Yup. Here I am.
Again, I don’t know yet what this section will become.
Whatever its purpose ends up being, hopefully, it has some entertainment value for someone out there.
I haven’t published my first book yet, and even so, I wonder sometimes how I got here. I wonder: could I have gotten here sooner if circumstances had been different?
I don’t have answers to the second question, but regardless, you can’t change the past. All you can do is appreciate what you have today and hope that tomorrow brings more happiness. More strength. Probably more coffee. Wait, definitely more coffee.
As to the first, really, it all started with five pages in Word.
I wrote the opening scene to I Haven’t Been Myself on a Friday morning, then sent it over to three of my best friends and asked, “Am I crazy, or should I keep writing?” Their response is what fueled me to get the rest of the story down. It poured out of me; every hour of every day that I wasn’t sleeping or eating (and okay, working my actual job), I was writing. It felt like I had been starved for years, and suddenly there was this buffet just waiting for me.
The first draft took me eighteen days to write. Yes. Days.
Granted, after I took a hiatus from it and went back, I wasn’t thrilled with how it turned out. It took adding some additional scenes and completely changing up others, but it’s now a complete book and my copy editor starts in only two weeks on the final polish.
Soon, I’ll be able to format it and get it ready for real life. In a few short months, I’ll be able to hold a copy in my hands.
My cover artist did an absolutely amazing job, and I literally teared up when I got the initial proof. So did my friends. (Shout out to Tara, Jenny and Kara for reading this book as I wrote it, and to Jami and Janine for reading my final copy and suggesting small edits)
All of this to say, I’m grateful. I’m lucky to have a spouse who supports me and wrangles the kids so I can have time to write (Thank you, Marc). I’m thankful for my friends, and thankful for my editor and cover artist.
If you’ve read this far, you’re either interested in my work or you’re very bored today. Either way, thanks for your interest. If you’d like to be a beta reader for an upcoming book, please just email me.
