Please welcome author p.m. terrell author of The Misremembered Lighthouse to This Writer’s Life and as part of her book tour stop…
I get a lot of comments about the writer’s life, many of which are based on misconceptions. Some readers assume that a writer can choose to write whenever the urge hits them, or that writing a full-length book is easy and simple. Others take issue with a writer who can complete a book in less than several years, believing it to be inferior when it was written so fast, while others don’t understand why a writer can’t churn out new books as fast as they can read them.
In reality, the writer’s life is not for the faint of heart. To be successful, a writer must know how to control the nuances of language, the technicalities and benchmarks of each genre, expertly develop plot, characters, places, and events, and skillfully, methodically, and seamlessly weave hundreds of components together.
That is only the start. While the first book might be written at a writer’s leisure, if the writer is successful, subsequent books will be written while a publisher watches the calendar to ensure that every deadline is met. Failure to meet those deadlines can impact the entire production schedule.
Writers have to be thick-skinned and not attached to what they’ve written. Editors will tear apart some of the scenes and characters that the writer thought were the best. Readers and reviewers are sometimes ruthless, contradicting one another.
The flip side to being a writer is the ability to create characters and worlds, to live in the minds of people from varying time periods and countries, and discover how ordinary people react when placed in extraordinary situations. I have lived countless lifetimes in one. It is a solitary endeavor to a point, before switching to a full team for the middle and final stages.
Whether the writer is published by an indie press, one of the largest publishers, or somewhere in between, I have never met a writer who wasn’t required to participate in marketing and promotional campaigns. These might include a physical book tour, a media tour, a digital tour, and more. It requires a different set of skills that often feels like a carnival barker shouting into the void. It also takes place while you’re writing the next book. The writer must shift seamlessly between the two roles and two books until the marketing campaigns have ended.
Writing has given me the life of my dreams. My first book was published in 1984, and I have seen multiple changes in the publishing industry. Some have been fabulous, such as eBooks placed in the readers’ hands instantaneously. Others have been disastrous, such as big box bookstores snapping up smaller ones and then closing them. (Remember You’ve Got Mail?) And with others, such as AI, the jury is still out.
One thing’s for certain: I wouldn’t want to do anything else.
GENRE: Mystery
BLURB:
While researching her next book, historian and author Hayley Hunter rents a lighthouse in Southeastern North Carolina. The modern lighthouse and vacation home replaced an original wood structure that only functioned during the Revolutionary War. The old lighthouse may be long gone, but the lightkeeper’s ghost remains.
Hayley becomes increasingly obsessed with finding why the spirit of Jonathan Corbyn lingers between realms. Joined by her lover Shay MacGregor, her search will take her into a world of spies, double agents, and espionage at the dawn of American democracy.
EXCERPT
As the waitress returned with our meal, I said hesitantly, “I’ve been experiencing some activity.”
“Activity?” Shay repeated, puzzled.
As we leisurely consumed our meals, I told him of the white German shepherd, the Native American, and my discovery of Beckett Dikshita outside my door. I held back from mentioning the disembodied voice I thought I’d heard. For some reason I couldn’t explain, I felt that discussing Jon was a betrayal of him. He might have died over two centuries ago, but he felt very much alive to me.
When I was finished, Shay’s eyes were narrowed in thought. “I’m relieved you changed the locks and set up the cameras,” he said thoughtfully. “I think we should make it a habit for the locals to see us together, don’t you think? Give them the impression that there are two of us there. As isolated as you say it is, I don’t fancy the idea of the village folk believing you’re there all alone.”
“I agree, though the locals so far have consisted only of Argo and Beckett Dikshita.” I didn’t want to ask exactly how long he would remain before he was due back in Ireland for his job at the university. It seemed that doing so would hasten his departure. “And what do you think of the—unexplained—” I hesitated.
“Ghosts?” he offered. “Apparitions? You didn’t believe a Native American and disappearing dog would get past me, did you? Well, you’ve come to an expert on that as well.”
“Oh?” I chided. “You’re an expert?”
He chewed his food thoughtfully before becoming serious. “The Irish have a different mindset when it comes to spirits, they do,” he said, his voice softening. He cleared his throat. “You Americans have such a physical approach to life; you tend to think that when a person’s body ceases to function, their soul is taken away as well.”
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
My full name is Patricia McClelland Terrell, and I have been writing under the pen name p.m.terrell ever since a publisher presented me with my first fiction book cover.
The graphic designer had also entered my name in lower-case letters; my editor hated it, and I loved it. It’s been p.m.terrell ever since.
I began writing when I was nine years old, inspired by a schoolteacher and elementary school principal. Scott-Foresman published my first book, a computer instructional for universities, in 1984. Scott-Foresman, Dow-Jones (Richard D. Irwin branch), Palari Publishing, Paralee Press, and Drake Valley Press have published 26 books to date.
Before embarking on a full-time writing career, I founded McClelland Enterprises, Inc. in the Washington, D.C. area in 1984, specializing in computer instruction for employees in the workplace. I opened another business, Continental Software Development Corporation, in 1994, which focused on custom application development, programming, website design and development, and computer crime.
I was honored to be the first female President of the Chesterfield County/Colonial Heights Crime Solvers. I also served as the Treasurer for the Virginia Crime Stoppers Association. Since moving to North Carolina, I served on the Robeson County Friends of the Library and Robeson County Arts Council.
I launched The Book ‘Em Foundation with Waynesboro, Virginia Police Officer Mark Kearney, and assisted in Virginia, New Hampshire, and South Carolina events before establishing the Annual Book ‘Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair, chairing it for several years before turning it over to Robeson Community College in Lumberton, NC.
Links:
Website: https://pmterrell.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pmterrell.author/
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-misremembered-lighthouse/id6749962807
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-misremembered-lighthouse-pm-terrell/1148042055
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FM4D9YTB
All other eBook formats: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1832068
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
p.m. terrell will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
https://kingsumo.com/g/107qkq3/the-misremembered-lighthouse”>