Monday, April 30, 2012

REALIZING A DREAM AND BUILDING ON IT



Teresa Reasor was born in Southeastern Kentucky, but grew up a Marine Corps brat. The love of reading was instilled in her when she first learned to read in Kindergarten at Paris Island, South Carolina. Books were the friends who traveled with her during the many transfers dictated by her father's military career.
She says when she grew older, it was a natural transition for the love of reading to become a love for writing. Though she's been an art teacher and an artist for over twenty years, writing has always been her first love and her passion..Please leave Teresa a comment at the end of the post.



Realizing A Dream and Building On It
In May of 2010 I boarded a plane with a friend and we flew to Scotland. I’d saved for five years to go. I worked two jobs and most of the money I made went to pay tuition and living expenses for the two children I still had in college. But every two weeks I put fifty dollars back and added any money I got for birthdays and Christmases and some of the royalty checks I got from my publisher. And in five years time I had the money to pay for my air travel roundtrip, my room and board, and my half of the rental car. (A brand new Mercedes—We definitely got the insurance.)


The hardest part of the whole experience was committing to it. Saving the money was difficult when most of my pay was going out for other things. But I bought no new clothes, only bought books I absolutely needed for research, and earmarked every royalty check I got from my publisher for my Scotland fund.
I had about half what I needed for the trip when something major occurred to me. Committing to this trip was about more than just seeing a foreign country I’d dreamed of since seeing my first book, Highland Moonlight, in print. It was about living a dream. And even more than that, I was committing to a dream that fed a bigger one. My desire to become a full time writer. That realization gave me the impetuous to tighten my belt and get the funding I needed for the trip. I squeezed every nickel so tightly Jefferson screamed and the buffalos on some of them left a manure deposit behind. Poor things.

The next part of the commitment was planning the whole thing a year in advance. It took us nearly three months to make our decisions on where we were going to stay and for how long. You can’t just drop in and expect to have a place to sleep because lodgings get booked up pretty quickly.

 Gight Farm House in Aberdeenshire

As writers we’re told to write what we know. And if you can’t travel to the setting you’re writing about, you immerse yourself in research so detailed you know the place in your sleep and the reader will swear you’ve been there. With my historical romances, Highland Moonlight and Captive Hearts, I did just that. I read histories, poetry, books about geography, looked at every website available, took classes, and saturated myself in every detail I could discover about England and Scotland, its castles, its history, and its culture. And I wrote.







With this next book, TIMELESS—this epic I had plotted in my head a hundred times—I needed to see the setting up close and personal. I needed to breath the air, touch the plants, hike across the hills and valleys and dangle my toes in the loch.



The view from Scots Walk so named because Sir Walter Scott walked this route every day.

Because it was set in contemporary times, I needed to see what Scotland was like today, not in the distant past. And I needed to meet her people and discover, what beer they drank, what and how they ate, how they spoke, and every other cultural thing I could absorb about them.




One of the tour guides at

Eileen Donnan Castle

And once there I observed, took notes, took photos, talked to as many people as I could and drove the countryside with my friend Mitsi. And had an absolute blast. We both did.

The Scottish people are wonderful. Warm and welcoming, helpful and generous. I will never forget any of the families with whom we stayed.



     Ann our hostess at Orchard House  just outside of Edinburgh.


Because of the trip, I learned that in order to live your dreams you have to commit to your dreams. I committed to mine when I went to Scotland and later when I released my third book in June of last year, Breaking Free, a military romance.









Breaking Free



In October I said good-bye to twenty-two years of teaching Elementary Art to pursue writing as a career. I haven’t stopped teaching completely. This spring I started my ninth year as a part time instructor for Eastern Kentucky University at a satellite college where I live. But my main job now is writing.










TIMELESS was released in January. Another dream fulfilled. It took a trip to Scotland and months of research to write it, but it’s out in both print and ebook format. And it’s filled with all the wonderful things I learned from my trip and with some of the people I met along the way.



So, despite whatever struggles you may face, pursue your dreams. Start early while you’re young. Make them a priority. Plot and plan for them with as much determination as you do your books and make them happen. If I can do it, anyone can.



Write on,

Teresa J. Reasor

Teresa Reasor is the author of Highland Moonlight, Captive Hearts, Breaking Free, and Timeless. Buy Here
Come back on Friday for an excerpt of Timeless.

12 comments:

Thorne said...

Teresa:
Good for you. I love your determination to reach your goal of writing and saving to get to the setting you wanted to write about. Good luck.

Ruby Johnson said...

Thank you so much for giving some good advice on working toward your dream and making it a reality. Good advice for anyone.

Teresa Reasor said...

I really appreciate you having me on the blog today ladies.
Never give up. Keep pursuing your dreams. And I hope your dreams come true.
Teresa R.

Faith said...

Hah! I'll be laughing about your buffalos for weeks, Teresa. Thanks for this inspiring story ... its just exactly what I needed to read today.

Cheers, your pal Faith

Teresa Reasor said...

Thanks for stopping by Faith. And I'm glad I lightened your day.
Teresa

Carolynn Carey said...

Loved your blog and the pictures, Teresa. You're an inspiration!

Rashda Khan said...

Woot! So proud of you Teresa! And so happy you made your dreams into realities.

Teresa Reasor said...

Carolynn and Rashda:
Thanks so much for joining me on the blog. And I know you two are traveling that same path and doing whatever you have to do to make your dreams come true.
You both rock!!!
Teresa R.

Anonymous said...

I know I'm a day late, but I really loved this post. I thought it was inspiring. Congratulations! And so glad to hear Scotland didn't disappoint.

The Timeless cover is _beautiful_. It would be impossible not to pick that up.

Greta

Teresa Reasor said...

Greta:
I don't mind that you're a day late and I'm glad you found my post inspiring. I too love my Timeless cover. I think it encompasses the story very well.
Thanks for joining us.
Teresa R.

Linda Bell said...

Wonderful trip! Wonderful blog

Teresa Reasor said...

Thanks for stopping by Linda. I appreciate it. If you want to see more pictures of where we went check out my blog
http: mymusesmusings.blogspot.com
Teresa

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