A Dream Come True

I did not write this book. I had nothing to do with cover art suggestions, characters names, or the plot. I might have looked at a very early draft of it and offered suggestions, but that's it, and that was a LONG time ago. But today I'm over-the-moon excited because my great friend, Ayla Ruse, had achieved a goal she and I had set for ourselves years ago.

While I finished having kids and started writing seriously, she was expanding her family. Like many of us out there, she'd try to write, but really had no time. (She homeschools her kids, so I don't know how she gets anything done, let alone writing.) But she persevered, and she did it. She didn't let anything get in the way of her dream, and I can't help but respect that.

It's not easy to write. It's a dream job--my dream job--but it's difficult. Writing is mentally exhausting. It's solitary, filled with more noes than yeses and rejection becomes a bitter friend. What one person loves another hates, and the subjectivity of editors and readers can be frustrating. How can you fix something that your readers like but your editors hate? Or to know how to draft the story when you have half the readers complaining and the other half loving what you've done? (Simple: you write what the characters tell you to, but that's another story for another post.)

Writing, for many, is a calling--like an addiction you must have in order to make your day complete. For Ayla, she took her courage and submitted her work, blasted through no, maybe, and yes, and found a home at Total E-Bound. I couldn't be happier for her than I am today.
Congrats, Ayla. And I can't wait to read the book...