It began as a "Reverie"

rev·er·ie

ˈrevərē/

noun state of being pleasantly lost in one's thoughts; a daydream

A little known fact- Double Sunset was originally titled Reverie and was the working title for more than a year. 

I am Kristin Smith Novak, author of Double Sunset and I want to share my story. Mostly because I don't want to forget it! The year and a half between December 2011 and August 2013 was probably the most amazing, thrilling, exhausting and scary time I have ever had in my 46 years! There are so many details involved in the writing of my story that I don't want to forget any moment.  As I get older I find that my mind is a sieve and the little details of my life are slipping out of reach. So if you care to come on this journey with me, I will document what it took for me to write this book because that is really the most important part, at least to me.  It is also that part I enjoy talking about the most.

You see writing this book wasn't about just sharing a story I had locked away in my head, which it most certainly wasn't.  It was about my journey of finding a hobby, something just for me.  I have learned in life that when things start to get stripped away- love, childhood, friends, etc.- you need something just for you.  Something that helps to define who you are not just as a mother, or coworker or friend, but an entity all for yourself.  That is what I was in search of when I first contemplated writing a book. 

But first I had to journey back to my childhood and live in those memories for awhile.  What was I like as an 8 year old, so excited over a tape recorder I got for Christmas that I would recite poems into it for hours? What was I like as a 10 year old writing my first poems in shaky, almost illegible writing?  Who was I when I was 16 writing long, heartfelt, emotional love poems? The fact that I was a writer all throughout my childhood had been completely lost to me.  It wasn't something I did in college as I was too busy learning how to grow up and be responsible (not an easy task for me).  When I got married and began teaching, writing was a distant memory.  Children followed, which consumed every bit of creative energy I had.

And then came the dark years.  I won't bore you with the details but life got crazy and out of control for a long time and before I knew it I was slowly emerging on the other side. 10 years later, unsure of where my life was going to take me but definitely seeing the smog of life lifting.  It was then that I began to remember what it was like to write.  How it felt to realize a person in your head and give them life.  

There was never a time that I said, "I am going to write a book."  I absolutely never even thought, "I am going to publish a book." I just started writing.  It was calming, and peaceful and creative and invigorating.  I wasn't even writing a story at this point, just ideas and thoughts and the occasional few pages of "scenes".  I told 3 trusted people I was doing this and that was it, for a very long time.  I did not want to tell anyone, it was mine and I wasn't ready to share it. I kept it close until I knew I could see it through to the end.  I slowly began to share with a few more people, including my family, what I was doing.  THAT was the hardest part of the whole process for me and I will write more about that later.

In this blog I hope to detail the writing process and the little "gifts" I found along the way that helped shape the story, Double Sunset.  I don't want to forget them for they are just as much a part of the story as Ava and Jack, Katherine and John and Elise and James. At least for me they are.

I really could say it all started with a Reverie but turned into a Double Sunset!

Thoughts for next blog (coming soon): December 17, 2011 was a very important day- the day I began writing the story and was given the first, most amazing, "gift" of them all! 

Until then,

What is your own personal entity, something that's only for you?