What am I celebrating? The tenth anniversary of the publication of my first novel, Put Out the Light. Maybe not an event on a par with Independence Day or Thanksgiving, but a very big deal for me. I'll never forget the day I got that life-changing call from Avalon. No need to go into that here. I've already talked about it on my personal blog, Birth of a Novel .For me, June is the anniversary of the realization of a dream. I was a published author. The story that I'd poured my heart into was a book, sitting on a shelf in bookstores and libraries with all those other mysteries that I'd been devouring for most of my life. I remember saying at the time that I was rubbing shoulders (covers?) with Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler - a thought almost as intimidating as it was exhilarating. It was a little like leaving my first child in school for the first time. I had to step aside, let go a little, and trust that the world would treat him kindly.
Fortunately, the world has been kind to me and to my books. Readers have been nice enough to tell me that they enjoy the books and like the characters. They've supported me and encouraged me as the characters introduced in Put Out the Light went on to new adventures. Left at Oz, Consider the Lilly, By Whose Hand, and Lethal Journal were added and the mysteries set in Riverview Manor became a series.
Book groups honored me by inviting me to visit them and talk about my books. I've had the fun of chatting about Jennie Connors, Nate, and all the other characters who grew from my imagination as though they were real people, which, of course, to me they are. Readers ask me what's ahead for Jennie. I want to know too, so I write the next story. Sometimes what happens to Jennie is inspired by a question asked by a reader. In other words, readers are part of the creative process.
I know it's not nice to brag, so I hope you'll forgive and understand that's not what this is about. I really just want to share with you how delighted I am to be traveling this road. I truly am getting to live my dream. I know this doesn't happen to everyone. I am grateful for my good fortune and want to thank everyone who's helped make it happen. That certainly applies to the contributors to this blog. We first got to know one another because we wrote for Avalon Books and over the years and through all the changes that taken place, we've become friends, actually cheerleaders, for one another.
I also want say to anyone who has dream and doubts it will come true: don't give up. I know you hear that all the time, but the thing I'd like to add is: it's the dream that's important, not whether or not it comes true. Sometimes the road is longer than you expect and sometimes following it takes you to places you never imagined you'd be - maybe to an entirely different place than you thought you were headed. That's okay. Enjoy the journey. Hold on to your dream for its own sake.
I'd love to hear about your dreams, your journey. Please leave a comment and possibly you'll win a copy of Put Out the Light - or, since some of you may have read that book - your choice of any of my books. If you'd like to know more about my books, here's a link to my website: sandracareycody.com
Most of all - THANK YOU!
