From a Distance

This is the cover image of my novel, From a Distance, now available on Amazon. I started this novel 28 years ago and self published it in February of 2024. It has been a long journey. At times I was unsure this would happen. I’m grateful to friends and family who encouraged me to keep writing.

The cover artist I hired didn’t work out so I trepidatiously attempted to create my own cover. I couldn’t capture what I pictured with watercolours so I switched to acrylics.

How it all started

“From the spark of an idea to the realization of a dream, the journey begins with a single moment of inspiration and a fierce determination to succeed.”

The story

In 1995 I began to write a novel entitled, From a Distance. This photo in a magazine inspired me. Initially the first chapter was a skating scene. When I finished the novel I went back to the magazine and looked up the location. It happens to be midway between two main settings in the novel.

I could have finished a dozen novels in this time. I put my writing down and picked it up again numerous times. I made countless revisions. When I finally felt prompted to publish it, I was daunted by the task of deciding what to keep and what to discard. However, in the end I remained true to the original essence of the story. There were parts I wanted to remove to “clean it up” but I felt they belonged with the story and completed it. It took courage to tell the story the way I thought it needed to be told.

My journey

Twenty-eight years seems like a ridiculously long time to work on one novel. It was my indecision and lack of confidence that caused the long delay. The feeling of finally seeing my book come to publication is surreal. After numerous attempts, I realized I needed to be convinced this was a story worth sharing. I was tempted to think, “There are enough novels in the world.” One day I felt I needed to offer my “gift” as though it belonged to the world. It was this vision that propelled me forward and enabled me to complete it.

Back Cover Summary

Paul Winthrop is recovering from a break-up and a broken femur suffered in a car accident. He decides to take some time off work and head back to school to get his graduate degree and avoid being around for his ex-fiance’s December wedding. Meanwhile he keeps looking for art by Margaret C., an artist he met a year ago at Art in the Park. If only she hadn’t been wearing those annoyingly large sunglasses and a hat, he might recognize her again.

Greta Calder is struggling to become a successful artist. Her grandmother passed away and Greta will inherit a sum of money when she turns twenty-five, in three years. But meanwhile she must make ends meet. She encountered a handsome man interested in her art at the Portland, Maine, summer Art in the Park show but she didn’t get his name. Could her new boss’s son be the same man? It’s been over a year and he was wearing a hat and sunglasses so it’s difficult to tell. But any man she meets will have to include her daughter in his plans.