Meet Medway Native and Author Roberta M. O'Connell

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Medway-native and author Roberta M. O'Connell about her books, the faith which guides them, and her cats. Although she originally intended to be a children’s book author (and now has written a few children’s books), “One day, while [typing on my typewriter], I felt God speak to my heart. I was working on yet another children's story but...I knew in that moment that He was telling me to write for Him. I pulled the page out of the typewriter and began with a clean page, as...in a flash of a moment in time, I was given the titles of seven books and the knowledge or formula... to write them.”

I asked O’ Connell to what extent her faith influences her writing, and how? I also asked if she thought a non-religious person would enjoy some of her other books such as her Adventures of April Rose children’s series?

She replied: "I am a follower of Christ and, yes, to answer your question, my relationship with God influences all my writing now, in a way that I realize I am responsible for what I put out there...The first seven books were based on feelings we have and what the Bible has to say about it. I lived every one of those books and poured my life experiences into them; bringing me healing through my writing and hopefully bringing peace to others. I have come out of addiction, opening up a whole new world. I hope my past helps catapult many into a better future for themselves...My life should reflect my spirituality, so yes, I guess, everything I do should be a spiritual act. But I am just like everyone else; I laugh, I cry, I have adventures, I get sick, I make mistakes, I get angry and whatever I'm feeling, you will know through my writing.

Secrets In The Tides: A Family Saga was written by my mother and I at a time when she had undergone back surgery and was pretty much housebound in New Hampshire while I was in Massachusetts. We wrote a line here and there over [emails] for about three months just for fun, not expecting it to ever be read by others. Thirteen years and many edits later I decided to publish it as a Mother's Day gift to my Mom. She was thrilled to see it in print, as was I. It's been available for awhile and many are asking for the sequel. ...Although completely fictional [it] has little bits and pieces of my life experiences that I drew from sprinkled throughout. Mom included her Irish Bread recipe and a poem from when she was young as well.

As to the question of whether I think non-religious people would like my work, I would say yes. There is something for everyone. If you read even my first series, which is based from the Bible, you will find yourself or someone you love among the pages. They are self-help [books] and you can take what you want/need from them and leave the rest. I poured much of my personal life experiences into that series. [Additionally,] poetry is fun....children's books are great lessons...coloring books are for all ages...the novel is clean and adventurous."

I asked her about the process of creating her recently-published coloring book, Family Coloring Book, as opposed to her other books. “[The reader] should know [it] was designed so that the whole family could use the same book at once. The pages are one-sided on purpose so that you can tear them out (not perforated, sorry) and pass them around a table. The paper is thick enough for colored pencil. Whatever age you are, there is something for you in there. Simple designs to scribble over for the very young all the way to complicated geometric patterns for the cerebral artists out there. I had an absolute blast creating original pieces of art for this one. I have always had a love for art and I also illustrate all of my own children's books. The hardest part of making the coloring book for me was resisting the temptation to color the drawings in.”

Speaking of her children’s books, I asked O’Connell about her children’s books, including the above-mentioned April Rose series. “I was originally going to be a children's book writer. I completed the course at The Children's Institute of Literature as well as Art Instruction Schools in order to hone my skills in this area. All of my children's books, except one, are in the form of rhyme and they come to me very easily. I have approximately 16 more of them completed, awaiting publication. My children's books, I decided, would be written under the name of Auntie Roberta, giving a nod to Mother Goose, Dr. Seuss and the like. I envisioned showing up for a book signing for children and how that would go; I realized Auntie Roberta was more approachable than Roberta M. O'Connell.” Despite these intentions, a few of O'Connell's children’s books are published under her full name.

O’Connell wrote one book of poetry, To My King, about which she says “I love to rhyme; the rhythmic way a line moves excites me to write another one. Absolutely, without question, I prefer to write poetry. I truly enjoy reading both. There are so many wonderful poets who write in so many different ways and patterns. I especially loved listening to Maya Angelou recite her own works, the melodic was in which she presented it was a song to my soul. Oh, to write like Maya.”

O’Connell explained her choice to self-publish thusly: "I chose to self-publish after years of rejection letters back from mainstream publishers and agents. The runaround went something like this:

Publisher: I can't look at your work without an agent.

Agent: I can't look at your work unless you've been published.

So, you can see the frustration here. I went to work looking for another way. Self-publishing became the obvious choice for me; however, that being said, it was a difficult road at first. I had to learn about computer programs and all that went in to editing, formatting, design. For me, someone who is grounded in art, learning the world of electronics frustrated me. Once learned however, I had the formula and the knowledge that would launch me into greater things.

I opened my own publishing company, 'Princess Publishers' in order to get my books in more places. Createspace has been a joy to work with and I highly recommend it. If you go on their site, CreateSpace.com, will guide you through the process. You may opt for more help from them, which could cost some upfront money, however, this is a great company in that it prints my books as they are ordered and I do not have to pay for stocking fees because of it.

You can now just Google my full name, Roberta M. O'Connell and you will be whisked away to places, internationally where you can buy my books. I really appreciate when people walk into Barnes & Noble and ask to order one of my books, because if I get enough requests, my book may just end up on their shelves one day. That being said, through Createspace.com, my books are now available not only through Barnes & Noble, but through Amazon.com and Kindle.

Marketing the books has been my least favorite part of being a writer/publisher. I just want someone to come along and publish and promote my books for me so I can sit and write at the beach, feeling the peace and joy of writing. Some of the things I have done are book signings at stores, libraries, fairs, art shows, etc. I've been interviewed, which is very helpful for launching books...There is a video from a cable show called Be My Guest that I interviewed for a couple of years ago. The show was shown on TV locally and remains on YouTube as well. I see Northborough Patch has done a piece on the hostess of Be My Guest; she's wonderful to talk to. I have been asked back and, when I complete the sequel I'm working on, I will contact her again; looking forward to our time together.I've handed out business cards and bookmarks and done large "Meet the Authors" shows, where the public comes in and meets 50-100 authors all at once and can purchase, take pictures with, and receive autographs from any author they wish. I am humbled to be asked to be a part of those moments."

After I noticed “Roberta has been married for [34] years and resides in Massachusetts with her [Westwood-native] husband Dave and her two faithful companions, Hobo and Peanut,” in her bio for The Book of Peace: A Bible Study Guide, I inquired about Hobo and Peanut. “My husband, Dave and I adore our kitties! Hobo is the dominant King of the house, while Peanut is the shy, quiet one. Hobo dominates the food, the bed, the floor, the water, me, anything and everything that Peanut goes for, poor baby. Peanut is extremely patient with him most days, but he knows when she's had enough of his nonsense. These kitties are loves. They love to cuddle with my husband and I. If you saw my desk, when I write, you would see a cat laying across my papers, or one trying to crawl into my arms in order to stop my typing. If Dave is on the computer, Hobo lets him know he needs a cuddle and Dave will put his legs up on the desk so he has a place to nap. So adorable. Hobo snuck out of the house one day (they are indoor cats) and I panicked. He was hiding under a porch chair at one point, hissing and growling in fear; he really wasn't sure what to do once he escaped. I left the door open in my haste and when I turned around, I noticed Peanut standing in the doorway calling out to Hobo to come in. It was amazing! He listened and seemed relieved to know what to do and went right inside. They are amazing ‘children’ and I could go on and on with the stories, but I guess I'll just have to write a book. Stay tuned.”

In response to being asked if readers ever gave her good or bad feedback, she said “Readers do contact me and I absolutely love it. If a letter comes in or an [email; Facebook message] etc., I'm excited to know how they are feeling about what I am producing. I have had letters from people who want to write and would like to know how to get started, from fans of my books, looking for new ones and asking me to come to their book groups. Fame is not my goal. I would love to make a living with my writing and retire, blissfully telling my stories; that is my dream, my passion, my hope. Readers have given me great ideas and inspiration to continue and it overwhelms me with love for them.

Let's start with the worst feedback, which I consider great feedback actually. A reader bought one of my books, edited it and sent me a letter on which pages and portions needed to be changed. Hysterically helpful. It seems I had messed up a timeline I had not noticed on my own, as well as a couple of spelling errors. Thank you to her. I removed that book from the shelves, corrected it and re-published. She showed up at one of my book signings and bought the new version as well. I've yet to hear back; I'm assuming this is a good sign.

The best feedback would probably be from an older woman who read [Secrets In The Tides: A Family Saga], gave it to her 15 year old granddaughter to read and said the following about it: ‘I really enjoyed this book. Family, Mystery, Romance. A book even my teenage granddaughters could read. Ready for more.'
Another one said this: 'Like all good writers, you left me wanting more. It was hard putting it down. I hope there will be a sequel. Can't wait!' A woman came up to me one day and told me she read my book on the train to New York and instead of sleeping she kept reading until she finished it!

I try not to focus on the books that are not getting much attention and look to the ones people are asking for. I will promote those in the forefront and attend book signings, knowing it's what the people want. I get joy out of making people happy. I absolutely love reading, unfortunately, since I started writing, I find my mind needing to purge all these stories onto my computer or a notebook, depending on where I happen to be at the moment, thus keeping me from being able to concentrate on others [writers’] books."

I finished our conversation by asking about the aforementioned sequel:

"Well, I let the cat out of the bag on the last question, I guess. Yes. I am always working on another project, whether it's crowding my thoughts, or escaping onto the page. I am currently trying to focus on the sequel to Secrets In The Tides: A Family Saga and you are the first to know that I may be titling it, A Change In The Tides. I'm excited for it!

My favorite part of writing is feeling what I hope you will feel when you read it. I laugh and I cry and I cringe at every moment I create. My hope is that you do the same. Then and only then will I know that I've done something right. I got the privilege of watching someone I autographed a book for recently, eagerly open it, unwilling to wait to read. I watched her reactions as she read and she started laughing out loud. She turned to me and repeated the line that made her giggle. It was a line that I thought was cute, but she found hysterically funny. Seeing your work through the eyes of another is a great gift. Writers hardly ever get to witness a reader enjoying their stories. Can you see the smile on my face?"

Medway-native Roberta M. O’ Connell lives with her Westwood-native husband Dave and their cats Hobo and Peanut. When not writing O’Connell drives for local special-needs children and is the lead singer for God’s Garage, a Christian band which focuses on recovery.