Today we’d like to introduce you to Colleen Adair-Fliedner.
Hi Colleen , so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
When I was a child, I had big dreams. I knew I would write books, so when my father bought me a typewriter for my 13th birthday, I wrote a very terrible western novel. While other girls wanted to be wives and mothers, my interests were history and archaeology, much to my parents bewilderment. Yes, they tried to discourage me, explaining that I should learn to type and take shorthand so I could find a secretarial job. I ignored them and I saved my allowance money to buy my first book about Egypt when I was in junior high school. Then in high school, when I told my counselor that I wanted to be an archaeologist/writer, she told me that women couldn’t do such things. Never mind that I had earned numerous scholastic awards, including one from the Bank of America for a paper I’d written for a history class. I had straight A’s in high school and college, and graduated university as the school’s Valedictorian. But after working on several digs and encountering too many snakes and tarantulas, I switched my major to history with an anthropology minor. While working on a Masters’ Degree, I was hired by the Cal State University system as a research and oral historian. I was approached by a representative from the County of Los Angeles, who hired me to write a lengthy history book about So. California’s first and only County Poor Farm and its evolution into the world-famous Rancho Los Amigos National Medical and Rehabilitation Center. Since then, I’ve written four additional books — a total of 4 nonfiction and one historical novel, as well as at least 100 magazine and newspaper articles. I’m currently working on another novel. I also give lectures on historical topics, like World War 1 and California history.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been a very difficult road. I grew up at a time when girls weren’t encouraged to work or become professionals. My father didn’t believe in higher education for women, so I had to work my way through college. I had a sister who became a drug addict, and I raised her daughter, taking her before I was married. My husband, Rick, had a seven-year-old boy, and I had my niece when we were married, so we always had a full household. I had to stay up late into the night to study — I was working at a part-time job, raising the children, and maintaining a 4.0 GPA.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I think what sets me apart from many other historical writers is my extensive research in all of my articles and books. I’m especially proud of many of the stories I’ve written in my latest nonfiction book, “Fascinating True Tales from Old California.” I’ve written things about some very famous people that most readers never knew. I’ve been told repeatedly that many of these stories have a WOW factor. I’m also known as being very historically accurate in my fiction writing. I’m truly mortified when I read a historical novel that has inaccurate things in it, like early Medieval banquets serving chocolate-covered strawberries, or books that have foods (things like tomatoes) long before they were introduced to European countries. Recently, I heard a so-called historian being interviewed on the History Channel. He was giving out erroneous information about the California Gold Rush! Another recent incident was when I was interviewed on a Zoom meeting together with an adjunct professor who didn’t teach history. She had written a book about So. California history and the moderator asked both of us about how the people living in old Los Angeles got along during the Civil War. Back in the city’s earliest years, there were many southerners living here. She said that everyone got along…which was completely wrong! So, when it was my turn to speak, I talked about the huge celebration held in L. A. by Southern sympathizers when Lincoln was assassinated, the killing of young Chinese men, and on and on. I’m sure that young woman hated me!
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Study, study, study. Take classes, join writing groups, and don’t simply think that you can self-publish a book that will sell by the thousands. Build your platform by joining online and in-person writing groups. Attend conferences so you can pitch your ideas to editors and publishers. Enter writing contests. Even if you don’t win, you will sometimes get feedback about what they did and didn’t like. Remember that writing and publishing are businesses. There are tens of thousands of hopefuls out there thinking they know how to write novels. Make sure you’re better than they are at the writing craft.
Years ago, I joined a critique group of historical novelists. I soon learned they were all self-published, and it became very evident that most hadn’t studied the craft. When I told one of them that she was doing too many “information dumps” and “author intrusions,” she was furious. She didn’t have a clue about what those terms even met. After that, I dropped out of that group. That writer is still self-publishing, and I certainly hope she looked up those writing terms and made corrections. And yet, I know she wonders why she has never been able to get an agent or a traditional publisher.
Get yourself published anywhere you can. Start with local newspapers, newsletters for your church or club, and anything else where you have a byline. Write for free at first. Build your resume before you submit a query letter to an agent or editor. And stick with it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.colleenadairfliedner.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colleen.fliedner
