Please give a warm welcome to
newly published author, Kerry
A Waight.
Author’s Inspiration
The Value of Community
Writing is often a solitary task, be it for either pleasure
or occupation. And, if you are like me, you don’t want to turn up for regular
writing groups, where you sit around drinking coffee and discussing your work.
Not that there is anything wrong with that—it just isn’t for me. But when I
first retired and realised that I could finally start to write, I found that I
needed some type of focus, support and direction.
So, I did what everyone does these days—I hit Facebook.
Luckily for me, the first group I found was Authors’ Tale.
This group has, without doubt, been the making of me as a published author. Let
me explain.
During a phase when I wanted to be a professional
genealogist (which I did do for a while), I undertook a couple of courses with
the Society of Australian Genealogists. As part of the Diploma in Family
Historical Studies, I was required to undertake a 32,000-word thesis. I chose
one of my ancestral families as my subject. During my research, I uncovered
some twists and turns that I thought would make good fodder for a fiction—the
idea for my first novel was born.
Upon retirement, I found that now that I had the time, I
could get started. And I started. But how did I know it was any good? Was my
grammar okay? What about my tense? And, if I managed to finish it—what next?
Hence my search and discovery.
Now Authors’ Tale has an activity every Wednesday called
‘Writing Prompt Wednesday’, where the group is given a prompt and whoever wants
to can write something and submit it on the page. Took me a long time to gain
the courage to do that. So much time that I didn’t have the confidence to
submit anything to their first anthology Once
Upon a Wednesday that was published in March 2017. I was determined,
however, that I was going to submit for the next one.
I still didn’t have the courage to submit anything to the Facebook
page except some comments on the posts of others, ask a few questions, and of
course the mandatory ‘like’ and ‘love’ emoji. And I quietly worked away on my
novel, but not very methodically. Then the date for submission came out for the
second anthology, which would be entitled Heart
of a Child. It was time. I found the list of past prompts and found one
that would interest historical fiction me. The prompt was ‘a father having
trouble telling his children a bedtime story’. It took me a while to work out
how I was going to do that and then it hit me—it’s pretty hard to tell a
bedtime story when you are dying of plague! One of my favourite topics so I
knew I would be happy to do the research involved. That story is entitled ‘Tell
us a story, Pa.”
Once that was done, I still had time. Okay I thought. Write another
one. Luckily for me, there was a prompt where we had to write a story with
a song as inspiration. I had already started one of those, so I dragged it back
out. The song I was using was The Parting
Glass, which evidence suggests had its beginnings in 1600. It has been
attributed to the Scottish Thomas Armstrong, written in a letter before his
execution for the murder of Sir John Carmichael. But the letter has morphed
since then, with differing versions of it being sung today. It has also become
very dear to the Irish. Being of Irish Catholic heritage (like many
Australians), I decided to find a period in time where the version I wanted to write
would make sense. Hours of research later, I discovered the Eleven Years War,
which ran from 1641 to 1653 in Ireland. Perfect timing for a rewrite of the
original from Thomas Armstrong! And that story became ‘Goodnight—and God be
with you all.”
Before I had time to change my mind, I submitted both. I had
gone from no-one reading my work to it going into a workshop where eight people
would be critiquing it, followed by a judgement process by a panel. My heart
was in my mouth. The workshop started, with varying degrees of suggestions and
feedback coming. Even the ones with lots and lots of issues with my stories
said that they were great stories. So, I made changes where I saw fit—although
sometimes I decided that I would stick with what I had. But, interestingly, I
found myself gaining confidence in my own work and judgement. Long story
short—both stories made it into the anthology. I was so overwhelmed I cried. I
could write, and I was going to be published.
Heart
of a Child was published on 24th March 2018 and
is available on Amazon. All profits from the sale will be going to a charity
called Children of the Nations. Not only are my two stories in it, but eighteen
other wonderful stories from some wonderful authors. We all supported each
other. Importantly, we were honest with each other. Not everyone got stories in
who submitted. But the feedback was constructive and valuable, and the final
product maintained its integrity, which is important for every author involved.
I now have the confidence to proceed with my novel. I’m
nearly finished (I think) and have begun editing. But it will be read by others
in Authors’ Tale before it even goes for professional editing. I trust these
guys. And, were it not for them, my novel would probably still be in the
thought process phase.
Kerry A Waight
A lover of history and genealogy, my
intention to bring the story of people from the past to life through my
writing. History is more than just dates and places. It is a web of the lives
of the people from those dates and places, the consequences of decisions made
and events that occur around them. I have a Bachelor of Arts, with History as
my major subject, closely followed by Sociology/Anthropology. This was backed
up with a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education (Human Society in its
Environment), plus a Certificate in Genealogical Research and a Diploma in
Family Historical Studies.
Having decided to retire early, I am
involved with an animal rescue group called Peggy’s Promise: Helping Fur Kids
with the Basics, as well as singing in a choir and writing. Married with two
grown sons and a dog called Bindi, I find myself so busy now I don’t know how I
managed to fit work in!
Heart of a Child
Whether you want to take a trip through time, go on an
adventure in your backyard, or feel a burst of excitement only to return to an
adult reality, each story has something for every reader who wants to feel like
a child or be part of a life many children have led before.
Take a trip down memory lane or pull your child into your
lap and see the world through their eyes. In this second anthology written by
members of Authors’ Tale, both light and heavy themes bring out the child in
almost every genre.
This year’s anthology features many stories about young
hearts and for young-at-hearts. These tales will make any reader feel nostalgic
or even open their eyes to something they never considered—something that will
challenge their view of what childhood can really be like.
Thank you for sharing your journey to becoming a published author. I wish you all the best with your new release.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your new release!
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