Thundering Pines and Mentorship

I want to apologize right from the start that this will be longer than my typical blog, but I love telling the story of how Thundering Pines came to be.

Thundering Pines marks a transition in my writing career. While I still love my earlier stories and characters, my writing took a giant leap forward with this novel. All authors will tell you they get better with time, but I was fortunate enough to have an experience that catapulted my writing forward.

It all began because of the pandemic. I’d dabbled at writing for years but hadn’t approached it with my normal tenacity. That changed as I looked for an escape from Covid. I’m a voracious learner, so once I put my mind to it I devoured every writing book I could find. That wasn’t enough. One evening, in my quest for more knowledge, I stumbled upon the GCLS Writing Academy. On a whim, I applied. The worst they could do is say no.

At the same time, I found that GCLS was holding a virtual conference, so I signed up. This is when I discovered Jae. I’d never read any of her books or even heard of her. Yes, I was living under a rock. My lesfic reading had been limited to a small handful of my go-to authors.

Jae’s intelligence, thoughtfulness, and passion for writing came through during her sessions. I found myself waiting for her to speak, wanting the other panelists to get on with their answer so it would be Jae’s turn again. Of course, I loved her accent too.

While watching the panel, I ordered a couple of her books. The first one I read was Perfect Rhythm, and I was hooked. I soon raced through Shaken to the Core followed by Just for Show. I loved them all and became a huge fan. In my wildest dreams, I never could have imagined that Jae would become a part of my life.

Soon after, news came that I was accepted into the GCLS Writing Academy. I started classes in September of 2020, and in October my first book Broken Not Shattered, was accepted by Sapphire Books. My writing career had finally begun.

With every class I learned something new, and my writing improved. All the classes were building to the point when we would be assigned a mentor. The mentor would read our latest manuscript and give us feedback. We were tasked with filling out a short questionnaire to help the instructors match us with a mentor.

One of the questions posed to us was, who would you like as a mentor. My strategic mind took over. How should I play this? Who wouldn’t want Jae as a mentor? All my friends in class became my rival. (Not really, but it sounds good for dramatic effect.) But truly, with eighteen of us in class there was bound to be competition for one of the best in the business.

I sat down to formulate my request. If I only chose Jae and didn’t get her the instructors would choose someone that I’d not have input into. If I submitted an alternate choice, they might give Jae to someone else. It didn’t take me long to decide to go big. Jae was the only name I submitted, but I didn’t stop there. I needed to sell myself, so I wrote a dissertation as to why Jae would be a great match for me and sent it off to my instructors.

Then I waited…and waited…and waited some more. At the end of March, the email introducing us to our mentors arrived. I still remember how excited and nervous I was before I worked up the nerve to open it. I went into my best philosophical mode, explaining to my wife why it would be okay if I didn’t get Jae. Right! I’m sure my wife didn’t buy it. I know I didn’t.

I took a deep breath and opened my email. JAE. IT WAS JAE! I’m not usually a fangirl, but I went full blown fangirl. I think I might have even squealed, but I’ll deny it if anyone asks.

Now the fun part starts, I get to actually work with Jae. I still remember getting her first email. She was so humble, introducing herself as if I might not know who she was. Little did she know that I’d strategically chosen her and written an essay to up my odds.

In my excitement, I hadn’t given much thought to the fact that she’d be reading my manuscript. One of the best in the business would be reading my rookie writing. Crap! I know, kinda silly since that’s the purpose of a mentorship. What if she hated it? What if it was so bad that she sent it back to me and told me she couldn’t even bring herself to read such drivel?

Too late to panic now, it was time to submit my manuscript. Then the waiting began. Every day I’d eagerly check my email. Jae must have known I’d be anxiously awaiting a response. She sent an update with two pictures from the journal she used to keep notes. Below is one of those photos.