Welcome to another edition of Author Fridays! Sit back, relax and read about this week's featured author, poetry writer, Dawn Renae Rarick.
Dawn Renae Rarick is the author of two books of poetry, written over a period of seventeen years: "A Poet's Journal" published by Publish America and "A Journal in Verse", to be released sometime this fall, also by Publish America.
"I was actually 4 years old when I wrote my first two poems," Rarick says. "They were published in our local newspaper. I wrote the poems thanking my parents for adopting my sister and me. My mom and dad always inspired me, and guided me, and pushed me to succeed. My dear friend and treasured teacher Marsha Rogers, who made me write, and re-write, and re-write everything until it was to her standards, she is the one who made me publish, and Curstin, the beautiful foster child my mom and dad raised for five years, she is the inspiration for most of my child related poems."
A person who loves to read as much if not more than she loves to write, Dawn says she doesn't have many hobbies, accept for writing, traveling and reading. She reads to relax and to be inspired. She enjoys many authors, but some of her favorites include: Steven King, VC Andrews, Andrew M Greeley, Nora Roberts, and Marsha Scott Rogers.
Her ideas for poetry usually come from events that she has gone through, from being a foster child and being raised with foster kids, to falling in love and losing a child, to grieving over the loss of loved ones. Her ideas for novels come from real life experiences and lives she would like to live. Even though most of the books she has written are fiction, Rarick says they are all based on actual events.
When asked what readers will get from reading her books, Rarick said, "My books of poetry helped me to free all of the emotions that are inside of me, especially during times of loss, loss of love, loss of life, loss of innocence. I think that my experience, or at least my way of dealing with those losses, may someday help someone else who may have to go through what I did."
"I would say to anyone who wishes to become a published author, keep trying. Don't settle. The first publisher to accept your manuscript may not always be the best. If your stuff is good, you should be paid for it up front, not have to pay to have it published. That I was told by Marsha. I would also say, query, query, query! Last but not least, sell yourself. Not just to the publishers, but to the readers as well. Publishing is a huge part of writing a book, but being read, now that's the most important part!!!"
I asked Dawn Renae Rarick if there was anything else she would like to share with us, and this is what she said.
"It took me a long time to write the first two books. Even though most of the poems in them are fairly old, I was never ready to submit them. When finally I did, it was because my dear friend Marsha passed away, but not before telling me that in order to get rid of the demons inside of me; I'd have to share them with someone else. I am currently in the process of writing a full length novel, though I have five or six of them I have been working on for some time. Though I one day hope to be as big as Nora Roberts in the whole romance field, I'd be happy to at least have my stuff read."
To learn more about Dawn Renae Rarick and her books, visit her website.
Thank you for joining me for this week's edition of Author Fridays! Be sure to come again, same time same place to read about next weeks' featured author, children's author and illustrator, Rosetta McHugh!
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