Reinventing Yourself at 60! by Author Linda Glaz

Writing for nineteen years without publication can be a daunting and discouraging thing, but who knows what might be right around the corner?

If I had quit. Had given up. Had become so discouraged that I finally said, “Enough!” I would have missed out on the greatest changes in my life.

At fifty-nine I finally met my agent, Terry Burns, and began in earnest to get my work ready for submission. Rewrites, more rewrites, and then a few rewrites later, Terry sent out my romantic suspense novel.

While we didn’t get any bites on that novel, I did write a short novella, Polar Bear Plunge, that was picked up by White Rose for a Christmas special. I did the edits, saw the cover, and I was hooked.

Around the same time, Terry added me to his “posse” of editorial assistants. For two years, I continued to write and was immersed in learning the industry from the inside.

Shortly thereafter, I contracted with Heartsong for three novels to release in 2013, including August’s release, The Substitute Bride. Then the sequel to Polar Bear Plunge at White Rose, Miss Fishfly. Following the release of the first Heartsong novel, I was contracted for three more to release in 2014.

Why am I telling you all of this? For a pat on the back? No. For sales? No (well, maybe some). Seriously, to let you know one very important thing:

NEVER quit. If you are called, you never know just what God has in store for you. At 59, I signed with Terry. At 60 I became an editorial assistant. At 61, Polar Bear Plunge released and I joined Hartline as an agent. At 62, Heartsong took a chance on this newbie, and at 63 the first book released, a WWII novel, With Eyes of Love, followed by the sequel, Always, Abby.

Life is not over at 60, it is only beginning. And only you can decided what that life will include. Had anyone told me I would be an agent as well as an author with Hartline, I would have laughed. “Are you kidding? I’m 61 years old!” But many wonderful things have been done in the world with folks over 60:

Agatha Christie, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Grandma Moses, George Bernard Shaw, Michaelangelo, to name just a few, all way over 60 when they did their greatest works.

Are you one of them? Are you ready to toss aside age and go for it?

Join me in this exciting writing life. Never give up your dreams. Be open to what God has in store for you, because it’s more than you could ever imagine on your best day.

60? 

Shucks…That’s nothing. I plan to be writing well into my nineties. Maybe more. 

You just never know!

Join me in celebrating my western romance, The Substitute Bride, about a young woman who loses her memory in a train derailment. Will the man waiting for her know who she is? Or will she fight the feelings she has for this total stranger?

Come back Friday for a chance to win a copy of Linda's latest release!

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Corset Writing

I could have called this "Tight Writing" but the corset thing really was more fun, don't you think?

What is tight writing? Er, Corset Writing?

Okay, okay, tight writing shows when a writer can take an incident, no matter how small, then use that incident to mold the characters action or reaction later on.

For example. Your heroine wakes up to a beautiful morning. All is well until. . .she spills a bowl of cereal down the front of her silk suit. Now she is rushing to clean up the mess, change, and get to work on time.

Later, Mr. Right comes up to her as she is busily working on the computer. She's in no mood to melt into a puddle because the spill made her late for work and the boss noticed. So Mr. Right's conversation starter is shot down by heroine's terse responses. Then Mr. Right does something sweet. He makes a paper airplane and flies it into her cubicle with an invitation to lunch scrawled on the wing. Heroine's irritation begins to melt away. . .

Ahhhh. . .

Keep in mind, the longer the book, the harder it is to write tight. But every event should have some tie to the main event and show different aspects of your main character's personality.

Winners of last weeks contest: Bluerose AND Angie. Oh, and Lisa can have a book too. She is my fan club.

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