I’ve been a busy bee. I feel like I did more in the last year than I’ve done in my entire life. (Which is kind of sad when I think about it). That either makes me one lazy individual or I’ve been hustling like a pro.

In other news…

The novel is finished. I’d love to lie to you and say it as the easiest thing I’ve ever done but it wasn’t. I think childbirth was actually easier and we all know how that went. There were days when I sat down and I couldn’t type the words fast enough. More often than not there were days when the thought of sitting at the keyboard brought me to tears but I did it anyway. I felt inadequate and totally inept. Yet, it was my story and I was the only one who could tell it. I still feel unqualified and mostly a hack for even attempting to write anything and have the audacity to call it a work of fiction.  But there it is, completed and sitting beside me on my desk, the proof of it all.

I am tempted to take a break. To blog or to write short stories but I know I can’t. I have to keep in the flow of things and start writing novel number two. It’s in my head, the characters have all introduced themselves to me and they are ready to start the long dance that will push them out of my head and onto the page, but am I ready? I guess I’ll just have to be.

But before I start talking to you about novel number two, we should start with the first, The Most Important Thing. Yes, I know it’s a wordy title but when you read it, you’ll get it. I sent out about 100+ query letters and to date all rejections but nice ones. One, in particular, was especially touching and didn’t seem like a form letter at all. I think she was really torn about having to turn it down and genuinely encouraged me to keep pitching it. The only problem is, I’m not one to toot my own horn. I’m horrible at it so I decided to go the route of self-publishing. I’m sure that my book will get discovered in the same way my blog posts got discovered by Huffington Post and Scary Mommy, by just putting it out there and letting the chips fall where they may. I’m a big believer in fate, if it’s meant to be, it will happen.

As of right now, The Most Important Thing is sitting on my desk, waiting for a cover and I have every hope that it will be released on Amazon just in time for the summer season (fingers crossed). Until then, I’m going back to writing because idle hands and all that…