Publication Day For Book One: The Snake Who Wanted To Be A Horse

I am now the author of a published book.

I've dreamed for years about becoming a published author. With six children, and knowing my time to raise them is only a small portion of my life (I plan to live long), I've put my writing on the "takes a decade or two to finish a novel" track. And as my eldest children have entered adolescence, my writing has slowed even more.

I've been fine with the slower writing pace. Motherhood is a choice I've made and never regretted, even when it's been difficult. But that doesn't mean the dream dies. It just waits. Patient. Hopeful. And gaining in experience.

While writing as a teen, I felt my lack of experience as an obstacle to a worthy book. And I was probably right. I had only a tinge of adolescent angst, much less than most teens. With an idyllic childhood and the habits of an optimist, I didn't have enough of a story. And without conflict, there is not story. Nothing is more boring to read about than a happy life. That's why "And they lived happily ever after" is an ending, not a beginning.

So I gained in experience. But by the time I had enough experience, I was out of free time.

But then veteran illustrator Carol Stevens calls me up and invites me to write a children's book with her. And here I am, stunned and thrilled. Dinner is unmade, and it's 6:30pm. And I keep staring at my Amazon author page, my Amazon book page, and my GoodReads author page. I keep reading the wonderful supporting comments from my friends on Facebook who are rooting for my success (and over 90 of them were beta readers for this first book--THANK YOU).

And so, today has made it to "The top ten days of my life." Thank you for sharing it.