December 31, 2012 ~ What was I doing on this day 1 year ago? That’s right..I was writing Forever Black. The book that started my journey as an author in 2013. I published Forever Black on February 16, 2013 because it was a book I was in love with. I’ve always wanted to be an author ever since I was a little girl because I always had different stories going on in my head. I had a lot of ideas so I wrote a lot of poetry. I won several awards for my work during my school years. I started writing a book many years ago and then my computer crashed and I lost everything. Believe it or not, I still have that story in my head. After I lost work, I gave up and took a few classes over at the community college. I had decided to go into nursing. I took an English/writing class and we had to write several short stories. My professor pulled me aside one day after class and showed me my grade on a story I’d written. He asked if he could keep it to show as an example for his other classes and then he asked me if I had ever considered writing a novel. I was honored that this professor asked me because he was a published author. That was 5 years ago. Needless to say, I didn’t become a nurse. I dropped out because I realized that nursing wasn’t what I really wanted to do. I unhappily stayed at my job in the lab at a hospital and complained every day. I started writing again because it was my way to relax and unwind after the daily grind of a job I desperately hated. I wrote my story, researched self-publishing, contacted a few people, created a facebook page (I never had one until now), a twitter account and here I am!!!
I never thought in a million years that my debut book, Forever Black, would make the USA Today list for 6 weeks straight. Nor did I think that my 2nd book would hit the NY Times bestsellers list. Imagine my extreme shock when my 3rd book in the Forever Trilogy hit not only the USA Today and NY Times, but also The Wall Street Journal bestsellers list. I’ve secured a literary agent, an amazon rep, the pre-order option and my books are on audio!
This has been an amazing year. I’ve met the most wonderful people who I have formed friendships with, not just with my fans, but with some amazing authors who I love and support. I owe everything that has happened, to all of you, my amazing and truly fantastic readers/fans. You are the reason I’m where I’m at today and I thank each of you for your kindness and support! But most of all, I thank you for reading my books! Your comments and messages you leave me daily touch my heart in ways you could never imagine. Dreams do come true..follow your heart, go with your instincts, ask for help, and don’t stop until you’ve reached your goals and dreams.
As a thank you for the best year ever, I’ve decided that tomorrow, January 1, 2014..I’m going to release the cover of Collin’s book! The title is: Collin ~ A Forever Series Novel.
Collin’s book will be a full-length novel and not a novella like Being Julia. It will pick up exactly where Being Julia left off. I do not have a release date or even a month yet. I need to finish up Lie Next To Me and then Collin’s book will be next! So watch tomorrow morning for Collin’s Cover! It’s amazing!!! Also, The Upside of Love will release in 2014!
Happy New Year everyone! Be blessed, but most importantly, stay safe! Big hugs and kisses to everyone! I love you all! ♥ ♥ ♥