When writing a first novel, there are a lot of firsts.

Every novel has a first chapter, a first sentence, a first paragraph. Little did I know how much time I would spend trying to get those just right. So for your enjoyment, my first paragraph.

Excerpt from TOKEN OF BETRAYAL:

Oh, the angst of waiting for my first review. When I received the text message that it was in, I was nervous, almost too scared to even look at it. I almost cried when I read it.

“C. V. Lee’s compelling work is a must-read if you love historical novels laced with an unraveling tale of power, loyalty, love, honor, secrets, deceit, betrayal, agony, and disgrace. Lee narrates an intriguing plot, breathing life into [her] characters through vivid descriptions…The author kept me on edge with adventure, humor, and exciting drama… This is a magnificent piece of work and an awesome first installment in the series.” ~Readers’ Favorite Review

This week, I will experience my first book launch party. I hope you will join me in this celebration on Thursday, December 15th at 5pm PDT. You can find it on YouTube, in the PLW SHINE Facebook group page, on the Paper Lantern Writers Facebook author page, or on my personal Twitter feed @CVLeeWriter

MY JOURNEY

Writing a novel is truly a labor of love. I did a Google search and according to several articles, only 1-3% of the people that start writing a novel ever finish. I can understand why. There are so many pieces that need to come together, the entire process can be daunting. But I am happy to find myself in that 1-3% for from first sitting down to write to publication has taken me five years.

FIVE YEARS! How could I possibly have remained motivated for that long? Probably like every other author, I felt I had an amazing story to share. But I also attribute part of my ability to begin writing and stay inspired to a quote from Earl Nightingale. “Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.”

TOKEN OF BETRAYAL is biographical, based on real people and real events. I recall the first time I encountered the story. My middle son was in 2nd grade and the teacher assigned a genealogy report. I knew very little about my family ancestry, but I knew from passing comments that some members of my extended family had information they could share. The first time I read a partial family history, I was flabbergasted. It read like a novel. How could any of this be true? I went online and purchased books on the history of the Isle of Jersey, only to discover I had only learned a fraction of the incredible history. That was when I first decided I wanted to turn it into a novel, which is now becoming a series.

It was 2001, when I first decided to write this novel. However, I did not begin writing until October 2017. Yeah! I didn’t want to rush it. But as my excuse, in 2001, I had just started a new career and was a mother of three young children. There was no way I was adding writing a novel to my to-do list. When my time freed up in 2017, I had no more excuses to delay. I remember sitting down at my computer that first day and typing out the first few sentences. I was about two paragraphs in when I realized I had no clue about how to write a novel. I began voraciously reading books on writing, searched out articles on the internet, and watched innumerable YouTube videos, all in the hopes of learning the process.

Finishing my first draft was a great feeling. I had read advice somewhere about waiting six months before reading it. So I tucked it away and dutifully waited. After the allotted time, I printed it out and put it into a huge binder and began to read. My thoughts! “I am the worst writer ever.” Truly, it is a miracle that I pushed onward with my first re-write.

Then one day, I had a brilliant thought. Certainly there must be some kind of writer groups. Again, I went to the internet and found the local chapter of the Historical Novel Society. I attended my first HNS NorCal meeting in 2018. I was nervous, not knowing anyone, and thinking I did not belong because I was such a green writer. But it was probably one of the best decisions I ever made. Not only did I learn a lot from the group, but it is where I met the other founding members of our Paper Lantern Writers author collective. Although I wasn’t published yet, I could see the value of combining efforts to market our books.

That same year, I joined a writers’ group and received my first critique. The comments surprised me. What I hoped to convey to the reader was not coming through clearly. But I learned something important about myself. I did not take any of the criticism personally but was eager to take the comments as a learning experience and improve my writing. Back to the drawing board.

In April 2021, I had my first “book party.” Perhaps there are other groups around that do something similar, but I have not heard of any. It is something unique about the critique group I joined. A few people read my entire novel, and then we got together and they detailed everything that they believed was wrong with my story for about four hours—what characters they hated, what scenes were not working. I recorded it so I could watch it later, over and over again!!! A comment by one of the attendees made a huge impact. What he said was: “The second half of the book reads so fast because we know the question we want answered. That isn’t true of the first half.” That comment was a light bulb moment. I had started my book in the wrong place. Back to the drawing board, adding a new first chapter, removing one point-of-view (POV) character, and changing the POV character in other chapters.

As my novel got closer to being completed, I began to research publishing. That was when I first learned about all the steps that needed to be taken. Developmental editing, copy editing, proofreading, formatting, cover design. But the important thing is that I finished and I have a product that I am proud to put my name on (or my pen name!).

2023 holds another first for me. My first sequel, BETRAYAL OF TRUST, is in the final re-write stages. Actually, it is the second half of my original book. The journey has been long, but it has been worth it.

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