Estes Park is home to several species of unusual animals, from gigantic moose to snowshoe hares. Now add another rarity to the mix – a best-selling author.
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You will be able to meet best-selling author and Estes Park resident Aimie Runyan at two events this week: Tuesday, April 1 at 5:30 p.m. at Macdonald Book Shop and Friday, April 4 at 6 p.m. at the Estes Valley Library.
Both events are free and open to the public.
Runyan has just released her latest novel, “The Wandering Season.” The bookstore event will be a book signing, while the library event will be a lecture, which will also be accessible online.
Runyan, 45, moved to Estes Park in 2021. She lives with her husband, history professor Jeremy Vetter, and two children, Ciaran, 14, and Aria, 12.
“I started writing in 2003,” she said in a recent interview. “I read a terrible book, and I decided that I could do better. But life happened and I never finished it.”
During that time, Runyan was a French teacher, sometimes an English teacher, and she was busy raising children. But sometime around 2013, she decided to get serious about the business of writing.
“I went to the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference in 2013,” she said. “I decided to approach writing like it was a business. I don’t see a lot of use in writing a book no one wants to read.
“I decided to invest an hour a day in myself and write despite having young kids.”
The result? After more than 10 years, on and off, “Promised to the Crown” was published in 2015. This was a piece of historical fiction set in the 1600s about mail-order brides sent from France to Quebec.
Now, with 12 books to her credit, Runyan is truly a rarity – a successful author.
“I am very fortunate,” she agreed. Since 2018, through skill and luck, Runyan has been able to make a living writing, and she has plans for several future publications.
She would advise any new writer to do the hard work: sit down and write. But then, when you have a good solid draft, find a trusted group of writers and learn to take criticism.
“(Writing) is such a solitary endeavor … but then early authors need a critique group. Is the plotline working? Is the character developed?”
And you have to stick to it.
“My first two books were very slow out of the gate,” she said. “You have to be able to re-invent yourself.”
Publishers keep a close eye on the market to see what is selling and what is just sitting on the shelves.
So when the strangely specific suggestion was made that she write about Russian female fighter pilots, she went for it. The result, “Daughters of the Night Sky,” was a good topic at the right time, she said, and its success carried her first two books.
That doesn’t mean it’s easy. There’s a ton of competition.
“Everyone has books on Kindle that they’ve never read. I have several hundred books that I haven’t read yet.
“I also consume audio books because I spend so much time with my eyes on a screen. When I drive down to the plains, I listen to the books and use the time profitably.”
In terms of her latest, “The Wandering Season,” Runyan said it touches on many themes, including the importance of place (it opens in Estes Park) and the bond between a mother and daughter. It’s also a story about traveling in Europe and finding your roots. There’s a romance, too. And lots of delicious food.
Runyan said she works out of her basement office on a big L-shaped desk that has a special place for her black cat, Jiji. She also has a voice studio and records audio book reviews on Instagram called “Listen Up.”
She describes herself as a writer of historical novels and contemporary fiction. But no one in the world of publishing really knows what readers will want next.
“My agent wants me to try something set in Estes Park,” Runyan said. “Maybe I’ll have something late in 2027.”
Wait for it.
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