5:00 AM
I didn't start writing until my youngest was in high
school. Sure, I'd always written fun newsy letters and gotten As in creative
writing classes, but it wasn't until 2002 that I decided I had an itch that
needed scratching. If I was ever going to learn this writing gig, the time was
NOW.
From the beginning, my husband (the recipient of many of
those letters back in the day) was very encouraging. I'll go a step farther and
say that whatever harebrained ideas I've come up with over the years, he always
believed in me, from selling Tupperware to taking a correspondence course in
interior design to my most recent passion: writing fiction.
He's just as thrilled to see a new novel go
"live" on Amazon as I am, and often tells me—and others—how proud he
is of me.
My granddaughters are so young they neither know that
having an author for a grandmother is not common, nor can they remember life any
other way. But here's one of my favorite photos of my youngest granddaughter
last summer when my box of Raspberries
and Vinegar arrived.
My kids are both married. My son, who's the daddy of the sweetie
in the above photo, thinks it's cool he grew up drinking my book titles, Raspberries and Vinegar and Wild Mint Tea.
My daughter-in-law says, "I think it's inspiring to
have a role model who's always loved books and took the leap to write and get
published after her kids were grown and
And my daughter? Her name is Hanna Sandvig, and she's a
very creative person in her own right. I've often wished she would write a
book, as she has a natural rhythm and voice for storytelling. She started a YA
novel a few years back, but she couldn't get past drawing the characters.
Yep, she's an artist and illustrator, and we all know
there are only so many passions one can have in life. Digital art is hers,
after her family, of course. I'm glad we saw an artistic bent in her when she
was little and bought her all the crayons, chalk, watercolors, and paints she
wanted, as well as art and sculpture classes when opportunities arose. She
taught herself digital art in high school art classes and has developed, as an
adult, a very unique style that I love.
About a year ago I decided to self-publish a novel that
had made the rounds of the bigger houses to no avail. I decided I believed in
this story and the series it kicked off, that it contained timely topics—local
food and environmentalism—and that God was moving me forward in a slightly
different direction.
After congratulating me, the first thing Hanna said was,
"And I get to do the cover, right?" Of course, right! Very shortly
after that, I was offered—and accepted—a contract for that novel from Choose
NOW Publishing. My new publisher asked if I had any ideas for the cover, and I
mentioned that my daughter had been sketching ideas.
To make a long story short, we sent the sketch in, my
publisher liked what she saw and contracted my daughter, and we've all been
delighted with the results ever since! The second book in the series, Wild Mint Tea, just released, and I love
this cover even more than the first one…if that's even possible.
I can't begin to describe the honor it is to share these
books with Hanna. We'd both had a couple of smaller successes before—me with a
novella in Rainbow's End (Barbour,
2012) and her with several pieces of wedding cake art in the pages of Sandra
Bricker's Always the Baker, Finally the
Bride (Abingdon, 2013). But to share my first solo novel with her first
cover art? It busts the buttons of my pride.
Wild Mint Tea
http://valeriecomer.com/mint is dedicated to my daughter, Hanna. Not only is
she one of my top cheerleaders and my favorite artist, she's a mom who gardens
and cooks from scratch and cares about the quality of her daughters' food.
It's a passion she and I share with my daughter-in-law.
In fact, quality food from scratch is a huge driver for our entire family. It's
a way of life that has become the foundation of the Farm Fresh Romance series,
which is a unique farm lit http://farmlit.com
series that follows the adventures, romantic and otherwise, of three college
graduates who move onto a reclaimed farm where they plan to take the rural area
by storm with their sustainable lifestyle and focus on local foods.
Wild Mint Tea
released March first, and it's the second book in the series.
She’s rooted
deep. He flies free.
Local-foods
chef Claire Halford envisions turning Green Acres Farm into an event
destination. Weddings prove trickier than she imagined when the first one comes
with a ruggedly handsome brother-of-the-bride, who has everything but a fixed
address. Oh, and faith in God.
Noel
Kenzie loves the freedom his reforestation company affords him. Why worry about
deep stuff like God and commitment when he’s in his prime? Except there’s a
woman who might make it worth giving up his wings…and digging in some roots. If
he dares.
PS. What do my other granddaughters think of Grandma being an author?
The two-year-old doesn't have an opinion, but she's the most avid book lover of
the bunch and will easily spend half an hour "reading" to herself. Her
current favorite is Curious George.
The eldest was 3 1/2 when Raspberries
and Vinegar released last summer. She held the book up proudly and said to
her mom, "Look, Mommy, it's your picture! Your lovely picture that you
maded!" To her, that's the most important part of the family affair, and I
think that's just as it should be.
