Hello again! It’s been a busy week so far, but I have just printed out the edited copy of Heir to Golden Ashes (metaphorically singing on the rooftops!). I gotta say this out loud, or I guess typing: there’s nothing better than a hot manuscript fresh off the print! While the printer is making that lovely sound I got to thinking how long it took to get here. I don’t necessarily mean the length of time, but the effort. It was hard! I’m not going to lie and say it was sunshine and rainbows the entire time. I never realized what it really took to get a book onto paper. After months of ideas, late nights, and a little bit of carpal tunnel, I realized…this is hard work!!

Writing is fun. Writing is spontaneous. Writing is also a lot of stress. I asked myself on multiple occasions, “am I even good enough?” and “Do I have what it takes to be a good writer?” But then I realized I would never know unless I tried. One of my favorite quotes says,

“The worst thing you write is better than the best thing you didn’t write.” -Anonymous.

I don’t know about you, but that’s some damn good advice. How was I ever going to know if I was any good if I didn’t give it a chance? The worst thing that could happen is people were going to hate my book, give me a 1 star review, and throw it in the garbage. Yikes, that actually sounds terrible now that I say it. Granted I really don’t want that to happen, but I wouldn’t know unless I tried.

I am not a professional by any means. I have a degree in math and science, NOT in literature. But some of the best writers of our time didn’t have degrees. The only thing you need to write a good book, is an idea, paper, and pen.

Yes, I love the Oxford Comma,,,,,,,, and yes I have read hundreds and thousands of books, but that does not make me a pro. I realized during this process that writers were all readers at some point, right? We all fell in love with literature one way or another, and some of us decided to put our ideas onto paper for others to enjoy.

I had someone ask me the other day if I had a book that inspired me to write. My answer was “Yes, and No.” She said, “well you have to have something that inspires you.” I explained to her that every book I have ever read is inspiration. Every author has a different voice, and a different story to tell, so it is hard to pinpoint any one particular book or author that inspired me.

But there is one book that stands out. One book in particular that opened my eyes to gothic literature and creating worlds.

Are you ready for this? Drumroll please…..

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. Yep, I fell in love with everything that had to do with reading and writing after I read that tattered old book my mom gave me when I was…well, I don’t even know how old I was. I read that book over, and over, and over again until I knew it by heart. (Yes, I still have the book.) I fell in love with gothic novels, the supernatural, science fiction, and every other horror genre there was after I read Frankenstein.

Now I am writing horror/ gothic genre books, and I don’t know for sure, but I probably never would have had such a passion for the dark and mysterious if it hadn’t been for that book…and probably every Anne Rice novel ever written, but that’s a story for another time.

So, if you’ve read this far. Thank you!! And, I have a question for you. What has inspired you in life? Whether it be reading, writing, music, or polka dancing. What do you think has helped you become who you are today?