The Next Best Step

The one sure thing about life, the one thing you can pretty much count on, is that it won’t always be easy. You know this. You’ve already been through some tough stuff. And you’ve survived. Maybe even triumphed. But then it all comes back for a second round. Or a third. Maybe you’re getting hit in a different way, from a different direction, but that punch still slams just the same. Sucks the air right out of you.

Anybody?

Yes, it is. Hard. And sometimes my coping skills go into hibernation. Like the turtle who shrinks back into her shell at the first sign of trouble. It’s good to have a shell, sometimes. Sometimes we just need to feel safe for a while. Until we’re ready. But sometimes? Sometimes we have to leave that safe place, ready or not. Because until we do, we can’t move forward. And if we don’t move forward, or at least try to, we’ll just be stuck. Safe, but stuck.

Is that any way to live?

Deciding what to do next with my writing career has been a challenge. An unexpected challenge, but one that I’m grateful for. While I’ve been sitting in my safe place, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. And here’s what I know.

I’m not giving up. I’m moving forward. And I couldn’t be happier about that.

So all that to say, be encouraged. If you’re in that place of not knowing what comes next, wait it out. Answers will come. And then, take the next step. The first step.

What’s next for me? Well, I’m glad you asked. 🙂

First of all, I’m going to be publishing a new Indie novel in September. It’s called As the Light Fades, and I’ll be sharing more about the book soon. If you’ve read The Things We Knew, you’ll be familiar with Liz Carlisle, and this is her story. So if you haven’t read The Things We Knew yet, you may want to do that!

As I mentioned in my earlier post on Change, writing for the general market was one of my options going forward. After much discussion with my agent, family, and friends, I have decided that this is the direction I want to go. Which is exciting and daunting at the same time. BUT, I’m taking that step in faith. I also know I have a lot to learn. This is a MUCH bigger pond with many, many more fish, and I don’t feel quite ready to swim in it.

To that end, I’m going to be working with a writing coach, a former NY editor with vast experience in this arena. I’m likening this to going back to school for my masters. Because that’s how much I feel I still have to learn. We’ll be working on the book I completed a few months back, The Rose Garden. The story is set in my island home of Bermuda, a first for me. But it’s not a great story yet, good, but not great. So I’m really looking forward to seeing it soar to the next level. It’s going to be a lot of hard work, but I’m jumping in with both feet, because this is what I want.

I’m a dream chaser. If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you’ll know this. And my next big dream is to get a contract in the general market. Yeah. It’s lofty. But if you can’t dream big, what’s the point?

Do I have the chops? I don’t know. I’d like to believe so. Others say I do, so I’m holding tight to that encouragement and moving forward. But it’ll take time. And did I mention a lot of hard work? So I can’t say for sure if and when I will have another book published by a traditional publisher. But I can say that this is still my dream. Still my goal.

So I’m going for it. As always, I can’t do it without the support of friends and family, so this is my thank-you for being there, and keep all the good thoughts and prayers coming please! I’m going to need all the cheerleading I can get.

Thanks for joining me on the journey!