Hello, Dear Reader!

My debut novel, The Button Boy, was written to challenge myself to finish a book from three words. The words came to me one morning and stuck with me; it was as if someone was trying to put a title in my head and urging me to do something with it. At the time, I wanted to take up writing again after a ten year hiatus, and decided I would, and do something with those words. What transpired were words coming out on paper that I never dreamed I had in me that needed saying. 

They say to write about things you know about, well, I did. I know about having a hard childhood and growing up poor. I know about living in the country with my brothers and sisters and all our outdoor adventures. I know about the fun, and sometimes the terror, of living next to a creek. Everything I write about in The Button Boy I, my siblings, or my parents experienced. Sometimes I was unsure if I should tell certain things--to this day I don't tell many people of my past--but I put it out there. It was a freeing feeling to put the hardships of being poor down in words. 

What was different about myself and the main character of Josiah in this book, was that I grew up one of eleven children, while my character was an only child who would become an orphan. I got to experience the joy of growing up with many siblings and could use our adventures as a basis for my story. To describe how he felt as an only child losing his parents, was a stretch for me. The story is fictional but it is based on so many places and situations from my past. 

Over the years, I've had many jobs and I gleaned enough from each of them to *sound* knowledgeable to write about business. I incorporated what I knew about and what I didn't, I researched for the books. I wanted to draw a picture for readers of what inventions looked like and perhaps I went too far with that. I'm detail oriented and couldn't help myself (sorry, but not sorry.) It was a lot of fun to research and learn as I wrote.

I thought it would be a single book; perhaps I expanded on The Button Boy so much that it became long (believe me, I did shorten it considerably). I wanted to write more of the story which was why it evolved into three books. The whole process was a complete joy.

Until next time. 

Stay turned for Part Two - Johannes and Berta.