Week 2 of the MFRW year-long blog challenge! Click on the list at the bottom to travel to all participants. This week’s theme? How my family supports my writing.
None of us could do what we do without support, and when family is on our side, we thrive – we can take on the world. For starters, the most important family member in my life – my husband – is my co-author, so we face the world with a solid foundation.
We got a good head start in the families we grew up in. Our parents are gone, but all four of them encouraged creativity and supported unconventional choices, however ill-advised some of those choices might have seemed at the time.
Hubs’ mother was an avid romance reader, especially during the nine years she was a widow after his dad died. As her eyesight worsened, we’d hit our local used book store for a half-dozen large-print romance books every three weeks before making the five hour drive to check in on her for the weekend. She did read (and liked) a couple of our early romantic suspense stories, although she confessed she “skipped over” the sex parts. She would probably not have approved of the erotic direction our writing later took.
Both my parents, on the other hand, probably would have, and I think my dad would even admit to some envy, were he still here. His older sister – my aunt – worked for the Kinsey Institute, so no topic was off limits when she was around. She and he are probably doing fist pumps as they watch us navigate the publishing world with our sexy stories. My mother would probably have kept her approval more hidden (she disapproved of my aunt). But when it came time for me to clean out their last apartment, on the bookshelf hidden behind the clothes in her closet I found a well-read copy of the Kama Sutra, so I know her heart would have been on our side.
We carry their support with us, always.
What a great support system you have/had. My dad passed before I started writing and FIL, the world’s greatest dad, was gone, too. But the Moms supported me and rejoice when my 1st book came out. We all need to be thankful for a supportive family.
Thanks so much, Diane – yes, we carry their worlds within us.
Love the meme. Great way to start. Finding the Kama Sutra copy, great way to end. Good post.
Thanks, Shari – yes, my mother kept things under wraps!
What a great family support system you have! Intriguing to think of writing with hubby. I’m not sure mine has ever read an entire book. I know he’s never read mine! LOL!
We do feel lucky to be writing together. We co-authored academic stuff earlier in our careers – this is much more fun!
Great post! It’s so interesting to see how different all of our backgrounds are.
So true, Alina – such a fascinating range!
Your mom sounds like she was an awesome woman. I bet she would have found a way to let you know she approved. Thank you for sharing this part of your family’s story.
Wow, thanks, Trevann, I hadn’t thought of that – a new piece of the narrative 🙂
It’s great that you and your hubby write together – at least you both understand what a writer goes through to craft a story. I bet your mom would be horrified to realize you found their Kama Sutra copy, lol.