With a week to go until Heartache and Hope is available to pre-order from Pride Publishing, doubts creep closer.  I realize self-doubt is common among authors, yet commonality doesn’t lessen anxiety.  I’ve done what I can.  I wrote a manuscript. The manuscript was accepted for publication.  I’ve established an on-line presence, more or less (emphasis on less).  I’ve learned to tweet (millennials applauding). I have my blog. (Hint: This is it.)

All that’s left is waiting for these momentous  dates:

• June 7 – Preorder from publisher
• June 21- Heartache and Hope goes live for sale at Pride Publishing
• July 19- Heartache and Hope released for sale at all other sites  (Amazon, All Romance, Apple Store, Barnes & Noble, Kobo…)

I have received these snippets of advice from successful authors:  Be yourself, share a little something of yourself, and smile.

So, three years ago I retired.  My last career was as a nurse.  I spent ten years working in nursing homes, and I’ve brought some of what I’ve seen and learned into my writing.  In fact Heartache and Hope is dedicated to the caregivers.

After I retired, it didn’t take before my creative side clamored for attention.  Over the years, I’ve dabbled in oil painting, macramé, crochet, and ceramics.  However, I wanted to do something creative that didn’t cost two arms and a leg.  I already had a computer and I’d been telling my hubby that one day, I’d make the thing pay for itself.  He humored me with a “Yeah, we’ll see.” each time I upgraded.  After several upgrades, I could now run a small city on my computer.

Anyway, I took a creative writing class a year-and-a-half ago, and that was the start of this adventure.  Suddenly there were voices in my head clamoring to get out and have their stories told.  Since then, I’ve written three manuscripts.  Heartache and Hope is the longest at 92K words, Heart and Home 77K, and Love’s Tethered Heart 81K.  As you can see, my creative muse has been busy.  Currently I’m working on Hound and Harmony.  The three H&H books are part of the Beyond Heartache series.

Well, that’s it for today.  I hope I didn’t put you to sleep.  Thank you for reading, and in those famous words of The Terminator, “I’ll be back”.