Iโm an okay swimmer. I couldnโt even say Iโm a good swimmer, but for whatever reason I use
metaphors in regards to swimming and writing all the time. I have a quote on my computer I read
every day. It says โJust keep swimming.โ ~Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) in
Finding
Nemo.
There are so many things I love about
Finding Nemo. Heck, I loved the character of Dory
so much I named one of my dogs after her, but for me, the โjust keep swimmingโ quote means, as
you can probably guess, just keep writing.
Whatever your method to get words on the page, to get the story written, itโs different for
everyone. Iโve read that authors equate writing a story to pushing a boulder up the side of a
mountain. That certainly works, but for me itโs always been swimming. Maybe itโs because when I
was twelve-years-old, and on an overnight trail ride with my 4-H group, I nearly drowned
swimming across a river.
In college, I wanted to conquer my fear of water, so I signed up to take a swimming class. The
instructor had us go the distance of the pool underwater. I could never last as long as my
classmates. I could never get to the other side without taking a breath of air. One day, I was
so determined to stay underwater and hold my breath for the entire distance, but again, I
failed. I became that twelve-year-old girl again and only saw the other side of the riverbank
knowing I wasnโt going to make it across, knowing I was going to drown. I got out of the pool
and cried. My instructor was so kind. She said it was okay and not to worry. If I couldnโt make
the distance without taking a breath it was all right.
I finally believed her. If I couldnโt make the distance underwater without taking a breath, it
was okay, it wasnโt the end of the world. My classmates could do it without taking a breath, I
couldnโt, but I still made it to the other side. I was still swimming. The water didnโt defeat
me. I didnโt drown. I could swim.
I admire those writers who can push through writing an entire book in what seems like amazing
speed without even taking a breath. Or, at least to me, it looks like they arenโt even taking a
breath. They release book after book and are so prolific, it amazes me.
Iโve finally come to peace with the fact that that isnโt me. I canโt write that fast, I canโt
hold my breath that long, but I can swim, I can write, and I can make it to the other side.
Releasing
HER ALASKAN
HERO was a huge accomplishment for me, but in my mind I havenโt made it to the other side
yet. Iโm still swimming. Instead of a river crossing, Iโm swimming an ocean channel. I have
four books and a novella in the
Alaskan Hero series planned. I have one book and one novella
completed, so I figure Iโm a little over a fourth of the way to my destination. I may need to
take a breath or float for a while at times, or may even have one of my critique partners
paddle out and throw me a life preserver, but I will make it to the other side.
I hope whatever your writing endeavors; that you remember to just keep writing. You may not be
the best, or the fastest, but you can swim. You wonโt drown. You can do it. Just keep swimming.
Rebecca Thomas enjoys a love-hate relationship with Alaska. She lives there with her
bush pilot husband and two teenaged sons where she appreciates all the unique things the last
frontier has to offer. When she isnโt reading, writing, or playing board games, she is cheering
for her sons at their hockey games and tennis matches.
A reluctant reader as a child, she didnโt become interested in books until her teen years when
she discovered historical romance. Now she loves all sub-genres of romance and canโt decide
which one is her favorite. Rebecca earned a bachelorโs degree in Education from the University
of Alaska and was employed in the airline industry for several years before working in her
current position as a program manager in higher education.
Website |
Facebook |
Twitter |
Google+ |
Pinterest |
Tumblr |
Goodreads
After being left at the altar, California girl Sabrina Tate needs to make a fast getaway.
With her famous overbearing parents and the paparazzi hot on her heels, where else is a jilted
bride to go to lick her wounds but Alaska? With only her tropical honeymoon clothes in tow, she
makes her escape. For two weeks, sheโll live on her own and prove to herselfโand her familyโ
that she can make it without a husband.
Zak Forrester is a man on a mission. Heโs turned his rugged yet luxurious Alaskan lodge into a
hotspot for hunters, all in the hope to make up for a painful event in his past. But when
Sabrinaโ one of the rare women to enter his rugged realmโstumbles into his world, he canโt get
rid of her fast enough. He has no time for her yoga, vegetarian meal requests, or Scrabble.
Soon, neither can resist the other, and two hearts collide. With time ticking away, they have
to decide where they belong. Is a life in a different world better than being a world apart?
© 2003-2026