I’m an author. No, seriously, that’s what I do with myself since I retired. I write variations based on Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”. But what does it mean when I make that claim? Do I have any published works, or is this something I do in my spare time to stay active and possibly amuse myself? And what is involved in the art of creating and selling a story?

Yes, I am a published writer, with nine books available on Amazon and other online retailers, and two written in collaboration with others. Four of my books are part of the “Elizabeth Said, Darcy Said” series, with the final two coming soon.

To tell the truth, I didn’t start with the idea that I could simply get out my pad of paper and pen (or computer and keyboard, to be more accurate), and pen the next “War and Peace”. I needed additional income and was encouraged by a university professor who saw an essay I had written, so I decided to give writing a try.

My first effort was terrible. The story did not flow, I committed the cardinal sin of shifting point-of-view within the same paragraph and multiple times on each page and, according to my daughter, you needed to have a dictionary handy to decipher my wanton use of complicated words. But armed with that knowledge, I went back to work and focused on correcting my many writing shortcomings. And of course, the invaluable assistance of my brother, Jann Rowland, was a huge help in honing my craft.

Does this mean that, with a more than ten books written I consider myself an accomplished author? Am I ready to take an inexperienced writer under my wing and tutor them in the fine art of creating a fantastic story? Far from it.

My stories begin with an idea that usually percolates in my imagination for a while. I take time to explore the concept and develop a premise, which I make sure I record before it slips my mind entirely. From there I create the story outline.

I am not what is known as a pantser, or someone who, working from just an idea, can create the entire novel on the fly. My outlines are detailed, laying out each scene of the entire story before I attempt to start writing. Even then, crafting a story rarely comes easily, because I tend to agonize over words and sentence construction, wanting to find the best way to convey my idea. If I don’t keep things interesting, people won’t read my stories and, after all, that’s why authors write, isn’t it?

Why am I taking the time to explain this? To give you, the reader, a brief description of the process many of us go through when we put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, to create a story. In the coming months and years you will have the opportunity to read our thoughts concerning the creative process in various forms, through posts on various issues we face as authors and glimpses into the research we conduct to ensure our fiction, especially of the historical variety, is accurate, to name just a few. Rest assured, excerpts will abound!

That’s not to say that future blogs on this site will focus solely on writing. Au contraire, we have a veritable cornucopia of themes for your reading enjoyment. So sit back and enjoy. Establish a habit of visiting the site regularly to enjoy the latest post, whether it’s one of our themed posts or a treatise on the latest nugget of information uncovered during research for our latest novel. I guarantee you will find our site amusing and informative, sometimes at the same time.