Writers and Friends

I'm late getting around today. Well, not just today, but often lately. I'm looking out the window right now at redheaded woodpecker snacking at the suet feeder in the side yard. It's  kind of a gloomy day, and the friendly woodpecker and the brilliant green of freshly mown grass lighten things up considerably. 

It makes me think of the writing business. I've been writing for money (negligible, but still money) since I was in my 30s, for my soul since I was nine, and from my heart since the first time I two-fingered out a story on my aunt's typewriter. 

There is much I don't like about it anymore. I don't like that AI is sticking its ugly head so far into our business. I don't like that lack of respect for romantic fiction now has so many different sub-genres to disrespect and that in the age of anything goes social media, the sub-areas even show disrespect to each other. 

But I still like the books, don't you? Whether they're indie, trad, or hybrid. Even if you hate the kinds of covers that are trending right now, you like what's on the inside and you know that sometime soon, you'll like covers again. If you don't like present tense, you can avoid it--or give it a chance; same with first person. Sweet, spicy, erotic, paranormal, clean--there are plenty of all of them to go around. And there are no book police saying you should finish a book you don't like, write a hateful review because you can, or answer one of those FB conversation starters that go something like this: What are the worst books you've read this year?

As I usually do, I've gone way off course here. If this were a racetrack, I'd be sitting sideways in the infield wondering how I got there. 

Jan Scarbrough

Because what I wanted to talk about was other writers and the collectives they share. There are groups in every sub-genre, every publishing house, every group writing blog. There are communities of us who feel the same loyalty to our retired favorites as we did when we were preordering their books the first day they showed up on Amazon. If they released new books now, we'd still buy them the first day, read them the first afternoon, leave reviews before sleeping. 

With the recent losses of members of some of those groups, of the ones I knew and miss personally, Caroline Clemmons and Jan Scarbrough, more than communities have shrunk. Much more.

Because more than groups, collectives, or communities, writers are a circle of friends. At the end of our writing day, no matter how much gloom we encounter, what is known as a solitary endeavor isn't really at all. We all speak the same language, we virtually all have each other's backs. 

In the intersecting circles of our communities, we can always find the brightness. The woodpecker. The jewel-toned grass. Each other. 

I am grateful.  

Biography: write what you know by Jan Scarbrough

Whether it is the Bluegrass of Kentucky, the mountains of Montana, or Medieval England, Jan Scarbrough brings you home with romances from the heart.

Hi! My name is Jan Scarbrough. I’m new to the blogging group, but I’m not new to writing. In fact, after a life-threatening illness when I was thirty-eight, I decided it was time to make my dream of being a novelist come true. So, I did!

I’ll print my website biography, then comment on it so you’ll get to know me better.

The author of two popular Bluegrass series, Jan writes heartwarming contemporary romances about home and family, single moms and children, and if the plot allows, about another passion—horses. Living in the horse country of Kentucky makes it easy for Jan to add small town, Southern charm to her books and the excitement of a Bluegrass horse race or a competitive horse show.

“They” say to write what you know. I live in Kentucky, so I set many of my books in my home state. I’ve been a single mom and raised two children. I like to ride American Saddlebred horses, so some of my books involved the show horse world. I also own a very small percentage (think ½ per cent) of a few thoroughbred racehorses. I’ve stood with other owners in the paddock of Churchill Downs and walked with them to the owner’s seats. I haven’t been in the winner’s circle yet for a group picture, but there’s time.

The Ghost Mountain Ranch series contains a trilogy of three contemporary western books with a good blend of mystery and happily-ever-after romance.

I actually have two western series on KindleUnlimited. The Dawsons of Montana is about a family whose father dies. I’m working on the fourth book in that series now. You need to read at least three books of the Ghost Mountain Ranch series to find “who done it.”

Slade: Ghost Mountain Ranch is actually on sale for 99 cents until Saturday (10/09)

Jan leaves her contemporary voice behind with two paranormal gothic romances, Timeless and Tangled Memories, a Romance Writers of America (RWA) Golden Heart finalist. Her historical romance, My Lord Raven, is a medieval story of honor and betrayal.

Most of my writing career I couldn’t decide what I wanted to write, so I wrote two gothic romances and one medieval. I love all three of these books.

A member of Novelist, Inc., Jan self-publishes her books with her husband’s help.

Without Bill’s help, I couldn’t self-publish my titles. I have a great editor named Karen. That’s my team.

Jan lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with one rescued dogs, one rescued cat, and a husband she rescued twenty years ago. She needs a weekly horse fix and takes horseback riding lessons at Premier Stables and likes to volunteer at Alley Cat Advocates.

Our two corgis died this summer. So, what did we do? We went to the Kentucky Humane Society and adopted a sweet red tick coonhound named Bella! From eight short legs to four LONG ones! Slowly, we’re learning how to live in the city with a hunting dog. Oh, she’s already killed a backyard raccoon! They’re not called coonhounds for nothing!

I hope you take a look at my books. They won't cost much, and if you're on KindleUnlimited and like cowboys, you've got it made!