Have you ever dreamed of one day writing a book? For most of us, that pipedream is in the very distant future and, in all likelihood, a never.
Air Force spouse, Marissa Howard, not only lassoed that dream, but she made it a trilogy.
Published author, Marissa Howard, is a thriver.
After marrying her husband, the couple embarked on the Air Force journey together. They faced multiple PCSs, an overseas assignment, and now, even have a set of twin babies along for the ride!
Marissa was fortunate to take on several different jobs over the years, including a position in public affairs, as a reporter and the Air Force Commander speech writer, however, through-out it all, she knew she was being called to something different.
Becoming a Writer
Marissa dreamed about writing books ever since she was a little girl. She would write stories and convince her friends to act them out with her. She was also in charge of the family Christmas letter each year, which she claims were elaborate, rich with symbolism, and possibly “over the top”.
She finally made the leap into writing her first published work in 2018. She and her husband were on a lake in Florida, when he encouraged her to just go for it.
With this nudge, Marissa donned the new and forever title of published author.
She spent the next several years crafting an entire fiction trilogy: Loveless, Fearless and Pointless.
Marissa says that with each book, she has grown as a writer and is so proud of where her writing journey has taken her.
She has faced a hailstorm of challenges along the way, including hundreds of rejection letters from literary agents, several military moves, and even a book signing in freezing, negative temperatures (thank you, Minot Air Force Base!)
Despite this, however, she now has her own literary agent and is currently working on her fourth and fifth books.
Support from the Military Community
As an Air Force spouse, Marissa is so grateful to the military community for rallying around her and supporting her over the years.
“No one really understands military life like another military spouse,” Marissa says.
Her advice for other spouses, active military, and veterans who are considering stepping out of their comfort zones:
“Never stop fighting for what you love…Find that thing that you can’t live without. Find that thing that inspires you, that encourages you, that makes you want to get up in the morning, that ignites that spark. And grab onto it and don’t let go.”
