Title: Becoming The Admiral’s Wife – A Dual Memoir of a Called Pair
Author: Cecily Watson Kelln
Publisher: Proisle Publishing Services, LLC
ISBN: 1737525550
Pages: 420
Genre: Memoir
Reviewed by: Margie Przybylski
Author Interview with Cecily Watson Kelln
HBR: What inspired you to start writing?
I began writing once my children were out on their own. By that time, I was an ex-spiritual seeker, a mature Christian, a survivor of three failed marriages, and had had such varied experiences as living in a tent, working in Peru as a Peace Corps volunteer, single parenting, and leadership within the Christian singles community. I had a story worth telling that was too long for a casual coffee chat. My story is a victory to share that may be an encouragement to others.
HBR: How long have you been writing?
I started writing in my head in 1997 and on paper in 2013.
HBR: What advice would you give a new writer, someone just starting out?
Recognize that what you are about to produce is unique to you. Find a quiet space where you can research and write. For me, it was taking over the guest room. My computer sat on a horizontal closet door that stretched across two file cabinets. My new husband gave his full agreement and enthusiasm for me to proceed.
Take time to read books on writing. My favorite one is William Zinsser’s On Writing Well. It is intended for nonfiction, but contains special nuggets for all writing. Also, a good move is to join a writing class or writers’ community.
Ask yourself the questions––Why am I writing this? Who is my intended audience? and What do I want the reader to learn, understand, or think about? I typed my answers and taped them to my computer to help guide me during the five years it took to complete my memoir.
HBR: What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?
Write with love in your heart. Be clear on whose voice is driving the narrative and be consistent. Understand and follow the basics of grammar. Keep paragraphs short and write in such a way that the reader wants to keep going to the next chapter.
HBR: Tell us about your first published book? What was the journey like?
“Becoming the Admiral’s Wife,” a memoir, is my first and only published book. It was an amazing, inspiring, completely frustrating, gain-ten-pounds-eating-chocolate-morsels kind of journey. I learned much about myself, my family, the world around me, my new husband, and my love of Jesus. The publishing part kept me always on the edge of a learning curve. I was a 70’s-years-old having to produce and proceed like a Millennial. I don’t regret a bit of it!
HBR: Where can readers purchase your books?
Books, ebooks, audiobooks can be purchased at www.kellnbooks.com and on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
HBR: What do you hope your readers take away from this book?
I want the reader to travel the road with me. I want her/him to see how Jesus impacted my life. With Jesus, I overcame fear, boredom, pride, self-pity, anger, betrayal, ignorance, jealousy, despair, disappointment, and confusion. I received forgiveness and forgave others. The reader will see that it is possible to hope, love, and trust once again. I want the reader to think about dying to self, putting on ‘the new man’ in Jesus, and finding an identity based on how God sees them, which is not of this world, but based on pure eternal love.
HBR: What is the significance of the title?
The title is Becoming the Admiral’s Wife. Because I met the Admiral at age fifty-six, there was already much life lived. So, the word Becoming covers all of what I experienced before I became the Admiral’s wife and takes up the first six parts of the book.
The subtitle; A Dual Memoir of a Called Pair lets the reader know that there are two running memoirs in the book and that both of us were called by God to pursue our dreams, and ultimately called by God to join forces in marriage to follow the call of the Holy Spirit to do good works together for God’s glory.
HBR: Tell us about the process for coming up with the cover.
I wanted a cover that would show a couple in love with life together ahead of them. My publisher designed three covers and let me pick the one that I used.