“A Novel Idea:
I Never Called Him Pa”
by Diane Kane
How long does it take to write a novel? Every novelist is asked this at some point. Each author has a slightly different answer. Some will tell you it took years. Others will say the idea came like a flash of lightning and the words like a flash flood.
 About six years ago, I retired from a twenty-five-year career in the Postal Service and finally had the opportunity to seriously pursue my writing dreams. I wasted no time. I began submitting short stories to magazines and anthologies. After awhile, I had some accepted!
In 2018, with the help of three successful authors from my writing group, I coauthored and published two short story books, Flash in the Can Number One and in early 2020 Flash in the Can Number Two.
Then I pursued another personal writing goal of creating children’s books. In late 2020, I published Don Gateau, the Three-Legged Cat of Seborga, and Brayden the Brave Goes to the Hospital the following year. In the meantime, I wrote articles for magazines and newspapers. But my dream was always to write a novel.
My debut novel, I Never Called Him Pa, released in April of this year, is a coming-of-age novel set in the 1950s when the light began to dawn on social injustice. It’s told in the voice of Henry, a young fatherless boy living on a farm in Northern Illinois with his grandmother, his wayward mother, and the traveler who changes all their lives.
 The story sheds light on a time after WWII ended when the military sent men home on trains. Some never got off. They rode the rails in boxcars, searching for their souls lost to the toils of society or the ravages of war. Ernest, one such man of color, seeks refuge with Henry, Gram, and her daughter Janie on the farm. Ernest leaves a mark on all their lives deeper they any of them imagined.
Three months ago, I pushed the proverbial publish button on I Never Called Him Pa, releasing my baby into the world. While waiting to see if it would sink or swim, I had time to reflect on how I had finally become a novelist.
So how long did it take me to write my novel, you may ask? Well, I have four answers to that question, all true.
1. I can tell you it took a lifetime.
When I was a child about the same age as my narrator, Henry, I often watched the trains pass by my grandfather’s home. He worked on the railroad and told me stories about the hobos, who rode in the boxcars. My grandfather told me they were “Good men who had just lost their way.” This idea stuck with me over the years.
2. I can just as easily say it took six years to write my novel.
In 2021, when I saw the call for submissions by Red Penguin Press for a historical fiction short story  anthology contest, I remembered a piece I had started several years prior. I pulled “Ernest Lived” out of my drawer and polished it up. It won first place and cover title, Ernest Lived and other Historical Fiction Short Stories. The editor said that his entire staff saw something special in it. I knew then that this would be the basis for my first novel. But when?
3. I can just as truthfully say that it took me two and a half months to write my novel!
But not before the story simmered in my mind for about a year. I would sometimes jot down some notes or specific lines that I didn’t want to forget. But I was busy writing articles, submitting other short stories, and, most importantly, honing my craft. It was January of 2022 when I finally sat my butt in the chair with determination to write my novel.
 Stephen King said, “A good novelist does not lead his characters, he follows them. A good novelist does not create events, he watches them happen and then writes down what he sees. A good novelist realizes he is a secretary, not God.”
This is so true for me. I began with three main characters and one major event, 15,000 words. I needed so much more. I listened, and my characters gave me everything I needed. By the end of March 2022, I had 85,000 words. I realized I needed a new title since “Ernest Lived” was the anthology title. So I Never Called Him Pa was born.
4. Oh, if only that were the end of my novel journey!
But like every new baby, my novel needed a little, or maybe a lot, of TLC before I introduced it to the world. After twelve Beta readers from all walks of life, meticulous fact-checkers, painstaking proofreaders, detailed editors, dozens of drafts, and almost a year, I finally held my novel in my hands. Ultimately, I was glad I took the time to get it right and see this kind of review:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Renewed my love for settling in with a good book!
“I absolutely loved every part of this book from cover to cover! I never thought I could become so invested in a historical fiction novel! I loved the character development. I have always believed the sign of a good book/author is when I am left “missing my friends.” Surely I know this family, this town; It couldn’t just be fiction. I have another favorite author!”
So no matter how long it takes, if you have a manuscript or two in your dusty drawer or have always dreamed of writing a novel, there is no time like now to get it out.
 “If a story is in you, it has to come out.” William Faulkner
My novel I Never Called Him Pa is on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, and ebook.
Find it at Barnes and Noble and other online retailers in paperback and hardcover.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735460494
I Never Called Him Pa by Diane Kane, Paperback | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com)
Ask for it at your local bookstore or library.
Reviews are so important and greatly appreciated!
Facebook @PageofPossibilities
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Website: www.WriteofPossibilities.com
Biography: Author Diane Kane measures her success by the friends she’s made along the way. Kane is one of the founding members of Quabbin Quill’s non-profit writers’ group. Her short stories appear in several Red Penguin Publications, including her award-winning short story historical fiction piece, “Ernest Lived,” which was the basis for I Never Called Him Pa. She is the publisher and co-author of Flash in the Can Number One and Number Two, short stories to read wherever you go. In addition, Kane writes public interest articles for Uniquely Quabbin magazine. Kane’s first children’s book, Don Gateau the Three-Legged Cat of Seborga, published in English, Spanish, French, and Italian, won the Purple Dragonfly Awards for Best Illustrations and Caring/Making a Difference. Her second children’s book, Brayden the Brave Goes to the Hospital, published in April 2021, won the Purple Dragonfly awards for Best Illustrations and Health Topics. I Never Called Him Pa is Kane’s first novel, but hopefully not her last. She sits patiently by her keyboard, awaiting new characters to talk to her.
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Sharon Healy-Yang 