This week, I have a journey full of great writer's tips. Please welcome author Nell Dixon as she shares her personal journey and offers up some helpful advice to becoming an author.

NELL'S JOURNEY
Things I Wished People Had Told Me

When I first started sending out my writing for publishers and agents to consider and the inevitable stream of rejections began to come back I had a grumble list of things I wanted to know. Why didn’t my story work for them? How could I make it better? I’d read all the books in the line, looked to see what the latest trends were, had followed the instructions to the nth degree. So when would it be my turn?

Now, as a dual award winning author with fifteen books under my belt, and having worked with a variety of publishers from the big London print houses to the tiniest of E publishers and all shades in between I think, I hope, I’ve picked up a few things along the way.

Number One, yes be aware of the trends, know the market for the kind of book you want to write but write a book you love. A book you believe in, don’t be a pale imitation of someone else. Don’t be scared to let your voice shine out on the page.

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It's time again for another journey as part of this Writer's Journey series. Please welcome author Rachel Van Dyken as she shares her personal journey to becoming an author.

RACHEL'S JOURNEY

Someone asked me today how I got started in writing. I gave a nervous laugh and then went totally blank. I mean completely blank. I even think my mouth was gaping open. Anyone who has ever been on the "writers" journey can probably attest to a similar experience. I mean where do you really begin? And how do you put it into a story that's even remotely interesting or that people who have never been rejected by billions of publishers, will understand?

I'm ashamed to say I did not, in fact, redeem myself. Instead I said something silly about writing a bunch of manuscripts and shamelessly begging for someone to publish me until finally someone said yes and took a chance.

In hindsight, I could have told my journey a lot better. I am a writer, after all. You'd think I would know how to convey the heartache and excitement that goes along with being a writer. Maybe it's difficult for me to explain because there is so much emotion and detail behind it.

Now, after having thought about it...I think this is how I would have started...

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Today I am thrilled to welcome fellow Astraea author, Rebekah Purdy. Rebekah's book, The Fairy Godmother Files, releases today.

REBEKAH'S RELEASE DAY INTERVIEW

Liz: Hi Rebekah, and welcome to my blog! I am so happy to have you.
Rebekah: Thanks so much for having me!!!

Liz: How many books have you written?
Rebekah: Well, I’ve written several books, but The Fairy Godmother Files: Cinderella Complex is my 3rd one to get published.

Liz: What is your favorite genre to write?
Rebekah: Oohhh, I love to write YA Fantasy/Urban Fantasy. Anything with the fantastic/magic in it.

Liz: What is the most difficult part of writing for you?
Rebekah: Probably the beginnings. It’s always hard to figure out where to start. Like do I come out with a kick-butt fighting scene or do I work into the storyline in a more subtle way.

Liz: Where do you like to write?
Rebekah: Well, I like to write places where there’s a great view of the outdoors, but I normally write from my work office (LOL).

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It is now the third week in this Writer's Journey series and I am pleased to introduce author Cherie Waggie as she shares her personal journey to becoming an author.

CHERIE'S JOURNEY

I grew up on a ranch outside the town of Pawhuska, Oklahoma. I had one sister, who was older than me by six years, and two brothers, one a year older, one a year younger. My brothers and I were very close and they were my only playmates away from school. In 1963 we lost both boys in a drowning accident.

There was no one to play with so I had to find ways to entertain myself. I became good at pretend, always making up stories which I enacted usually in the woods along the creek or out in the pasture, or when I was riding my horse. I started writing these stories down when I was ten, just to see if I could do it.

We were a family of readers, so books were a constant. I love to read, and my sister was a spelling bee champion, so words just came natural. I kept my stories in a three ring binder that I took to school one day when I was a freshman in high school. One of the girls asked to borrow it and I was a senior before I ever saw it again. According to her, everyone in school had wanted to read it. I don't know why. I didn't have any friends and mostly stayed to myself. My classmates bullied me for the most part, so I didn't know why they'd want to read my stories.

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