Although she spent 12 years writing her first novel, Bella Vista resident Lori Ericson has two more under way. "A Lovely County" is only the first in a series.
A former newspaper reporter, like her character Danni Edens, Ericson said that's where the resemblance ends.
"You have to develop someone who people want to read," she said, "I'm kind of dull."
But early in her career, Ericson worked for a weekly paper in Washington County where she wrote about the Arkansas 309 program. A program that still exists, Act 309 allows state inmates to be housed in county jails and work around government property, she explained. But, as she explains in an author's note at the end of the novel, there were some problems with the program in northwest Arkansas in the 1990s.
"I added some more drama," she said about her fiction.
She also borrowed from her childhood, growing up next to the cemetery her parents owned just like Danni Edens. The cemetery also figures into her novel. The cemetery not only provides some good story material, it also makes her character a little different, she said.
She started the novel when she was still writing for newspapers, but eight years ago she accepted a job with the city of Rogers planning department. She also joined some writing groups, including Northwest Arkansas Writer's Workshop.
"They helped me hone my skills," she said.
She attended some Mystery Writers of American Conferences, which was another learning experience. At one conference she met one of her favorite writers, Laura Lipton, who offered encouragement.
After many revisions, she found a publisher, Shannon Press, a division of Oghma Creative Media, a Fayetteville company. Not only did they publish her first novel, they signed her up for two more.
Her book has received good reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads.
Her most important critics, her two grown daughters, gave her good reviews.
One said she was lost in the book and forgot it was her mother who wrote it. She was relieved to hear that since there was at least one scene in the book with her protagonist and a boyfriend that was difficult for her to write, especially when she considered her daughters would read it.
Ericson has earned awards for other fiction, including a second honorable mention for The Gene Andereck Short Story Contest, Ozark Writers League, for Backyard Magic, 2011 (a thriller) and the Showcase Award, Second Place, Ozark Writers League, for Mailbox Confession, 2014 (a thriller).
In 2010, an earlier version of "A Lovely County" received a first place in High Hill Press Award, Next Great American Novel Contest, Ozark Creative Writers.
In August she will be the speaker at the Ozark Writer's League Conference in Branson.
She also earned her share of Arkansas Press Association Awards for her newspaper work.
In spite of the success she has found writing fiction, Ericson has no plans to leave her day job.
"It's a tough market for fiction," she said. "You need to have a platform -- use social media -- even when it feels like you're shouting in the wind."
But meanwhile, she will continue to write and sell her fiction.
"A Lovely County" by Lori Ericson is available on Amazon.com. From 10 a.m. to noon on Aug. 15, Ericson will be signing copies of her book at the Bella Vista Public Library.
General News on 07/29/2015