Fandom starts at Home

I have the most fantastic support system. Seriously, it’s the envy of every author, husband and father.

For thirteen years, I told a story to my kids, every night. I’ll probably offer a separate post on this elsewhere, but suffice to say, it was hard being that creative, that original, but I did it—with a lot of help from my children. As they grew into it, they were contributors (offering random ingredients and story elements) and characters (sometimes even voices) for each story. Sometimes for a break, we’d read together, which both modeled reading and exposed them to much greater talents than my bedtime dad brain could ever offer. Though those days are done (I have been usurped by Tic Toc, and they are now 12 and up), my wife has become my greatest fan and advocate. She reads every word I write, every night, and provides me feedback.

My wife is not a Beta reader; she calls herself the Alpha reader. I might argue that I am the Alpha reader, but in truth, she usually is the first to read things, always the first to read things aloud, and so she does deserve the title. She deserves more accolades than just that title, however. Her greatest frustration is that I tend to write cliff-hanger chapters, sometimes even end a book on a precipice, and that leaves her out there waiting for more. She claims that being an Alpha reader is challenging, for the rest of the story (or the next in the series) does not even exist at the time she reads. “It’s not like I can just go buy the next book,” she will say. “I have to wait forever!”

Whatever comes of my writing, I would offer that it could not have gone anywhere without the love and interest, the listening and laughs, feedback and family support I treasure.