I’m celebrating the completion of copy edits for The Right Chord with a much needed blog post. I feel the void when I go too long without reaching out via a post. Especially now, because this post in particular is a thank you to you, my readers.
A paper came home today in my daughter’s folder. As part of an Incredible Kid Day project, the parents are being asked to write letters to our children to let them know how special or appreciated they are. They enclosed one sheet of paper. Not nearly enough page space to express the awesomeness my little! I feel both the pressure and excitement of this assignment.
If you have read Secondhand Romance you know letters, and the written word, are important to the story. I’m going to let you in on a secret about myself in general and when it comes to letter writing. Writing a letter is personal, and I am shy. People who know me in my day to day life sometimes find this surprising, but the truth is most writers tend to be introverts. Over the years there have been times when I have wanted to reach out to an artist or writer who moved or inspired me, but I felt too shy or insignificant and held myself back. Why would they want to hear from me? There were times when I wrote the letter, but didn’t have the confidence to hit send.
Since the publications of Return to Audubon Springs and Secondhand Romance, I have been happily surprised to receive messages from readers. In the past three days alone, I have been floored by the number of messages from readers upon finishing Secondhand Romance. These simple acts of generosity gave me a much needed boost to push through and finish copy edits for The Right Chord. I cannot tell you what these messages of belief in my work, of these characters, and the town from my heart, have meant to me. Just like the assignment goal I have for my daughter, you made me feel special and appreciated.
Within this THANK YOU comes a promise to overcome my own fears. Never again will I hold back from expressing myself to another author, musician or artist of any kind. This is also a promise to stop second guessing myself when I have a thought I’d like to communicate here on my blog. See, there are a lot of do’s and don’ts in regards to social media, and I want to stop over thinking it, especially here. In the end, I think we (authors) have to do what it is we feel most comfortable. Within the pages of this site I feel comfortable as if I’m having a conversation among friends. Thank you again for taking the time to write. I promise to do the same.