Rita Boehm is a woman of many talents—gardening, photography, and of course, writing. These three interests delightfully merged one afternoon when story inspiration flew right up to her. Her book, Bluebirds in the Garden, came from this wonderful event. It won Gold for Children’s Picture Book in the 2019 Royal Palm Literary Awards. Rita talks inspiration, editing, and second chances for success in this week’s RPLA showcase.
Rita’s Writing Journey
I discovered the magic of the written word as a young child. There was no money for summer camp or travel adventures and what could have been boring summer days were instead adventure-filled. The librarian at my small local library knew me well, and I quickly read through the bulk of the books in the children’s section. Horse ownership was denied me, but MISTY OF CHINCOTEAGUE and the BLACK STALLION were well within my reach. I shared Laura Ingalls Wilder’s nineteenth century adventures on the prairie, and I happily went along for the ride as Nancy Drew and Trixie Beldon discovered secret staircases and solved intriguing mysteries. I may have been alone, but I was never lonely.
By the time I reached high school, I was committed to the idea of being a writer. I edited the less than impressive document we called our newspaper, and contributed regularly to the school’s more impressive literary magazine. I was on my way…or maybe not. My work schedule made it impossible for me to take the one late afternoon English class that remained open when I registered for my first semester in college, and (for some reason I still don’t understand) even though I was a declared English major (and English was, after all, my native language) I was denied authorization to take 2nd semester English without having taken it’s precursor.
I eventually took the required English courses (in order) but by that time I had a new focus. It was the early seventies and I was much a child of the sixties. I majored in sociology, started our feminist group on campus, was responsible for bringing some exciting speakers to our small campus, and graduated summa cum laude wondering what on earth I was going to do with my life!
After a couple of short-story worthy years making barely above minimum wage as personnel manager for a less than enlightened large discount store, I grabbed hold of an opportunity to take a clerical position in the contracts department of a defense electronics company. Fast forward forty years: after a couple of cross-country career moves, I retired in 2014 from the position of Senior Director of Contracts and Compliance. Not a bad career, and it paid well, but reviewing, managing, and negotiating contracts (and dealing with the frustrations of ever morphing management teams) was a far cry from my childhood dream of being an award-winning journalist and published novelist.
As my career was winding down and I could no longer find a shred of excitement in my job, I started to refocus on my earlier dream. It seemed a bridge too far to even consider becoming a writer in my sixties. Where does one even start? I discovered the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) competition and started ‘hanging-out’ in the chat rooms of the participants. I absorbed the energy, the focus, and the support that these wannabe authors gave one another. I learned ‘stuff,’ and I started writing.
The ABNA contest only lasted a handful of years. It was a tool Amazon used to build a customer base for their CreateSpace print on demand services, and to develop a stable of authors and books for the publishing imprints they rolled out. For me, the contest—or rather, the advice and constructive comments I received from the talented and supportive people who entered the contest—provided the encouragement that allowed me to believe that I, too, could be an author.
In 2014, I self-published my first romantic suspense novel, SECOND CHANCES. My childhood dreams of being an author may have been delayed, but they hadn’t been denied.
The Winning Entry, Bluebirds in the Garden
Logline: Colorful photographs and simple text capture the charming story of a bluebird pair who chose the author’s garden to raise their family.
BLUEBIRDS IN THE GARDEN was an unintentional creation—and that makes its success all the more rewarding. One of my hobbies is photography (with a focus on horses, birds, and the natural world). I also enjoy gardening. When a delightful bluebird pair chose a decorative metal birdhouse in my garden to raise their family, they didn’t seem to mind that this little house was not actually designed for their purpose.
They built their nest and I was gifted with a ring-side seat in the care and feeding of three adorable bluebird chicks. Fortunately, the birdhouse was relatively close to my home and I was able to get some incredible photos (through the window). I never tired of viewing the dedication of the parents. The father never seemed to sleep. No matter when I checked, I’d see him perched on a roof or telephone pole with a direct view of the nest. Once the chicks hatched, both parents were tireless in their efforts to keep their demanding brood fed.
They fascinated me and I kept taking photos. Once I reviewed all of my pictures, I realized I had captured their story—from the moment the parents decided to make my garden their home, until the three babies were fully grown and on their own. Putting the book together was a labor of love. The pictures told the story, and I added text to keep young children engaged.
When my name was announced at the RPLA banquet as the winner of the 2019 award for Best Children’s Book, I floated up to the stage to accept the award. I’m thrilled that my desire to share the story of these charming creatures was so well received.
“Dear Me,” (Advice to My Younger Writing Self)
Nike’s trademarked line, “Just do it”, may be trite, but it is excellent advice. Countless people have told me that they want to write a book because they have an incredible story to tell, yet most never do it. If you want to write, if you have a story to tell: do it. Some people have one story in them. From my experience, that story is usually a memoir. If so, that’s fine. If that is the one story you want to tell, then tell it. If, however, you love to create characters and craft a world for them to live in, go for it. And, as with just about anything else in life that is worth doing, the more you write, the more you focus on improving, the better you will get.
That advice goes hand in hand with the following: you can’t edit a blank page. I first saw that line attributed to Jodi Piccoult. Whether or not she was the first one to say it, I don’t know. I do know that it’s true. You can stare at a blank computer screen for hours searching for the perfection that will never come, or you can write what’s on your mind at that moment. I want to tell a story that people will enjoy reading. I want to create characters that readers care about, characters that linger in a reader’s mind when the book is finished. There are days when an entire scene comes rushing out and I can’t type fast enough. There are other days when my muse is taking a nap. On those days, I edit. But, you can’t edit a blank page.
Speaking of editing, Stephen King borrowed from William Faulkner when he wrote: “[K]ill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.” I’ve discovered that, for me, killing my darlings gets easier as my rewrites and edits progress. When I’m going through the first or second rewrite/edit, I’m too close to the original creation. However, the more time that elapses between the struggle of creation and the scalpel (hatchet?) wielding final editing, the easier it gets to make the cut—and the story is the all the better for having wielded the knife.
Other Works by Rita
I’ve published five novels. Four of them fall into the romantic suspense genre. The first was SECOND CHANCES: A Woman’s Story of Survival. https://www.amazon.com/Second-Chances-Rita-M-Boehm-ebook/dp/B00VN5P772. Unwittingly accepting a glass of drugged champagne from a charming man at a cocktail party forever changes the course of Lindsay Talbot’s life. Suspense and romance across an international landscape.
My second book, CASSIE’S JOURNEY: A Life on The Run, took a bit of a different course. https://www.amazon.com/Cassies-Journey-Life-Rita-Boehm-ebook/dp/B014RQXD7Y/ The story was at least partially inspired by an Illinois detective (and eventual convicted murderer), Drew Peterson, who blatantly courted the media when he was the prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance. In CASSIE’S JOURNEY, a young woman escapes certain death at the hands of her police chief husband and spends twenty years on the run in the Rocky Mountain west, culminating in a violent and calculated confrontation with her past.
Although I hadn’t planned on writing a sequel to SECOND CHANCES, there was enough interest from readers wanting to know ‘what happens next’, for me to continue Lindsay Talbot’s story. BEYOND SECOND CHANCES was the result. Lindsay Talbot survives terrorists and a violent assault but isn’t sure she can survive betrayal by the one person she thought she could trust. https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Second-Chances-Rita-Boehm-ebook/dp/B01MFAR01S/
My latest book, ANOTHER CHANCE: Peter’s Story, is the final book in what (surprisingly) became the SECOND CHANCES trilogy. Peter Campbell, one of the main characters in the first two books, finds redemption when he reconnects with his past to protect a young boy and his mother. https://www.amazon.com/Another-Chance-Peters-Rita-Boehm/dp/1706807309/
Prior to writing ANOTHER CHANCE, I wrote a short story about an elderly woman living in an apartment in a converted old Victorian house. I started musing about the people who lived in the other apartments, and about the history of the once grand old house. My wonderings created MISSING ON MAPLE STREET, my first mystery and a finalist in the 2019 RPLA contest. After receiving positive feedback and helpful criticism in the RPLA rubrics, I’ve made minor editorial changes and will be resubmitting the book in 2020. https://www.amazon.com/Missing-Maple-Street-Rita-Boehm-ebook/dp/B078RXCK1N/
Connect with this Author
In my spare time, I ride my dressage horse, Kosi, and play an occasional round of golf with my husband and neighbors.
I can be contacted at my website: https://www.ritamboehm.com/ or on
Facebook: @ Author Rita Boehm, or on
Amazon Author Central: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00VO82ZCS
Although I have a Twitter account, I’m not a frequent tweeter.
More about RPLA
The Royal Palm Literary Awards competition is a service of the Florida Writers Association established to recognize excellence in members’ published and unpublished works while providing objective and constructive written assessments for all entrants. Judges include literary agents, publishers, film producers, current or retired professors, teachers, librarians, editors, bestselling and award-winning authors, and journalists from across the nation. Entries are scored against the criteria set by RPLA using rubrics tailored to each genre. Winners are announced at the annual FWA conference during the RPLA awards banquet. To learn more about RPLA, click here for the guidelines.
