Here we are in the beginning of a new year. I feel as if the last few months blew by and I am not entirely sure my feet have found the ground. The dream of writing started when I was so young. I could pick an age, like ten or eleven, but honestly I entertained myself making up stories long before then. In the 4th grade I wrote my first official short story. It may still be in a box somewhere, if it survived the inevitable purges of time and aging. Sometime around Sixth grade I discovered writing songs, or really, lyrics. I have no great musical gift that knows the notes that I sing, but I seem to hit them most of the time. By junior high I “knew” I loved writing and I wrote a lot but didn’t share much. In high school I wanted to write things that “mattered” that moved people, that inspired. I learned not to talked about it too much with my family or certain others having grown tired of the well-intended but off-track and discouraging unsolicited advice telling me that a.) I shouldn’t be so maudlin, and b.) I needed a more practical course of study for my life. So, I did the things. College. Work. I changed careers more times than the decades I’ve worked. Because, while all of them were experiences worth valuing, none of them were truly “mine.”
When the world paused a few years ago, my course shifted and put me “on track” for the first time since that first playful story. I am a writer. And, in November of 2023 I became a published author. Not only that, I have co-launched a publishing co-op…and have immersed myself in learning everything I can about publishing and marketing and , fulfillment, direct sales, doing events, and how to not only keep it all up but also protect my time to write. I’m not sure I’ve done that well. But I am learning to cut myself some slack and have a little patience. My plan to blog regularly, post on my FB and IG pages at least 2 times a week, and reach out to book stores, metaphysical shops, and other local gift shops that might be willing to carry my book hasn’t quite come to full manifest. But I keep showing up. I’ve done two official signing events. The first one, I sold one book and met two other authors. The second one, I sold three books… progress, right? It’s great practice and is teaching me how to talk about my book…because while it turned out I was pretty good at writing it, I am still learning how to talk to people about it. Return to Star Junction, in short, is a story about returning home and reclaiming the light within…call it a vision quest, a story of intergenerational healing, mystical, magical with wisdom woven throughout. I am so grateful that the story chose me to write it.
Now that we are halfway through January, my breath is returning. My view hopeful. And my creative flow opening to welcome books two and three of this beautiful series.
