Quiet Writing? ~ Maressa Mortimer

 

I’m writing this blog in the peace and quietness of my study. Behind me is a stack with maths books for four children, paper tape to keep one of my children happy building stuff, a Viking helmet that needs a bigger box and Velcro dots to be attached to pictures.

A few years ago I found writing a wonderful release at the end of a manic day. Just me and my laptop, daydreaming up stories when the kids were in bed. Such a peaceful, private hobby. Occasionally, hubby would bring me a glass of wine or one of the kids would wake up with some complaint, but my evenings were spent serenely and relaxed.

Since then, life has taken on all kinds of twists and turns. My fun stories became a little more involved. I thought more about my characters and what they would like for dinner. Before I knew it, I had a novel and a publisher willing to look at it. I tried to explain that English wasn’t my first language and they were very tactful about what exactly they meant by ‘substantial editing’.

Sapphire Beach came out, and I found a new thing to write about: world-building. I thoroughly enjoyed wandering around Elabi in my mind, meeting some interesting people along the way. In real life, I met some wonderful characters too. A friend who is an editor. Another friend who uses the most incredible colours in her paintings. Encouragers and patient people who explained that self-publishing wasn’t as hard as it sounded. Just a bit harder.

Several books later, I’m now frantically packing and trying to remember what I need to bring to Scotland in November. Snowboots? Skis? Or just a good-quality mac? We’ll be travelling up to Scotland, ready for the Brechin/Angus Book Festival and I’m beyond excited. I’ll be talking about writing, coffee and chaos, who knows in what order. Maybe I'll do it the Dutch way, and start as well as end with coffee.

My peaceful writing world has grown so much and although I miss my quiet evenings, I love the thrill of meeting other writers, making new friends, catching up with other friends and finding more and more ideas for new books. I do have a NaNoWriMo to win, which might not happen this year. And that’s fine, for I’ll be gallivanting around Scotland, being an active writer, rather than a writer doing writing.

So there we are, just a few years after I started writing down stories to enjoy myself, I’m now one of the authors talking at a Book Festival, signing books in all corners of Dundee and of course, there won’t be a hint of Imposter Syndrome in view. I’ll simply smile like a proper writer when introduced as The Author of...

Maressa Mortimer is Dutch but lives in the beautiful Cotswolds, England with her husband and four (adopted) children. Maressa is a homeschool mum as well as a pastor’s wife, so her writing has to be done in the evening when peace and quiet descend on the house once more. She loves writing Christian fiction, as it’s a great way to explore faith in daily life. Because of her interest in writing, Maressa is part of Creativity Matters: Find Your Passion For Writing, an anthology encouraging people to write.

Her debut novel, Sapphire Beach, was published in December 2019, and her first self published novel, Walled City, came out in December 2020, followed by Viking Ferry, a novella. Beyond the Hills is the second book in the Elabi Chronicles, and was released on June 18^th 2021. All of Maressa’s books are available from her website, www.vicarioushome.com, Amazon or local bookshops.