Writing Challenges, by Author Dianna T. Benson

Persephone’s Fugitive

Book Two,  Cayman Islands Trilogy

by

Dianna T. Benson

*** SPOILER ALERT *** Reading Persephone’s Fugitive (including the book blurb) before The Hidden Son (Book One in the Cayman Islands Trilogy) will ruin the ending of The Hidden Son. However, both books are standalones.

When a routine 911 call turns deadly, Paramedic Sara Dyer finds herself held at gunpoint by Jason Keegan, an injured psych-ward patient charged with murder. The situation spirals out of Sara’s control when the confrontation becomes a tense standoff between Keegan and the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service.

As Keegan’s hostage, Sara fights to save them both before he blows them up. She realizes his warning to the Cayman police is no empty threat since he’d rather die than spend the rest of his life in a prison cell. Sara soon discovers Keegan is just as determined to survive as she is - provided he can escape Grand Cayman and disappear forever. As she struggles to trust in God’s protection, help from an atheist turns her struggle into a lure away from her faith.

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Dianna T. Benson is the award-winning and international bestselling author of The Hidden Son and Final Trimester. Persephone’s Fugitive is her third release. An EMT and a HazMat and FEMA Operative since 2005, Dianna authentically implements her medical and rescue experience and knowledge into all her suspense novels. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and their three children. www.diannatbenson.com

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As with any career, life as a novelist has its thrilling peaks and dark valleys. In dealing with the valleys, self-doubt in myself as a writer often creeps in and I question my career choice. A publishing industry career is notorious for extreme highs and lows – Example: A glowing review on the same day with nothing but a blinking cursor or awful written pages going nowhere.

For me, one of the biggest challenges as an author is bouncing back and forth from the business side of writing to actually writing my fiction. So I’ve learned never to write on the days I have a radio/TV interview, a book signing, a speaking engagement, or any other type of marketing task. Whenever possible, I bunch my marketing together in the same week(s) and take time off writing. When I’m not releasing a new book, thus buried in marketing, then I dig in and focus on writing. Every writer is different and needs to find their way – what works for one writer, won’t work for another.      

Once my first book was released in 2013, the pressure was intense from readers/fans, all the kind reviews, etc. I realized it was imperative to produce the same caliber of book or better the second time. With every book, it’s expected to write just as good a book, if not better. That pressure mixed in and compounded with the stress from the severe medical issues my son, daughter, and husband were battling. However, I forced myself to push through, encouraging myself to write. The tactic backfired on me, causing me to hit writer burnout. I recently recovered from being burnt out by allowing myself time to have fun in life, enjoy reading and watching movies, spending time in nature; basically, I healed from writer burnout by being gentle to myself. My zeal never disappeared – I truly wanted to write, but resistance inside me locked up my creativity and buried my muse. Knowing my love to write is still so strong in spite of all of this, I was determined to fully heal from burnout and never allow myself to reach that point again by knowing the warning signs and refusing to ever ignore them. 

The life of a writer is a lonely one – we spend so much of our time writing about people for people yet we’re all alone. I’ve learned to appreciate the writer’s world by seeing the work force (not working from home) as a place where I’d need to deal with commuting, the negatives of co-workers, pointless rules, rigid daily hours/schedules, office politics, etc. Life is all about how we view it, isn’t it?

Yes, God gave me the gift to story-tell via the written word, but I chose this career, and apparently it chose me back. The statics are mind-boggling – 1% of people who say they want to write actually start writing; 1% of people who start writing actually finish a book; 1% of those people actually submit their manuscript; 1% of the people who submit are ever offered a publishing contract. So I beat those staggering odds and have published three books to date with my fourth scheduled to release next year. If I can achieve that, than I can overcome any challenge as a writer. What about you? What are your challenges as a writer and how do you push through and continue?    

Dianna's latest release, Persephone's Fugitive, is available on Amazon and at Books-A-Million and Barnes and Noble.