Melissa Smith’s story sent shivers down my spine. Grief is the most profound emotion. It often features in my novels in various ways and I dig into my soul and recall the feelings I had when Dad died. I think you should just read on and see what she has to say…
Moving around the world can do one of two things, it seems to me. It can inspire or it can pull you apart with sadness, longing for the place you call home. Julia Crane managed to make moving work for her. It gave her the time and space she needed to create the book she had always wanted to write. Julia is an Indie Chick, another of that group of women who have not taken setbacks lightly in order to further their careers as writers. Read on…
Carol Davis Luce offered up some succint and profound words when she sent her Indie Chicks piece to Mesmered – facts that seem overlooked so often by the mainstream publishing trade.
This is what she says: ‘Agents and editors think they know what readers want. They don’t always know. Readers know what readers want, and they’re expressing their wants by buying books written by indie authors. Give yourself a hardy pat on the back if you’ve completed a manuscript, but the big applause goes to our devoted fans and readers. Without them, we would be nothing.’
Barbara Silkstone and I met some time ago. In fact this brightly facted gem of a writer from Florida has been a guest in my Big Red Chair. You would never credit that after the experiences she had, a smile, let alone belly laughs would still feature large in her life. Barb is an Indie Chick par excellence. Read on and see if you agree…
The thing I like about Christine’s story is the unadulterated simplicity of an idea that happened in the blink of an eye … or more particularly, over the course of a telephone call. That and the name Lolo Productions. And of course both are linked closely. Christine iss also inventive in other ways, re-writing the fashion industry in a dark, dark way and running a magic blog that seeks to cloth the main characters in many novels. Brilliant. Simple. But then the best ideas always are.
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!
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.
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.
