I’m in the process of querying my current book, For the Love of Sam, and one of the things usually included is a bio. Well, if you’ve read my bio on the website you know I bill myself as a “mad scientist by day and a romance writer by night.” I thought it was a snazzier way of saying “left brain/right brain” but what do I know.
But as I’m wont to do, it got me to thinking about my career path going way back. I’ve had some weird jobs over the many decades. I taught swimming and piano as a kid. Stephen King wanted to be a teacher but couldn’t get a job so ended up as a janitor at school. It worked out for him. He was inspired to write Carrie.
My first official job was in retail as a Christmas present wrapper at a local department store. I also counted inventory at night for one of the big box chains. My dad got me a job at his electronics company as an accounting assistant. I was mostly a gopher but I learned how to balance a checkbook. I later worked in a bank doing customer service. Herman Melville worked in a bank but quit to become a cabin boy on a merchant ship. I thought about working on a cruise ship like J.D. Salinger, but the time commitment didn’t mesh with school
I’ve worked as a part-time nanny and in high school, I was the go-to babysitter for our neighborhood. Bethenny Frankel, who skirts the famous/infamous line (not to mention “writer”), worked as a nanny for Paris and Nicky Hilton. My charge didn’t grow up to be famous (see note about famous/infamous) but he did grow up to be a doctor. *mic drop* I’ll put that in a win column for me.
I also de-headed and sorted shrimp one summer. That’s not as glamorous as being an oyster pirate like Jack London. He’d apparently steal oysters then resell them. Our shrimp were single owner only.
Later in life, I became a chemist which put me in the company of Agatha Christie. Ms. Christie served as an apothacaries’ assistant during WWI. She used her knowledge in her books. I did the same and present a workshop called The Poison Pen. There’s a fun/not funny story about how my closing attorney tried to poison his wife before a closing but I had absolutely nothing to do with that. No, really. Nothing.
My career path shows up in odd ways in my stories. In Book 1, Lara was a secret writer. In Book 3, Harley was a genius at making moonshine and whiskey which involves science and intuition. In my current WIP, my villain is a by-the-book compliance manager. Banking is involved in many of my books as well – my dad was in finance/accounting and until I wrote this sentence I don’t know that I made that connection.
Location is another big influence for me. Since I’ve moved so much, my books have moved as well. Louisiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Mississippi…all play some role in my stories. Each has its own beauty. Each plays an important part in my memory.
Because I put so much of myself into my books, I often wonder how much of the authors I read are in their books. Have I introduced you to the newest author in the A Writer’s House stable…Selena Powers? If super sexy menage stories are your thing, the first in her Six Degrees of Seduction collection will be available soon on Radish. I’ll let her tell you how much of herself she’s put into the story. (evil smile) Stay tuned!