Beyond Despair by Shirley Hoisington

8/29/2020

Debut author, Shirley Hoisington introduces us to her book, “Beyond Despair”, a novel about romance, love and loss:
Twins, sisters in love with the same man! Who will find true love in this tale of twists, turns and surprises? Jealousy... Sacrifice... Betrayal... This one has it all! Can Miranda find herself? Does Miranda choose the man of her dreams or her twin sister? Will anything be made right again…beyond despair?

This is a fun, exciting and touching story. Miranda makes important choices that put the needs of others before her own and sometimes suffers a great deal from the consequences of those choices.
This story is well written and very enjoyable to read. I was able to relate to all the major characters quite significantly. That is a sign of good writing. Another sign of good writing is that the book is easy to read. Easy reading is the result of hard writing.
The scene setting is excellent throughout the book, as a native Oregonian it was fun to see so many places I knew in the story. A jet boat ride on a wild river is an unforgettable experience!
The dialogue was a standout for me also, very natural and suitable for the different occasions. I laughed out loud many times.
The development of the characters was well done also. They seemed alive and lively to me.
I award 4.6 stars to “Beyond Despair”, the score would have been higher except for the large handful of spelling errors.

You can buy this book:
https://amazon.com/Beyond-Despair-by-Shirley-Hoisington
https://www.goodreads.com/-beyond-despair
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Despair-Shirley-Hoisington
You can follow the author:
https://twitter.com/ShirleyHoising2
https://shirleyhoisington.com

Romance, adventure, suspense, Oregon
Copyright © 2020 Mark L. Schultz, except for the author’s introduction.

63 Comments

Shirley Hoisington link

8/31/2020 12:19:27 am

Mark, I was surprised and thrilled by your review.. I expected women to respond to my book but to get such a glowing review from you makes me feel glad I finally "took the bull by the horns" and did the work to get this book published. Thanks, Shirley

Mark Schultz

8/31/2020 09:11:53 am

Your book touched me, it surprised me. I am glad you published your book.
First question.
Please, tell us more about yourself. Perhaps something a little bit beyond your bio.

Shirley Hoisington link

8/31/2020 01:40:00 pm

From an early age I had stories in my head. I would make up songs and stories any time I was alone and day dreaming. I was rather a lonely child so I think the stories made me feel less alone. I had a good family with 5 brothers and sisters, but my mom and dad were so busy they didn’t have a lot of time for us. I became an avid reader and would read anything I could get my hands on. We lived in the country so the Book Mobile was a lifeline.
When I was 16 my dad moved us to Lakeview, Oregon and 6 months later to Junction City, Oregon where I graduated. As a result of the moves I had few friends so I remember having my head buried in a book most of the time. Reading was a lifeline for me and as a result I created stories myself but for some reason, I never wrote them down.
I went to business school and later went to work for a small branch of OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) in Eugene, Oregon. I was a "Jill of all trades", manning the cash register, taking school children on tours, running the planetarium and doing office work. I married in 1972 and moved to Texas. Once again, I was very lonely with no friends so I read books and magazines most of the time. I had very little to do and my husband was gone all day. A year later we moved to Pasadena, Ca and a year after that back to Oregon. I spent much of the next few years moving with my husband's company. We lived in Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, and Missouri.
We were living in Gillette, WY when my husband was diagnosed with cancer in February of 2006 and passed away June of that year. I was 56 years old. It was a struggle but I moved a year later to Vancouver, WA where I still reside. I am an avid bowler and square dancer. I met and married my current husband, Robert, in 2015 after being a widow for 8 years. We’ve travelled extensively since getting married but I never lost my desire to write. In 2001-2002 I had written Beyond Despair as well as another book, and started a third one. I longed to get my books published but I just didn’t know where to start.
It wasn’t until my mother died in 2017 that I made a decision that I was going to get my book published and found an editor. He helped me immensely, and I learned a lot about how to show, instead of tell, and develop my characters so that they became believable. I am so thankful for all the encouragement and help I received along the way.

Mark

8/31/2020 02:39:22 pm

Thank you for sharing about your life. You have done many different things. We share some similarities growing up, being an avid reader and such. I was lonely also, growing up in a small town with two younger sisters and a brother 10 years my junior.
New questions.
Are you a full-time or part-time writer?
Are you in the writing business for love of writing or for money?
What kind of work do you do? Feel free to skip that question, if you would rather not answer.

Shirley Hoisington link

8/31/2020 03:24:03 pm

I am a part-time writer. I would love to say that I set aside a certain time of the day to write and keep to that schedule. I'm afraid that I write when the desire to write comes over me, or when I have an edit job I need to get done. I am a true procrastinator, as my past shows, but when I do write I may not stop for hours. When I originally wrote Beyond Despair I spent many nights writing until 3 or 4 in the morning. I am "kinda" obsessive, compulsive with my writing so when I'm on a roll, I might not surface for days!

I write because I love it. My editor asked me if I wanted to publish my book for money or just to be an author. My response was a resounding, I want to have my name on a book before I die! As I've learned, it's very hard to publicize your own book, but the thrill of seeing my book, Beyond Despair, with my name on it was more than I had ever hoped for!

I am happily retired. I worked as a secretary, receptionist, and office manager; and also did house cleaning while my children were in school so I would be home when they came from school. I retired from office manager to a non-profit organization in 2015. I loved the work and dealing with people was a challenge that I enjoyed. Shirley

Mark

8/31/2020 03:32:53 pm

You are not the only one obeying the whims of the muse. Many writers don't put fingers on the keyboard unless they feel a nudge from their inspiration. Some famous writers have declared that a writer should write regardless of their feelings or their muse. They say the muse will show up eventually. Not being a writer myself, I don't know. What I do know is that every author's experience is their own.
Quite a few writers are binge writers. They barely take breaks for fear the juice will be lost.
That was an interesting question your editor asked you, very perceptive. He needed to know where your basic motivation was.
New questions.
What inspired you to write this book?
Why did you choose this genre, or do you feel the genre chose you?
Who designed the cover of your book? Feel free to drop a link if appropriate.
What do the elements on the cover represent?

Shirley Hoisington link

8/31/2020 06:07:51 pm

I am a romantic at heart and during my early years I read mostly romance novels. Then I started to get bored because the stories all seemed to run along the same line, with the exception of a few writers, such as Nora Roberts; but I must have read Gone with the Wind, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights at least once a year. As I branched out and discovered Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, and Mary Higgins Clark, I found loved mystery mixed with romance. I always disliked having to skip over sexually explicit scenes in the newer romance books so I gravitated to writers who wrote wonderful stories without resorting to erotica.
This is why you will find romance, mixed with mystery, sorrow and laughter in my book. I took a lot of my story from my experiences while living in Oregon. I absolutely love the Oregon coast. My husband and I spent a week camped on the beach in Gold Beach and it somehow called to me. I will never forget sitting for hours on the rocks watching the ocean ebb and flow, splashing up on the rocks and retreating back out to sea, only to return.
I have identical twin nieces and my husband’s sisters are twins. The way they related to each other always fascinated me, and my mother-in-law told me the twins had a language of their own when they were little. So, I suppose that inspired me to write Miranda and Cindy’s story.
I think the genre chose me. The story was just there in my head and easy to write. The story just seemed to flow. Of course, the original version was very small compared to what I eventually wrote.
My editor found the cover to the book and nothing else appealed to me after seeing it. My original thought was to have a blond and black-haired man with a blonde woman, or blonde twins with the two men; but this cover has generated a lot of interest, so it was a perfect choice.
The red rose, alone on a black background, is the perfect symbol of love. A single red rose presented to someone you love tells a story by itself. The title Beyond Despair has given me problems because readers tend to think of it as a self-help book and search engines tend to put it there. I would have loved to have a different title, but it wrote itself. If you are not a writer, you probably won’t understand this, but I bet most writers will! Shirley

Mark

8/31/2020 06:41:14 pm

Those are big names in the romance genre. I am not a fan of explicit sex and erotica either. I avoid books like that.
I love the Oregon coast also. We have been up and down the coast many times, including camping in Gold Beach for several nights a long time ago.
I have known twins as classmates, but nothing more than that. The idea of twins and twinning interests me quite a bit.
I love red roses and what they symbolize. The single rose is perfect.
It's a shame search engines mis-categorize your book. That might be costing you sales. Perhaps adding love to the title like, "Love Beyond Despair", maybe that would solve the problem. I do know that titles are very important and are the first or second thing a prospective reader sees. Many authors struggle to find the perfect title. That can be a good contest for fans. With three or four titles in mind, ask fans to vote for their favorite or rank them in order of favorite.
New questions.
Was it hard to come up with the title? What was the process?
Were the character names difficult to develop? How did you choose them?

Shirley Hoisington link

8/31/2020 10:52:22 pm

I think I basically had the title from the beginning. I’m not sure why that was but though the writing process I questioned it. Couples split up, husbands or wives die, or people get divorced. In each of these cases, there is usually a lot of history. People experience sadness, grief, anger, or even guilt at the loss. But there may be also a feeling of relief or satisfaction that they are no longer with that person; or the loved one is no longer suffering. In the case of a lot of fighting and arguing with a partner over a long period of time, there may just be relief to be out of the marriage or relationship. In the case of a loved one passing, who may have suffered from an illness for a long time, (or in many cases) a short time, there is just thankfulness that they are no longer suffering.
As I thought of Miranda, none of these things were true. She loved Roger, heart and soul, and her pain was so deep I could feel her anguish, and torture over what it was doing to her relationship with Cindy. It was beyond despair. So, the title stuck.
The characters were a little hard to figure out. Miranda and Cindy were easy. I didn’t really care for the name Roger so I tried more than once to change it. I searched through name lists, tried different ones, but it always came back to Roger. As a writer sometimes the story just has a mind of its own. I can’t explain it. Brian was easy as well. It was the descriptions that I struggled with the most. With the other names, I just found names that seemed to fit the character and it all worked. Shirley

Mark

8/31/2020 11:26:09 pm

I have heard that many times. I have done more than 100 interviews now. The story or a character or the muse seems to push certain aspects in a specific direction. While the writer may try different things nothing works when it strays from the given mysterious input. Most writers eventually capitulate and follow the course.
I think Cindy, Mirandas twin, was a perfect plot point as it amplified Miranda's grief in multiple directions and her slow degradation was evident and well timed.
New questions.
This is your first book on Amazon. Have you written others, that are published elsewhere or unpublished?
Have you entered any writing contests?
Have you won awards of any kind for your writing?

Shirley Hoisington link

9/1/2020 12:00:29 pm

I have written various stories and poems over the years. I wrote a children’s book years ago called Pampa and Her Friends and the Miracle of Friendship. My daughter is currently working on the artwork and I’m getting the story ready for publication. We hope to have it published by the end of the year or early next year. It is for children 5-12 approximately. I’ve also written a short story which I submitted to a contest.
I have another novel call To Heal a Broken Dream which is all written. Now I just have to edit, re-edit and have it proof-read before I publish. It is based in Wyoming where I lived several years. I also started a third story based in North Carolina where I was born, A Lifetime of Betrayal. If I ever finish writing it, it may very well be my favorite.
I entered Beyond Despair in Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. Winners are to be notified on or before October 18th. I know it’s a huge venue with so many published writers but I’m just hoping I get honorable mention!
My publisher awarded me Editor’s Pick award. Shirley

Mark

9/1/2020 12:13:52 pm

You are on your way to becoming a well-rounded writer. Working in multiple genres and and formats will serve you well. There are publications that pay for short stories and that skill can translate into good, tight writing for a novel.
There are lots of ethical and well-run contests, and there are some who merely want to take your money and your intellectual property rights. Beware Bogus Writing Contests! Look for These 8 Red Flags. https://annerallen.com/2019/05/beware-bogus-writing-contests/ via @annerallen This is a good post about those dangers, Anne is one of my favorite bloggers. She always has a list of quality contests on her blogs, near the bottom.
Congratulations.
New questions.
I noticed that you didn’t put your book in Kindle Unlimited. Why is that?
Have you ever gone through the query process, seeking an agent or submitting directly to publishers or did you go straight to indie publishing or self-publishing, and why?

Shirley Hoisington link

9/1/2020 02:01:10 pm

I haven't put my book into Kindle Unlimited because I don't know what it means from an author's standpoint. I know it helps readers. I will research it from my standpoint and see what it does for me as an author.

I was in a Meet-Up writers group which was lead by a publisher before I published my book. She explained the process of getting an agent to publish your book. It's a very long and drawn out process and hard to accomplish. Without knowing anyone in the publishing industry I just decided the best route was self-publishing. Maybe it was short-sighted but as I am 70 years old, it just seemed too much. I was very busy with bowling, travelling, and square dancing (now at a complete halt) so I took the easier way to get published. I've now found that self promotion is probably just as hard! Shirley

Mark

9/1/2020 02:44:11 pm

Your book might do well in KU. The author is paid a fraction of a penny for each page a reader consumes. I think you have to be exclusive with Kindle for the duration also, but I am not sure.
It can be a very long and frustrating process. Lots of blogs have been written about submissions and querying. Traditional publishers are on the ropes, the industry has been shrinking for years now. Amazon has not only turned the apple cart over it has smashed the cart and kicked the fruit all around.
A traditional contract can be had, the author loses a lot of control of their book, they share the profits with the publisher, and still have to do the marketing. The profit margins have shrunk so much for trad publishers, they are struggling to stay afloat.
New questions.
What are the main advantages of being self-published as opposed to getting a book deal?
Do you think independent publishers can produce a book as good as mainstream publishers?
What are the three most important considerations for an author to be certain of when signing a contract with an independent or hybrid publisher?

Beyond Despair by Shirley Hoisington

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