In celebration of almost finishing Cursing Django, the follow up book to Stopping Inertia. I am finally making a blog entry - better late than never, right?
I started writing Stopping Inertia in 2008 after the name came to me on my morning walk through hilly Montpelier, Vermont. I wanted to write a Forrest Gump-esque story about a girl named Inertia who never faced her problems, repeating the same mistakes again and again. In the process she would have adventures, and help others in dire situations all while she avoided to confront her own fears, wrecked relationships, Daddy issues, etc.
Needless to say, the book didn't end up like I had planned. Instead it was a love story about a woman, Grace, who lived her life as a recluse until she stumbled upon a car accident. Grace witnesses a baby fly out of a car while the assumed parents plummet down the mountain to their deaths. Grace claims the baby girl as her own, naming her Inertia and raising her with her best friend. Years later, Inertia is pivotal in removing a curse that was responsible for killing off Grace's family and loved ones.
Like any writer, there's a lot of myself in the characters, not to mention my family. I was raised by depression babies in the eighties, which meant there was a huge generation gap between us. I was also an only child who got to hang out with adults all of the time - I got to listen to their stories about growing up poor in West Virginia. This also influenced my writing. My father came from carny stock and my mother was the daughter of a civil engineer and housewife. Both grew up without electricity for a majority of their childhood and teenage years, but ended up getting out of poverty and relocating to Washington, DC, where I was born and raised.
Most of my life I was embarrassed by my parents because of their country connection. I mean, I was attending the same school as Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell's kids, how could I compete? I did my best to speak with a standard American accent, learn about the finer things in life and disassociate myself with anything that had to do with the region west of Chantilly, Virginia. I vowed that I would move to a big city (DC just wasn't big enough for me) to be successful at being successful; pretentious, I am fully aware (it was the eighties after all).
After surviving college, working in the restaurant industry, moving to Montpelier, Vermont (not the big city), working in the quilting industry and doing some penance in the online radio realm, it was time to embrace my roots. I set Stopping Inertia in Elk Garden, West Virginia, hometown of my Father and started focusing on Character bios. The character bios are what molded the Stopping Inertia story.
I told everyone about the book while I was writing it. Sometimes I felt like I was forcing it on people; thanks Eileen for your kind encouragement. Finally, on Valentine's Day 2009 I accomplished my goal, to finish. Writing the book made me relaxed and cheerful, plus it assisted in curing my insomnia. I will put it out there now, I am not a great linguist, but I enjoy telling stories.
Flash forward to 2017, I am close to that feeling of accomplishment again, but with a lot more knowledge under my belt which comes with a new type of trepidation. The first book is a cute novice's try and I feel like I am really getting it right with the second. If you like a sweet story about embracing who you are and taking care of your family, all with a bit of a supernatural twist, then you will love Stopping Inertia.
I started writing Stopping Inertia in 2008 after the name came to me on my morning walk through hilly Montpelier, Vermont. I wanted to write a Forrest Gump-esque story about a girl named Inertia who never faced her problems, repeating the same mistakes again and again. In the process she would have adventures, and help others in dire situations all while she avoided to confront her own fears, wrecked relationships, Daddy issues, etc.
Needless to say, the book didn't end up like I had planned. Instead it was a love story about a woman, Grace, who lived her life as a recluse until she stumbled upon a car accident. Grace witnesses a baby fly out of a car while the assumed parents plummet down the mountain to their deaths. Grace claims the baby girl as her own, naming her Inertia and raising her with her best friend. Years later, Inertia is pivotal in removing a curse that was responsible for killing off Grace's family and loved ones.
Like any writer, there's a lot of myself in the characters, not to mention my family. I was raised by depression babies in the eighties, which meant there was a huge generation gap between us. I was also an only child who got to hang out with adults all of the time - I got to listen to their stories about growing up poor in West Virginia. This also influenced my writing. My father came from carny stock and my mother was the daughter of a civil engineer and housewife. Both grew up without electricity for a majority of their childhood and teenage years, but ended up getting out of poverty and relocating to Washington, DC, where I was born and raised.
Most of my life I was embarrassed by my parents because of their country connection. I mean, I was attending the same school as Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell's kids, how could I compete? I did my best to speak with a standard American accent, learn about the finer things in life and disassociate myself with anything that had to do with the region west of Chantilly, Virginia. I vowed that I would move to a big city (DC just wasn't big enough for me) to be successful at being successful; pretentious, I am fully aware (it was the eighties after all).
After surviving college, working in the restaurant industry, moving to Montpelier, Vermont (not the big city), working in the quilting industry and doing some penance in the online radio realm, it was time to embrace my roots. I set Stopping Inertia in Elk Garden, West Virginia, hometown of my Father and started focusing on Character bios. The character bios are what molded the Stopping Inertia story.
I told everyone about the book while I was writing it. Sometimes I felt like I was forcing it on people; thanks Eileen for your kind encouragement. Finally, on Valentine's Day 2009 I accomplished my goal, to finish. Writing the book made me relaxed and cheerful, plus it assisted in curing my insomnia. I will put it out there now, I am not a great linguist, but I enjoy telling stories.
Flash forward to 2017, I am close to that feeling of accomplishment again, but with a lot more knowledge under my belt which comes with a new type of trepidation. The first book is a cute novice's try and I feel like I am really getting it right with the second. If you like a sweet story about embracing who you are and taking care of your family, all with a bit of a supernatural twist, then you will love Stopping Inertia.
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