It is my pleasure to Pay It Forward to one of #RRBC’s most supportive members, Wendy Scott. Do tell us about yourself, Wendy.
volution of Fantasy Author Wendy Scott – The Beginning.
As a child, I wrote stories and poems. I recently rediscovered a treasure trove of ‘books’ I made, complete with felt tip coloured covers. (Let’s just say, drawing is best left to the more talented members of my family, like my dad, sister, and step-mum).
As I grew older, I gravitated towards Science. My first job, on leaving Marlborough Girls College, was in the laboratory at the Lake Grassmere Salt’s Works. Only problem was, I had to have a crash course in learning how to drive. Back in those days, it was a quick theory test, 3 verbal questions and a scoot around the block with a traffic cop. I don’t know who was more relieved when I pulled back outside the cop shop with both of us and the car still intact. I fumbled the emergency stop, only bringing the car to a standstill because my foot slipped off the clutch and I stalled it. His comments have stayed with me, when he described my attempt at backing, as the most exotic he’d ever experienced in his years as a traffic cop.
Another requirement of the job was gaining a NZ Certificate of Science in Chemistry. This qualification has been the foundation of my career in laboratories and Quality Assurance, in both NZ and Australia.
This was a dream job for a teenager – first task in the morning and at the end of day, was to drive to the beach and record the temperature of the sea. There was a wharf where I dangled a probe over the side – this worked fine at high tide, but a bit of a challenge at low tide. So, after much persuasion, the Manager spent $1000 on a longer cabled probe. The first time I took it to the beach, – I wandered to the end of the wharf and tossed the end of the probe over the side. My satisfaction of it reaching the waves below, squashed when the other end unplugged from the meter and the whole probe slithered into the ocean – never to be seen again (they even sent divers in after it, –but they never found it).
It was while I worked at the Salt Works that I was introduced to fantasy books – my boss was an avid reader and he passed on his collection for me to read.
In 2000, my partner and I moved to Australia and I was fortunate to work in the wine industry in the Barossa Valley, but because I had a lot to learn, I had homework – on Thursday evenings I attended the Adelaide Wine Institute for wine tasting. The trip home in the taxi was always a bit of a blur.
My writing journey resumed in 2003 while I was living in Adelaide (no felt tipped pens this time).
One day, I came across an advertisement promoting a 6-week weekend course on ‘How to Write Your Novel’. Curious, I enrolled. I listened spellbound to the tutor and within the first 20 minutes, I knew I was going to give it a go – I was going to write a fantasy novel. I attended dozens of writing courses and I can’t thank enough, their main writing tutor. She was a straight shooter, who was a disciplined author, who ran her classes with military precision.
Now many years, later, I’ve written several novels under different pen names. I’ve never published my first manuscript – that was my learning curve. It’s probably been rejected by every fantasy publisher on the planet – twice. Good job, too, as it made me strive to keep learning, to hone this craft, and to write something better each and every time.
Amazon US 124 reviews 4.4* rating
Amazon US Lodestone https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AMQX7DO
Amazon UK Lodestone https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AMQX7DO
Connect with Wendy:
Twitter @WendyJayneScott
FB https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWendyScott
Author Profile Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Wendy-Scott/e/B009B1N8NA/
Website http://www.wendyjscott.com/contact.html
Pinterest https://nz.pinterest.com/wendyscottbooks/lodestone-witch-hunt/
Lovely post about Wendy. I read somewhere that most authors could probably paper a wall with rejection letters! I think it may have been Stephen King, who mentioned it in his book on writing.
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Hi Joy! Great post! Wendy is wonderful––it didn’t take me long to figure that out. I have my eye on her book, Lodestone: Book 1 Witch – Hunt. It’s wonderful to read all about her here. Thank you!
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Great way to support and promote Wendy, Joy! Best wishes to you both.
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Lovely post! It was wonderful to get to know Wendy a little better – always a delight! Thank you for hosting, Joy.
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Thanks Gwen, I will have to have some new adventures so I can write about them next!
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Hi Wendy! I thought I was experiencing a de ja vu moment until I remembered that I hosted you. Duh!! lol
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Hi Shirley, that’s funny!
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Joy, this is wonderful post for Wendy. So nice to get to know her better. I have a couple of her books on my Kindle and look forward to reading them.
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I also loved the episode on Good Morning Texas.
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Oops, sorry, that was Jan. I’m blaming it on age.
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Thanks Kim – I look forward to reading your reviews!
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Great post, Joy! Thanks for paying it forward!!
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Lovely to see you here, Marlena – have an awesome day.
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What an incredible post, Joy! A beautiful tribute to Wendy!
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Thanks Patricia, I’m grateful for Joy’s and RRBC’s support.
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Lovely post, Joy! I did laugh at Wendy’s driving lessons and her job at the beach 🙂
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Thank yo Michelle for stopping by, and for giving your support! 😀
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Thanks Michelle, it’s good to laugh at ourselves!
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Great post – always good to learn more about each other. Hope you both have a fab PIF day
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Thank you, D.E. for stopping by.
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Thanks D.E. lovely to see you here.
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Joy, thanks for taking the time to make this nice for Wendy! Members like you make everyone else up their game and that’s a good thing! Keep on keeping everyone on their toes, dear!
Wendy, have an amazing day today! You certainly deserve it for the awesome supporter you are to others!
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Thank you, Nonnie. I am happy you like the post. It wasn’t that difficult. I just finished promoting Wendy not too long ago, so I had all I needed to create a new post. Thank you for noticing! 😀
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Thanks Nonnie, I’m inspired by how Joy supports other authors.
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Indeed, D.L. RRBC gives us a chance to come together as a family, and that is awesome! thank you, for stopping by. 😀
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Thanks Joy, I like being in your global family 🙂
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Very interesting blog, Joy! I learned more about Wendy. It’s so much fun when we get the chance to do this!
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Thanks DL, I’m having fun too with #RRBCPIF
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