianward.com
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