Local writer publishes her first novel

By CHRISTOPHER TUFFLEY

christopher.tuffley@newssun.com

AVON PARK -- After a 24 year career as an elementary and middle school teacher in Michigan, Dawn Batterbee Miller now devotes herself to what she loves best -- writing.

A contributor to publications like Guideposts and a public speaker, her first novel, "Footprints Under the Pines" is on sale through Amazon and can be ordered at Books A Million.

Her story is about faith and family. "When we lose everything we most love, we begin to find what we most need," Miller said.

The story is set in 19th century Michigan, and involves a woman who loses her son and her home to a fire. She, her husband and their two daughters are forced into an entirely new life in deep wilderness, where more challenges await. Along the way, the woman, who has given up believing in God, recovers her faith.

In addition to telling the story of healing heartbreak, Miller wanted to introduce her readers to the world of the lumberjack, work her grandfather and other men in her family did.

"Rough and rowdy is their game, their fun," Miller said in a recent interview. "They're awful in the city, but they are workers in camp. I wanted to invite people into their world, but it had to be a novel.

"You want your reader to see what's in the story, and if they stop and say 'wow, this is a good story', that's wonderful."

Writing takes patience and persistence, Miller said.

A natural talent, she just settled in and began to write. What made the difference between having a manuscript and a published book, she said, was diligence and homework. "Go to a conference," she says to new writers. "Meet publishers, talk to them, get a feel for what they do.

"I didn't know what I was doing, but I met an agent (at a conference) and he sat down with me, told me what I should be doing, and guided me through the process."

She warns not to get discouraged. She was turned down by several publishers until she hooked up with the Winepress Publishing Group, which specializes in custom publishing.

Miller has already had one book reading and signing at Brewster's Coffee House, and hopes to do more in the future. She has almost completed the sequel to "Footprints under the Pines" that tells the story of the next generation.

Go to www.dawncreations.net/.