Ask the Author: Deena Thomson
Answered Questions (3)
Deena Thomson
Do not let fear stop you. Write with all you have. Listen to what your characters are saying. Do them justice.
Do not worry if people will like it. Some will, and some won't. It's just life. Look at your favourite author's books and check out their 1,2 and 3 stars. They all have them. Every one of them. It comes with the territory. Focus on the ones who do love your story.
Don't write for good reviews. Write because you have to. Because you love it.
Just because.
It is a wonderful time to be a writer right now. All the opportunities for new writers are out there waiting to be explored.
The amount of knowledge at our fingertips to help us grow is abundant.
Seeing your dreams of holding a book you wrote come true is now more possible than ever before.
You want to write a book? Write it. You won't regret it.
Do not worry if people will like it. Some will, and some won't. It's just life. Look at your favourite author's books and check out their 1,2 and 3 stars. They all have them. Every one of them. It comes with the territory. Focus on the ones who do love your story.
Don't write for good reviews. Write because you have to. Because you love it.
Just because.
It is a wonderful time to be a writer right now. All the opportunities for new writers are out there waiting to be explored.
The amount of knowledge at our fingertips to help us grow is abundant.
Seeing your dreams of holding a book you wrote come true is now more possible than ever before.
You want to write a book? Write it. You won't regret it.
Deena Thomson
I am currently working on the final stages of a novel that I can not wait to share with the world.
I began the novel 26 years ago and put it aside because I felt it was too big for me. It took over, growing into something that overwhelmed me, leaving gaping sections that I couldn’t conjure up what to write for the life of me. So many things held me back, so I put it aside, thinking it would be “the one” I shelved. But “The Last Boy” wouldn’t have it. This book was just waiting for the perfect time, and that time is now. I needed time to grow as a writer, time actually to write it, and time to write with abandonment. What do I mean by that? To write without fear. To take my time and dive into these characters who have haunted me for nearly three decades. I feel it is the best work I have ever written, and I felt that way years ago when I thought I couldn’t complete it.
Every day, I write this book. Even if it is a sentence only. Sometimes, writing a new chapter takes me a week, but when it is done, I feel overwhelmed with emotion. This is the book that hit me: if I do not complete it, I will have great regret on my deathbed. This is the book that I said: no more excuses. You are a writer and will make writing your #1 priority.
The Last Boy is “the book.”
I can not wait to release it into the world In 2024.
Sometimes, you just have to let go of the fear of failure or rejection and follow your heart and the deep gut feeling in your stomach that says, Do it.
That is what I am doing.
I began the novel 26 years ago and put it aside because I felt it was too big for me. It took over, growing into something that overwhelmed me, leaving gaping sections that I couldn’t conjure up what to write for the life of me. So many things held me back, so I put it aside, thinking it would be “the one” I shelved. But “The Last Boy” wouldn’t have it. This book was just waiting for the perfect time, and that time is now. I needed time to grow as a writer, time actually to write it, and time to write with abandonment. What do I mean by that? To write without fear. To take my time and dive into these characters who have haunted me for nearly three decades. I feel it is the best work I have ever written, and I felt that way years ago when I thought I couldn’t complete it.
Every day, I write this book. Even if it is a sentence only. Sometimes, writing a new chapter takes me a week, but when it is done, I feel overwhelmed with emotion. This is the book that hit me: if I do not complete it, I will have great regret on my deathbed. This is the book that I said: no more excuses. You are a writer and will make writing your #1 priority.
The Last Boy is “the book.”
I can not wait to release it into the world In 2024.
Sometimes, you just have to let go of the fear of failure or rejection and follow your heart and the deep gut feeling in your stomach that says, Do it.
That is what I am doing.
Deena Thomson
I was 14 years old when I began to write the story of Jobeth and her family. A story that wouldn’t let me go. It started with a few sentences from a dream that, unbeknownst to me, would haunt me my entire life. Soon, I had my first draft of about a hundred or so pages. All handwritten in many school notebooks. I spent hours a day writing. Dreaming of the characters and listening to the words they told me to write. When I was 16 years old, a friend was sleeping over, and that night, I dug out all my notebooks and read every single page of the first draft of my novel, then titled “Poppies.” Sparking a light in me. That was the seed needed to grow into FALLEN POPPIES. It took many drafts and fails until finally, 40 years after the first draft was written, I feel Jobeth’s family is home.
Little did I know it would take 40 years for Jobeth’s granddaughter to stand up, crushed poppies in hand and begin her journey, rising poppies trailing behind her. Stay tuned...
Little did I know it would take 40 years for Jobeth’s granddaughter to stand up, crushed poppies in hand and begin her journey, rising poppies trailing behind her. Stay tuned...
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