A true writer can’t help but write. It’s a part of who we are. As a writer, if you don’t write, you cease to exist (or at least you feel that way). Publishing is secondary to the true artist, because an artist will continue to create art, no matter if the public likes it or not. We’re told today that we have to do this and do that; we have to create a platform; we have to have a resume for why we wrote this book. What happened to just letting an artist be an artist and writing what he/she feels the need to write. Sure, it helps to write what others want to read. But should a writer sell out? I say no, but let me write a couple of best sellers and I might change my mind.

I guess it goes back to why a person writes to begin with. Is he/she doing it for the money or because it’s a part of them and have no choice? That is where the real issue lies. I have always been a writer. As a kid I wrote stories on my lined paper that was supposed to teach me how to form my letters the correct way. I also wrote plays that were performed in my backyard and at church. In high school a creative assignment would turn into a ten page tale with all of the pieces of a great tale. In high school I also started writing poetry that was disguised as song lyrics. Some of those lyrics turned into a set of dramatic readings published by Meriwether. Those early years led to A Dirge for the Malice and A Portrait of the Heartland series.

A writer is who I am and if I never published a word, I would still write.