Blountstown woman

publishes first book

http://www.cljnews.com

by Teresa Eubanks, CLJNews.com

BLOUNTSTOWN, FL – “I’ve been writing for about 50 years. I figured it was way past time,” says Darlene Earhart, 74, of Blountstown, about reaching a lifelong goal of publishing her first book.

It seems apt that someone whose job takes her to three local libraries each week in Calhoun County where her duties including sorting, reshelving and transfering books would have a few ideas of her own to write about. Even before getting in print herself, she’s been active in the literary world in her own way. In the pre-Covid days, she enjoyed taking part in events like the Sunday Afternoon with the Arts program that had been held in Marianna and has organized a small writer’s group of her own.

For several years, she’s hosted monthly meetings at the Blountstown library for others interested in pursuing their literary aspirations. The small group comes together to share ideas and encourage one another in getting their own ideas on paper.

She enjoyed an early taste of success during the 1980s when she entered L. Ron Hubard’s Writers of the Future contest and made the list of finalists. She knows creating stories will always be a driving force in her life. “I just keep writing. Writers have to write just like artists have to paint,” she explains.

She’s penned three other books that were rejected by publishers, but knows that’s part of the process. The biggest task of writing is going back to the keyboard to edit and revise. “I’m constantly learning. I read and have ideas,” she says.

She enjoys writing short stories, speculative fiction and dabbles a bit in penning paranormal tales. “I’d like to do a series of short novels,” she says.

Her current book – entitled “Ever Thought” – was recently self-published on Amazon.com.

The book is a collection of essays, which she describes as “focusing on the nuances of everyday life, urging readers to pause and reconsider the world around them.”

The self-publishing effort involved working with one of many small publishing groups that help writers get into print. She provided the text and title while they did the proofreading, designed the cover and will print out the hard and soft cover copies by request. There is a Kindle version that can be purchased for $6.99 that will also earn the buyer 20 Amazon points.

Originally from New York, Earhart came to Pensacola and enlisted in the Navy during the Vietnam era in the 1960s – a time when opportunities were limited for women wanting to serve their country.

She left an office job, hoping to become an air controller. Instead, she was assigned to be an aviation secretary.

She served in the Navy for three years and is quick to joke that it was “four years too many.”

When the Navy took her to Pensacola, her parents relocated to South Florida to be nearby. Following her mother’s death and after her discharge from the Navy, she and her father decided to head north. They got as far as Calhoun County, she explains, because “that’s when we ran out of money.”

Before losing her dad in 2007, the two found a home here in the Florida Panhandle. She started working with the local libraries in 2008 and began her own journey to become a writer. Now that she’s got a foothold in self-publishing, she’s got ideas for many future projects and is looking forward to developing an audience that will find her online.

The Calhoun-Liberty Writer’s Guild meets the first Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. until noon CT at the Blountstown Library. Anyone interested in writing is welcome to take part. For more information, you can reach Darlene at the Altha Library on Monday through Thursday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m CT at (850) 762-8280.