Aha? Where is that flippin' light bulb...

Sadly, to be honest, reaching far enough back for this lightbulb moment might take some meditating. Return of the Crown sat sad and lonely in a notebook first, then it became bits and bytes that lurked around a hard drive. It's been a long time coming, but so worth the wait.

I've always had a lot of energy, and with that came an extra large, will not fit the confines of one's head, amount of creativity. So naturally, I've been making up stories for as long as I can remember. When my older girls (who are now 18 and 20) were little, I got the desire to write children's books. And I wrote whenever I had some spare time. I wrote poems mostly, and funny stories, nothing with a serious tone. I devoured books on writing and practiced all the exercises. I sent some silly poems in to a contest for inclusion in a kid's poetry book, and got a very nice form rejection letter. Sigh. I think I still have that somewhere.

And, when I was finally a stay at home mom, and the kids were in school all day, I started writing Return of the Crown. I remember writing the original draft, pencil scraping across paper, fingers cramping, the plot and my characters gladly rushing to see the Light of day. I don't know where the inspiration came from, but the words rushed and tumbled to beat each other to the end of my pencil. And then, gasp, I put it away. I finished it, and just left it. Poor thing. I don't know that I really knew what to do with it. I do know, I didn't have enough faith in me. Over the years, I've pulled it out and edited, then put it away again. Countless times. Always it grew and gained strength, but I still had no clue how to proceed.

So that's my manuscript's sad story. A creation of inspiration and love, then betrayal by the one who loved it most. Reunion and renewal, more inspiration and growth. Lost again, left to moulder. Honestly, I don't know what my book sees in me, I'm a horrible parent.

As things started to change in the marketplace, I began to dream again. To see what the possibilities are, and my real Light bulb moment came. I brought my book to the Light and shared it with the world! It may never sell countless volumes, but that's okay. I had the courage to share it.