Debra Webb | Writer’s Independence Day

July 4^th is most always associated with independence.  It’s an important day in American history and has been the subject of many novels and movies.  Since today is July 4^th I hope that all are enjoying this national holiday with family and friends. My family is coming together for the annual cookout and just some plain old fun and relaxation.

Since Fresh Fiction was so kind to allow me the opportunity to talk to you today, I decided that it was important to reflect on “Independence Day.”  As writers, most folks believe we have this incredible freedom to do as we please. Work when we please, write what we please, etc.  But that’s not entirely true.  Like any other job/career, we not only have immensely high standards to keep, we have schedules, deadlines, reader and market expectations just like any other retail/entertainment business.  The business of staying employed as a writer can get pretty darned stressful despite the seeming “independence” we have from the usual career routines of going to the office or annual job performance evaluations.  And, like numerous other aspects of business today, writers have not been immune to the less-than-optimal economy.

I wanted to focus on one aspect of what we do, true “independence.”  Because we love to tell our stories (love to be paid to write them and then see them in print too), it’s very easy to end up in a frightening financial situation.  I remember when I first leaped into this business and I heard many authors talk about not giving up your day job too soon.  That remains a very valid point and one which all authors otherwise employed should consider carefully before changing.  I’ll take this advice one more step: DO NOT CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE (new car, house, etc) TOO SOON!  This is a monumental mistake and can cause immense stress.  I know this from experience.  Since I was very fortune right from the beginning and had the opportunity to write many books (number 72 is out this month after only 10 years!), I got caught up in the “I can certainly afford this now syndrome.”  Big mistake.  One which required much self-discipline and many hard choices to rectify.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting that new monster TV, or a newer, better vehicle, or even a bigger house as long as it doesn’t put you in a position to make a quota--in this case to write a certain number of books and/or get a certain number of contracts each year.  This is a trap of your own making and can snuff the fun right out of what you love to do: Write.

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Debra Webb | Tales Your Grandmother Told

When I was a kid my grandmother always told me not to go too deeply into the woods or the boogeyman would get me. The boogeyman, she insisted, lived in the deepest, darkest area of the woods and he loved snacking on kids who got lost in those woods. Though I had certainly never seen a boogeyman in the woods or any place else, my grandmother had lived a lot longer than me and I wasn’t taking any chances. So, each time I ventured into the woods (which was most everyday in the summer—usually with my younger brother in tow), I would stop at a certain point and turn back. I wasn’t risking running into the boogeyman. As a kid, those types of warnings scared me to death but actually kept me from getting into trouble.

Then there were the other tales, the ones about certain people or particular houses. Every community has them. Some folks believe there’s some truth to the old stories, others insist they’re just stories that maybe evolved from gossip or flat out lies. The villages along Maine’s southern coast are no different. There are tales related to unsolved murders and folks who went missing never to be seen again. Like the tales from my childhood, some are supernatural in their foundation.

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Whatever the tales and wherever you grew up, chances are you heard your share. In my new release, FIND ME, Sarah Newton is a total nonbeliever in anything but the facts. Because of her own painful history, the truth is very important to her. Sarah operates on fact and she trusts no one but herself—a lesson she learned the hard way. As an investigative journalist for Truth Magazine, Sarah is in her element when on assignment. She travels to places where high profile homicides and abductions have occurred and those heinous crimes are swaddled in the area’s folklore and quirky traditions. As she tells Kale Conner, the guy charged with keeping her inline and out of trouble, she isn’t there to make friends or even to make nice. She’s after the truth and she’ll step on toes and piss people off to find it. She has no preconceived notions about the folks in the community. As far as Sarah is concerned they’re all suspects.

For research purposes, my family and I moved to the southern coast of Maine and immersed ourselves in that world while I wrote the book. I found the place and the people immensely interesting and extraordinarily charming and caring. The centuries of history and folklore were mesmerizing. And the architecture of the glorious old houses—I was in heaven.

Hopefully, your childhood wasn’t as terrifying as Sarah Newton’s, but I’d love to hear the tales you heard as a kid. Did the boogeyman live in your woods?

Debra is giving away THREE signed copies of FIND ME to readers who tell their most unusual child hood stories either below in the comments or Click Here

Debra Webb
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