by Tiffany Odekirk, author of Summerhaven Collector’s Edition

As a young child I often asked my grandmother to tell me a story from her mouth, meaning tell me a story about her life not from a book. I loved sitting on her lap and listening to the sound of her voice, and it planted in me a love of story. As I grew into a school-aged girl, every night before bed, my father read bedtime stories to me. I’d beg for just one more chapter, which he happily obliged, and my love of story sprouted and took root. And when I was able to read on my own, I would often stay up late reading by flashlight under the covers until my eyes wouldn’t stay open—I am forever grateful to my mother who pretended not to know because during that time my creativity began to blossom.

The first story I ever penned was written while on a vacation—even then, at the tender age of twelve, my story was a romance that contained a love triangle. I wished I’d had more time to nurture the tender sapling growing within me, but during high school and college, my schedule was so demanding that I had to set aside reading and writing for pleasure to focus on assigned reading and essay writing. Unfortunately, I didn’t make way back to reading and writing until I was married with three small children.

After the birth of my third child, I began experiencing baby blues. Having a family history of postpartum depression, I quickly reached out for help from family and friends for support. I also focused on nutrition, exercise, getting enough sleep (a difficult task, considering I had three children who weren’t sleeping through the night yet), but it wasn’t enough, and I felt myself sinking. It was then that I had a thought come into my mind: read.

I started with Twilight. I devoured those books! As I read about Bella falling in love with Edward, my mood lifted. I became ravenous for books, reading during the kids’ naptime and after they’d gone to sleep for the night. It was a welcome and wonderful respite from the real world. Within six months, I felt my creativity coming back to life. 

The funny thing about growing older though: while I might have been more capable of writing, I was too terrified to actually do it! What if someone saw? Would they think my story was silly? Yes. And, did I really have time? No. Writing a story, let alone a novel, felt like an impossible dream. I continued imagining stories, but I wasn’t brave enough to type more than a note or two. And then, one day at the gym, while running on the treadmill, I heard a song and it sparked a story idea so strong that I had to attempt to write it.

I started slowly, chugging away at it a little each night. I had no idea what I was doing, but I enjoyed being whisked away into a world of my own making immensely! When I was about halfway through writing it, I decided I needed assistance. I wrote an author that I admired—I still don’t know how I got the courage to do that!—and a day or so later, I received a reply.

I could hardly believe that the author had written me back, and it turned out that she lived only ten-minutes away from me. She suggested we meet at a local park (she was a mom of young kids too) and talk about story. I won’t lie, I was nervous! This was the first time I was admitting to anyone that I was attempting to write a novel. As I walked up to the park that day, I felt like an imposter, but I am glad I did it! That day, while watching our children play, she not only gave me resources to get my story going again, but she also gave me beautiful advice: The best way to learn to write a story is to write a story. To me, this meant that I would best learn the lessons I needed to develop my craft by actually doing it.

And so I did.

I wrote and rewrote that manuscript, and about a year and half later, I’d completed my first novel. Not long later, it was accepted for publication. My publishing path has not been without struggle—I often feel like an imposter and have to trick myself into writing my stories—but I have now written and published four full-length novels and two novellas.

My advice to anyone who may feel like they have an impossible dream is to dare to go for it. Write that novel! Run that marathon! Plant that garden! You never know where your dream will take you, or who it might bless along the way.

Love,
Tiffany Odekirk 🙂

NEW! Summerhaven Collector’s Edition: This beautiful collector’s edition includes the never-before-published novella, “The Making of an Earl,” which highlights select Summerhaven chapters told through Damon’s point of view.

Tiffany Odekirk believes cooking should take less than thirty minutes, frosting is better than ice cream, and all books should end with “happily ever after.” After earning her bachelor’s degree, she worked in the nonprofit sector to help homeless women and children. Tiffany is the author of four romance novels and has received a 5-star Readers’ Favorite review and a Benjamin Franklin Gold Medal Award (IBPA) for her Regency romance Summerhaven. These days, you can find her reading or writing a book in her Southern California home, where she lives with her handsome husband and four adorable children. You can also find her on Facebook, Instagram, and Bookbub @AuthorTiffanyOdekirk.