Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Babette Fraser Hale. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Babette, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

In the work area, it takes perseverance and hard work, But that’s only part of what makes a success. The more important part is finding balance between the people in your life and the work you’re driven to do.. Corporate culture makes that very difficult, demanding availability almost 24-7. As a writer and small business owner, it is been easier for me to make sure I strive for balance.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve been a writer from the beginning, first with the newspaper, later with magazine features and as a fiction writer since about 1980. In 1996 I founded a small publishing company. This was prior to the start of the self publishing phenomenon so it was a traditional company. And it still is mostly, though we’re not accepting much new work, now. Occasionally, I teach a workshop, But I think writing is a drive like thirst. You do it because you have to. And it’s been disruptive in my life and also a great good thing.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

The writing business is different from most businesses in that profit is unreliable. You build reputation by the places that publish you and by the response you get from readers as expressed in social media and in the comment sections of various online entities. I’ve been fortunate to have had award mentions various times from the beginning of my writing career through to the recent present. I would add that the span of that is 50 years during which I’ve had published a few pieces of fiction only—although I was writing every day. It’s a tough business.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In the 1970’s, I had been writing for newspapers and magazines for several years, but learning the craft of fiction in my spare time. My husband, at the time, actively opposed my fiction for a variety of personal reasons. Ultimately, his opposition was the reason for our divorce, which, of course made my son’s childhood more difficult. I felt compelled to continue writing journalism and attempting to learn fiction, but it was a very difficult period. Four years after my divorce, I met the man I would marry—a newspaper columnist and novelist, who supported my writing efforts completely as I supported his. Still, years would pass before I had a book length manuscript published. In the midst of those years, I founded the publishing company. I continued to write, and my agent suggested I focus for a while on short stories to build a reputation, he said. So I did. And when I had enough for a collection, it was published and won the 2022 Texas Institute of letters award for best first fiction. I’m currently promoting a memoir about the relationship with my second husband. This Familiar Heart was written In the two years after he died. A new novel is in the hands of a university press. And I’m back to working on stories again.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.winedalebooks.com

Image Credits

Kathy Leigh Young
Blair Pittman
Robert Goldstein