I’m what we call a Native Texan. Texans are proud of the fact that they were born in Texas, live in Texas, and are from Texas even if they aren’t living in Texas at any particular moment. It’s like saying, “I was born on Alpha Centauri!” We really believe that being Texan is something special, and yes, that’s mostly in our minds, but isn’t everything?
I was born in Waco, Texas, in 1955. Not like that’s gonna shatter any world records, but I noticed that when I go to research other writers, like writers from Japan or The Netherlands or other countries, I really enjoy knowing more about them—when they were born, where they come from, where they were raised, what their customs were, and so on.
Which also means, don’t take yourself for granted. What seems so mundane and normal for you or me, is new and exciting and different for others. Our readers are, hopefully, from around the world, and someday, from around the universe, or even the multiverse!
On Facebook, one of the first things I post in the mornings while I’m having my first cup of coffee, is the weather. I live in the North Texas area of Texas, in Grand Prairie, which is in between the bigger cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, kind of on the southern end.
You probably don’t know this, but Texas is divided into areas due to geographic regions and often into population areas or demographics. The Texas Almanac simplifies the division into just four physical sections: the Basin and Range Province, the Great Plains, the North Central Plans, and the Gulf Coastal Plans. Other groups tend to use a simpler, semi-cardinal approach: North Texas, East Texas, South Texas, West Texas, Central Texas, and the Panhandle. And this latter list is the one I use, and the one most people use in everyday speak.
And as odd as it may sound, don’t confuse North Texas, the area just south of the Red River that borders the southern end of Oklahoma with the Panhandle, that funky sort of rectangular “handle” that sticks out and might as well be part of Oklahoma because they get the same weather being in the same longitudinal lines.
So, I post on my daily weather. Usually, it’s nothing exciting but often, it’s quite different from what others are experiencing, especially in winter! While others are shoveling snow, I’m basking in sunshine (usually) and Spring-like warmth. (Not always! But mostly.) Then we have those winter days, which usually happen when we host a Superbowl, where we have a freak ice storm, one day and one day only, that shuts the entire area of North Texas down to a standstill.
Posting about weather gives me something to share. Something to offer the world that might be the same or different, but something. Then I go on to talk about my day—what I plan on doing, what’s scheduled, why, and so on. Usually about my writing.
Sometimes I talk about where I live. Part of the weather is also about where I live, yes, but there’s also stuff going on, and where we live also has a history.
When I research other writers, I love finding out the history of their area, their city or country, that might give information about why they write what they write and maybe even why they are who they are. Or maybe not. But it’s information and it feeds my brain and gives me context and I can use this stuff in my own writing.
So don’t take yourself for granted. Your life is fascinating even though you may think it’s boring. It’s only boring to you but if you dig deep enough, you will find a rich and layered history hidden deep inside your life.
Who knows, someone from around the world may be looking up your life, your history, and reading about your fascinating dynamics.
What is your history?
Bestsellers are bestsellers for a reason. Bestselling authors use their writing toolbox and skills to create a fascinating story. In this class, we will analyze bestselling authors and see how they created their bestseller and apply those techniques to our own. Bestseller here we come!
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Your readers crave the essential elements that make their favorite genres irresistible—and it’s your job to deliver them brilliantly. Genre fiction thrives on tropes: those familiar yet powerful building blocks that readers expect and love. Master these elements, and you’ll have the tools to craft stories that satisfy genre expectations while standing out from the crowd. In this workshop, we’ll explore how to identify, adapt, and elevate classic genre tropes to create fiction that keeps readers hungry for more.
She’s running from the darkness. But what lurks inside her is darker.
The debut novel from award-winning author Pat Hauldren explores questions of who we think we are vs the truth of who we are, and the price we pay no matter the path taken.
Life is not simple for Zarachiel, freshly escaped from her drug-dealing foster parents in deep South Texas. In Dallas, she stays off the grid. She finds a new family in Gracie, from whom she leases an extra bedroom, and Katie, Gracie’s four-year-old daughter.
The cartel attacks just as Zarachiel makes contact with her biological father. They want what she stole from them.
Amid chaos and survival for both her and her new family, Zarachiel discovers her true nonhuman self as she fights for her freedom and the freedom of humanity.
