Wednesday, July 11, 2012

The Journey Never Ends

Yesterday was an exciting day!

We're booking signing and speaking engagements, although not everything is confirmed, we're making headway on the book tour. A tour that looks as though it will take Michael and I around the country this time. From sea to shining sea.

My book trailer is looking fabulous and I'm so pleased. Lots of good news there!

And ... drum roll, please ... Televenge is an Editor's Pick from BookExpo America 2012 from the Library Journal Review. http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2012/07/books/editors-picks-from-bookexpo-america-2012-from-magick-to-bbq-backlist/

I think back to the days when I just wanted to pull my hair out. Writing at 3 a.m. when the rest of the world slept. The day a few experts told me the book was just too long ... "cut it in half!" "make it a trilogy!" "You're not Nora Roberts, nobody's gonna publish a book this long by a debut novelist!"

The day my watch stopped, the hairdryer started on its own, the TV started when I walked past it, and the bathroom door locked and I couldn't get out ... all on the day I decided not to shorten the book, to stay true to my heart, and to keep certain chapters in the book.

I recall the day I changed the title, but couldn't get used to it, and changed it back. The seventeenth draft. The twenty-second draft. The printers I wore out just printing copy for my readers.

The critiques. Oh, those blasted critiques that sent me reeling! But in the end, shaped the story into crisp prose, shutting the mouth of the author, and never stopping the reader.

Crying over this chapter and that character. Debating on whether or not to dig that deep into my own story and rewrite it. And I remember the day I cut out a character, taking out five chapters in the process. It felt like a funeral.

The day I bawled my eyes out when I typed, The End. But it wasn't the end. It was only the beginning of a journey that has carried me to where I am today. Ready to start the next book.

Well. After the marketing and promotion of Televenge. And a few more good days like yesterday.

Blessings to you and yours.

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