People often say that for those of us without children, the things we create are our babies. For me, that would be my books. I have been making books in some form since I was an odd child wrapping my stories in cardboard covers and illustrating them with crayons. I keep promising myself that I will not produce another one without a six-figure contract and a big-name publisher, but oops, I have given birth to a new book, my eighth.
The idea just flitted by that I could do this like a baby announcement. You know: time, date, height, weight, a little picture with a pink or blue cap. Have you received as many of those as I have? Have they made you cry? So no, not doing that. Enough with the birth analogy. Although a friend and I had some fun the other day joking about how much it would hurt to actually give birth to a book, considering the sharp corners.
I hereby announce the publication of Up Beaver Creek, a rare novel in which the main characters do not have children and are not going to get pregnant in the end. In this story, P.D. Soares, widowed at 42, has gone west from Montana to make a new life on the Oregon coast, but things keep going wrong. The cabin where she’s staying has major problems, and the landlord has disappeared. She’s about to lose the house she left in Missoula, and her first gig in her new career as a musician is a disaster. What will happen next? Here’s a hint. The earth seems to be shaking.
Up Beaver Creek comes from my own Blue Hydrangea Productions. You can buy copies or read a sample via Amazon.com by clicking here. Click here for information on all of my books, a crazy blend of fiction and non-fiction, including Childless by Marriage.
A few of you served as Beta readers to help me with the final draft. You were a huge help. As soon as my big box of books arrives, I will send you your free copies. You’ll find your names in the acknowledgements.
Could I produce all these books if I didn’t have children? I believe I could. I might be fooling myself, but I’m always trying to live more than one life at a time. I succeed most of the time.
So, are our creations our substitute babies? Could they fill that hole in our hearts, the hole P.D. is trying to fill with music? Would it ever be enough? It isn’t enough for me, but it sure helps because my work connects me with wonderful people like you. I welcome your comments.
Childless by Marriage 
Congratulations!!! Wishing you tons of success. I was a Beta reader and thank you for the opportunity. It’s a great book and hope everyone who is able to, buys a copy.
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Thank you so much, Tamara!
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Congratulations, Sue!! The beta copy was a great read. I can’t wait to read the finished product.
I started writing again after a long hiatus to try to fill that hole in my heart. Like you said, it helps, but it’s not enough. Writing does give me a place to let my imagination work without it always being about what might have been for my life.
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Mazel tov ! Sue, this blog has helped me in so many ways. My baby from Colombia will soon be here. Father’s Day aka “National Chopped Liver Day’ will soon be here. I’m going to either go deep sea fishing or wild hog hunting. I may go to a NASCAR race, Anything but be around my stepchildren. I’ve tried to be fatherly and grand fatherly and I just can’t do it.
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Hog hunting? Whatever makes you happy.
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Yes, I love to deer hunt. Wild hogs can be hunted year round. Sue, they are very dangerous and fun to hunt.
It’s an adrenaline rush.
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Hi Sue – I’ve read and LOVE your book! I’ve left a 5 Star review on Amazon which says this:
“This is a superb, surprising and poignant novel featuring a heroine I can totally relate to: a woman finding herself single and childless not by choice in her early forties, and wondering how the hell she’s meant to live with that. P.D., the heroine, has recently been widowed and so she quits her job, her home and her name and moves across the country with just her car to a place where she knows no one, and no one knows her ‘real’ name. What happens next is too surprising to share with you and spoil it, but it acts both as a superb metaphor for the grief (or ‘widow brain’ as she calls it) that P.D. is experiencing, as well as a compelling human drama. So few novels feature childless women at their centre without falling prey to the usual stereotypes of making them unlikeable, deranged or even outright evil – but not here – P.D.’s childlessness is part of her character and her story, but it’s not the whole story and that’s both a delight and a relief. Thank you Sue for P.D. and I hope there’s a sequel and even a movie!”
Hugs and congratulations!
Jody x
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Jody, thank you so much! This is so wonderful of you.
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Jody, I love you. Thank you so much. You have made my day.
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I’ve also shared it on the private Gateway Women communities and it’s scheduled to be mentioned on the GW Facebook, Twitter feed, etc. over the next few days. I’m writing a novel, too, and I have some idea how hard it is. You made it look effortless with this book! Jody x
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Again, thank you. The writing isn’t so hard. It’s the rewriting to make it actually good that’s difficult. I look forward to reading what you write.
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Just bought a copy. Fab. I’m excited to read it. Thanks, Sue, for writing, and Jody for recommending.
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Thank you!
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I’m also a beta reader. Excited to have my name in print on the acknowledgements. It is a fab read, well done for writing it and self publishing. 🙌👍💟
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Thank you, Jenny!
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