The story will come. And it will not always arrive at the time in your life that you think it should. My first book took THREE years to write because, for about a year, I was forcing a story that I thought the reader wanted to hear. Then I stopped and took a breath. And I started writing mumble jumble, blogs, short stories, which led to my book being created. Not in the original time frame- but when the story was right in my head. So my advice- don't force it.
My second piece of advice, which goes against what I just said, is when your book is at that editing stage (and you are excited about it), start promoting it. Start pushing your book!!!!! Don't wait to get the author's copy. Don't wait until it's on Amazon. Build the hype. Create teasers. Make bad clips that eventually become great clips. Make social media friends. Interact with other writers, artists, long-lost cousins, and support them. I promise, when the time comes- they will support you back.
There are hours of research that go into each one of my books. From simple google searches to in-depth discussions with historians or researchers in a particular field. I once spent a week mapping out how I spent my days, and it came out to four hours of research for every hour spent writing. And even then, sometimes I think I could have done more or found other exciting bits of information that are not readily known about the periods I am writing on.
My mother taught me the beauty of the untold story at a young age. The story that had been not written or was changed throughout history. She taught me that there were inconsistencies in history, and it was an easter egg hunt to find them. And that translated to a love of history- myths, and fables. Where did they come from? Was there truth in them?
While in the military, I traveled to some crazy places where I met some beautiful people and explored their cultures. I often questioned their myths and legends. Was there truth in them? Why did I not know them? And wouldn't it be great if the world could know these colorful stories that would typically be confined to the country's borders?
I wanted to tell the stories... and now I am here.
