Patty Wiseman: Where it All Started

This month’s guest blog post is from Award Winning Patty Wiseman who writes stories of strong women overcoming insurmountable odds. From historical to contemporary these romantic and suspenseful tales carry the message of survival by extraordinary women. Find Patty on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and Amazon.

WHERE IT ALL STARTED

I was that kid with the flashlight under the covers every night. The minute I learned how letters formed words and words formed sentences which turned into stories, I was hooked.

HOW ONE PERSON CAN BE AN INFLUENCE

My first-grade teacher, Mrs. Bell, really had the most impact on my love of reading. Oh my, could she tell a story! The classroom was transfixed when she read to us. Forty-odd years later and she is still the one I think of when I look back at how it all started.

Books became my escape. I always carried an armful of books home from the school library, read into the night, only to return them the next day for another stack. I devoured them.

A LACK OF CONFIDENCE HELD ME BACK

All this reading lit a flame in my heart to explore the writing world. I won poetry contests in high school, secretly wrote short stories that never saw the light of day. There wasn’t a lot of encouragement for me back then.

When I married and had children, the spark grew brighter as I read to my children. I wanted to write that book burning in my heart so badly. Again, I received little encouragement.

Fast-forward into my twenty-five-year career in a financial institution, a divorce, raising my boys as a single mom and writing fell by the wayside.

REBIRTH OF A DREAM!

A second marriage, a man who lived to fulfill my every wish, and once more, the writing bug latched on and wouldn’t let go. My husband encouraged me to retire from my job and throw myself into writing full-time.
Seven years later, I have eight books published and tons of ideas for the next seven years.

The moral of this story is…never give up on your dream. Years may pass, but the dream can ultimately come true. Keep moving forward, even if life gets in the way.

Writing is my full-time life now. Sometimes, I look back and say ‘I should have done this sooner. Look at all the time I wasted.’ The truth is, it wasn’t my time then. It’s my time now and I fully embrace it.

Follow your dream, don’t snuff out the light by getting discouraged, because just around the corner you may meet that dream head on.

Be sure to check out Patty Wiseman’s website and be inspired!

What are you goals for 2018?