After what could be called a lifetime of waiting, I launched my first book. And it was amazing and wonderful and exciting and then...it was over.
I've always wondered what it would feel like to live my dream and now that I'm here my life is exactly what I thought it would be...about the same as it was before. Say wha? I'm talking about my day-to-day life. Not the launch parties or interviews, which are fun, but only a very small portion of life as a writer.
I had an inkling that when this day came I would sit back and realize that, actually, life is pretty much like it's always been.
It's all those things the self-help gurus say: live in the now; love what you have, not what you want, fake it till you make it, and so on. Luckily, I had the foresight to look around and realize, I do love my life. I loved it before my dream was realized and after.
What I didn't expect was loving my day-to-day life more. Because now that I've reached one of the major goals in my life, I can relax a little. I can enjoy my family and friends and everything around me knowing that this big thing I've been working for is here. It makes life sweeter.
Working on the second book feels different now that I know, really know, people will read it. And want to read it. And are waiting to read it. I try not to let it freak me out and write like I've always written. Because, though I want to make my readers happy, I want to stay authentic to the story and the characters and the process.
So, yeah, dreams coming true are pretty awesome. But as so many have said before me...make sure you love the journey too. That's where I'm going to be living most of my life before, during, and after this wonderful madness called being a writer.