Check Out Courtney Miller’s Story

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Courtney Miller.

Hi Courtney, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
When I retired from business management in 2012, I took up writing. As retirement approached, I looked into the business of writing by attending seminars, meetings, etc. to learn the business side.

Dr. Judith Briles became my primary mentor and helped me get my first book, The First Raven Mocker, published. Today, I have published seven novels with four at various stages of publication. I have received 9 literary or book awards and am enjoying my new career.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Getting started and transitioning to writing required a lot of time and effort.

It was a steep learning curve but I was fortunate to be able to find the answers to all of my questions and help with each step. Looking back, I am not sure where I got the confidence and determination, but it proved to be needed to be successful.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
In the beginning, I wanted to tell the story of my Cherokee ancestry. I envisioned a seven-book series creating a fictional family with each generation living in a different time period to show the subtle changes to the culture over about a one-thousand-year period. So far, I have published the first three books and the fourth is about ready for publication.

This subject requires a tremendous amount of research and focus. So, at times, I change gears and write light-hearted, cozy mysteries as a way to relax and clear my head. The mysteries are present day stories featuring an old Cherokee sleuth and set in the Wet Mountain Valley area where I currently live. This series features five old geezers, like me, and therefore are promoting a new genre called “Geezer Lit”. The series, called the White Feather Mysteries, is very popular.

My current book, which is due out in June, is a non-fiction historical piece on the Beckwith Brothers ranching dynasty. They came to Wet Mountain Valley, Colorado, with no experience in cattle ranching but became one of the largest and most successful ranching operations in the state’s history. Most of the proceeds from the book will go toward the restoration and preservation of the historic old Beckwith Ranch headquarters.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Years ago, as I was investigating writing as a profession, it appeared that printed copy books would be replaced by electronic books. That has not happened. If anything, printed books are surging. What I hear from my fans and customers, though, is increasing interest in audiobooks. It is a problem for me because there are so many formats and it is very expensive to produce.

The other trend that has shifted over the past ten to twenty years is self or independent publishing. The large publishing houses have become “Celebrity Publishers” making it much harder or near impossible for new authors to get published. This has led to an increase in the number of smaller publishing companies and a huge increase in independent or self-publishing.

I think that indy publishing will continue to increase. The problem for indy authors is the stigma that publishing the book yourself creates — the credibility issue. Credibility can be obtained, however, through book awards. Awards are a way for independent authors to be recognized and given credibility.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.courtneymillerauthor.com
• Facebook: Facebook.com/CourtneyMillerAuthor