“FRAMED” IS UNDER CONTROL – Carmel Rowley

When I think back to writing my first novel Tails Carried High I can truthfully say I’ve got this publishing process a little more under control.

At last after two years my new novel Framed is finally going through the endless revising and editing process. The cover is at the designer.  It’s not quite ready to publish yet, but it hurtling down the road towards the finish line.

This book has kept me constantly questioning my life goals. It has combined many of my individual experiences especially the emotional bits that kept me a little on edge as my characters come to terms with what they want out of life.

The subject of friends has always fascinated me so in Framed I loved the idea bringing together three women all different ages who develop a firm and caring friendship. I realised long ago that the most important and yet least understood areas of psychology would have to be the role of friends in our lives.

Again, I began to wonder why do many of the friends in our lives come and go? Some make the reason clear while others simply drift away in a fog of silence. So, some of the events I’ve written about still linger in my memory; some remain incredibly clear and it’s as if they happened only yesterday. I also wondered about all the challenges and changes in my life and questioned if I would have done things differently if it weren’t for my friends.

The trouble is, mistakes are always clear in hindsight but I’ve grown to believe that the way my life unfolded was a preparation for now. Some of my choices would never even appear on my radar these days, while others were life changing and marvellous.

Could I have possibly made wiser decisions? The answer is yes but can’t we all? Would things have been different had I not had horses in my life? I didn’t realise how my life changed once I embarked on the voyage of breeding Arabian horses.  The time passed (forty years)and on occasion I questioned not only my own goals but the goals of the horse people around me.

As I wrote Framed I thought about how my characters would react to some of the situations I had found myself in and how they would solve these situations. It was a long search to find the words so people could understand these women and their situation while wondering if it was right to have them mirror parts my own life experiences.

Can I change what happened? In my characters case, yes I can. I can delete some words or add extra happiness or misery but I wanted readers to relate to the women’s life experiences.

As I wrote about Stella, Julia and Sage I found Framed reminded me of important life lessons, for instance that my power comes from my heart, my gut instinct and staying mindful of all my senses and behaviour. I’ve always known my goal of writing has been about being non-judgmental and to remind all involved to appreciate and make good decisions when it comes to preserving the most beautiful breed of horse on this earth.

Maybe also, a reminder is included to illustrate the importance of friendship and how you can make wonderful NEW friends at any age. And when you combine the interaction of being creative (and we all are) plus the healing power of horses, life becomes full of exciting possibilities.

I’m looking forward to sharing Framed with you towards the end of the 2018.