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Joylene Nowell Butler - Suspense Author

The publication of my first novel gave me the confidence to admit aloud that I was a writer. Does that mean the day before Dead Witness was released, I wasn't? If you're enamoured with writing but unpublished, you're simply an unpublished writer. It's about gaining confidence and exploring your passion. I hope this blog entices you to do both. Contact me anytime. I love hearing from you, reader or writer alike.

Email: joylene.butler@gmail.com or via social media.

3 Tips for Maintaining Self-Confidence During Your Writing Journey

1. If you're a published writer in any form, go back and read those articles, short stories or novels out loud – as if for the first time. Marvel at how enjoyable they are to read, how proud you feel. Say to yourself, “I wrote this. Wow.”

2. If you receive a bad review, acknowledge that everyone is entitled to their opinions. Writers cannot please all readers. Diversity is a privilege. Better yet, if it's a one or a two-star review, DON'T READ IT. Your value as a writer is not determined by someone else.

3. You are passionate about writing for a reason. The desire to write is inherent to your being. Why else would you be so compelled to write? By writing, you're fulfilling your life's dream.

I am Canadian/Métis, the author of the political thriller Kiss of the Assassin and suspense novels Dead Witness, Maski: Broken But Not Dead, Break Time, and Matowak.  I won the IPPY Silver Medal for Broken But Not Dead in 2012. Born in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, (April 25, 1953) I am the youngest of three children of Charles (Charlie) Murray Nowell, veteran, farmer and truck driver, and Gabrielle Frances, (nee Desjardins), a member of the wartime singing trio The Desjardins Sisters. When my father was discharged from the Navy, he moved us from Victoria to Haney, (Maple Ridge) BC.. I grew up with horses, cows, pigs and chickens. A die-hard tomboy. I received a Bachelor Degree in English and Philosophy from Douglas College and attended Simon Fraser University.

In 1979, my husband Ralph and I moved our five sons to Prince George, BC.. In 1992 we moved an hour west of the city and built a log/stick house on Cluculz Lake, 36 kms east of Vanderhoof. Twenty-five years later, we sold our home and today spend the majority of our time in Bucerias, Nayarat. Summers you'll find us exploring Canada .