Valerie Comer’s life on a small farm in the Creston Valley provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Comer and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local food movement. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily ever afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids and adorable granddaughters.
Comer has always loved to read and write. An early memory is of an attic bedroom, lying side-by-side with her big sister on their tummies while Sis taught her to read out of Dick and Jane. Though that particular primer left little to wonder about, the spark was ignited.
She tried her hand at writing stories as a child, but they never got past a few pages. What did she, a child growing up in northern Manitoba, know of things such as horses and sailboats? Certainly not enough to write stories about them! And so she mostly read. She read every book in the cupboard at the back of her classroom; the three-room rural school did not even have an entire room for a library, nor did any nearby town. And she asked for books whenever anyone wondered what kind of gift she’d like.
A job with built-in downtime gave Valerie the opportunity to pursue her dream of writing. By 2010, she had written eight novels, some of which were even deemed worthy of second and third drafts. She’d begun to tighten up the stories and enter contests. The opening scenes of Majai’s Fury garnered Valerie a finalist position in the 2007 Genesis Contest. She revised the novel further based on critiques and comments by the judges. Then she entered it in a private contest by author Tosca Lee and won first place. In 2008, Off Beat placed third in the speculative division of Genesis. In 2009, the revised version of Majai’s Fury was a finalist in Genesis. In 2011, she sold a contemporary inspirational romance novella to Barbour Books and landed an agent.
Today, Comer has two published fiction works under her belt with more on the way. She writes farm lit, where food meets faith, injecting experience laced with humor into her stories. Raspberries and Vinegar, first in her series, A Farm Fresh Romance, released in August 2013. The second in the series, Wild Mint Tea, will be released in March. Snowflake Tiara follows close behind, set to release in the fall 2014. Find out more at www.valeriecomer.com.
The Creston Valley Public Library’s Living Books speaker series is a way for community members to learn from each other. Living “books” are real people, your friends and neighbours, volunteering to share aspects of their own “story”. Through living books, the library seeks to encourage the sharing of knowledge and passion between people. Each month the library hosts a get-together where a member of the community shares their personal experiences. Topics are varied, from art to travel to local history to coping with loss, and everything in between. Attendees of the speaker series learn more about the people in their community and their diverse backgrounds and expertise.
Hear Comer’s story of words and wonder at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 18 at the library. Admission is free. For more information on the Living Books speaker series, including upcoming living books or how to become a living book, please contact Gail at 250-428-4141 or email gail@crestonlibrary.com.
—CRESTON VALLEY PUBLIC LIBRARY