Although my journey may have rebooted in January 2019, the real journey started when I was 6 or 7 years old. I loved to read books. I loved doing the Book It challenge and I probably filled 3 to 4 pins a summer. Books transported me to a place that was safe and bright. They took me on a journey that inspired me to become a writer. When you are 7 your writings will never make the New York Times bestseller list, but they will definitely get hung on the fridge, or put in a shoe box that has all of your drawings that you created from birth until the present day. My writings also took me on an adventure. It excited me to know that I could create my own world. A world filled with dragons and a princess, or I could create the perfect little family that had a Mom, Dad, little sister, and a puppy. Who doesn’t like puppies?

For some reason I always seemed to name my main character Emily and that theme seemed to carry over into my first work in progress where my main character Emma. I almost continued using Emily, but this journey is a new one, so a new name was a must. With that Emma Jayne Potter was born. She was born on a cold night in January 2019 around 3 in the morning. I was lying on the couch in excruciating pain staring at the ceiling when all of a sudden the story came to me. It spoke to me in a way that hadn’t occurred in a decade or more. I knew that I had to immediately write this story idea down before it disappeared. Emma wanted the world to know who she was and what adventures her life would take her on and I couldn’t deny her of that, so that novel is now in the process of coming to life.

I hope to have the first draft completed before summer’s end, and hopefully have it completely finished and published just prior to year’s end. Going through this whole process has been eye opening for sure. Who knew that wanting to publish books was just like running a small business. Today’s technology is far more advanced than it was in the 90’s; which means that as a writer who wants to be a published author at some point needs to build up an online presence to gain followers. You have Twitter, Instagram and Facebook that all need managed. You have to engage with the writing community; which honestly I have found to be so helpful and inclusive thus far. All of that needs to be done on a daily basis just so your audience knows you really are committed to the community and to the writing process.

The next step was this website and a blog had to be created. Email subscribers need to be obtained and built up. Sometimes I feel as if I have spent more time posting and engaging on social media than I have actually working on my WIP (work in progress), but the engaging and postings have really motivated me and has helped me move forward in creating Emma’s new world. It has inspired me by hearing so many stories from other writers who are also experiencing the same process. They get it.

Even though is has been challenging and hard, I will not turn back and quit. If you have read this far and you have ever thought about writing, I challenge you right now to start writing. Even if you do it just for fun or even just to release anything pent up inside. Put it on paper. It has reminded me how much peace it gave me during some really dark days during my childhood. Days that were sometimes scary. As an adult I am truly blessed with an amazing husband and two amazing fur babies, but there are days that are stressful and that is usually driven by my 9-5 life, so writing and reading helps bring down those stress levels and makes my life a better place for me and for those around me and that is really what matters most.

Thank you for reading. Use the links below to follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (It is not an author Facebook, but my Instagram feeds posts there, so my Facebook is filled with puppies and books!) Also hit subscribe if you would like to be notified whenever I post a new piece. Please leave any comments below, constructive criticism is always welcome.