Cover Reveal for The Magic Wakes

I have had one of the most exciting weekends of my life. It all started with an email from my editor with the cover for my debut novel. Now the book and blurb are up on Goodreads and suddenly this feels REAL.

People are going to read my book in just a few months! You can read my book in a few months! Holy Cow, I can't believe it's really happening.

I also found the perfect stones for Talia's necklace just last week. The jeweler is purchasing the rest of the supplies and very soon I'll have her necklace. One for me, and a couple to give away at the book release! Christmas came early for me this year!

And now, I get to share my official cover, blurb and release date with YOU! Thank you all for sticking with me all these years. You are the ones that kept me going when I wanted to quit. I'll never be able to show you how much you guys mean to me.

And now, I present to you...

Talia has a secret, one that will save her world and yet rip it apart. Only she can decide if the price is worth it.

Scientist Talia Zaryn has always had visions of an alien invasion and of her own death. She’s kept it a secret, hoping they are nothing more than childish nightmares. But when her face in the mirror matches that of her dreams, she fears the dreams are prophetic. Talia must prove that life exists beyond their planet, Sendek; perhaps then people will prepare to fight.

Talia's work at the Space Exploration Foundation leaves no time for personal relationships, but Major Landry Sutton isn’t looking for a friend. He is looking for a traitor. His ability to sense emotions convinces him Talia is that traitor until a touch sizzles between them. In an instant their minds are connected and they can communicate telepathically. Just as the two begin to trust each other, the invading force arrives.

Talia and Landry must uncover the secrets of Sendek’s past if they hope to defeat these terrifying creatures. And Talia is the key—if only she can learn to trust the magic coursing through her veins.

Coming February 19th, 2013

I'm starting to organize my Blog Tour for February 5th-19th. If you'd like to help out with a review, interview, guest post, or just by sharing the cover and blurb let me know by emailing me at charity.bradford @ gmail.com.

As soon as I get ARCs I'll be giving them away!

Inventions and Goals for September

I'm barely back from crazy August and I'm going to leave again on Saturday. You may be thinking, "Take a break already!"

Well, that's what I'm going to do. A good friend is going to watch my kids and hubby and I are going on a cruise to celebrate our 16th anniversary (which happened in crazy August). I hope the seas have calmed a bit, but even if not I'm going to get pampered and have a great time.

Inventions

Next, I just have to share a moment from my life. This should show you how lucky I am. We have so much fun in my family because of the great imaginations and the willingness to just sit around and talk.

Sunday night, hubby, the four kids (ages 6-15), and I were sitting in the living room playing one of our favorite games...Would you rather. As the night wore on and we grew more tired, things turned silly.  Eventually we got to this point.

Hubby: Oo! I wonder if anyone has ever tried to bread a hot dog?
Me: And fried it?
Hubby: Yes!
Me: Um, that would be called a corn dog.
*shock* for half a second then...Hysterical laughter from all six of us.
Hubby: I totally breaded it in my mind and it didn't look like a corn dog.
Ash (kid #2): yeah, mine looked like all lumpy like someone threw up all over it.
More hysterical laughter followed by the decision that it was time for bed.

Yep, we often try to reinvent the wheel at my house. 

Goals for September

• Stay busy while waiting for line edits
• Work on short story I want to do about Sendek's ancient past
• Get caught up on book reviews--I think I have 5 that I finished over the summer
• Post my five part series based on this post--Top 5 Issues I See When Critiqing by Angela Ackerman from the Bookshelf Muse
• Find a new jeweler to work on the necklace I want for my book release
• Work with my brother-in-law on a book trailer
• Get a completed sketch to submit to my publisher for possible cover art
• Write a story for an anthology we are putting together (we being the women from Unicorn Bell)

Exciting things brewing at Unicorn Bell

This is what I posted over there today. If you want to join in the fun, head over there and follow so you can get all the details as they unfold.

We've been sitting on something here at UB.

Well, yeah, that too, but I'm talking about something new for our little blog.

Something we've been dreaming of doing.

Something with YOU in mind.

The time has finally arrived to fill you in on our plan to take over the world!

*cough* *cough*

Sorry, not that plan.

What plan? We aren't plotting to take over the world so just stop already.

Now, where were we?

Oh yes. The plan to help you wonderful followers get some quality feedback on your work.

We are excited to announce the School's In Query Contest!

We are devoting most of August to queries: how to's, examples, workshops and the query process in general. The last week of August we will have three wonderful guest judges reading all polished queries for FINISHED manuscripts.

Krystal Wade from Curiosity Quills
Nancy Bell from MuseItUp Publishing
Amy Lichtenhan SapphireStar Publishing

If they like what they see, they may request pages and who knows where that may lead you?

There will be more info coming over the next few weeks, but we wanted to give you time to comb through that MS one more time. Maybe even get one more beta reader? Here's what these ladies said they are looking for right now.

Krystal--I love older mc's (18+)! I'd like to see some good dystopian, more male
mc's too, and then of course anything scifi/fantasy/paranormal with
something new and unusual.

Nancy--MuseItUp is looking for more dark fiction, horror, as we are light in
that department. However, romance, historical romance, YA/MG from a male
POV that will entice that sector. Of course, we are open to anything
that is well written and crafted. We don't publish literary fiction or
poetry.

Amy--We're especially interested in contemporary romance and paranormal
romance at this time, although we are accepting submissions in all
fiction categories.

If you are interested in playing, what questions do you have about the contest?
Please email them to unicornbellsubmissions@gmail.com and I'll post and answer all of them for our Friday post.

...And for anyone who might be interested, look what I found on Google.

While I Wait...

No one ever told me that waiting for the next steps after signing a contract could be so hard. You think that once you hear "yes", everything will get easier. Maybe it's because waiting between "No" is no longer a big deal.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't really had to wait long. A total of 20 days passed between me signing the contract and getting it back in the mail. That's a snail mail issue and nothing else.

• During that time I worried that my contract got lost in the mail.
• Or exploded in some massive highway pile up between here and there.
• I worried that WiDo changed their minds and didn't know how to break the news to me.
• I thought, "Oh, no. I've already proven to them that I'm highly unstable emotionally and they are working to get me committed." No, wait, that's my family.
• I thought maybe I made the whole thing up. My family accuses me of that all the time because I have conversations in my head and I forget which ones took place in the real world and which ones were imaginary.

Needless to say, when the contract did show up with a nice letter welcoming me to the family, I was RELIEVED! There was also information on my editor and a note to shoot her an email. Which I did as soon as I finished cooking, serving, and eating dinner. See, I can show some self restraint.

She replied the next morning with instructions and I'm so excited to get started. The first round will be a general read on her part with comments on plot and character structure/development. Once we get all the holes filled and things squared away there, we will move to a scene by scene edit.

This is the one I'm excited about. I kept trying to tell myself I needed to do this, but just couldn't muster the energy. Knowing someone will help me has motivated me again.

And finally, we will do the line by line edit. Somewhere in there we will get an idea as to when Sendek will be released. I'm trying to prepare myself for Fall of 2013, but hoping with hard work I might be able to swing an earlier release. However, I have no idea how any of that works and I'm completely willing to leave that up to my new besties.

Birth of a Novel and Housekeeping

How was your weekend? Did you get your fill of turkey and pie? I've frozen most of my left overs to save for another day. We can only eat so much, ya know?

Anyway, I'm ready to settle back into my normal posting routine. This means I'm moving my Birth of a Novel post to Monday instead of Tuesday.

What do you want me to blog about on Wednesday and Friday?

I really liked it when you asked questions and I did some research to find answers. Did you? Should we try that again?

Some other ideas I've had are:

• Interviews With a Blogger--where I interview you.
• Book Reviews--I just need some books to review. :)
• Answers to Your Questions
• First Look--you send your first 300 words to be posted anonymously and critiqued by me.

So, here are the guidelines? You can do one, all, or none of these. But it would be helpful if you did at least the first one.

• Comment and tell me what you would like to see on this blog.
• Post a question you want me to answer (about ANYTHING) in the comments.
• Post book suggestions you would like me to read and review in the comments. 
• Email me to let me know you would be willing to be interviewed (charity.bradford@gmail.com)
• Email the first 300 words of your story to be critiqued. I'll post it without your name (unless you want your name on it). Please include the title and genre with the submission. (charity.bradford@gmail.com)

Title: Faerie Wings
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Current word count: 29,310

Surprise of the week:
I woke up Saturday morning and really wanted to write. The house was quiet. I had survived turkey day and guests as well as Black Friday. The story was waiting at the tip of my fingers. I went down to write and got about 500 words before the five year old woke up. That was the end of the writing.

I kept trying to come back, but my home is not writer friendly. The frustration made me cranky and I think I went to bed at 9pm with a headache. The saddest part was that when I woke that morning, I actually thought I could pull off a Nano win. All I needed to do was pull off four days of 5,000.

Totally doable.

But not in my house.

I'm still not bothered by the Nano fail, but I really want to get this story out of my head and on the page.

And guess what? Last night I started dreaming about Sendek again. It won't leave me alone, and that's how I know it isn't FINISHED. The bit that came to me was actually brilliantly simple. *head smack* why didn't I think of it before?

Don't worry, I jotted down the idea, but I promised to let it sit until January at the very least before I dig into it again.

Snippet for the week (I actually went back a couple of chapters for this steamy bit):
He stayed close by my side all night. If he wasn’t holding my hand, our knees were touching. Or he found some excuse to brush the lock of hair away from my face, tucking it behind my ear. Each time he did, his fingers caressed the side of my face, lingering as long as possible.

The whole world slowed down. I could barely eat my dinner, even though it was delicious. Later, the music at the symphony swirled around me, carrying me away to places I had never been. And Carter was in every taste. In each sound. In every sensation that moved through my body.

Images of summer fields full of wildflowers, forest trails, gardens, and hummingbirds came to me off and on throughout the night. Somehow Carter knew when they came to me. He squeezed my hand and smiled each time. The looks he gave me promised there would be time to talk. Soon.

It came in the form of the last entertainment for the night. If the symphony had been planned for my enjoyment, the dancing was for Heather. She and Scott took to the floor as soon as we made it in the door. Carter and I sat in a corner. The music was too loud to talk much, but I learned you can say a lot without words.

Carter traced the same circular pattern on my hands over and over. I leaned over and spoke close to his ear.

“Why the circles?”

He turned until his mouth was next to my ear. “Circles have no beginning and no end.” He drew another one on my palm. “There are many other meanings, but that’s my favorite one.”

The warmth of his breath on my skin spread. In the dim lighting of the club, a new boldness came over me. I flipped our hands over and drew a spiral on his palm. We sat so close that I felt his body tense and relax as he exhaled into my hair.

“Ma Cherie?”

“Did you know that in Celtic symbols, the spiral represents growth, balance, and creativity?” I spoke into his ear.

“It also means surrender and awareness. A triple spiral is a sign of feminine power.” He nipped at my ear, and a delicious tremor ran through me. “Please don’t tempt me more than I can take.”

His other hand closed over mine, stopping it’s motion. He didn’t pull away but leaned his head into mine. I couldn’t hear his breathing, but I could feel the quick rise and fall of his chest so near to mine. When it slowed he pulled back and looked into my eyes.

“Shall we dance?”

Ack! I forgot to post the chain list. Go check out these other great peeps.

Angela H.
Anna M.
Brooke Busse
Charity Bradford
Elizabeth Davis
Elizabeth Poole
Fida Islaih
Huntress
Jen McConnel
Lena Hoppe
Mia Hayson
Miranda Hardy
Nyxie Moon
Tessa C
Zoe

What We Can Learn About Voice from Music

Remember that "Let's talk about you" post from a while back? I think I've answered all the questions (if I missed one, poke me with a stick), but Holly Ruggiero just wanted a post on writing craft. This one's for her and I hope if fits the bill.

Holly blogs over at A Southpaw's POV. She writes fantasy and urban fantasy, and I believe she was one of my first followers. Holly, thanks for sticking around with me through all my mood swings.

Voice

Sunday night I drove to a meeting half an hour away. I listened to the following song four times in a row. As I listened, this post formed in my head. I hope it makes sense.

First, I suggest you plug in some earphones and listen to the song. Let it fill you, expand your spirit, and make all the stress in your life disappear. (Feel free to listen to it over and over.)

I don't have a clue what the words mean. I'm sure I could look up a translation, but I won't. Everything I need to know and understand in order for the song to touch me is in the voice.

The violin, so clear and piercing in its sincerity. Full of longing, climbing and falling, taking its time and rushing. Melancholy and exultant. Reaching, ever reaching. For me, it sounds like the core of life itself.

And then Josh Groban sings. Effortless, compelling, drawing you into the emotion even further. You can't help but feel something.

Now, we've all heard that we need to find our own voice in our writing. I finally got it listening to this song. We each have a unique voice, and when used correctly, we can pull the reader in. Make them feel something. 

So, lets take a look at our physical voice.

The sound of each individual's voice is entirely unique not only because of the actual shape and size of an individual's vocal cords but also due to the size and shape of the rest of that person's body, especially the vocal tract, and the manner in which the speech sounds are habitually formed and articulated. Wikipedia

Voice can be describe by its pitch, volume and timbre. (Indulge me, I think this is fascinating and wonder how I can apply it to describing my MCs voices. I'll try to keep it brief.)

Pitch is how we order sound based on the frequency of vibrations of the vocal cords. High or low.
Volume is simply how loud or soft the sound is.
Timbre/Tone is where things get fun.

"In simplest terms, timbre is what makes a particular sound unique from another sound. For instance, it is the difference between a guitar and a piano playing the same note at the same volume." Wikipedia

Now, let's compare it to our writer's voice.

No one can write a story exactly like you because of your unique life experiences, the depth of emotion you have experienced, your sense of humor, fairness, justice, etc. Your habits also effect your writing skill.  --Me, I just set it off to mirror the above. :)

Pitch is how we hook our readers or agents. I'm lumping cover blurbs in this. The 'frequency' of times we share our books with others strengthens our pitching muscles.
Volume could relate to how strong or subtle our voice is. Do you have a snarky sense of humor that is impossible to miss, or one that is more of an intellectual puzzle? Is your romance cute or steamy? You could also relate volume to the sheer number of works you finish and send out into the world. The more books you publish the 'louder' your voice in the writing world.
Tone is the attitude a writer takes towards a subject or character: serious, humorous, sarcastic, ironic, satirical, tongue-in-cheek, solemn, objective.

What does your writer's voice sound like? Do you know? 
Tip: find one of your favorite sentences or paragraphs and that's probably your voice. I'm going to go look for mine now. ;)  
When you find yours, come back and post a snippet in the comments and I'll do the same.

The Writer's Rush

Holly, I promise to get to posts about writing craft soon. ;)

Today I'm going to answer Caroline Bridge's question. She blogs at Untitlement, and you should really check out the book covers she's made. They are all To. Die. For. I loved what she wrote with her question, so I'm putting all of it here for you to see.

Does that insane rush of first love ever return in your writing career? When I first started writing fiction, I felt like I'd discovered superpowers, a link to a fantastic new world, the candy room in Willy Wonka's factory. I still enjoy it, but there isn't that all-consuming fire anymore.

Oh, how I love that feeling she's describing. You know, when that spark of an idea takes root deep in your heart and you can't help but think about it day and night. *sigh* It really is the best feeling in the world.

I've been writing off and on for the last eight years--"playing" for most of it, but serious for the last three. And I have to say, I don't always feel that rush, the impulse that I have to write immediately or I'll go crazy. Sometimes I have to make myself sit down for "writing time". I don't think there's anything wrong with that, and I've never worried about it.

Why?

Over the last three years, I've learned that writing is a lot of work. And I'm good with that.
But I stick with it because shiny new ideas still make me giddy. Finger itchy, impatient to get quiet computer time, ready to explore a new world, giddy.

If you're not feeling that rush of first love you might need a short break. Or just a different idea. Or maybe a new slant on an idea you like, but it just isn't doing it all for you, if you know what I mean?

What do the rest of you do when you need to feel that writing rush? Where do you turn for ideas?

I think I'm just a naturally patient person (most of the time), and so when a few months go by without the rush I don't worry. There is always a new crazy dream floating around waiting to catch my attention.

Sometimes the rush only lasts a few hours or days. Those ideas get sketched and filed away. The ones that haunt me are the ones I keep coming back to. Talia. Ryanne, Elyzbeth, Elina. Some of their stories have been in my head since I was a teen. I still feel a rush when I read through what I've written. One of these days they will be polished enough that they'll make their way into the world. I don't think I could keep working and taking rejection if I didn't feel that love for their stories.

Funny, but I still don't think of them as MY stories. There's a secret hope inside me that tells me this is good. Who am I? No one. But these girls are amazing! I just have to find all the right words and string them together in the right order.

Caroline, you've made me excited for writing time today. Thanks!

Rejections Part 1

Marquita Hockaday writes YA and blogs with her cousin over at Y(A)? Cuz We Write! She asks:
How do I stay motivated to query after so.many.rejections??

After my rant earlier this week, I added a Part 3 to this series, but for today, let’s concentrate on

Part 1—Dealing with rejection from the professional publishing world.

It's been a year since I sent out my first query, and in the spirit of keeping it real--

Rejection sucks.

Yeah, I know, shocking isn't it? It doesn't get easier, but here are some things I try to remember and things I do to stay motivated.

1. I Send queries out in small batches of five to six and wait for the results. I take what I learn from those responses and make improvements to the query and the MS. Plus a little bit of rejection is easier to get over than a ton of it at once.

This was harder in the beginning because form rejections don’t tell you much. All I could figure was the query wasn’t working. Or maybe it was the sample pages? How do you find out???

2. Get eyes on your MS, query, synopsis, etc. Criticism is hard to take because it’s a form of rejection, but it WILL move you forward and give you insight to what’s not working.

There are a lot of blogs, authors, and even agents that give free critiques. See the links below.

3. Continue to learn about the craft of writing and publishing. Read agent blogs, author blogs, and writing help sites. As you do this, you will be able to see where your writing needs help.

As part of continued learning you can…

4. Attend writing conferences. I know they’re expensive. It kills me every time I miss one, but there are free online conferences all the time (See links below). They provide great opportunities to learn, grow, and sometimes pitch to agents or publishers. The workshops allow you to get feedback you can trust.

As your writing improves, you gain confidence. You will also come to realize the query game is about YOU interviewing agents to find the one who is the best fit for you.

What if you go through your entire agent list and get nothing but rejections?

5. Learn about small to mid-sized publishers. This could be the best fit for you and your story. Rejection from agents doesn’t mean your story is crap. It could just mean they didn’t think they could sell it. Maybe it has a niche audience and could do really well with a smaller publisher.

I have a short list of mid-sized publishers that I think I would enjoy working with. Once I realized my main goal was to write the best story I could and put it into the hands of readers, I knew I could be happy going this route.

I now know that the best validation will come from having people read my book and like it. I can do that on my own, right now, if I wanted to on CreateSpace.

The bottom line to staying motivated is learning that YOU are in charge of your destiny. It's a lot of work. Sometimes people say no, but it's okay because there are lots of options. There are new agents all the time, new agencies, new publishers, and it's getting easier to self publish every day.

6. Finally, give yourself a break. Don’t forget why you write and allow yourself to play around and enjoy the journey. When I get down I play on MorphThing.com making characters, I make soundtracks on Grooveshark, I make book trailers, or book covers. Do whatever it takes to remind yourself why you fell in love with your story.

Good luck and happy writing!


Critiquing Blogs:
Unicorn Bell--currently small so you get a lot of attention from the blog owners.
Janice Hardy's Real Life Diagnostics--my first chapter goes up tomorrow I think.
Miss Snark's First Victim--large but has great agent contests.
Matthew MacNish gives critiques over at The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment.


I know there are tons more out there, but my brain isn't working this morning. Send me those you know of and I'll keep adding to this list.

Recent Posts:
Seeking an Agent is not Seeking a Job from BookEnds, LLC--a literary agency.


There are more writers groups than I could ever list. I used to go to these two a lot for query and first lines help:
Hatrack River Writers Workshop Forums
Nathan Bransford Forums

You can register RIGHT NOW and up until September 25th (that's Sunday) for the Muse Online Writer's Conference. The dates are October 3rd-9th. Hurry if you want to sign up for pitch sessions! Muse it Up Publishing is making a name for itself and they have several agents and other publishers providing great workshops and pitch sessions.

WriteOnCon just finished their free conference, but they have great stuff year round so check it out. This is geared toward YA, but all writers can learn here so don't skip it just because you write for adult audiences.

Enough about me, let's talk about you.

Hello all you lovely people! *waves* Something hit me last night and I want to work on fixing it. One of you super followers signed up on YouWriteOn.Com and received my story in your assignment list! The only problem is there is no messaging system on that site. I wanted to tell you thank you and good luck and maybe start a dialogue to answer some of your questions.

When I started browsing through my follower list in the hope of finding a way to send you a message I realized something. I don't really know much about many of you wonderful people. There are many I recognize because I follow you back, but somewhere along the way my numbers jumped up and I wasn't able to meet all of you.

I've been quite selfish. Well, at the very least I have neglected YOU, my followers. My posts have been more personal than writing related, but now that the kids are back in school I have a little more time to devote to you.

Who are you?
and
What burning questions do you want answered?

Please introduce yourself in the comments so I can come to your blog and meet you.
In fact why don't we do something fun. In the comments, post your:

1. Name
2. Blog
3. The color of your toothbrush
4. Big goal for the rest of this year
5. Post your questions about the craft of writing, mechanics, grammar, publishing world, seeking agents, queries, synopsis, Nanowrimo, whatever and I'll start researching and posting the answers to your questions.

It's time to make this blog more about you and less about me...for a while at least.

I'll actually be gone all next week doing this...

...for my 15th anniversary. So you have an entire week to think of some questions. When I come back I hope to see lots of comments to help me get to know you and your questions/suggestions on what you want me to post about.

Please? and Thank You!

Running and Writing

Let's talk running first.

Not me...yet!

On Saturday I headed out bright and early for a 14 mile run with my best friend. There are some things you just can't do by yourself, or more accurately WON'T do by yourself. Running 14 miles is one of those things for me. However, chugging uphill the last four miles (all up BTW), my friend was right in front of me. I kept my eyes on her back and somehow kept moving. There were times I slowed to a walk during the last four miles, but I picked my feet up because I had to get home one way or the other.

Writing is a lot like this for me. I love the blogging community and how we collaborate to improve our writing. I know I would not revise/edit as many times as I do without my wonderful critique partners.

When I'm tired and ready to give up, someone always gives me a kick or shove and says, "You can do this, keep going!"

There have been moments over the past two years where writers in front of me caught agents or sold and released their debut novels. My iPod might have been playing This Song (embedded at bottom) by the Plain White T's (it did play on that uphill climb Saturday and I was sending dark thoughts Laura's way for not letting me quit). I might have thought for half a moment it was about them, but after that moment passed I could say that I'm really grateful for those in front of me. They are the proof that if I keep writing, revising, starting over (picking my feet up over and over), one day I'll reach my goal.

So...This weekend I worked through the first fifty pages of Sendek...again. (I also worked on some short stories.)

I finally let go of the last hold out 'thing'. I don't know what to call it really, but for years I've clutched my 1st person POV for Talia close, even though my 3rd person POV reads smoother. No longer! This last revision before hiring an editor will change all those 1st person sections to 3rd person.

I have to be honest and say I'm really excited about it. The change is simple, but the results so far have astounded me. What if this is the only thing that's been holding me back?

Who is your best cheerleader? Who gives you that kick in the backside to get moving again?

I have so very many that I can't list them all. Suffice it to say that my best writing kick in the pantsers (<--pantsers!) are friends I've made through blogging. Not my family. There are certain people who read my stuff, give honest critiques, and send me emails that say "you need a kick in the pants!" I hope you guys/gals know who you are and how much I appreciate you.

Thanks!

What am I forgetting?

It's Wednesday, and my schedule says I post on Wednesday. But I keep feeling like I'm forgetting something. Something important.

Is it you?

I've been thinking about you a lot lately. There are almost 400 of you wonderful followers, which is mind boggling to me. I'm so grateful when you stop by and leave comments to brighten my day.

How can I get to know you better? How can I make sure you continue to get something out of this blog?

Would you be willing to tell me? What do you want/like about this blog? I feel totally random most of the time.

My goals are to:

• talk about my writing
• talk about writing tips and tools in general
• share books I'm reading
• share author interviews
• share the journey of working toward publication with all its ups and downs
• vent when needed
• ask for help when needed
• give help whenever I can
• build relationships with people who "get" my obsession

What kind of things would you like me to add? Several blogs are starting to add weekly critique features, or blogger spotlights. Would you be interested in that?

Please, share what keeps you returning to your favorite blogs and I'll see what I can do to keep you happy.

1 Year Anniversary

Wow! It has almost been a full year since I began this blog. A lot has happened over this year. I've met some amazing blog friends, received some excellent critiques, and learned a lot about this writing toward publication journey. I've gained a few new skills, improved my writing, and most importantly gained a greater confidence in myself.

After a year, I've come to realize this dream of publication is obtainable.

You've followed, commented, supported and celebrated with me all along the way. That constitutes real friendship in my book.