Sandy Lender’s Introduction Cont.

While Sandy is away this evening, let me share, sincerely, that she is not just my author, but she has become a friend of mine. You don’t live with someone for twenty years without becoming the best of friends. (Or the worst of enemies—which I think is what this society uses divorce for. In the society from which I hail, we call it “denouncing,” and it’s usually a heart-wrenching ceremony. No one goes into it lightly.)

But I wished to introduce her by describing the writing style of the author of Choices Meant for Gods, which will be released from ArcheBooks Publishing this spring (possibly as early as March, probably in April). First of all, I’ve watched Sandy go through the trials and tribulations of seeking out a literary agent (which she quit doing when she figured out that agents are the gatekeepers set in place to keep aspiring authors out of the publishing world). I’ve watched her write and edit and re-write and re-edit this book until she had something she was proud of. I’ve watched her prepare for a pitch session with a publisher when everyone told her she “couldn’t” go straight to a publisher and “couldn’t” pitch a novel as long as the one she had in hand. My point here is I know she’s determined and not afraid to take risks if it means getting what she wants out of life.

I’ve watched her scribble notes on envelopes, napkins, scraps of paper, index cards, paper towels, whatever was handy when some bit of dialogue or some new concept came to her. I have to admit that I’m one of the worst of us characters for waking her up in the morning demanding she write something down so she doesn’t forget it. And I will freely admit now that I’m proud of her for not grumbling at me (or Henry or Rohne or Mother or my beautiful Amanda or anyone else when we do this to her). And that’s her writing process in a nutshell. We wake her up or walk up to her when she’s in line at the grocery store making demands of her and she has no choice but to write down what we’re telling her or we’ll all forget it by the time she gets to the computer. It’s why I’ve learned to steer her car for her…

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender