A muse in the form of my father said to me: “Bonnie, you’re a writer. You should write.”
At a time when I was following a completely different career path, a muse in the form of my father took me out to dinner and said, “Bonnie, you’re a writer. You should write.” I thought it was hilarious he’d say this to me as I approached my 30th birthday, and having spent the previous dozen years not being much of a writer.
It wasn’t like I wasn’t involved in the arts or with storytelling. As a working actor, I was prolific at writing scenes and monologues for myself and fellow performers. I’d also written poetry, short stories, and essays over the years, which now lived in boxes in my parents’ basement. But I stopped far short of calling myself a writer, let alone an author. Serious book writing was something college English professors did in their spare time, hoping to get their “great American novel” discovered and published. While I loved the product of such writing, I couldn’t conceive of ever being paid to write such tomes.
Within the next decade, I would move to rural Arizona and find work as a part-time editor/writer for a national horse magazine. The subject—horses and horseback riding—was close to my heart, something I could speak about with knowledge, but could I write about it?
I’ll be honest, when I answered the ad for a writer-editor, I had no degree in journalism or even in creative writing, let alone English, let alone writing samples to show my prospective boss at the magazine, only a 2000-word essay with which I’d won second place in a national contest.
We met for coffee on a Friday morning, and the publisher read my piece as I sat there. Then he looked up and said, “Write me a 750-word editorial I can stick on this month’s back page—by Monday—and you’re hired.” That week, I learned that 85% of successful writing is showing up and meeting deadlines.
I went on to work as associate editor at that magazine and then as feature writer and, eventually managing editor for another magazine over the next decade. In the meantime, I went back to school and finally did get a degree—in psychology with a minor in creative writing.
My interest is fiction and creative non-fiction, with a specific focus on psychological suspense. The human condition in the real world is infinitely more fascinating than any fantasy world I could concoct. That’s why I watch Dateline and 48 Hours for my story ideas. I’m drawn to empathetic characters placed in real situations, who behave proactively, often with unintended consequences.
That agency and sense of empowerment are what I like to explore in the characters I create. While some of my characters may cross the line between noble and ignoble behavior, I always want to give readers a way to “feel” them, or at least understand their damage.
Well, great talking with you. Stay tuned for more information on my novel Tiger Cate. A great way to get updates is to subscribe to my blog. Just saying…