Our monthly Writers Workshop program is already pretty special, but yesterday's session was even better than usual thanks to a visit from Kentucky novelist Ann H. Gabhart! Ann came to speak with patrons about her experiences as a writer—both the highs and the lows—and she had a wealth of insight to share with prospective authors here in Rowan County.
"Once you start writing something, it might take six months or a year or more to finish it," Gabhart told the audience with a whimsical shrug and smile. "Then it can take editors another few months or a year to go back and forth with you about it, and publishers usually take a year to actually get your book out. By then, what people supposedly want may have changed. Since you can't predict what everyone will be reading two or three years into the future, I decided to focus on telling a story I just wanted to tell."
Gabhart was transparent about hitting slumps and getting rejected. "I went through a period when nobody seemed interested in what I had to say," she admitted. "I was thinking about going back to a day job to pay my bills." But she stuck with it and kept writing, and eventually interest in her novels started to pick up. She's now authored over 25 novels, some standalone and others part of a series, for both adult and young adult readers. Hopefully her struggles and triumphs inspire someone in our community to push through and eventually get their own book onto our shelves next to hers!
Gabhart holds up her novel "Scent of Lilacs" for discussion.
Even very young patrons were interested in what Gabhart shared.
