When I first began writing, I was very young. I made serious efforts from the time that I was in middle school and never stopped. In the beginning I wrote what was in my heart, weaving stories that sprang out of me from the depths times that have long since passed. However, as I neared the end of my high school years, I felt the pressure of writing what was popular in the publishing world, which was what the suits felt would sell better. This is a rabbit hole that many writers and artists fall into. For me, it became a hindrance that crippled me for many years. I started many projects that went nowhere because my heart was not in it. All of these experiences unfolded during the rise of social media, and I soon came to realize that a writer does not have to be commanded by executives who determine the rise and swell of popular reading.
I came to know that there is a market for every genre, and one only need to find a way to get it online and market themselves. Easier said than done, but doable. My genre is historical fiction; passionate but not laden with graphic sex. To me, a good story is found within the story itself, rather than the story becoming a manual for passionate sex to rely on heavy sales. This is why I love watching some Asian dramas. Many of their series are very romantic but there is very little physical interaction; maybe two or three kisses. The deep passion is felt more than seen, and to me that is more powerful. That is how I like to write, however the market for that kind of writing is small even though there are millions of people who appreciate it. So that has become my journey. I write where my passion is, I post or publish through Amazon and market myself. Currently there is a publisher interested in my American Dream Series, and they have asked me to do some rewriting, so much of my time and energy has been put into that effort. I still submit to publishers but I do not wait on them, I move to the next project. Whether it is poetry, novels, short stories or even songs, I write from my heart because that is where the purity and truth of my creative mind excels. By doing this, I stay true to myself and do not fall into the hands of those who have their own agendas.
Whether my writing seems outdated to some, I will write it with a fresh spin and cast it out to the ocean of readers. It can ride the waves and some may see it floating on the foamy crests before it continues on its journey. That is the life of verse. It is ever flowing.
Heart Sounds
My beloved is mine but not mine
He is with me but far away
On a parallel beam of time
That has no formal keeping
His song carries on the wind
Stirring leaves and branches
Searching for dreams and chances
That I might hear him weeping
But when the night has shown
That dawn is near to shaping
I hear the sullen moan
When tears begin their seeping
And there absorbs in time
In my hearts chamber beating
The sorrow and the rhyme
The sound of lost love sleeping
©2023 Kimberly Jo Smith