Driven by Ambition -- by Carole Price

Please welcome Carole Price, author of the forthcoming Shakespeare in the Vineyard mystery series and our honored guest today. Carole attended Ohio State University and worked for a national laboratory in northern California before turning to writing mysteries. After graduating from Livermore’s Citizens Police Academy, Carole volunteered for the Livermore Police Department. She has many opportunities to work with the officers, but most importantly, the academy inspires and educates her. She frequents the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland where she fell in love with the Bard. Carole is a member of Mystery Writers of America. She and her husband reside in the San Francisco Bay Area in the middle of wine country.

Website: Carolepricemysteries.com

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The dictionary describes “drive” as propelling or pressing onward. That’s what I’ve done for over eleven years in the hope of becoming a published mystery writer. I spent retirement dollars on my travels to Martha’s Vineyard, England, and Scotland to research and complete my first mystery novel some years ago, but rejections just kept coming, and now my manuscript rests in the far corners of an old desk drawer. So imagine my delight, all these years later, when I received a contract in the mail from Five Star Publishers for my second novel Twisted Vines, A Shakespeare in the Vineyard Mystery, which takes place right in my backyard—Livermore wine country!

The tentative publication date is August 2012. That’s a long time off, but considering I was close to shredding the darn thing after even more rejections, I couldn’t be happier. With the contract signed and the check from the publisher in the bank, I drove down to Barnes & Noble to see where “P” for Price would appear on their bookshelves. Not as great as “A,” but a heck of a lot better than “Z.” (Not that it probably even matters, but I’m having some fun as a soon-to-be published bona fide author!)

When I’m not in my home office and writing the second novel in my series, I’m either out in my garden, hiking the trails in the Bay Area, or volunteering with the Livermore Police Department. But the ideas for my stories keep flowing no matter where I am. When I’m hiking tough trails, literally by the seat of my jeans, to get up those mountains, through rock-rooted canyons, and to golden eagle habitats and springtime wildflowers, I’ll often stop and jot down notes when an idea pops into my head for the next chapter in my book.

And as I drive around my assigned beats in Livermore, decked out in my volunteer’s uniform and looking for abandoned vehicles to tag—those cars/trucks/boats/RVs covered with grime and spider webs—my ears are always glued to the police radio, absorbing police lingo and looking for yet more ideas to inspire my writing.

Writing a novel doesn’t come easy for me, and I’m still constantly reading up on tips and techniques. But with passion and patience, and encouragement from my weekly Friday mystery writers’ group that’s been meeting for the past several years, I have a signed contract with a great small press publisher. And what’s more I’m a third of the way through the second book in the Shakespeare in the Vineyard series and already making notes for the third novel. Drive requires loving what you do, and that makes this entire process of writing well worth the struggles and effort. I genuinely love mystery writing.

Comments

[Staci]

Great blog, Carole and very inspiring! It shows that a writer should never give up in their efforts to get published. Congratulations on your success!

[Diana Orgain]

Great Post Carole - thank you for joining us today!

[Ann]

You are the epitome of persistence... one of the most valuable traits a writer can have! Congrats on the sale, and looking forward to Twisted Vines and the sequel. Forward!! :-)

[Mysti]

What a lovely way to start the weekend! Thanks for sharing!

I went to high school in Livergulch (well, to be perfectly honest, failed to go to high school there!). I suspect it's changed a lot since 1979 :)

Looking forward to reading about wine & the Bard soon!

[Carole Price]

Thanks everyone for your comments to my first ever blog . Mysti, the name Livergulch might be a little harder to swallow than Livermore (...moron).

[Carla DeLauder]

Hello, everyone! I'm Carla, Carole's daughter. I'm so proud of you, mom, and your great book. Too bad you're working as a police volunteer at the wine festival this weekend ... you should be out there sampling the wine in celebration of your first book contract! I'll be sure to double up on your behalf, okay? :)

[penny warner]

Congratulations, Carole!
You have the perfect background to be a mystery writer! And boy have you paid your dues!
Welcome aboard. Can't wait to read the whole series!

[Colleen Casey]

Congratulations, Carole! What a great story... your road to publication sounds like it would be a great novel in and of itself. And volunteering with the police department, what a great idea! I'm sure it generates a lot of great story lines, as well as contributes to the accuracy of your story. How does one go about volunteering for that kind of thing?

[Carole Price]

Thanks, Penny, for your comments. You've been a huge inspiration for getting Twisted Vines recognized. I'll be forever grateful.

Carla expects to have my website completed this weekend. Check it out.

[Carole Price]

Colleen, I have something similar banging around in my head....maybe for a short story.

I graduated from Livermore's Citizen Police Academy in 2003, eighteen weeks of education and fun. I'm fully backgrounded because I have access inside the police station, but if you just want to work at events, i.e., the wine festival, you can do that too. I love it!

[Camille Minichino]

I can't believe I missed the day our Most Honored Guest was here! I could hardly contain myself when I heard about your contract and I hope to be one of the first at your signings! Congratulations.

[Carole Price]

Camille, thanks so much. I thought I'd misread the email when Five Star offered me a contract. I would love to do a book signing with you. I only wish the tentative pub date wasn't so far off. Thanks again!