Turning an Insatiable Appetite for Reading into Something More

Hello!  My name is Amber Rochelle Gillet; I am the author of the PMS Private Investigator Series.  The first story, A Family Affair, was published this past August and is available via e-book (all formats) and paperback.

As far back as I can remember, my appetite for reading has been insatiable, but my love for writing began in middle school.  The understanding of how a story was put together, in addition to its content, really began to grasp my interest.  I became fascinated with an author’s ability to hold a reader’s attention while navigating between scenes, especially on paper!  Television and movies offer so many additional distractions to the viewer and captivating them is a much different approach.  With writing, the author is responsible to describe the setting while telling a story and if it’s not done correctly, it’s very easy to lose your audience and unfortunately that mishap doesn’t always offer a second chance, even with new content.

While I wasn’t quite ready to tackle a full-fledged book during that time in my life, I did scribe several short stories, yet ultimately chose to keep them private.  However, I found that a great outlet to appease my desire was writing term papers for others.  Who was I to turn down a few bucks?  But in reality I thoroughly enjoyed the diverse topics I had to investigate, so while the writing kept me happy, I was delighted to learn at the same time. Although I might not have admitted it then, gaining knowledge on such a vast level really fascinated me.  Unfortunately, after graduation my ambitions fell by the wayside.  I became a young mother and worked full time and despite my continued interest in reading, any efforts that were contributed to writing ceased over the next few years.

Even though my aspirations to transfer words onto paper took a small hiatus, my gift to capitalize on my outgoing personality didn’t.  Verbally sharing real life experiences and making others laugh is a close second to the connection I hold with writing.  I am genuinely grateful for this ability and equally as proud of knowing when to use my filters.  Shortly after my second son was born, I established a fantastic friendship with my in-home daycare provider and began to divulge some of my crazy experiences; past and present.  I’ve learned that when you tell another how your mother kidnapped you as a toddler from your father’s care, complete with a premeditated plan for getaway, it can really open the opportunity for an ‘anything goes’ forum! With a gentle yet positive demeanor, she politely told me it was as if I was from the Twilight Zone and then questioned why I hadn’t written a book about the very topics I spilled into her kitchen each afternoon.   And with that honest observation, my wheels were turning again! 

Here’s to hoping all of you will continue to visit my future blogs.  My goal is to share the journey on what drove my next inspiration, how I learned what not to incorporate in my work, to walk with you down the path to publication and discuss how writing your book is typically way easier than making it popular.  Reading any feedback that is contributed will be a priority and where appropriate, relevant questions will be answered and incorporated in subsequent blogs as my commitment to keep your interest!  Thanks for your time; I’m really looking forward to the next entry!