When I first read Cheryl Bradshaw’s revelatory piece in the Indie Chicks’ Anthology, it was these words that drew my attention:
‘There were times when I felt like my life was like a shattered mirror, and I was on my hands and knees desperately searching for all the pieces of myself so I could glue them back together and feel whole again. During those times I wondered how many other women out there in the world felt the same exact way. ‘
It’s a great saying: ‘a well made flour sack stands on its own.‘ And the most perfect way to describe any good narrative. Dani More is a thriller/crime writer and here’s her take on the whole indie writing journey.
When I began Sherwood Ltd. I had no idea that Anne R. Allen’s inimitable fiction was based on fact. In fact, more fact than fiction. It’s hard to believe that any one could have had such an out-of -body experience in their writing life, but Anne did and lived to tell… and sell… the story!
There’s something unerringly familiar about Sarah’s epiphany. Who amongst us hasn’t burst into tears at the realisation there is another life, a dream that could become a reality if only the fairy godmother would wave her wand. The trouble is that the fairy godmother is actually hidden deep inside our own psyche. Sarah tells us her story, showing that is entirely possible to wave a wand and step out of the kitchen into a world we can only read about in books…
Whilst its summer here in my country and we are lying around on the beach or on chaises under the willows, Cheryl Shireman is staring out at a snow white scene on the edge of a iced-over lake in the middle of a blizzard. Cheryl is the person who conceived the idea of a group of indie writers putting together an inspirational anthology about their writing life. She’s a grounded person with a huge heart and the idea that we are all in this world to help one another as best we can. To say I admire her seems ordinary but I do. To say I wish I had her energy to enact those things in which she believes is an understatement. To say I wish I could have one more day with my children as children is a truth… read on and see what I mean.
When I first began writing the historical fiction Gisborne, eighteen months ago, I joined an erudite group on Goodreads called the Historical Fictionistas as a research tool as the contributing authors really knew their stuff. It was the first time I had the term ‘fictionista’ and the image is one of a power-packed writer with excellent provenance… maybe even a little daunting.
Donna Fasano is a fellow Indie Chick who has been what I craved to be for a long while. A successful mainstream writer. She wrote for Harlequin Books for 20 years before becoming a proud Independent Author. She’s written over 30 romance and women’s fiction novels that have sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide. Her books have won awards and made best-seller lists.
One of my fellow Indies Chicks is a woman after my own heart. She’s a late bloomer… just like me. We’ve reached ‘a certain age’ and I think the whole age thing empowers you. You realise that there is so much yet to achieve and come hell or high water, you going to have a go at achieving it. Linda Welch says it’s …
Most readers know of the power of the phoenix, its ability to re-create itself out of flame in a dire situation. 
Lizzy Ford’s life has been filled with such darkness but her unerring strength is her ability to be reborn, to struggle on, to reinvent… better and stronger ever time. Lizzy is one of my fellow Indie chicks and I leave her to tell you her story.
Danielle Blanchard Benson, Author of The Vamp Saga and The Beautiful People series, is a fellow Indie Chick and brings her story to us with a no-holds barred look at her life.
“Write or Die”
2010 was the worst year of my life.
