TALES FROM THE BAYOU: In The Land Of Mythology

mythology

 

I knew I wanted to be a writer from a very young age. I started out with poetry around age eight and completed two volumes of poetry…including some collaborations with my sister…by the time I reached my teenage years.

Growing up in such a strict environment didn’t always allow me to blossom and by the time I was a teenager I had become an extremely shy, introverted girl. While I excelled in anything academic, socially I was invisible in the hallways of my school. I spent a lot of time in the library and poured over books like I had uncovered some long lost treasure.

This was about the same time I discovered mythology and would spent my lunch time pouring over the adventures of Hercules and the power of Zeus. My favorite stories came from the Greeks and the Romans so it was no surprise to me when I decided one day to start researching those ancient tales. I wanted to contrast and compare the different mythological characters I came across. I even thought about writing a children’s book where you could look up one hero’s name and discover if they were called something different in another culture.

After months of research I had managed to fill up several notebooks with information and I was quite proud of my fledgling efforts to become a nonfiction writer.  I thought my mother would be proud as well because she was known for her extensive research of country and western artists. My mother had several notebooks filled with the words of her favorite songs and tidbits of information on the top country performers of her generation so I felt she knew what it meant to love the thrill of the hunt for knowledge.

 

Sadly, I was wrong.

 

I can remember one hot summer day when Mother was rocking on the front porch swing. I was about thirteen at the time and decided to share my love of mythology with Mother by showing her my research notebooks. To say my mother wasn’t happy with what she considered a waste of paper and a good pencil would be an understatement. She thought it was a foolish endeavor and forced me to stand in front of her while I tore up every page of my notebooks. No amount of begging or tears could save all my hard work and I left my dreams of becoming a nonfiction writer on the floor that day.

But over the years I have discovered many surprising things about myself. One thing I’ve discovered is that while I thought my dream of writing nonfiction was shattered, it was just lying dormant until the day I felt strong enough to pick up my pencil again and write. Last year I even began researching an idea my sister told me about and that nudge of encouragement from her has blossomed into a story title, HISTORY’S MYSTERIES: The Chocolate Train Wreck, which I published through Story Catcher Publishing in 2019.

Either way, I feel like I have taught my younger self a valuable lesson. There will always be people in the world…even those closest to you…who might strive to shatter your dreams and laugh as those dreams lie in shards upon the floor. But it’s what you do in those low moments which gives the world a glimpse of the writer you have yet to become. I could have let my mother’s indifference destroy my love of writing.

I chose to follow a different path…

 

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HM Hunting Gris-Gris Epub cover

 

Amelia Earmouse travels back through time to uncover little known events. You may THINK you know your history, but wait until you see what Amelia uncovers in book three of HISTORYS MYSTERIES.

Eleven-year-old Emma misses her father who’s serving in Europe during World War II. He leaves behind a treasure box with six compartments to be opened during her birthday week. He also tells her to watch for the gris-gris while he is gone. Looking out for swamp creatures and dealing with wartime rationing is hard enough, but now there’s a British refugee staying at the house! How will Emma enjoy her birthday and keep her decision to hunt the gris-gris a secret with a stranger following her around?

 

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donna - Copy

 

Best-selling, award-winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of flash fiction, children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection.

Donna L

Hybrid award winning author; aspiring sketch artist; and 4th Degree Senior Certified Taekwondo Instructor. Host of BOOK NOOK REVIEWS. Member of SCBWI. Mom to fabulous son and adventurer delving into the tricky world of indie-publishing.

4 thoughts on “TALES FROM THE BAYOU: In The Land Of Mythology

  • June 23, 2020 at 7:20 am
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    Somehow this story needs to become a book about someone who’s dream is destroyed, but somehow it resurfaces in the future. We’ve all had those people who squished our ego. I think there’s a kid somewhere who need you to write THIS story, or a version of it. Maybe it’s me . . . I’m a kid at heart!

    Reply
    • June 23, 2020 at 2:12 pm
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      Rinda, I’m actually working on an ebook of my “Tales From The Bayou” and this will be one of the stories found in it…

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Reply
  • June 23, 2020 at 3:50 pm
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    I don’t know why Mother would do that, especially since earlier, she told oldest sister to copy magazine articles she liked into note books. I wrote a very short story and showed it to Mother. She said it was stupid. I never showed her another story. Not even the ones that I got high grades on in high school. I’m glad you’re ‘back’ and write wonderful books and essays. I still have the hilarious poem we wrote together one rainy afternoon. You just smiled, didn’t you?

    Reply
    • June 23, 2020 at 4:47 pm
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      Yes, I remember THAT poem all too well. If Mother would have been able to encourage our writing, who knows where we would have ended up?? Maybe the next Bronte sisters…;-)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Reply

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