A Virtual Event

Picking up the very first copies of my book from my publisher.

I have always been an avid reader.  Growing up, reading was my escape.  When I didn’t want to deal with all of the changes and craziness going on in my life, I would pour myself into a book.  No matter where I went, there was most likely a book in the backpack or bag I was carrying.  I absolutely love reading and at the same token, I feel the same about writing.  If I could find a way to spend my days reading and writing and get paid to do it, that would be a dream come true.

When I began writing my book, When It Rains It Pours, I was at a point in my life where I felt I literally could not speak.  It seemed as if when I did talk, I must have been speaking a different language because no one seemed to understand what I was saying or how I was feeling.  My voice got caught in my throat and writing was the only way for it to be heard.  I threw everything I had into writing this book.  In the back of my mind I hoped someday it would be published.  As the years went by, I thought about my book from time to time.  I’d read a few chapters and edit.  Then it would go back to its place in the back of my mind.

Now, some twenty plus years later, my book has been completed and published. So next to reading and writing, I love talking about my book and the experiences that shaped it.  A week ago, my publisher asked me to be a panelist at her virtual book signing event and the opportunity to speak about my book as well as to hear other author’s share about their work was definitely something to look forward to.  Hearing the stories from other author’s about the love and dedication they poured into their work inspired me in a way I won’t soon forget.  I realized that at a time when our voices fell upon deaf ears, writing became therapy for us all.  That in itself warms my heart.  It makes me so grateful for the counselor in high school that encouraged me to write as a way of dealing with my frustration and pain.

My agent and publisher, Sula Too, LLC is not a large publishing company.  She is a woman, who, like me, loves to write.  When she was looking to have her work published and couldn’t find anyone who would, so she decided to publish her work herself and in the process birthed her publishing company. She has several authors on her team and the crazy thing is, she focused her efforts on publishing non-fiction work.  My fiction book is the first her company has published.  So to say that I am grateful for this opportunity is truly an understatement.  I am so glad she took a chance on me and believed in my work enough to add it to her publishing house.

Hopefully, for me, there will be many more opportunities to share with others about my book and the process it took to write it.  This is another thing I’d love to get paid to do!  My take away from this experience…

Never lose hope…:)

#Inspiration #Focus #Turning #BeEncouraged #LovingLife #Opportunity #Faith #GodsTiming #SulaTooLLC #Hope