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Writing in the Modern Age blog New Year’s Eve Post
The publish button wasn’t working on my other blog, so I had to move the post here… đĽ
Writing in the Modern Age 2019 Year in Review:
Big Reflections – Past and Present
Hi, everyone! A year I imagined would crawl right by, in fact, did
not. Instead it flew so fast, I suffered vertigo several times. đ
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Tomorrow weâll adjust our calendars to reflect that life has
changed in a blink, welcoming 2020. For this yearâs annual review
post, Iâd like to commemorate the evolution of Writing in the
Modern Age. Six years ago, I opened the blog to guest authors and
itâs been a wild ride ever since. WritModAge grew from the initial
seed of a place to help other writers at any stage of their careers, all
the way to not just that, but also a site where readers can
comfortably discover their new, favorite authors! Through author and
character interviews, book and writing service interviews, guest
articles, book spotlights and mega giveaways, it has become a unique
resource for writers and readers alike.
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SoâŚgive a warm round of applause to all 350 content writers and
authors who visited us via various events from 2013 to 2019.
However, there were 104 guest writers this year alone. Thatâs
awesome! đ
 
Here is my interview with Marie Lavender
Name: Marie Lavender
Age: 36
Where are you from
Iâm actually from the Midwest. I was raised in a family of five, with many extended relatives as well. In college, I majored in Creative Writing, and well, here I am.
Fiona: Tell us your latest news?
My latest news is that I have two books coming out in February. One is a story that will be featured in the Valentineâs first kiss anthology, Cupidâs Arrow, and then subsequently released on its own. The story is called The Missing Piece, and itâs a new adult romance. The second is Upon Your Love, a historical romance/family saga and full-length novel, as well as book three of the Heiresses in Love Series. I am very excited for readers to discover both of these books!
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
I began writing at the age of nineâŚ
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Author Newsletter!
This month’s issue of my author newsletter just went out last night. Here is the full link. Don’t miss the exciting news! âĽ
MARIE’S NOVEMBER 2016 TO
JANUARY 2017 FLASHBACK NEWSLETTER
Here’s a guest post that I had to include below because the owner of the blog decided to shut her site down this year.
A Labor of Love
by Marie Lavender
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It all started with my love of literature. I recall my mother reading me bedtime stories. I got so lost in those fictional worlds that I didnât want to find a way out.
My own stories began to formulate in my head whenever Iâd play with dolls as a child. As soon as I learned to write, I finally had an outlet. They found their way onto the page. Throughout my childhood, I knew I wanted to be an author. As I grew a little older, Iâd stalk the reference section of the library, finding how-to books on writing, as well as writerâs market books, exhibiting lists of publishers I could submit my work to.
This was my dream. I pursued it steadily, did anything I could to accomplish that aim â I kept writing, entered young writerâs contests, I familiarized myself with the industry as well as possible, and took creative writing classes whenever they were available.
In college, I made a goal of finally finishing a novel. In 2002, I had the idea for a historical romance book, which would be set in France. Of course, I didnât know it would take nearly nine years of organization, writing and perfecting to complete the novel. I was aware of the growing popularity of self-publishing. With this one, however, I wanted to find a traditional publisher.
Still, I was reluctant to let the trend pass me by. I selected some works-in-progress and set to completing them. Between the years of 2010 and 2012, Iâd released twelve books in various genres. Yet I maintained my dream of getting published traditionally.
After numerous rejections I finally found a home when Solstice Publishing offered me a book contract for Upon Your Return, book one of the Heiresses in Love Series. In February of 2013, the novel was released. Since then, Iâve submitted six other novels and stories to the same publisher, and theyâve accepted every one. I now have four series published, and many others planned for the future.
Just before UYR was published, however, I quickly realized Iâd have to jump on the âpublic presenceâ bandwagon. I began to develop my social media accounts. I wrote guest posts for book blogs or writing blogs. I learned how to participate in author interviews, radio spots, author timeslots during Facebook events, placed book ads whenever necessary, and, wellâŚI also launched two blogs (which actually became three later on). I struggled with them at first (i.e. What did I have to say, to offer?). But I eventually figured it all out. By the time Upon Your Return was published for a while, I had official book reviews on blogs as well as sites where the book was sold.
Now? I know Iâm never finished learning about this industry, but I can say Iâve made quite a bit of progress. With 5,000 friends on Facebook, 1400 followers on my profile and 2500 likes on my author page, over 3500 Google+ followers and almost 15,000 Twitter followers, I havenât done too bad.
Additionally, Iâve evolved from a romance author to a true multi-genre author, covering literary fiction, poetry, various types of romance, mystery/thriller, fantasy, science fiction, to wherever this crazy muse will take me. I no longer try to box myself in.
I am also proud to call the Heiresses in Love Series completed, as the final book, Upon Your Love, a full-length historical romance/family saga, comes out on February 28th. The series has been nearly fifteen years in the making, and it quickly became an empire of Victorian maritime drama, suspense and passion. I couldnât be happier that the series pleasantly surprised me with its twists in development, all the characters coming alive on the page. I am beyond grateful to the wonderful people at Solstice for giving me a chance. I look forward to many more years with them, as theyâve taken me under their wing, and helped me to soar on my own. With my two books coming out soon, that makes a total of 25 published books to date.
And the muse, as always, is tireless, a true blessing for a writer. I just love writing, learning all about my characters, and experiencing their stories.
Itâs been quite a journey, and I wouldnât have changed a thing.
Join me on Twitter on Tuesday!
Tomorrow, May 12th at 10AM pacific/1PM EST, Solstice Shadows will be hosting a live author chat with me on Twitter! How exciting!
Check us out, and find us @marielavender1 and @SolsticeShadows! We’ll be using the hashtag #authorchat. Feel free to drop by and ask any questions you like!
This should be a fun experience! I look forward to seeing you all on Twitter. đ
