A librarian/archivist who also studied dress design in the couture houses of Paris, Sharon Wray is an eight-time RWA Golden Heart Romantic Suspense author.

Her latest novel is EVERY DARK DESIRE.

 

Sharon's Tip:

When The Knight Agency asked me to offer a writing tip, I thought about drafting tips and marketing ideas and all of the things that go into crafting and selling a book. Then I realized I’d forgotten the most important part of any novel: The author.

As a former chemical and patent librarian for a pharmaceutical company who dealt with the FDA regularly, I thought I understood time management and stress. I had planners and calendars and software programs to keep me organized. Every potential new drug had a team, every team had project goals, and every project goal had a to-do list with FDA deadlines. Every team lived by its deadlines, working as many weekday hours as it took to complete the job. But the senior leadership made one thing clear: we were not to work on weekends. They believed that in order to do our best work, we needed to be rested.

Now, years later as a debut author, I realize the value of that belief. I’m living by deadlines again and, despite the fact I write at home, my job is harder. Before, I had tasks to complete. Now, I’m literally creating something out of nothing. That creating requires an enormous amount of mental energy and sedentary time, both of which can take a toll on an author’s health.

A few weeks before my romantic suspense debut, EVERY DEEP DESIRE, my fingers and calves began to cramp and I started running low-grade fevers. My eyes felt dry and my eyelids twitched. Then my weight started going up even though I was barely eating due to stomach cramps. I went to my GP and he told me that my symptoms were due to stress-induced inflammation caused by too much cortisol.

I was surprised since I felt more excited than stressed about my upcoming release, but he said this was due to long-term stress and anxiety. Even if I didn’t feel anxious all the time, the fact that I was feeling it on a regular basis was affecting my endocrine system. I needed to make some changes fast if I didn’t want these symptoms to become permanent.

Before I left his office, my doctor offered these tips. A few weeks later, I can honestly say that while I’m not completely better, these ideas have helped. (I’m sure NONE of these tips will be a surprise!)

1: Get plenty of sleep. At least 8 hours of uninterrupted snooze-time, even if it means you have to go to bed earlier. You can’t heal and recover without sleep.

2: Drink lots of water. The standard is eight 8-oz glasses a day, but the Mayo Clinic website has exact numbers depending on your weight, sex and climate where you live. My eye problems were due to a combination of dehydration and too much screen time.

3: Eat well. I know it’s hard to eat well when you’re stressed. But eating lots of fresh vegetables and protein-rich sources, as well as a good amount of healthy fats, will help your mood, improve your sleep habits, and increase your ability to focus.

This surprised me because the first tip is sleep. But my doctor explained that wakeful rest is as important. Spend time with people you love, watch the clouds float by, enjoy your favorite sport—even if, like me, it’s reading! Rest is anything that takes your mind off The Book and allows your active mind to think about non-stressful things. This is the reason my former employer didn’t want us to work on weekends, even when on deadline.

4: Meditate/Pray/Yoga. This one may be determined by your own preferences, but the effect is the same. Take time out of each day to practice focusing on something specific. With Yoga, it’s the physical poses. Prayer and meditation allow the mind to go on a vacation from The Book while still being present to the world. This tip helps clear the mind and can ease anxiety and restlessness, two things that inhibit creativity.

5: Exercise: There’s no question that moving the body increases blood flow to the heart and mind. It also allows those wonderful endorphins to show up and take you out of your funk! And yes, walking the dog is exercise.

{Bonus} Brain Dump: I added this one because of the tremendous value I’ve found over the years from writing Morning Pages (as taught by Julia Cameron in the Artist’s Way). A Brain Dump is a hand-written list of EVERY SINGLE THING on your mind. From refilling the dog’s flea pills to the upcoming snow storm. This list frees you from being stuck in your own head. Some people do this in the morning, others at night, and others—like me—whenever they feel anxious. Whether you do anything with the list, like transfer it to a planner or burn it, doesn’t matter. It’s the writing and releasing that helps ease the overworked brain.

Now, more than ever, the world needs compelling stories. That fact makes healthy authors one of the world’s most important resources.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Steena Holmes has sold over a million copies of her novels. She's won numerous awards, including the 2012 NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE BOOK Award for FINDING EMMA and the 2015 USA BOOK NEWS Award for THE WORD GAME. Her latest release is THE FORGOTTEN ONES.

TKA: Tell us about your new novel and how it came about. 

Steena: THE FORGOTTEN ONES is about the deep dark secrets we have within our families and how deadly the truth can be when they come out. I wanted to write a story about a truck driver in the 1950s but make it present day. As I wrote, the story just presented itself to me.

TKA: All of your novels, including THE FORGOTTEN ONES, have been deep stories that are very well planned-out. What was the research and planning process like for you on this book?

Steena: It all happened while I wrote. Thankfully I have a father who has been a truck driver all his life so he helped me a bit. For the other deep issues in the book, I did a lot on online research. If they [my books] have that “planned-out” feel, it’s all an illusion or rather, the magic behind the editing process. I tend to plan as I write which isn’t always the best way to write a novel.

TKA: What are a couple of your favorite novels and why?

Steena: This is a trick question, right? A couple of my favorite? What reader do you know who has a couple of favorites? lol. In all seriousness, I fell in love with Five Days Left by Julie Lawson Timmer and The Marriage Lie by Kimberly Belle. The writing in both of those books blew me away while drawing me in. There were times throughout each book I’d have to take a moment to let what I’d just read sink in. Not only are they a “few” of my favorite books but when I think about the kind of writing—the depth of writing—that I want to have and the experience I want to give my readers, I think about these books.

TKA: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Steena: You’ll never know if you’ll fail unless you try. But once you do fail, don’t give up because the only one who will believe in yourself the most IS you.

TKA: What is the greatest joy of writing for you?

Steena: That feeling of being lost within a story is something that brings me a lot of joy and happiness. It’s the same joy I get when I start reading a book and lose all sense of time. 

TKA: Finally, what are you working on right now?

Steena: I’m working on a psychological suspense that gives me thrills every time I open my document! 

To learn more about Steena, visit www.steenaholmes.com.

 

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