Welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group for January, 2012.
The year 2011 was a whirlwind for me. I published my first novel, Claiming The Prize, in September. (Click here to read a review by The Blogger Girlz) 
Then in early December, I published my second, Her Dark Baron. (Read a review by Komal at In Which I Write Nonsensically)
This was overwhelming - in a good way. I had claimed (secretly to myself and to my husband) that 'one-day', I would write a novel. One day never seemed to come, however. Five children, a few re-locations for my husband's career, buying a home, football, cheer-leading, track and field, soccer, wrestling, boy scouts, and maintaining a home took over the next twenty years! At 39 years old, I began writing. At 40, I published. It's been one splendid, inspiring, year. I even finished out 2011 with a record (for me) sales month of 100+ books!
But old habits die hard.
Successes like the one I mentioned delight me. However, they will become a burden if I don't keep my focus where it needs to be. I can allow myself to simply enjoy success and keep forging ahead...'letting go of all that is behind and pressing ahead toward my goal' - or I can allow that success to become a taunting entity that paralyzes my future work.
'What if I don't see such success next month?'
'What if my next book isn't as good as this one?'
'What if I can't come up with another story idea?'
You see the danger?This is a new year, with 2012 arriving much sooner than I expected it...Ha! Seriously, in the 1980's and 1990's, 2012 seemed light-years away, yet here it is. I am gearing up to complete my next novel, The Third Fate. Edits will begin in earnest by the end of January - mid-February. I plan to publish by the end of March, 2012.
Keeping my eyes on the goal, which is to continue writing and publishing, I need to glean what's valuable, efficient, and enjoyable from past experiences and take these with me into what shines ahead, simultaneously letting go to allow my new books/ideas/methods to take me where they will.
It's going to be another wild and wonderful year. Let's ask ourselves...
'What if I achieve higher than I did last year?'
'What if I achieve higher than I did last year?'
An Interview
The lovely Komal has invited me over to chat at her blog! Click HERE to visit..
Here was another first for me this year. Interviews. To be quite honest, I felt like a fraud in my first interview! Really. Sure, I had written a novel. Sure, I had published it. But did that mean I was an author? Ha! It took awhile for that truth to set into my brain. How did you feel in your first author interview?
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