Happy 1st Birthday!

One year ago today, I republished my debut novel, “Building Celebration House.” It’s the first in a trilogy.

The literary world did not go crazy. In fact, except for my immediate family, no one else noticed.  The promotions I paid for brought less-than-desired results. If I check my Amazon sales that month, March of 2017, I made about $30.

Two months later, I was accepted for a Bookbub promotion. And although my book was free, I “sold” 40,000 copies. That’s when the fun really began. Emails started pouring in. Readers of the first book bought the second and then clamored for the third. My author dream of readers writing to me came true. And those emails are still arriving.

Four weeks ago tomorrow, my family and I were side-swiped in a hit-and-run accident. Nobody was hurt. We returned home from filing a police report and notifying the insurance company. I felt beaten up, defeated.

But an email waited for me. Here’s what it said (please note I have not edited this in any way): HELLO! WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THE THIRD BOOK?? SOON, I HOPE AND THEN I WOULD HOPE FOR MORE IN THIS SERIES!
THANK YOU

Those few lines brought me a whole lot of joy. That reader could not have picked a better time to write to me. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

I’m the mom of four kids. My youngest is 10; my oldest is 27 and expecting her first child. As great as the first year of kid-raising is, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Let’s be honest. Cool stuff happens in the first year, but really, it’s the beginning.

May that be true for Building Celebration House. May it be the first year of life, and an important one, but not necessarily the busiest.

Thank you again to all of the readers who have read my book and taken the time to write a review. And also, thank you so much to the readers who have written to me. Your emails are my treasures, a gift from you to me. Thank you.

Hands and arms inside the cart. Next, we go find Paul Stratton.