By Donnell Ann Bell
Back in 2008, I read a
blog by Tess Gerritsen called ,”When business runs your life,”
http://www.tessgerritsen.com/blog/when-the-business-runs-your-life/
in which she expressed concern over a bestselling author, a
millionaire many times over, who had become so consumed by her
deadlines she was literally making herself sick.
I never forgot that blog,
or Dr. Gerritsen’s admonition. Then and there I decided that
if/when I got published I would respect my limitations. I mean, who
wanted fame and fortune that bad?
My publisher bought my
first book, and afterward I signed a two-book contract. I felt the
time constraints were reasonable. After all, one book was completely
written. That left me nearly a year to write book two. I’d worked
for a weekly newspaper; I’d met deadlines. Every Wednesday without
fail my coworkers and I put the paper to bed.
I was organized,
professional. I would make my fiction deadlines as well, have a
life, and not spend my mornings over a toilet like this poor author I
no longer envied.
The goal toward dealing
with deadlines started out fine. I developed my characters, outlined
the book, and wrote. Most months I made my goal of 20K—even
allowing for family time, book signings, conferences, and for when
the inevitable self-doubt and freezing set in.
It was a doable deadline
of August 1 until June 23, 2012, and 60,000 words into my 85K word
manuscript, breaking news hit the citizens of El Paso and Teller
Counties. Fire had broken out on a popular hiking trail known as
Waldo Canyon, approximately ten miles from my house.
This was concerning on so
many levels, a writer’s deadline was the least of firefighters’
worries. The drought that had afflicted the Midwest, Rockies, and
the Southwest had left my area a tinderbox. It was summer, in the
high 90s, with unpredictable winds, and scrub oak and beetle-ridden
pine trees provided enormous fuel.
We’d dealt with fire
before and nobody panicked―yet. The U.S. Forest Service arrived
like the cavalry and emergency preparedness took effect. Officials
started out first with voluntary evacuations, then mandatory, as
flames could be seen reaching 150 feet into the sky. Eventually more
than 32,000 residents of Colorado
Springs, Manitou Springs, Woodland Park as well as the mountain
communities surrounding Hwy. 24 would be removed from their homes.
Still, the
beast refused to be contained, and it didn’t help that speculation
abounded, that the blaze had been manmade.
All at once, I had more suspense going on around me than I was trying
to achieve in my book, and like every other resident, we packed our
suitcases and sat glued to our televisions watching the nightmare
unfold. To walk outside required face masks, and the contaminated
air smelled like a massive campground or ashtray. Even at my
distance, I found charred debris in my yard.
June 24 and 25 came and
went, and like a thriller novel when things appear to calm down,
Colorado’s notorious winds picked up, climbing to 60 mph. On June
26, officials feared that the fire might come down the mountain and
reach into the major population of Colorado Springs. Residents of an
area known as Mountain Shadows had hours to evacuate, and soon The US
Air Force Academy was at risk and ordered to do the same. During
rush hour that day, the I-25 corridor was nothing more than a chaotic
sea of vacating automobiles.
On June 28th,
it was determined that 346 homes had been destroyed, two deaths had
occurred, and the west-side neighborhood of Mountain Shadows had been
wiped out.
In Waldo’s aftermath, we
were left with displaced people and the responsibility of helping
people pick up the pieces. One of my dear friends lost her home, and
the collection of clothing, food and purchasing of bare necessities
became our priority. As I drove to the Care & Share food bank, I
was both pleased and astonished to be left waiting in line behind
other people who wanted to give back in some small way.
Meanwhile, my deadline
approached and I had yet to return to my keyboard. It was as though
watching my neighbors suffer had afflicted me with their PTSD. The
idea that someone had erroneously, or worse, deliberately set this
blaze to my beloved community blocked my muse, and I read everything
I could get my hands on in hopes that the police had apprehended the
suspect.
Mid July, I contacted my
publisher and warned that I might miss my deadline. Deborah Smith,
Vice President of BelleBooks/Bell Bridge Books, wrote back,
“Deadline, Fire, Deadline, Fire. Fire wins.”
I was so grateful, her
kind remarks were freeing, and soon after that I finished my book, in
truth, ten days after my deadline. Fires and flood have affected my
community in 2012 and 2013, and 500 more homes were lost, and more
deaths occurred this year. Arson is suspected to be the cause of
Black Forest. Waldo Fire, Black Forest and our recent 100 year flood
have proven to be more suspenseful than any thriller writer could
pen. “Come hell or high water” isn’t just a phrase to me, it’s
something I’ve lived. As for the author Tess Gerritsen wrote
about, I have a new and vivid appreciation of her deadline hell.
About Donnell Ann Bell
Donnell
Ann Bell has put her first two novels on e-book bestseller lists,
including Deadly
Recall,
her sophomore release from Bell Bridge Books, which hit #1 on Amazon
Kindle’s best sellers’ list. BETRAYED
is her third novel. She lives with her family in Colorado.
You can
visit her website at www.donnellannbell.com
About BETRAYED (Bell Bridge Books) - November 18, 2013
Available for preorder on Amazon Kindle
Detective
Nate Paxton can’t believe what Irene’s evidence shows him.
Kinsey Masters, a world-class athlete, raised by a prominent Denver
family, an unattainable woman he’s known and loved for years, was
stolen at birth.
Irene
Turner, Nate Paxton, and Kinsey Masters are united in a sordid
conspiracy. But, it’s who the conspirators turn out to be
that will leave the trio shaken and in disbelief. Irene’s
foundation of trust will be ripped from its core, as kidnapping,
murder, and a thirst for revenge lead her to learn she’s been
betrayed.
