Tami Kidd, who leads the Crestview Writers Group, has achieved much as a published author in such a short time.
Originally from Mountain Pine, Arkansas, she started a new life in the Florida Panhandle with her two teenage children in 2001. She was hired as a technical writer for a defense contractor, but always enjoyed writing on a personal level.
So she pursued it.
And after taking a Northwest Florida State College creative writing class in 2010, what once was a private hobby soon became a shared passion.
Awards and inspiration
Tami experienced tragedy with her young son, Richard's, sudden death in December, 2006.
A poem she wrote as a tribute to him, "I Thought I Saw You," won first place in the 2011 Baldwin Writers Contest, in Baldwin Ala. It has been included in the college’s "Blackwater Review" and "Collected Words from Writers of the Southern Coast."
In 2010, Tami took the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) challenge and wrote 50,000 words from Nov. 1-30.
The challenge laid the groundwork for her novel, "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie," published in 2012.
Tami works full time but makes time to write, and says she has her husband, daughter and sister's encouragement and support.
Her love of the mystery genre and portrayals of strong female characters are major factors in her character-driven work, and she gains inspiration from life experiences, she said.
Writers unite
Writing has been a unifying force, Tami said. She has met many friends through the writing community and hopes to encourage others to pursue their dreams of becoming a published author.
And that's become more realistic with this year's establishment of the Crestview Writers Group, which regularly meets the fourth Monday of each month.
The library will be closed on Memorial Day, so the next meeting — scheduled for 6-8 p.m. June 23 — will feature guest speaker Laurie Allen, who will discuss “showing versus telling.”
As for Tami, she's working on the "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie" sequel, and hopes to have it released late this fall.
WRITERS: WANT A REVIEW?
If you would like a critique of your written work, drop off a hard copy at the Crestview Public Library, 1445 Commerce Drive, Crestview,or email it to Tami Kidd, tamilynnkidd@gmail.com. (Limit to 10 pages.)
Marie Garcia is the Crestview Public Library's assistant director.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CHECK IT OUT: Life experiences inspire local author, new writers group's leader