BY DEBBIE PAGE
After retirement from teaching high school English, facing an empty nest, and helping her husband Tom recover after a life-saving liver transplant, Hope Andersen realized her life lacked direction and purpose.
Tom thrived in his new beginning as a personal trainer, and Hope wanted to fill her days with something she was passionate about.
“I had no idea what I was going to do with my life, so I went to God and said, ‘What am I supposed to be doing?’ ”
“The answer that I got was ‘Write.’ I had been a writer in my 20s and had some success but had stopped writing because of my drinking. When I got sober at 26, I thought I couldn’t write and not drink. I thought those two things go hand in hand.
“So at 59 years old, I am getting this message to write,” she added. “I don’t think I chose writing. I think it chose me.”
Andersen accompanied her husband to a business conference in 2015, taking along a notebook, and five days later she had written her first draft of a novel, which later became “When the Moon Winks,” her second published novel in 2019.
Her first self-published novel in 2017 was “The Book Sisters,” with her latest, “Where the Wind Blows,” a sequel to “Moon Winks,” published in 2022.
Andersen also had two books of poetry, “Postcards From a Loving God,” and “Taking in Air,” and her memoir “How to Remodel a Life,” published. Her suspense novel, tentatively titled “Mother Love,” is set to be released by her publisher in early 2025.
In addition, she has written movie scripts, including children’s programming and adaptations of novels. Her script on children during the Civil War has not been produced yet, but her script on Lyme disease is actually with a producer now.
She’s also working on a biographical screenplay with a colleague about an instrumental figure in the food business. “We’re hoping to get that up and coming in the next year,” she said.
Andersen has also written a Young Adult novel that she is shopping to publishers.
In addition, Andersen started Lionstooth Literary Services, which offers editing, ghost writing, and query letter assistance, which also keeps her busy.
She is currently in a “contemplative state” about her next work, a spiritual memoir. “I have to let it gestate before getting started into a project,” she explained.
Andersen urges writers not to get stuck in a particular writing genre. “I hop from genre to genre. I’m always writing poetry.”
She follows the advice of character Lazarus Long in a Robert Hinlein’s novel “Stranger in a Strange Land”: “Specialization is for insects.”
“That’s my motto. I think it’s career killer. I don’t want to specialize in any particular genre. I like writing in all kinds of genres,” she said.
Andersen advises aspiring writers to “show up to the page every day. Just keep at it.”
“Also, don’t be in a hurry to get published. Take your time. One of the things I did that was misguided in my career was leaping into self-publishing a little too early. I’ve learned since there are other ways to do things.”
“Not that self-publishing is bad, but I think you limit your possibilities when you self-publish your first novel. There’s a lot of publishers out there looking for debut novelists. I would urge young writers to look into that before they leap into self-publishing.”
If writers get stuck, Andersen advises them to keep writing every day. “I journal three pages every morning, no matter how I feel or what day it is. I think journaling is a way of keeping your creative juices flowing.”
“A writer named Lawrence Block said, “If you show up to the page every day and you write five pages, no matter how you are feeling or what the work is like — if you do that, in a month or two, you’ll have a novel.”
“I go through later and edit it, but I’ve got those five pages a day down, and that keeps me on track.”
Her family is supportive of her work. Daughter Hallie is a cheerleader for Andersen’s poetry in particular, visiting book shops to urge them to carry her mother’s work. Daughter Kylie is proud and calls her mom “an inspiration. Son Nicholas is always reading and tells her that her work is better than most of what is out there.
Husband Tom is her “pragmatic” chauffeur, driving her on book tours around the state and beyond. “For him, it’s not quite so glamorous, but he’s very encouraging and wants me to do the thing I’m called to do.”
Andersen can be reached by email at hopecandersen@gmail.com.
“I am always available to talk to book clubs, church groups, classes at school or college, on anything to do with my books or writing in general.”
BOOK SIGNING
Andersen will have a book signing on Saturday, February 17, at Fred and June’s Books (248 North Main Street) in Mooresville. She will bring “When the Moon Winks,” “How to Remodel a Life,” and Postcards From a Loving God” to sign for readers.