Finding Lily is coming soon…
Eek! This is my first blog post. Ever. So I apologize if I ramble with this one. LOL!
The release of Finding Lily is tomorrow! To say I’m anxious would be an understatement. I don’t think the nerves ever go away. I swear I could own stock in antacids by now. Just kidding! But seriously, I do gobble them down like candy around release day. I think most authors, big or small, get the butterflies when they hit publish.
This release also makes me think back to the beginning. My writing actually started about 8 years ago. I wrote two paranormal romance books, part of a young adult, and started a contemporary romance. I still plan to finish the young adult and the contemporary romance, and publishing them both next year. Will I do anything with my paranormal romances sitting on my hard drive? Maybe. It’s always a possibility, but I would have to change a lot of the storyline.
When I finally decided to start writing again, it was actually more of a hobby. I never thought I’d do anything with it. Finding Obscurity was only going to be read by my close friends and that would be the end of it. You can thank my friends for changing my mind! I started looking into cover artists, editors, and read about a gazillion online articles about self-publishing. Once I gained the courage to finally do it, I asked people to beta read. Then I found my photographer, cover designer, and cover model. And finally, I contacted my editor.
But by that point I still didn’t have a title. The first book in The Secrets Series actually had about ten other titles, but I couldn’t settle on just one. Reaching out to my friends, I challenged them to come up with a name for my first book, and if they did, I’d create a character for them in the second book. Finding Obscurity stuck. That’s how Jeremy Morrow’s character came into play. Cool, huh?
When the ball started rolling with the Finding Obscurity, I almost backed out. Was I nervous? Yes. Did I have doubts about it? Yes. Was it all overwhelming? Uh, heck yes. Hard to believe I finished my third book and working on my forth. I never thought I’d get this far, but I did. It just goes to show that if you put yourself out there, you never know what might happen.
Now, Finding Lily is almost here. Lily’s happily ever after. When typing out the last line in Finding Lily, it about killed me. It meant Lily’s story was complete. I cried, I really did. Even though she’ll make appearances in the spinoff books, it meant saying goodbye to my main character. Most importantly, I’m sorry it took me so long to get Finding Lily ready. Life happened. Things that weren’t supposed to happen, did. So thank you for your patience while I finished the story a few months behind schedule.
All in all, I’m so thankful that I stepped out of my comfort zone and hit publish for the first time. I’ve grown as a writer, a person, and have met so many amazing friends and readers along the way. So thanks to my friends, old and new, who challenge me every day to improve. And a special thanks to my readers. Without you, I wouldn’t be where I am today!
Oh, and before I forget, I also announce the spinoff books in the “About the Author” section at the end of Finding Lily. Even though Lily gets her happy ending, some of the characters don’t. Once you see who the spinoffs are about, especially the one about a ‘certain person’, please keep it hush-hush for now. Especially for the readers who haven’t finished the series yet. I’d greatly appreciate it.
Now, back to formatting so I can get Finding Lily ready before the big day! I sure hope you enjoy it as much as I loved writing it.