Daily Inspiration: Meet Vanessa Kramer

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Kramer

Hi Vanessa, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and spent most of my childhood there. I went to Holy Cross Elementary, where I had both good and bad experiences. My first-grade teacher was a nun who convinced my mom that I needed to switch from being left-handed to right-handed. If she caught me doing work in class with my left hand, she would hit the top of my hand with a ruler, throw my work away, and tell me to start over with my right hand. According to her, left-handed people were less likely to get jobs and more likely to commit suicide. I am 35 years old and have never read data to back that claim. Needless to say, both nuns and rulers make me nervous now.
My second-grade teacher, however, was an angel sent from Heaven. She was a young, caring, sweet woman. She looked exactly like Fergie, Duchess of York, so I was convinced that my teacher was secretly a princess. Every week, we had a list of six spelling words that we had to memorize by Friday for a spelling test. One week, I used all six of our spelling words in a short story I wrote about my teacher and her then-fiancé. I wrote,

“Once upon a time in a little kingdom, the people fell under a spell cast by a wicked witch. The spell could only be broken with a magic apple. The king’s only daughter, the Princess Maureen, and her true love, Sir Paul, went all over the land looking for the apple. After many days, they came to a cave. Inside the cave was a purple box. Inside was the apple! They took it home and the spell was broken. The king gave the princess a crown with a flower made of gold. The witch flew away and the kingdom was happy. The end.”

I wrote that on May 19, 1997. I know the exact date because my second-grade teacher has kept that paper ever since. She and her true love, “Sir Paul,” married and had four children. She was the first person to ever tell me that I would make a great writer. Through the years, I would have a handful of teachers tell me the same thing about my writing. I look at my 8-year-old son, who is currently in second grade, and can’t believe I was his age when I first fell in love with writing. When I told him, he wasn’t impressed. He was just mad that I had only six words every week when he has to learn ten a week. Recently, my 12-year-old has grown fonder of writing. He said he would love to write a whole book someday, but for now his main goal is just remembering to put his dirty clothes in the hamper.
I’ve always been a huge bookworm and a fan of film and music. During the summer, while other kids were playing outside, I spent my days reading. I was the type of kid who would put on concerts for my stuffed animals and come up with detailed storylines for my Barbies. One of my favorites was when my Ken doll cured my Wheelchair Barbie and helped her walk again. I’ve always had a vivid imagination. That, combined with my love for horror movies and books, made for some interesting, sleepless nights when I was younger. No matter how hot I was, I had to sleep curled up under the blanket because I was convinced that if my feet were exposed, something in the dark would grab them. My favorite author is Stephen King, who is known as “The King of Horror.” Several years ago, my husband and I stayed at the Stanley Hotel. If you’re not familiar with that place, it is where Stephen King stayed and was inspired to write “The Shining.” We stayed in one of the active rooms where I experienced some pretty creepy things. But if you ask my husband, I just have a very active imagination.
My creativity, love of storytelling, and interest in English set me on my path to become an author. I love English classes in school so much, I started taking them as electives. I remember one particular assignment in my high school British Literature class. I read my assignment in front of the class and after I finished, my teacher just stood there staring at me. She asked me to read it again. I thought maybe I had completely messed up the assignment. After reading it aloud the second time, she asked me to stay after class. Which is something a student never wants to hear. She pulled two other English teachers out into the hallway and had me read it to them too. At this point, I was nervous. After a third time of reading it, they all three told me what an incredible job I did with the assignment. That evening, I went home and began writing what would become my first book.
On April 23rd, 2009, I published my first book, “My Mother’s Spirit,” a young adult ghost story/murder mystery. I published through Authorhouse, which is what is known as a “vanity publisher.” This means that they publish your book, but for a price. I spent $2,000 to have them publish my book. No editing, no marketing, no extra perks whatsoever. They took my $2,000 and I had a book. Well, five. I had five copies to sell at events, and then I had to pay full price if I wanted more copies. I couldn’t afford to buy bulk orders of my book, and I had no help with marketing or networking. Also, reading was unfortunately not as popular with young adults. Social media was what everyone was interested in. My first ever book signing was at a Blockbuster. Remember those? I worked there for my first job and my former manager was nice enough to let me do my event there. It was not successful. My second event was at a Hy Vee. It also was not successful. I didn’t come close to making back the $2,000 I had spent to publish it. But I was encouraged by my family to keep writing.
A couple of years later, I published my second book. “Dreamcatcher: Dead End Justice” was published on September 1st, 2011. It’s a story about a group of teenage superheroes, and I had plans of writing three more books to continue the story. I forked over another $2,000 to Authorhouse, and…the results were the same. I did learn a little bit from the first go around. I did two book signings at local comic book shops. I figured since my book was about superheroes, a comic book shop would have interested buyers. However, the people who went to comic book shops were there to buy specific things, and my book wasn’t it. And then pop culture became extremely over-saturated with superheroes, and the idea of writing a series died.
In 2012, my oldest son, Daken, was born. Once I became a mom, writing was put on the back burner. I wrote less and less over the years. In 2016, my youngest, Oliver, was born. If one kid made my creative flow slow down, having two kids dammed up the flow entirely. Which I was okay with at the time. Small children need your constant attention, and I already didn’t get to see them much because I worked long hours. I wrote short stories here and there, but nothing really stuck. I had a nightmare one night in 2019 that kind of sparked an idea for a story. I quit my job at the distribution center to start an in-home daycare. I was tired of missing out on my children’s lives and I was basically working just to pay for childcare. Also, I have more time for writing. Whenever the daycare kids are napping, I try and get a little extra writing in.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been anything but smooth, but I think that’s a good thing. I feel like I can appreciate where I am because the journey hasn’t been easy. When I first published through vanity publishers, I thought all I had to do was publish a book, and it would take care of itself. That’s not the case AT ALL with self-publishing. Every time I’ve done an event, it’s been a learning experience. How can I make my table look better? What are some extra things I can sell at events to help make extra income? Who can I connect with to take this to the next step? 19-year-old me thought I knew everything and wasn’t willing to take advice or criticism. Now, at 35, I’m much more open-minded and willing to take help when it’s offered. I also have an amazing support system now. My husband is SO supportive of my dreams and ambitions. He even handmade metal bookmarks for me to sell at events, but never wants credit for them. On days when I’m feeling discouraged, he’s always there to lift me up. When I’m getting a little cocky, he keeps me humble. And when I see other indie authors moving faster than me, he always reminds me that “I’m running my own race.” I’m not saying you HAVE to have people to back you, but it sure makes you feel good when you do. I’ve made so many friends the past year in the local author/bookstore community. I’ve found people who are like-minded and have a “community, not competition” mentality. I’m always willing to help others, and unfortunately that’s put me in a position to be taken advantage, whether it be as an author, a daycare provider, or in my personal relationships.

My very first book event had to be rescheduled, which was something I was not expecting. I won the GEHA Chiefs Coin Toss Captain Sweepstakes, and the game I was picked for landed on the same day as my first event. Luckily, Karma Community Market was very understanding (and very excited for me) and we were able to switch dates with no problem.

My September 21st event at Elsewhere Apothecary event was also stressful. It was an outdoor event and for the whole hour of set up, it down poured on us, which is not ideal when the thing you’re selling is made out of paper. But we somehow made it work!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I published “Great Divide” in October 2023. I’ve spent the last year doing local author events and have continued writing in my down time. “Great Divide” is a New Adult Dark Fantasy/Romance novel. It’s about a young woman who has been struggling with an illness her whole life, so she’s been very sheltered by her parents. She meets a “handsome stranger” and it’s love at first sight. She and her boyfriend face an unexpected challenge when her health begins to decline. As Emma starts getting sicker, she starts having nightmares that get progressively worse as she does. They make a pact to each other, and something (can’t spoil too much) happens to Emma, making it impossible for her to keep her end of the bargain. The first half of the book is very “Slice of Life” and then when readers hit the halfway point, the book takes a sharp turn into the fantasy/supernatural genre. I always tell potential readers that if they’re fans of the movies “Constantine” or “What Dreams May Come,” this is for them.

“Great Desolation” was published on October 19th of this year and is the sequel to “Great Divide.” It continues Emma’s story as she faces new challenges. Emma tries to right some wrongs from her past, and in order to do so, she has to get help from some old friends as well as new ones. “Great Divide” was originally going to be a standalone story, but it received so much positive feedback, that I decided to write “Great Desolation.” It was going to be the end of the story, but again, I’ve had so many people reach out and say, “this CAN’T be the end!” So I am planning on writing a third (and definitely final) book that will be coming out sometime in 2025.

I regained the rights to my first book, “My Mother’s Spirit,” and will be re-releasing that by the end of 2024. MMS is a Young Adult Paranormal Mystery. It has ghosts, witches, a murder mystery, family drama, and all takes place on a summer vacation to England. I’m really proud of this book because it was my first published work, and I’m really excited to share the new version of it with everyone. My 12-year-old son is really excited about it because it’s something of mine that is appropriate for his age. He’s really looking forward to reading it.

I’m currently working on a “second chance” tragic romance. I read a lot of Nichalos Sparks books in high school, and I always loved love stories that weren’t so cookie-cutter and cutesy. I think sometimes the best things rise from the ashes of tragedies and I’m looking forward to sharing something like that with those who love a good love story.

Although I’m proud of “My Mother’s Spirit,” I’m most proud of “Great Divide” and “Great Desolation.” As an author, you always appreciate good feedback. But when people tell me, “I’ve never read a book like this” or “I can usually see twists coming or guess the ending, and I did NOT see that coming,” those are the type of things that make me continue to write.

I’ve done A LOT of fun events this year, some of them themed. I did a Mad Hatter/tea party themed event at Elsewhere Apothecary in Lee’s Summit and it was a blast dressing up. I recently did the Phantom Pages Festival at Karma Community Market and I dressed up as “The Other Mother” from Coraline. I love an opportunity to dress up! The biggest one for me personally was doing a book signing at the Blue Springs Barnes & Noble. Any aspiring author/bookworm has spent a lot of time in a B&N, so that was huge for me. They carry copies of my book in the store and I love getting photos from friends and family of “Great Divide” on the shelf.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Definitely. It somehow destroyed my hope and creative and ignited it at the same time. My in-home daycare was becoming very successful at. I was in the process of getting licensed through the state and I was spending a lot more time with my sons. Everything was going great. And then the pandemic happened. My oldest had to do school from home, and every cough and sneeze sent everyone into a panic. Everyone in our house was always on edge, we missed our family members and church, and my kids had to miss out on things like birthday parties and sleepovers at Grandma’s. It was a really tough time for everyone. And then my husband and sons got Covid. They all camped out in the living room while I stayed in my bedroom, isolated from them for a week. I had to temporarily close the daycare, which scared me. I’m who parents rely on so they can go to work. But we got through the week, and I was able to be around my family again. And then I got Covid.

The two weeks my business was closed, and I was isolated in my room was a blessing in disguise. I wrote over 100 pages of my story during those two weeks. It reintroduced me to my love of writing. I had become so used to wasting my time either scrolling on social media or watching movies on streaming services, that I convinced myself that I no longer had time to write. But once all of the distractions were out of the way, writing became so easy. “Great Divide” took four years to write, but it’s by far my best work. So far. I am currently writing a sequel for “Great Divide” and a memoir about my life. I also have a romance novel idea and a psychological thriller that I plan on writing soon. Stephen King once said, “If you want to be a writer, you really only have to do two things: you have to read a lot and you have to write a lot.” I make myself take time daily to write something, even if it’s just a little bit. I read often again as well. Actually, I listen to audiobooks because it’s almost impossible to sit down with a physical book. But if you have a library card, there is a free app called Libby where you can listen to thousands of audiobooks for free. Last year I listened to 42 audiobooks. I’ve also gotten much better at not letting distractions get in the way of my writing. Luckily, it doesn’t take two weeks of isolation to get me to do so.

Pricing:

• $15.oo for Great Divide
• $18 for Great Desolation
• $6 for fantasy-themed metal bookmarks

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessakramerauthor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vanessagantauthor