Embracing the Neuroses

When I began writing a few years ago I was relieved to discover I wasn’t, in fact, going crazy. The voices in my head were characters, not entities that would ultimately land me in some sort of facility with structured visiting hours. This relief was short-lived, however.

Not too long after embarking on this journey I threw myself into with great fervor I came across a quote, by an anonymous author, I found most amusing. “The more I write, the more I understand why Hemingway shot himself and drank.” Two years and three manuscripts later? Not so funny anymore. Now this is not to say I have turned to the sauce or contemplated visiting a pawn shop in the middle of the night with all of the proper criminals, it’s just to say I can appreciate that quote. I’ve discovered what teetering on the edge of sanity can feel like.

I think if you ask any writer why they immerse themselves in this gut-wrenching, angst-inducing, whirlwind of a thrill ride we call writing for publication they will respond in a very matter-of-fact way. “Because I can’t not.” Crazy? Perhaps. But not nearly half as insane as walking away from it.

All that is left to do is embrace the neuroses. Accept that your characters will visit you in the most inopportune times (mine are partial to the shower when they know there isn’t a chance in hell I’ll be able to write anything down, and it is a near certainty I won’t remember what they’ve told me in its entirety by the time I get out—this delights them to no end). Realize that every time you put your work out there for review, a little piece of your heart will go with it. Learn what a gazillion years feels like (as you are waiting to hear back from a contest, editor, agent…fill in the blank here).Understand you will have to develop skin as thick as that of a rhinoceros to make it through the journey. And come to believe it’s okay to be a little crazy. At least that’s what the voices in my head tell me.

The latest product of the voices in my head, “Southern Exposure”, is now available from Ellora’s Cave. Here’s the blurb:

A quick trip to visit her hospitalized mother is lasting longer than Anna had expected. About twelve weeks longer. It’s not that she isn’t used to taking care of her mom—Anna took over that job when her father died—but it’s a little stressful vying for partnership in her New York law firm from Liberty, Alabama. Fortunately the neighbor, a hot Southern charmer, is willing to help her take the edge off.

 Since Trey breached her defenses, he and Anna have been burning up the sheets…and the side of the house…and the garden. The woman he’s coming to know is a far cry from the uptight lawyer he first met. And he likes the new Anna. A lot.

 As her feelings for Trey deepen, Anna is torn between duty and desire…what she wants versus what she thinks she needs. Returning to New York, reverting to the formidable attorney her father molded, is the responsible thing to do.

 Too bad that’s not the woman Trey wants…

Buy link: http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-9074-50-southern-exposure.aspx

Trailer link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Q8FNaLhUs

To learn more abut Kendall please visit her website and for a chance to win a copy o f Come Undone, just leave a comment.