Writing, Performing, and Planning a Walking Book Tour!
- jrhrice
- Nov 11
- 4 min read
This month's guest post compliments of Sandra L. Young.
Growing up in rural Illinois farmlands, I certainly didn’t envision my life’s fun, creative, consuming path.
The nearest town of 600 residents offered a cramped, one-room library where I devoured as many books as possible. The high school produced one play a year. I never tried out for choir, cowed by my parents’ stating, “You can’t sing.”
But this little farm girl dreamed of being a writer, and I earned a journalism / communications degree from a state university. While working as a reporter for a Gannett newspaper, I finally joined a writers’ group and also got involved in community theater and the church choir.
I wish I had juggled all these passions equally. In actuality, theater dominated my life for three decades. I’ve performed in 75 musicals and plays—sometimes logging five in a year—and gathered a huge vintage clothing collection along the way.
With all those rehearsals and switching into nonprofit “day jobs”, my creative writing languished. I did enjoy singing weekly in church, but without the confidence to solo.
At age 50, the script flipped. Inspired by a dream, I wrote three linked novellas and eventually expanded them into full books. I was fortunate to land traditional small press contracts for the Divine Vintage series, with the first book landing in 2022. The release of Divine Vintage was followed by Divinely Dramatic and The Ghostly Diva, both in 2024. The tales are linked but can stand alone, wrapping romance around historical mystery with a ghostly sizzle.
Meanwhile, my vocal confidence grew after years of singing in a contemporary praise band. About the time I wrote the initial novellas, I also joined a local rock / pop group, providing leads and backup harmonies.
In the years since, these creativities have coalesced to support my “author brand.” If you click into my web page (via button below), you’ll see an eclectic, vintage-inspired focus. With my performing background, I’m very comfortable doing presentations, speaking to book clubs, or selling copies at area events. And yes, I wear vintage for these festivities! I’ve even spoken at libraries and historical societies about my clothing collection.
While I still sing with the same praise team, I shifted out of the rock band into a trio performing classics and oldies. Of course, I bring along a few books in case anyone is interested, as my singing partners kindly give me a shoutout.
This summer, I dipped into another innovative outlet to highlight my books, which are all set in our Northwest Indiana county bordering Lake Michigan. A great friend who develops walking events asked me to partner in putting together a Divine Vintage tour. We collaborated with eight entities to provide a healthy, two-mile trek encompassing locations mentioned in my book. Highlights included a gorgeous Victorian mansion, a vintage shop, a church, and an old lighthouse museum.
If you’re intrigued by that concept, we were also fortunate to offer it as a free online version. The Otocast QR code is below, featuring narration by myself and a male voice actor. If you pull it up, you’ll see photos of the locales, plus the script to read along, if desired.
Admittedly, it was a ton of work to pull off the two guided tours plus the online version. But both I and my partner are detail-focused. So, we plugged along together for months to make it a reality. Tapping into my theater persona, I served as the tour guide, speaking at each location about how it tied into my book. Then a representative from that stop shared an overview of its history.
We were super pleased that the folks who attended, both male and female, loved the tour. Plus, it generated a lot of new buzz about my books. One lady checked all three out of the library when we popped in there on the walk and said she would also order copies for friends.
On the heels of this success, I returned to that lakefront area on Halloween, when our trio performed for a party at a senior center. Of course, I brought along books—and added a vintage flair to my costume. That kind of event really speaks to some of the best aspects in my life these days: singing upbeat songs with lots of friends in the audience who have read my books, and in turn they praise and share them with others.
I feel blessed to pursue so many awesome, creative outlets in my life, wrapping them all together to support my work as an author. As I prepare to seek an agent and query my fourth novel, a biographical historical fiction, I’m energized by this synergy. Which is a good thing, because writing can be a challenging—and lonely—occupation!
ENDNOTE FROM JAN: Thank you, Sandra L. Young, for sharing your creative journey here. Everything about it sounds splendid, especially your Divine Vintage Walking Tour. Keep on keeping on, whether writing, walking, or performing!
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