If you’ve stumbled upon this post, here’s a hearty welcome to my author blog! Whether you’re already a fan of my books or are just discovering who I am, I’m so glad you’re here.
The idea to start blogging about my author journey initially came to me a few years ago while writing my first book. But like many new ideas, it took me a long time to work up the courage to take the plunge.
You see, bringing my stories to life already takes a great deal of vulnerability that I, as a hard-core introvert, often struggle to show. Along with the sense of accomplishment and excitement that accompanies every book release comes the stone-cold dread, anxiety, and imposter syndrome.
Just ask my husband. He’ll willingly confirm the validity of that claim.
A few years ago, all those negative emotions were enough to have me running for the hills at the very idea of allowing anyone to read the words coming from my heart. I wrote for me and only me. Why should I share it?
But then a little something happened almost five years ago that changed my perspective.
Actually, it wasn’t so little.
It was a big thing. A big, scary event that flipped the world upside down and caused a lot of people a great deal of uncertainty and fear.
In case you haven’t guessed it, I’m talking about the pandemic.
Whether you put much stock in COVID back then or not makes no difference to me. I’m not here to talk about politics. I’m here to write my story.
All I’m saying is that the pandemic changed my trajectory. One day, I was on a path heading one way as a travel agent and family travel blogger. And the next, I was both out of a job and worried about my husband’s career. All while overseeing the remote learning of my two older children and taking care of a toddler who still wasn’t sleeping through the night.
I was exhausted.
I was overwhelmed.
My anxiety skyrocketed, leaving me in desperate need of relief.
That relief came when I fell back to my first love: writing fiction. I started writing Chasing Her Heart about a week into quarantining, but the story idea had been on my heart for years before. I just never thought I’d have time to write it.
That book will always have a special spot on the bookshelf of my heart. It’s not perfect. There are a lot of things I wish I had done differently while writing it. But it will always be the book that provided the anchor during a very uncertain time for me. It changed my life.
And like the characters in all my books, the last five years have taken me on a path of exponential growth and self-discovery. Sure, that path has been bumpy along the way. I’ve stumbled over jagged crevices, and sometimes even fallen into holes I couldn’t get out of without help. But it’s led me to a place where I’m no longer living with the fear of showing the world who I am—as a woman and as a writer.
Okay, there’s still a little fear. But with every author I talk to, I’ve realized I’m not alone. Sharing a piece of our hearts—opening ourselves up to judgement and critique—is a difficult thing to face on a daily basis. But as scary as it is, I genuinely love what I do. Knowing I’ve touched even one soul with my writing is a beautiful gift.
However, that gift doesn’t come without its share of challenges and learning opportunities. And the prospect of documenting my mistakes and failures—along with my successes, of course—is a daunting one. Which is why it took me almost five years to start this project.
Better late than never, right?
What can you expect from this little corner of the internet?
First and foremost, I want this space to be transparent. A place for both aspiring writers and dedicated readers of my books.
For writers, this will be a place to learn and get encouragement from someone in the trenches with them. Because no matter where we are on the path, we’re all constantly learning. You’ll find oodles of tips, a look into my writing process, and firsthand lessons that I’ve gained along the way.
Readers will get a closer look at my books, where I get inspiration for my stories, and perhaps some personal book recommendations based on my favorite reads.
I hope you’ll join me on this new journey as we grow together.
I’d love to hear from you! I’m always open to new ideas, so if you have a topic suggestion you’d like me to write about, please drop them in the comments and I’ll do my best to tackle them in a later post.