Ponderings of a Writer: by Immortal Storm Author, Heather Bserani

Many people want to know why it is that I chose to write a book.  I mean there are tons of people out there who want to write, but not many that actually sit down and do it.  Fewer still actually go back and revise in an effort to have it published.  So why then, did I?

I guess to answer that question we have to start at the very beginning.  It all comes down to what inspired me.  As you may have read on the About Me page, I was engulfed by the Twilight Saga.  I drove around like a mad woman to find the fourth book.  I simply had to know what happened.  I couldn't put the book down.  I actually was quite sad when it finished because it had consumed me so completely, it felt like I was losing friends when I had nothing else to learn about the lives of the Cullen Family.  That's when I got to thinking.

I asked myself, who is Stephenie Meyers?  A stay at home mom with a degree in literature.  For that matter who is J.K. Rowling?  A stay at home mom who wrote possibly the most well-read series EVER (Harry Potter in case you live as far out in the boonies as I do).  So alright, I am not a stay at home mom, but I do have a degree in literature.  I know what I like to read and I know how to analyze literature down to the letter.  I know what makes a story work and what leaves readers wanting more.  Why can't I write a novel?  

I began trying to decide what type of novel to write and I knew instantly I wanted to write a vampire novel.  That made my task infinitely harder.  How was I going to write a vampire novel that wouldn't be shamelessly compared to the Twilight Saga or other popular vampire series.  How am I going to sell my book in a market that is already overwhelmed with vampire fiction?  My solution, target a different audience!  That's right....my book is for all the Twi-Moms out there.  It has all of good aspects of any vampire novel but I use characters that are facing adult challenges and conflicts.  There is no high school drama between the covers of my novel.  This is the book that adults who enjoy vampire stories can read without feeling like they borrowed it from their teenage daughter's bookshelf.  It's about time the thirty-somethings had a great vampire novel to read.  Just because we grew up doesn't mean that our taste in books has to change.  

So that's when I began writing Immortal Storm.  For the longest time it didn't even have a name.  What I found was that I had a set direction I wanted to take the story in, but as novels often do, the book began to write itself.  The characters came to life in my mind and directed the story in a totally different direction.  What I found was, the more I listened to Dori, Michael and Amir, the better the story got.  Its a little over a year later and I am now revising my novel.  I am hoping to have a final draft ready for publication by late June 2011.  At this point, nothing would make me happier than to have my story come to life in more than just my mind.  So what started out as an innocent question (why can't I write a novel?) actually became a personal goal that changed me from an avid reader to an author.  Isn't it amazing what some healthy curiosity and a resolved determination can do?