The beginning
Becoming an author was a dream I never knew I had. I’ve always loved writing, but it was never something I saw turning into more than a hobby. It seemed like an elusive idea, and some days, it still does, but I’m doing it.
Ever since a young age, I was making movies, writing scripts out for my friends and I to record with those old, massive camcorders. As a teen, writing more in depth took place, and I would write fan-fiction, posting it on Quizilla, looking to share my creativity with the world.
A little later on, I decided to branch off from fan-fiction and try my hand at writing a full book, with everything being entirely my own. I started many, many books, never being able to get past 25,000 words. I would get stuck. Every. Single. Time. I started to become discouraged, thinking I would never finish one, only to have a folder full of WIP’s that crashed to a stand-still.
But one day, when I truly needed a break from the craziness that was the spring of 2020, I let a song that I had always seen a story with, begin to play out. Every day from that deciding moment, when my daughter napped, I wrote. Every day, even when the words had trouble coming to me, I pushed through it—I could always edit later, right? By the end of the summer, I did it. I finished my very first book. And I cried. I was so proud of myself. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it, but I did it, it was done! And now here we are, a year and a half later, and in just 12 days my very first book baby will enter the world.
Tomorrow, I send out my ARCs, and I am so ready. But, at the same time, I’m not. It’s a big step to face your fears to follow your dreams, and putting out your first book is a major one. I’ve been told by many that that nervousness never fully goes away, but, Lord, I hope it eases! I know writing is an extremely personal experience, your art won’t be for everyone—and that’s okay! It’s meant to go out in the world to find those who will read your words and connect, feel something, get lost for awhile. That’s what I truly hope for this book, to give readers a new experience for a short while, to get lost, and find that time to check out, to enjoy that bookish wanderlust.
That’s why we become readers (and writers), right? To escape, to find adventures between pages.
So, here’s to wanderlust, may you find it within my words. Happy reading! See you all soon!
xoxo - Rion