70 Acres and a Whole Lot of Suspense – A Glimpse Inside My Writing World! Plus, an Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!

 Thanks to Cyndi Newlin, Lela White, Terri Fleming, DeeAnn Kraft, Lisa Romeo and Sarah Warren from my wonderful readers group for coming up with today’s blog topic when I was drawing a blank. You guys are great.

When I look back on how I became a writer, I see God’s hand everywhere. I grew up a reader and then, as a pre-teen, tried my hand at writing on a typewriter much like the one pictured above. Even though I keep plugging away for years, I never really thought I could be a writer...until 2012, when everything changed.

^{I entered a writing contest hosted by Love Inspired Suspense and} was selected to pitch my book before Editor Emily Rodmell. Unfortunately, at the time I was in Colorado in the mountains without internet or cell service. I thought about giving up but felt God’s urging not to. My hubby and I drove to the small town of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, where I found service in front of the Ace Hardware store. I did my pitch in the car and was so nervous I’m not sure what I said. Emily must have liked it because she asked for a partial, and later, a full manuscript. In December, I sold my first book, Forgotten Past, to Love Inspired Suspense. I still can’t believe it at times.

^{My husband and I live on 70 acres in the heart of Texas. The land has been in his family for many years. We no longer have horses or other animals except for one very spoiled dog who creates his own adventures in which I’m allowed to go on through the walks we take each day. For a suspense author, having woods and fields—an old stock tank—and an overactive imagination, well, it’s fertile ground for danger. I can’t tell you how many of my books have started through one of our walks.}  

^{Though we live in the middle of 70 acres, we do have a wonderful group of neighbors that live down our county road, and several of these dear people read my books faithfully. They are all so encouraging.}

^{I’m a fifth generation Texan. I grew up in a small town of around 1000 people. Later, I moved to Austin where I met my hubby. So, I guess you can say Texas is in my blood.}

^{Balancing writing and my personal life can be tricky. I normally set goals for myself each day, whether it be accomplishing a certain number of words written or plotting out my next book. But as you all can attest to, life has a way of taking priority over everything, including writing schedules things. When that happens, I’m like GPS, when you change your direction, I’m constantly recalculating. Somehow, it works for me.}

^{The writing process can be described as exciting, satisfying, and unbelievably stressful all at one time, and boy, is that true.}

One of my favorite parts of writing is starting a new book. When the story idea first takes place, I can let my imagination run free and I usually spend a couple of days drafting it out in my head. Then comes the research part of the story, where finding the perfect setting is key. I’m drawn to remote mountain areas because they seem to both speak of God’s majesty and create suspense.  

^{Once I have an idea of the storyline and I know my setting, then I start the actual writing process. Staring at a blank page can be daunting. Sometimes, the words flow freely, while other times, when writer’s block happens, I can’t string together two words to save my life. It’s easy to give into the doubts and give up during those times, and trust me, I’ve tried, but God always steps in and give me a nudge by reminding me this is what I’m supposed to be doing for Him.}

^{While creating a story is one of my favorite parts, dealing with deadline is my least. It never fails—no matter how much planning is involved to make deadlines on time, something always comes up to obliterate my carefully laid plans. When that happens, my schedule goes out the window and I work until I get the job done, even it means late at night. It sometimes feels like you pour blood, sweat, and tears into the process. Recently, I had two tight deadlines and ended up having to write a 50K book in two weeks. That was stressful! I consumed way too much coffee and junk food to deal with the stress, but I got it done and I hope I never have to do that again.} 

^{When I’m not writing, my husband and I live simple lives. Saturdays are reserved for our granddaughter. We spend the day with her and it’s always a blast. And I’m grateful for the day away from writing to relax and rejuvenate.}   

^{This month we celebrate Thanksgiving. And every year around this time, I always go back to when I was growing up. We always had huge gatherings at Thanksgiving. Everyone would either come to our place or we’d go to my grandfather’s house. When it was at our place, my mom made everything from scratch, and I watched and learned from her. I still make her Thanksgiving meal each year and I’m grateful for all the lessons she taught me even when she didn’t realize I was paying attention.}  

^{One of my favorite things that she made was her cornbread dressing. Today, I thought I’d share her simple recipe with you all.}

Old Fashioned Cornbread Dressing Like My Mom Made

Ingredients

2 (15 ounce) packages of Jiffy Cornbread mix prepared according to package (I make the cornbread ahead of time)

1 package of Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage cooked and drained.

1 small onion

½ cup celery (optional)

3-4 boiled eggs chopped 

 1 egg, beaten

2 cups chicken stock (you may need more as the cornbread absorbs the stock as you cook and you want the dressing to be moist) 

2 tablespoons dried sage (you may need more as this is something you season to your own taste)  

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions

1 Prepare the dry corn bread mix according to package directions. Cool and crumble.

2 Prepare sausage according to directions.

3 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9x13 inch baking dish.

4 In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and sauté the celery (I don’t use celery, but some people prefer to add it) and onion until soft.

4 In a large bowl, combine the celery, onions, 3 cups crumbled corn bread, sausage, boiled eggs, beaten egg, chicken stock, sage and salt and pepper to taste; mix well.

5 Place into prepared dish and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

Make sure you check on it periodically so that it doesn’t dry out, adding additional chicken stock as needed.  

^{So, that’s my writing story. It’s been a journey filled with learning, and God picking up the pieces of my mistakes and making them work out for His glory.}   

^{For a chance to win a $10.00 Amazon Gift card, have you ever had something happen in your life that you knew came straight from God? Be sure to include your email address in your comments!}    

^{Until next time dear friends, wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!}   

^{Mary Alford}