How Do I Dare?

How do I dare crown myself "queen"? Well, if there's one thing God has tried to teach me in life, it's how to wait. I started dating embarrassingly late. I was thirty-one when I married. (And you were worth every minute of the wait, honey!) Having a baby? Still waiting on that one, thirteen years after deciding to start a family.

And then there's my writing career. I knew I wanted to be a novelist when I was seven. When I was eighteen, I sent away my first novel manuscript. Now here I am, still on that elusive road to publication thirty years later. (Yes, you can do the math. I don't mind.)

After thirty years in this game, I have a lot to share--although frankly, sometimes I've been hesitant to do it. Will people be encouraged by my story--or run screaming in hysterics, thinking of the long, difficult road that might lie ahead? Will readers just dismiss me as a loser, thinking I obviously have no talent if I've been at it that long?

I hope you don't react either way. First of all, I played around a lot of those years, and was clueless for more than I care to mention. I've learned lessons that could help you cut time off your writing journey. And as I learned those lessons, I finaled in a contest, drew encouragement and support from two well-known authors, and signed with an agent!

God has also shown me so much about the process of waiting, itself. He's taught me that sometimes you hold on and keep working--and sometimes you let go. I know now I'll probably never have children. That was one of my dreams I had to relinquish.

Does that mean this site will be sad and whiney? Not at all! God has blessed me beyond belief, and I've discovered how well He knows me--what I'm ready for, and what I'm not. I'll share more about all that later.

Also, because I had to pay bills while pursuing this writing thing, I became a librarian. I teach research skills to college students and answer reference questions. Along the way, I've discovered tricks and resources that are perfect for novelists--beginning, multi-published, or whoever. I want to share those resources, too. So I hope you'll check here often. Or better yet, use the email button in the right-hand column to subscribe.