Writing Journeys are full of Blind Curves, Speed Traps

Writing journeys are full of blind curves, speed traps

By Kelly Irvin

That’s the thing about writing journeys. In my experience, you never really arrive. My journey has meandered from nonfiction to fiction, ping-ponged around the country, and zig-zagged across genres. I simply jog along in its wake, sometimes befuddled, often bewildered, and frequently anxious.

Sounds like fun, right? Actually, I’m living my dream. I started writing poems and short stories in grade school in a small town in Abilene, Kansas. In high school I alternated between the newspaper and contributing to the creative writing magazine. My life in a family of seven with a blue-collar worker for a father led me to decide to get a degree in journalism so I could support myself and still get to write every day. Trying to be a pragmatist, I put off my dream of being a novelist “for later.”

I worked as a reporter for ten years, mostly along the Texas-Mexico border. When I married, I switched to public relations and settled down in San Antonio, Texas, thinking it would be easier to have a family and pay better. Neither turned out to be true, but I kept all the balls in the air in PR while raising two kids, doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, and chauffeuring. One day I turned forty-five and realized if I ever wanted to fulfill my childhood dream of writing a novel, I better start, or it would be too late.

I arose early to write before starting work, wrote nights, and weekends. I knocked out my first novel in about six months. It took three years to sign with an agent and another four to get published. A publishing house that specialized in library-quality hardbacks sold to libraries published two of my romantic suspense novels. I was over the moon. As a child I’d spent my summers living at the public library. Seeing my books on a library shelf was a dream come true. But I wanted more. I wanted those books in bookstores and offered by on-line e-book sellers.

Then my agent challenged me to write something completely outside my comfort zone—an Amish romance. I dug in my heels. Un-uh. No way. She said I should be able to write in any genre (echoes of a city editor who once told me I should be able to make a rattlesnake roundup sound “fun” even if I was deathly afraid of snakes). I took my agent up on the challenge. I immersed myself in research and gave it my best shot. She sold my first attempt, To Love and to Cherish, before I finished writing it. A traditional publishing house gave me a three-book deal. I’ve spent the last fifteen years writing Amish romances set in Amish districts from Kansas to Missouri to Montana to Virginia—making research trips to all of them.

Fast forward to 2023. I’ve published more than 25 Amish romances and nine novellas. I never lost my desire to write romantic suspense, however. My current publisher, HarperCollins Christian Publishing, decided to go out on a limb with me and give me the chance to write romantic suspense. That resulted in six more books in that genre.

Now they’ve gone a step farther and agreed to let me write a women’s fiction novel based on my experience as a woman living with Stage 4 ovarian cancer. The Year of Goodbyes and Hellos is slated for release in December.

What I’ve discovered is that my stories transcend genre because they’re all about strong women. Thus, the shift in my branding to Strong Women. Powerful Stories. I may have started this journey as a fiction writer late in life because I needed that wellspring of experience to write these stories.

This is certainly true for my latest Amish romance, The Heart’s Bidding, the first book in a new series, Amish Calling. Rachelle Lapp is the oldest of fourteen children, including a brother with a developmental disability. She teaches Amish children with developmental disabilities in a one-room schoolhouse in a tiny Virginia town. 

Rachelle has put off courting and getting married (every Amish woman aspires to marry and have children) because she feels called to teach. Amish women don’t continue to work (outside the home) after marriage. She loves her students so much; she can’t imagine doing anything else. Then the parents’ committee decides to take the English school district’s offer to include Rachelle’s students in their program for children with disabilities. Suddenly Rachelle is without a job. How she deals with this sudden loss of job, and more importantly, her sense of self, is the crux of the story. Add deep feelings for an Amish auctioneer who is a notorious bachelor and just as opposed to the idea of marriage as Rachelle and life gets overwhelmingly complicated. Toby Miller doesn’t believe being on the road calling auctions six months out of the year is fair to a future wife. He has a sister with Down syndrome. He understands how Rachelle feels about her calling.

I know about obstacles. I had to retire from my day job because of a life-threatening disease. But the silver lining immediately revealed itself. I’m living my dream of writing fiction full-time. I’m still writing Amish romances, romantic suspense, and now women’s fiction. Who knows where this writing journey will take me next. I can’t wait to find out.

To learn more about my books, look me up at www.kellyirvin.com.

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Kelly Irvin is a bestselling, award-winning author of over twenty novels and stories. A retired public relations professional, Kelly lives with her husband, Tim, in San Antonio. They have two children, four grandchildren, and two ornery cats. Visit her online at KellyIrvin.com; Instagram: @kelly_irvin; Facebook: @Kelly.Irvin.Author; Twitter: @Kelly_S_Irvin.

THE HEART’S BIDDING

Together, schoolteacher Rachelle Lapp and auctioneer Toby Miller must face their hardest battle yet: trusting God’s plan for their uncertain future.

At twenty-nine, auctioneer Toby Miller is a notorious bachelor. But his job keeps him on the road for months out of the year, and he knows no Plain woman could want a marriage that would force her to live and raise children alone. Thankfully, Toby’s content to dedicate his life to the family business, especially now that his grandfather is retiring. So why does his heart keep longing for something—or more specifically, someone—he can’t have?

Rachelle Lapp has already turned down two marriage proposals. Neither promised a future that would bring her more joy than her job as a teacher to Amish children with developmental disabilities, including her brother, Jonah, and Toby’s sister, Sadie. But when the parents’ committee votes to send her students to the English schools, where they will have access to many more resources, Rachelle finds herself out of a job. She’s forced to decide between pursuing her calling far from home and staying near to the man she can’t get off her mind.

As their families matchmake, Toby and Rachelle realize their jobs may not be all that’s holding them back from a future together. They both must learn not only to trust each other, but also trust God’s plans for them. But do those plans involve a lifetime together or them going their separate ways?

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing