Thinking back on 2019 and all the emotional ups and downs has me analyzing the details, searching for pieces I can use to make myself better in all parts of my life.
January- My personal life was normal and moving forward as expected with 28 years of marriage under my belt, 3 adult sons and a pre-teen son all growing and learning how to navigate the world. This was a great way to begin the year. Next step was to dive into my goal for the new year, write the story that’s been inside my head and share it with the world.
I was two months deep into writing my first book, had just received my first critique and realized I had a lot to learn before I would even come close to publishing my book. This is where my new personal tagline came from.
I believe in my story, but writing it is hard.
February, March, April and May- While continuing to plug away on the keyboard, I did a pretty good job of balancing the other parts of the book world I love. My blog was a priority and took a lot of my time but didn’t interfere too much with the new author hat I donned proudly. It was still a secret to most everyone that I was adding the title to my name. Those who knew supported and guided me with a firm and loving hand. I needed both.
Speaking of names, I decided a pen name was needed to give my husband and sons some anonymity. With my genre of choice, romance, I didn’t think my sons would be thrilled about my career choice. I was wrong. They are my biggest cheerleaders, telling me how proud they are of me. I think watching me struggle, cry, learn, fail, and succeed at something I believed I would never be able to do was a great example of how to reach a goal through hard work and determination.
June- Everything appeared normal. I was moving forward with writing, blogging and regular life at what I thought was a great pace. I still had a lot to do, but I was set on cruise control, not in any hurry to reach the finish line. That’s when I got the biggest shove of a lifetime, forcing me to make some hard decisions. A message came asking me what I was waiting for. Are you going to finish this book and publish it or what? The question hung in the air for about two seconds.
That’s the moment it became real. Suddenly I had a beautiful cover, a solid pen name, and an editor. To say it was a whirlwind doesn’t do it justice. Especially when I was planning to leave on a long road trip in 30 days.
July- I spent time on my vacation relaxing and writing. The calm of waking early, walking to grab my coffee and sitting down to the view of the Grand Canyon fueled my brain with clean air, filtering the doubt from my mind. I wrote and wrote, letting the creativity fly.
August- Although I would have loved to extend my time away, life called, and I returned home and picked up where I left off. My regular coffee shop was my favorite place to write. Sunday mornings gave me my biggest word count. On one memorable Sunday, I wrote a few words at the bottom of the page and froze. With super quick fingers I messaged a friend and said, “I think I just wrote the last line of my book. It’s done.” I was stunned.
You can read more about my editing process in earlier posts. It wasn’t a pretty experience but one of the biggest moments in my life. I grew as a person and found parts of who I truly am, which have been buried within my soul for as long as I can remember.
September- My first book released. I was scared, elated, dumbfounded and humbled.
TO BE CONTINUED…
