Both the Marys will be presenting at the Cedar Falls Christian Writer’s workshop in June; I’ll speak on Leaving a Legacy of Creativity and will also conduct a workshop on Writing Non-fiction Book Proposals. Mary Jedlicka Humston’s breakout session is titled “When Life’s Challenges Challenge Your Writing.”
I believe part of the reason I have been persistently and consistently writing for the last thirty years is due to the example of mentors who never stop writing, no matter what is going on in their life. That, and I’m pretty sure I would go stark raving mad if I did not take the time for writing.
One of those mentors is C. Hope Clark. I’ve considered C. Hope Clark a mentor ever since I read The Shy Writer. (since updated as The Shy Writer Reborn) As a fellow introvert, I wasn’t sure how I would face book-signings or public speaking, but thanks to her book and a great deal of hands-on experience, I’m now comfortable with both. Not only have I discovered a few markets for my writing from her FundsforWriters newsletter, Hope’s column and the short articles in it taught me a lot about the writing world. You can find some of them reprinted in the Best of FundsforWriters Vol. I. The fact that she actually took the time to reply to my e-mail with good advice when I asked about promotion and marketing shortly before my Coupon Crazy was released in 2013 facilitated that mentorship. Now, I follow her closely on Facebook, and respect her opinion on issues related to writing and publishing. This photo popped up on Hope’s Facebook page recently, followed by her comment Still writing.
When friends and well-wishers urged her to take it easy, to watch videos, and rest up, Hope added “Husband is down with a bad disc, and I’m guardian for both Alzheimer’s parents. Though in a nursing home, I have to get them to doctors and such, manage their finances, etc. Am trying to close a deal on their house next week. Several book appearances. The garden is planted and now needs weeding and the chickens have to be tended daily. So….I’m sort of worn out. But there really isn’t an alternative to just keep on doing.”
Talk about challenges! But Hope continues to write. In fact, she is working on a sequel to her newly released Newberry Sin, Book 4 in the Carolina Slade mystery series, which I recently interviewed her about.
Tell us about your fiction books and your newest release.
The fourth in the Carolina Slade Mysteries, “Newberry Sin” is set in an idyllic small Southern town where blackmail and sex are hush-hush until they become murder. Slade holds an investigative position with Agriculture similar to what I had. She works alongside Senior Special Agent Wayne Largo, a badge and gun-totin’ real agent with a specialty in agriculture. She loves her rural South Carolina almost as much as her family, and both are displayed front and center in both books. She might not understand how a real agent would investigate, but she usually gets her guy, with Wayne often grumbling about her methods along the way. Her family’s been sucked into her cases a time or two, raising the tension, and if they aren’t involved, they have catastrophes of their own. She’s spunky with dialogue that tends to kick up dust along the way. I have to say I love this woman. And she has a pretty strong fan club.
The Edisto Island Mysteries are entertaining in their own way. Set on a real island in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Callie Jean Morgan, born and raised in the Carolinas, leaves a dysfunctional family and moves north, marrying a Bostonian, both working in law enforcement. He dies as a result of one of her caseiddled with guilt and faced with a teenage son to raise, she returns to South Carolina. Her mayor dad gives her the deed to the family vacation home on Edisto Beach, and from there she builds her life back.
The characters in this book are to die for. They are colorful, humorous, and unique, much like you’d find amongst natives of a beach community. Tourism comes into play, and the series is as much about Callie’s growth as an individual as the crimes solved.
There are four Edisto mysteries with a fifth under contract. And by the way, this fifth will also find Slade from the first series, visiting Edisto and crossing Callie’s path. A fun experience for fans of both books.
To learn more about C. Hope Clark, or her books, click HERE.
Follow her on Facebook HERE.
Mary & Me 