Welcome to
Writers4Higher
The purpose of the Writers4Higher blog: to feature authors in a new light, a fresh look at the way writers use their talents and life energies to uplift humankind. Writers4Higher doesn’t promote religious or political views. Authors are asked to answer three simple questions: simple, yet complex.
This issue, Writers4Higher features
M. R. Street
Hi, M. R. Welcome to the
Writers4Higher family!
1. Tell me about yourself. Your book(s), your life, your
inspiration.
The first thing I wrote was “Charlie the Chuggly Cherry.”
This was when I was about four years old, and I pecked out the letters on my
mother’s Remington typewriter. Alas, the story is lost to the ages, but my love
of stories remains.
Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, I came to the
impression that the only way to make a living as a writer was to be a
journalist. Journalism is a wonderful field, and in fact, it led to my first
writing award – First Place Feature Story in the Clearwater Sun Awards, which was for high school journalism.
I even majored in Journalism at the University of Florida – once it became
clear that I didn’t have the right stuff to be a veterinarian. For a while, I
was the sports and soccer stringer for the Independent Florida Alligator. But
after dropping out of UF and moving to Tallahassee, I switched my major to
English (Creative Writing) and promptly embarked on a career which had nothing
to do with my degree. Yes, I became a state employee. I’ve now put almost 30
years into the state, writing here and there, but not trying to get anything
published.
About 10 years ago, I went to a workshop at LeMoyne called Writing
and Illustrating for Children. The instructor was Jan Godown Annino, a former
journalist herself and a natural storyteller. That is when I discovered you can
write for a living and make millions and become famous throughout the universe.
Or not. What I really learned was, I wanted to give this writing thing a go,
because it had been hibernating in my soul for too long. Like a Florida black
bear waking up after an extended nap, I was voracious for food to feed my muse:
books to read, stories to write, and a critique group to join. I soon found my
niche, my favorite berry bush, my honey tree: middle-grade fiction.
Blue
Rock Rescue grew out of a writing exercise in a critique group meeting. My
inspiration for this story was the summers I spent in the mountains of North
Carolina. Although Blue Rock Rescue is my only published novel (and it
won a major award!), I have several others in various stages of
pre-publication. Unbeknownst (or sometimes knownst) to them, my family members
often contribute characteristics to my characters.
2. Where do you see your writing taking you in the future?
Like most writers, I would love to have a book turned into a
major motion picture, or even a made-for-TV Hallmark special. But writing has
already taken me places that enrich me emotionally, if not financially. For
instance, I’ve been invited to deliver the keynote speech at a fifth-grade
promotion ceremony and to participate in author panels for elementary and
middle-school students. A co-worker at the state told me recently that I get a
glow from these events like a pregnant woman (without pregnancy).
I hope my
writing leads me to more experiences like those. I hope my writing takes me to
Ireland one day, so I can infuse with reality a fantasy story I’m writing that
is set there. I hope my writing takes me to many more writing conferences,
where I meet other writers, learn more about writing and publishing, and
re-energize my soul and my muse. And maybe even get a gig as a speaker.
3. How do you use your talents/time to help others?
As mentioned, I love to speak to and with young people. I
love to listen to what they have to say, since it is honest and current
and joyful and sad and frustrated and scared and hopeful and immortal. I will
go to any school in the area to make presentations or to listen to and be a
resource for young authors. I volunteer as co-chair of the Student Outreach
Committee for Tallahassee Writers Association. I have donated copies of Blue
Rock Rescue to several school and public libraries, and will continue to do
so.
I have recently become a member of the Leon County Reading Council, and I
hope that will give me opportunities to give to the community in the future.
I’ve also registered with Volunteer Leon and am waiting for a volunteer
position to open up at the Eastside Branch Library. I find that sharing the
love of reading, with young and old alike, is richly satisfying; My muse, my
soul, and my honey-tree-seeking inner black bear (apologies to my friend Jan
for usurping her totem for this metaphor) benefit from my volunteer activities.
Would
you like to find M.R.?
Check
out the links to this talented author:
Facebook: M.R. Street on Facebook
Thank you, M. R. I'll look forward to hearing much more from you in the future!
Be sure to visit the Writers4Higher Market! We have gear for the writer in you.
Rhett
DeVane
Fiction with a Southern Twist
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