Follow Your Dream (Part 2)

Larry B. Gildersleeve   @LarryBGAuthor
Christian and Inspirational

Part 2 (Part 1 April 21)

The familiarity of Bowling Green from my high school and university years easily enabled my home town to become the setting for all of my novels, either partially or entirely. Certainly not unique, many of my imaginary characters have a basis in people I’ve known over the years. One example. A character in my first two books is Kentucky’s Chief Justice. The character’s fabric is based upon my late father, who was not a lawyer, and my understanding of the work of a person in such a position came from our current chief justice who has been a friend since my college days.

Hearing Ann Patchett speak brought so much into focus for me. She said that while there is no one formula for success, worth considering is that most books are purchased and read by women. She went on to say that writing books about women, for women, with strong women characters not defined by nor dependent upon men, and a happy ending, would be worth considering. I didn’t just consider, I embraced all of it.

I know when I begin how my book will end, and work backward to create a chapter-by-chapter outline of the story and the arcs of my characters. My style has been carefully evolved into short, fast-paced, dialogue-driven chapters with page-turning endings to draw the reader onward to the next chapter. My first two books each had over fifteen named characters. My third and future novels will only have four or five.

I write in the Christian and Inspirational genres. Regarding story ideas, Follow Your Dreams was inspired by my lifelong commitment to journaling, and The Girl on the Bench touches upon the travesty and tragedy of human sex trafficking. The novel I’m currently writing has a character beset by early-onset Alzheimer’s, an illness that disproportionately plagues women over men.

I read once that “Vision without discipline is a just a dream.”

With that in mind, I discipline myself to invest substantial time and effort six days a week – writing, publishing and marketing. I’ve gone well beyond the 10,000 hours, and regard this pursuit as a journey, not a destination I’ll ever reach.

Now that I’m a thrice-published author, albeit self-published, my dream is to cross the threshold to become a legitimate bestselling author. As my female protagonist says in Follow Your Dreams:

“Dreams never come true for those who never dream.” 

Larry B. Gildersleeve is a father of two and grandfather of four who turned to writing after a four-decade career as a corporate executive. He lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky with Kathleen, his wife of 30 years. www.larrygildersleeve.com