Writing is My
GOOD THING
By: Christine Pauls
O
ne of my greatest accomplishments is becoming
an independent author hailing from the state of
Delaware. In all honesty, I never aspired to be a
writer, self-published or otherwise. I always say it was
divine intervention back in 2008 when I first picked up
a pad and pen. I was 47 years-old when I wrote my first
words and 51 when I published my first book.
After a turbulent, ten-year marriage, I found myself starting
over. Writing healed me then, and has continued to heal
me, but in a different way. Now, it provides me with joy
and is a consistent source of pleasure since my readers
seem to delight in the type of stories I produce.
My third book, One Good Thing is the first women’s
contemporary novel I’ve written. This is the genre I’ve
always wanted to write in, but I had to produce, my young
adult fiction—To Begin Again and Belinda’s Song, before
this particular piece could come to fruition. The story is set
in Lula, Mississippi and focuses on three sisters whose
life choices have caused dissension between them. Their
mother is holding a life altering secret and as the story
progresses, and other characters are introduced who
also have issues that had been kept hidden as well. More
secrets are revealed at opportune times, and the story is
filled with [ups and downs] as everyone’s only concern
is for themselves, instead of how it will affect everyone
around them in the entire scope of things.
One Good Thing took two years to send to press, and
it had its own set of challenges. I started the project in
2014, but it stalled; the characters stopped talking to me,
and the ideas for the direction and delivery of the story
12 Naleighna Kai Literary Cafe Magazine July/August 2017