FINDING MY VOICE: Alissa Callen

 

Finding My Voice
Alissa Callen

The discovery of my voice happened while I wasn’t watching.

Being a country girl, I’ve always written rural romance. But back in the days before rural fiction became popular I thought my only home would be in the category market. So I wrote shorter stories firmly centred around two main characters. After four rounds of revisions that still didn’t make one story quite hit a publisher’s mark, I opened a new file and started a fresh story.

This time I wrote without constraint, expectations or inner-doubt. The result. I found my voice. I found that I loved writing single-title stories. I loved the freedom to layer in quirky minor characters and mischievous animals. I loved having the word count and creative space to allow my rural setting to become a character in its own right. And I loved bringing isolated, close-knit communities to life.

I still write single-titles for Random House Australia but now also write novellas for Tule Publishing. And this time I make sure my shorter books retain all the elements that helped me find my voice. For example, in Cherish Me, Cowboy, the start of my Wildflower Ranch series, as well as my two main characters I also feature a cantankerous ex-rodeo horse and a cohesive small town Montana community.

So if your voice doesn’t feel right or your muse has gone missing, perhaps put fingers to the keyboard and write as though no one is watching. Then, when you least expect it, magic may happen.

Thanks so much for having me J’aimee 🙂

 

Cherish Me, Cowboy
Alissa Callen

Working cowgirl, Payton Hollis, has no time for hairdryers, heels and helplessness. She must save her home, Beargrass Hills Ranch. She also has no time for men. She already is boot-deep in blue-eyed cowboy trouble.

City-boy, Cordell Morgan, isn’t who he seems. His fancy suit and slow smile hide dark secrets. Secrets as to why his hands are callused, why he never stays around and why he has really come to Marietta, Montana.

Can a sassy cowgirl lower her guard for a man who will soon be gone? And can a man who believes emotions are nothing but a liability take the ultimate risk?

 

About the Author:
When Alissa Callen isn’t writing, she plays traffic controller to four children, three dogs, two horses and one renegade cow who really does believe the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. After a childhood spent chasing sheep in the family farm, Alissa has always been drawn to remote areas and small towns, even when residing overseas. Once teacher and a counselor, she remains interested in the life journeys that people take. She al is partil to historic homesteads and country gardens and has been known to drive hours to see an open-garden. She currently lives on a small slice of rural Australia in central western New South Wales.

 

Find Alissa online:
Facebook
Website
Montana Books