How i got the idea for my first book!

It came about in an unexpected way. An idea of a mom and her son, them being all alone, it began as something vague then quickly led to a much bigger story. I wanted to bring it to life and give it a home on the page, but I hadn’t expected to see it online where anyone could buy it. I can look up the book on Amazon of all places and see my name and picture staring back at me from the computer screen. It’s an incredible feeling. 

But as with most things, there is always a beginning. A place from which you can look back and say, “that’s where it began”. For me, writing was an escape and a way to bring order to my mind. Searching for a way to improve my memory to help with residual issues that accompany a TBI, or traumatic brain injury, I settled on jotting things down. Then I quickly found that I liked to write. I used to write as a child but hadn’t in many years. I pondered what genre I could write under and decided that thriller was the direction I wanted to go. I have no shortage of ideas for psychological stories. 

Then I began. I developed the main characters easily enough and the setting fell into place too. I had lived in South Carolina for a year as well as attended military training and various schools there. Loving the area, it was an easy backdrop for a scary setting. Too good in fact, as the story progressed, I found myself emersed in it. I could feel what my protagonist was feeling and hear myself in the lines. If you write, you might relate. Losing yourself in a book is more than just reading it, you are creating it. 

Once I finished, I took many more months to refine and edit. That process isn’t the most fun, but it is necessary. I had no idea if it would ever go anywhere past my keyboard and word document, but I finally decided to send it off to as many publishers as possible. I kept a big list of them in a notebook with dates of submission. The publisher I was most excited for, one being in London, England, ended up being the one who sent me a reply back asking to see the full manuscript! 

Provoco did in fact sign me, as you know by now from my website. They loved the story and now here I am, a signed author with two more thrillers on the way. And my first book, the one that helped bring my brain some order amongst its chaos, is now about to hit the virtual shelves. I cannot be more excited, or proud. In the middle of life, I have found myself in an entirely new role. I am an author.

The takeaway? I think that anything we may want to do, be it taking a class or starting something new, is wholly worth it. In fact, I venture to say that it is just the sort of thing we should prioritize. Just go for it. You never, ever know what you might be missing out on or what could come from trying. One day, you might find yourself looking at your first book. And I want to know when you do!