Celebrating Indie Authors: Isabelle Richards

One of my favorite indie authors (and people in general) is Isabelle Richards.  I was introduced to her earlier this year when her first book WHEN FATES COLLIDE came out.  I was hooked when the blurb said the hero was British, but Isabelle completely blew me away with the story she wrote and that hasn’t stopped as she’s ventured onto another series.

Isabelle’s here to share with us why she loves being an indie author, so please help me in welcoming Isabelle to Cocktails and Books.

What I love about being an Indie author

by Isabelle Richards

When I first started writing When Fates Collide, I told a few people I was writing a book. “Oh, how wonderful,” they’d say. “Are you writing a memoir?  A book about autism? Or are you finally turning all that academic research you’ve done into a book?”

I’d smile. “None of the above. I’m writing romance!”

Every single person snubbed their nose at the idea. “Romance! Why does the world need another romance novel? Can’t you write something that will do a little good in the world?”

I’d shrug. “Maybe my book won’t make a difference in anyone’s life, but it’ll be entertaining at the least.”

Writing made a huge difference in my life. It gave me an outlet, something to focus on during a trying time. Writing helped me find myself when I was lost in the murk and mayhem of a chaotic life.  It was a blissful escape, and my biggest goal for the book was that it might offer someone else that same escape. With this in mind, I charged on ahead with my book, but the condensation I received always hung around in the back of my mind, like an annoying gnat.

Soon after Fates released, I received a PM from a reader whose father was dying. She sat by his side in hospice waiting for him to die. An only child who had lost her mother at a young age, she was completely alone in the world. So, she picked up a book she’d heard about to keep her company. Getting lost in my book helped her get through the hardest night of her life. I was in tears reading her message. Maybe I didn’t write a book that was prophetic, I didn’t offer anyone the meaning of life, or a solution for the debt-ceiling crisis, but I did make a difference in someone’s life and that rocked me to the core. Since then I’ve received so many similar messages. Women who were going through a dark time and clung to my characters to help them forget it all just for a little bit. That feeling, knowing that in a way, I helped someone in need, is my favorite thing about being an author.

Books have an amazing power to soothe us when we are most broken, to unite perfect stranger from across the globe, to give us a fantasy world to get lost in. It is such a privilege to be able to share my stories, something I would never be able to do without the indie book community.