AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Deanie Humphrys-Dunne

Baby Deanie

Tell me about your love of horses. When did it begin for you?

My parents owned a riding school called

Sweetbrier.  They moved there when I was a 

baby so as long as I can remember, I wanted to ride well and compete in horse shows. I started riding at about four years old before I could walk very well.

I was born prematurely. At first, doctors said I would be slow at meeting certain milestones. I talked in complete sentences at one-year-old, but when I wasn’t walking at nearly four, my dad took me to a specialist. The doctor said I’d never walk. As you can imagine, my dad was not pleased. He was a determined person who never accepted something he thought he could change. 

Therefore, my dad picked me up and stormed out of the office. My dad told me not to worry about what the doctor said because it was wrong.  Daddy said he’d teach me to ride and I’d be fine. It was the decision that changed my life because I learned to walk and began working toward my dream of becoming an equestrian champion. Incidentally, I always referred to my dad, as “Daddy” because nothing else fit. We had a special bond.

What is your handicap? What specific struggles did you have early on that made it difficult to fulfill your dream?

I was born with cerebral palsy. It means part of my brain was damaged when I was born. In my case, it only affects my legs, not my arms or speech. At first, it was a struggle to take one step without falling. I don’t believe most parents would have considered riding horses when walking was a considerable challenge in the beginning. When I started learning to walk, I could only walk a step without falling, but gradually, my balance improved.

I loved being with the horses so I used to navigate the stairs by sitting down. Then I crawled to the barn, which was probably 500 feet away. 

Sweetbrier House

When I started to ride, I fell off many times because the muscles in my legs got tired and I’d slide off. But over time, things improved.

How did others support you (or not) in your dream? Besides your family, did you have friends who encouraged you to continue?

I was bullied at school often. Only one girl in my class even spoke to me. She is the little girl Mary, I mention early in the book, My Life at Sweetbrier. When I was a teenager, I taught horseback riding at Sweetbrier. Many of our students encouraged me and cheered for me whenever I competed in shows.

Peach and Deanie at Mrs. Foster's farm
Photo by Bob Moseder

Was there ever a moment when you thought, "I just can't do it anymore"? And if so, what or who encouraged you to continue?

There were times when I felt discouraged and frustrated. But the family motto was “The Humphrys don’t give up” so surrendering my dream was never an option. My parents always said certain things would take longer, but I could do anything if I persevered. I had faith that someday I’d reach my goal if I kept working on it.

My Life at Sweetbrier is written in a conversational style so although it’s my story, the objective is to show other children may also beat the odds through perseverance.

Thank you so much for interviewing me today, Kathryn.

You're welcome. Where can readers find your book?

Website

Amazon

Goodreads

Barnes and Noble

Dream On...

I love dreams, at least the good ones. I love soaking in the potential of my latest book, my next writing class, my next mentoring session.

Dreams are important.

But even with dreams, work is required.

I don't know about you, but I'd like to think that my greatest dreams come because I've put some footwork and real heart into the matter. I don't just expect the 'dream' to come to me, rather what I expect is the dream to manifest itself because I've put all I have into it.

If not for the work as well as the dream, most of our wishes for the future would be as real as doughnuts falling from the sky - our favorite, chocolate cake.

There's no such thing?

You've got it.

I'd like to think that after all the hours of writing and editing and yes, even marketing, something magical begins to happen. Like, I get better, I produce something worth reading, that I grow.

And that's when dreaming really counts.

Kathryn

What You Hope For in Writing

What you hope for in writing goes beyond a dream or wish.

It has to.

I remember thinking years ago that I wanted to be a published writer. But it took work.

I talked with other wishful thinkers who wanted to be authors but they never wrote - anything. You probably know them.

"I have always wanted to write a book," they always said, but their desires remained a wish.



I remember thinking years ago that I wanted my own publishing company. In my head I thought, "Well, I'm going to need a building, some help, plenty of paper and materials, and the withal to do such a huge task."

Years later, when the publishing industry changed (authors no longer had to purchase 1,000 copies at a time in order to get their book in print) I realized something else.

I could publish my own books and I could set up shop right in my very own home.

Even later, I realized that, with my years of learning the craft of writing, that I could mentor others in their desires to write and get published.

What you hope for in writing has to be more than a pipe dream.

Your dream has to be concrete. It has to be written down or drawn out on paper. You have to see it every day. You have to believe it and then work towards your reality.

There is no other way.

Kathryn

How I Write My Books

Often the question is asked, "So how do you write a book? There are so many chapters and so much writing to do, how do you ever get it finished?"

Other questions are usually, "How do you get your ideas," or "How do you keep the story going until the very end?"

Questions like these are valid, but often, they get in the way of sitting down and writing your own book.

When I write a book I do a little research. I don't spend days and days on it, because I've learned that I quickly burn out. After a bit of research I get going on my book. Sure, research will then occur during the process of writing, and I make time for it when the occasion comes up, but I don't make my book about the research, I make the focus about the story.

I usually make a goal of a chapter a week. That way, I have a direction to travel. And I try not to think too far ahead, I just take each chapter as it comes.

Ideas come to me in the least likely of places, and sometimes, even from those in my family who have a great idea for my next book. A River of Stones came after I'd been writing the fictional story of a girl named Samantha whose parents were divorcing. Like my personal story, Samantha was confused. She wanted to know if she'd caused the divorce; she wanted to know why her parents didn't love each other any more.

One day, I was watching the Oprah Winfrey show, and someone was talking about a book called, Stones in the River, or something like that. And the idea came for the title.

For Conquering Your Goliaths: A Parable of the Five Stones, my husband read an email and told me about it. "You know, a story about the five stones that David gathered to defeat Goliath would make a great book."

 

The rest is history.

One way to keep your story going to the very end is to plan out the chapters ahead of time, but since I'm not one to follow what I've written down, I prefer the seat of your pants method. I have an idea of the beginning, an idea of the ending, and some idea of what's going to happen in the middle, but I try to be open to the characters and listen to what they want. And I need to tell you I've never been disappointed.

In the long run, a book must have a good plot and plenty of tension; that's the page turner stuff. And then the character's have to be great, not flat-cardboard varieties, but full blooded real individuals.

How I write books may be different from the way you write books, but the important thing is that we write them, and keep writing them until the end of time.

Writing For Beginners

Are you a beginning writer?

Many years ago I categorized myself as a beginner, and in many ways I still am.

Just 10 years ago I learned about marketing for the first time.

Photo by: Scinern, courtesy of Flickr

And just last year I managed to publish 4 books in one year and open a book publishing service company.

I am still learning. And I hope if you're a beginning writer like I am you'll also take a look at what you've accomplished and what is still to come. Setting goals is vital, but working on them daily is necessary to success.

Being a beginner is not a bad thing. It just means your eyes are wide open to learning new skills.

Have you never taught a class before? I taught my first writing class some 10 years ago, took a break while going to school, and then had to get up on the bicycle again. Tough.

I remember the first writer's group I went to. I was scared...spitless. But I went and shared my work. It was published work but I was still mortified. And I got through it.

Photo by Ned Richards, courtesy of Flickr

Your first book signing (if you haven't had one yet will be thrilling and scary) but after you do it once, it will be that much easier the next time. Your interview on the radio will be difficult, but you will find that after it's over that it was easier than you thought.

Are you a beginning writer?

I hope so.

Organizing Your Writing for the New Year

I don't know about you, but December is usually the month I start thinking about the new year and what I want to accomplish with my writing. If you think you can keep your dreams in your head and that somehow they'll get accomplished, think again.

You've probably heard the saying, "A dream unwritten is just a wish," and I can't help but agree.

When I wanted to publish my first book, I had the words written down in my journal. When I wanted to open my new business, I had the words written on a poster board that I saw every day.

Organization can be a daunting task; especially when there's still so much Christmas shopping to do, but you may want to consider these ideas as you prepare your writing for the new year. 





Photo by: casey.marshall, courtesy of Flickr

• Clean out your desk. Organize your file folders. I know, I know, this takes some time, but make it. As you accomplish new manuscripts in the new year you'll have a place to store your work that will actually be found again. I keep my work on the computer as well as on paper, just in case one of them fails me.

Photo by: One Way Stock, courtesy of Flickr



• Throw away items you no longer need. I have a habit of hanging onto old notes for books that I have already published. This takes up a lot of space. Throw out the old stuff so you have room for the new.
• Get a calendar for your writing. You can use your phone or buy a paper calendar. What days will you write in the new year? What times will you write? Some writers write particular things are particular days. For example, on Monday they may work on their blogs for the week, on Tuesday, their newest novel, on Wednesday, they might set aside time for research and so on. Keep in mind that the more you have written down the less likely you are to put your work aside in favor of cleaning the garage.
• Make some time for fun. In one of Jack Canfield's books I learned that everyone needs a day off each week to have some fun. And while you might consider writing as "fun" there's something to be said for putting that writing aside and going out for the day.
• Make your goals realistic. If you have a goal to publish a book this next year, make sure that your smaller goals lead you to it. You don't want to spend the majority of your time writing journalism articles, for example, if you're trying to get your book finished--especially if you're looking for a national publisher to publish it. Consider how much time this will take you in favor of self-publishing and work out your days accordingly.
• Treat your writing like a career. One of the most full proof ways to keep you writing is knowing how you think about your writing. If it's just for fun, that's fine, but if you are looking to really get your name out there you need to treat your writing differently than an old sock puppet. You may not answer the phone when you're writing. You may decide not to answer the door. You may decide that your writing takes precedence over cleaning the bathroom. Whatever you decide, stick with it.

Organizing your writing for the new year is a little like getting ready for visitors for the holidays. There's a lot of prep work, decisions that must be made and places you must visit to gather in all that you need.

Your writing should also take a front seat.

Writing by Hand

In this day of ever-changing technology, it's easy to get caught up on the computer and all that this instrument has to offer. I'm on it right now, writing this to you, and you're right there a moment or an hour or a day later, reading what I've written.

Photo by RoboGenius, courtesy of Flickr

But today, after reading this blog, I'd like you to stop and take a few moments to reflect on what writing really means to you. And then I want you to get a pen and a piece of paper (or your journal) and write down your thoughts. You may want to answer these questions.

1, Why are you a writer?
2. Why do you think you chose the particular genre you did?
3. Have you been published? If so, what was it and what brought you the most happiness? Was it the writing itself? Was it the publishing? A combination of both? If you've never been published, how long have you been writing? Set a date now to have your first piece of writing published. Decide what it will be and place it on your calendar. 

You may even want to put together a vision board. Vision boards have your goals on them as well as pictures to compliment your goals and dates of completion. There's something about putting your goals on paper and hanging them where you see them the most often, that brings a goal to fruition. Once the goal is achieved, take off the picture, the words you've created and put them in your journal to remind yourself of
what was accomplished.
  

Photo by Dawn, courtesy of Flickr

We, as writers, need to stick together, and that means that sometimes we need to step off the fast track of the Internet, and take a slower pace by writing everything down by hand.

Can't you just smell that new fine tipped marker?

Continuing Faithful

Photo by: Charlie Bird, Courtesy of Flickr

DECEMBER 20
Continuing Faithful

It occurs to me that even in studying and pondering we can rush. Look! I did it! I can check this goal off! I’ve studied every day for twenty days! I have pondered just like I was supposed to.

This feeling in our hearts can and should give us a favorable rush. For, after all, we’re doing as we’ve been commanded. We are reading and pondering and becoming better for doing so.

And yet, if we are always rushing, always running to accomplish, where does that leave growth? Where does that leave the whisperings of the spirit? Are we so anxious to check the goal off that we forget the reason we are reading and pondering in the first place?

Sometimes I forget to listen to the promptings of the Lord. During these times I feel empty; I’m not sure what to study. And so I return to my journal entry of the day before, even a week before, and see that I have something yet to learn—something I have left undone. 

Photo by: Horia Varlan, Courtesy of Flickr

Am I clear on that scripture I had questions about? Is there more on the subject the Lord would have me learn at this time in my life? Have I received of his peace in the matter?  

It is helpful to me if I remember the Lord at each closing of studying and pondering. If I call on Him, I know if the subject or question I have had has been completely answered according His desires. For this reason, I make a note at the end of my journal entry, “Continue study of such and such tomorrow,” or “Begin with such and such scripture or thought tomorrow.”

Today, think on what you have been learning. What would the Lord have you do tomorrow?