Historical Romantic-Adventure Novels
The evening light of May is dappled on my lawn
I trust the light it cast will linger ever long
The shadows will be late the birds will sing their song
The evening light of May will forever in my heart belong
-Veronica Mahara Stoneman
For Dave and Star
It’s exciting to think that todays writers have a choice in how their novels enter the world.
I went the conventional way for several years- Querying, meeting with agents and editors for pitches, and mostly waiting. It was a great learning experience and I recommend it. I learned how to create a tagline for my story, give a passionate pitch, and find the courage to put it all out there.
Yet, I wasn’t satisfied with the way I saw things going. It wasn’t so much the rejections, they were very thoughtful and a few helped me immensely. I’ve been an entrepreneur for most of my adult life. From having a small home-based children’s clothing line when my girls were young to owning a health foods store to renting salon space as an independent stylist to having my own salon for over 20 years. My husband and I own and run a construction company. Entrepreneurship is in my blood! So why not use that to develop my career in writing?
What I know about business is that slow and steady win the race. Dedication, hard work and patience are needed. I would love my novels to arrive with a bang, but I also want to write for a long time. Burnout is not an option at my age!
Getting your novel written and ready for the public is a huge accomplishment – publishing it is the next step. Taking off your writer’s hat and putting on your business hat is courageous and I commend all the writers who self publish, making a career of writing on their own terms. You inspire me!
Peace and love,
Veronica
Painting birds is new to me, but once I started I fell in love with the process. There are so many helpful youtube tutorials on painting. Two of my favorites for instruction are Mr. Otter’s Workshop and Lindsey Weirich. So fun to follow along with these two talented artist! I’m building confidence in my own art and am able to see a flower or bird or landscape and go for it. Like writing, letting the process take shape on its own really helps. I find if I tense up and want every last detail in a painting to be perfect it stops the flow.
Writing is full of details and rewriting is part of the process, a process I happen to love. Yet, art helps me to free my mind and enter another world. It’s so relaxing!
Creativity is a beautiful thing!
My main character Jessica is an artist. I too love to paint in watercolors, but I let it go a few years ago. I realized when I was writing about her painting I really missed it.
So I got the paints out of storage, and bought some new supplies! My art table is near my writing desk, when I need a break from writing I paint 
-Of course those are the luxury days when I clear my schedule and I have a whole day of writing!
Hello,
I want to say a few things about my wonderful editor Julie Christine Johnson. First of all I am so fortunate to live in the same town as her! We get to meet for tea and coffee and indulge in our love for writing. She’s been such a great help and inspiration to me over the years we’ve worked together. It’s been and continues to be a great writer/editor relationship. She is part of a team of pros that I am fortunate to work with as I inch forward in getting “The Traveled Heart” out into the world. Her skill as an editor and writer have taught me so much.
Her book “In Another Life” is a great read and I look forward to reading “The Crows of Beara”.
When you find a good editor it’s like a gift from the gods!
Thank you Julie!
Peace and love,
Veronica
Traveled Hearts Press 