My guest blogger today is SD Porter. The retired local high school teacher has had a fantastic start to her writing dreams. In the last four years, she has published eight books, including her newest release The Nova Chronicles. Recently, she has collaborated with two other writers to create the Holiday Chronicle series of romance short stories. So far, they have released two (Midnight Meet-Ups and Sweet Chaos), and the third, Caught a Spark, is available for pre-order (just in time for the 4th of July). She enjoys reading and writing in a variety of genres, including Young Adult, Apocalyptic, Middle Grade sports stories, Paranormal, and Romance.
As a lifelong resident of Washington State, most of her stories are set in the great outdoors of the PNW. She loves hiking, photography, 80’s concerts, visiting wineries, and just hanging out with good friends.
She is married and has three grown sons. She lives in Spanaway with her husband, a Great Pyrenees, and a sassy tabby named Smudge (who is a character in one of her stories).
Look for more to come from SD Porter as she has stepped into the professional world of writing with wild abandon.
For me, writing is NOT a solo adventure. I know many authors might describe it that way, but that has not been my experience. Maybe that is more about me than the process itself.
Looking back on my life, I was never a solo sport kindagal. I played soccer, basketball, and softball, all team sports. Then, once I was a bit too old to play, I coached those same sports. Life is better shared, and so is writing!
I love the team approach, overcoming challenges with group effort, and just generally connecting with others who share my love for the written word. I’m so fortunate to have landed in the midst of some wonderfully inspiring critique partners, mi writing amigas. They are a wonderful group of authors who meet up over Zoom every week (or at least twice a month, depending on our busy schedules). We swap work and critique our pages, but we spend a healthy amount of time talking about every other publishing topic that we need support on.
This year, we’ve even co-authored some romance short stories, exploring self-publishing…learning the ropes. It has been very fun and rewarding. It’s the best part of my authoring experience so far.
We met at a year-long writing course (at Pacific Northwest Writing Association) seven years ago, and we are still going strong. Things pivot, people come and go depending on their needs, but we have managed to take this crazy, wonderful journey together.
We are working on our third holiday romance book of short stories called Caught a Spark (4th of July themed) and plan to write four every year, self- publish through Draft2Digital. We call our series The Holiday Chronicles, and we couldn’t be prouder. We also write our own things, and have different genres, but we sharpen each other, most definitely.
From exchanging plot ideas, marketing strategies, techy skills, grammar, pitching, and ARC reading, we share our strengths and learn from each other. I am so grateful for their support and encouragement. I sometimes wonder if I would continue writing without them, as they bring so much pleasure to the process.
It may not be for you…maybe you’re more of a solo sport athlete, but for me, it’s everything. If it sounds like something you might like, put yourself out there and find one that works for you! Attending a writing convention is a good place to connect with others who share your passions. Go team go!
Go Gettum,
SD Porter
