KEEPING YOUR DREAMS ALIVE WITH AUTHOR, SHARON BUCHBINDER

Rejection is an opportunity to learn. It means I missed the mark, not that I failed.

Hi Everyone,

I’m so honored to introduce this week’s dreamer extraordinaire, Romance Author, Sharon Buchbinder.  I met Sharon the day I joined Maryland Romance Writers. I can’t tell you how nervous I was rolling into that meeting. I was the first to arrive and Sharon [the chapter’s President] was alone in the room. The hospitality committee hadn’t even arrived. I introduced myself and Sharon welcomed me like we were long lost friends.  She made me feel so welcome, that I relaxed immediately, and thoroughly enjoyed the meeting. That night, I downloaded her first book and read it cover to cover.

Sharon reminds me a lot of the gutsy, strong-willed, independent heroines I like to write about. What is so inspiring about Sharon’s journey is that no matter how much the world beat her down, both physically and emotionally, she never gave up on herself. In fact, she used her dreams to help rise above the abuse and become the woman she wanted to be―and that is no easy task.

Sharon, your amazing words: "Rejection is an opportunity to learn. It means I missed the mark, not that I failed," will be posted where I can see them daily. Thank you so much for sharing your dreams with us. Would you please take a moment and tell us a little about yourself?

I’ve been writing fiction since I was in high school and have the rejection slips to prove it—including a script for “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” submitted in my hand-writing (I didn’t own a typewriter) on yellow legal paper.

After I graduated with a BA in Psychology and no job, I realized my dreams of working in the attic writing great prose would have to take a back seat to the simple pleasures of eating, drinking, and having a roof over my head.

Fast forward a few decades, and I had a career path that would make all but the kindest say, “What were you thinking?” After working in health care delivery for years, I became a researcher, then an academic. I had it all– a terrific, supportive husband, an amazing son, and a wonderful job. But that itch to write (some call it obsession), kept beckoning me to “come on back” to writing fiction. I spent one whole month away doing nothing but writing fiction, the first of many drafts of my first novel. After almost eight years, that first novel has finally been published as SOME OTHER CHILD.

People of all ages have forgotten how to dream. What inspired you to dream?

As a child it was a way to escape an abusive environment. An unwanted child, my mother made a point every single day of my life to tell me I should have never been born. She followed that message up with physical abuse. Dreaming took me away from that bad mother to a story in my head where I had a good mother and was loved.

We all place obstacles in our path which brings our dreams to a dead stop. I call these obstacles dream killers. What was your dream killer and how did you overcome it?

I have been writing since I could hold a pencil. I stopped my creative writing when I married and worked 80 hours a week. Then I had a baby. Then, then, then…at age 52 I had my mid-life realization that if I didn’t go back to my passion of writing fiction then, when would I?

How do you keep the dream alive under extreme adversity – external or internal?

Every rejection is an opportunity to learn. It means I missed the mark, not that I failed. I adjust my course and keep going back. My mother said I was stubborn, like my grandmother who was deaf and non-speaking. I call it persistence.

When you reached the top, how did it feel?

Well, I’m not at the top—yet! LOL! But it felt wonderful to have DESIRE AND DECEPTION nominated for the 2011 RT Best Erotic Fiction category. It still feels good.

How did realizing your dream change you?

I felt validated. Pursuing my crazy dream of writing fiction wasn’t irrational.

The added bonus is that my fiction writing has improved my non-fiction writing. I’m using fiction techniques in case studies and teaching students and other faculty how to make their cases come to life and engage the reader.

What's next? What new dream would you like to reach for?

New York Times best-selling author, of course! LOL! In the meantime, I’m working on my latest book, KISS OF THE VIRGIN QUEEN, the story of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon and the impact of their epic romance on their descendant, Eliana Solomon, Jinn Hunter. 

Other books by Sharon:

                     Nominated for the 2011 RT Best Erotic Fiction

To learn more about Sharon, you can find her here:

Blog: Fireworks for the Mind--Surprising and Sizzling!
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sharon.buchbinder.romanceauthor

Twitter: @sbuchbinder


Where to buy Sharon's books:

SOME OTHER CHILD http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009JX31KK
KILLER KISSES http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0080LR1XA
DESIRE AND DECEPTION http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0058OIY2E

Sharon and I would love to hear from you.  To leave a comment, click on the tiny word, comment, at the end of the post. Sorry it’s so hard to see.

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