Christmas in March

Today feels like Christmas Eve, my first date, my wedding day and winning the lottery all rolled into one GIANT ball.

Let me explain: At the age of 30, I made a list. It was a list of things I wanted to do before I reached 40 years of age. On that list were things like:

1) Fall in forever love- May 1992

2) Learn to say "no"- October 2004

3) Have children- 12/1998 (I just didn't realize my kids would be of the furry, four-legged variety.

4) Join a book group- July 2008

5) Go to a movie alone- May 2005

You get the point, right? Well, on this list is also the goal of publishing a book. Tomorrow (March 15) my dream comes true! It will be 2 months and 10 days before my 40th birthday.

Let me tell you something about the back story to Keeper of the Golden Dragon's Heart- I have been writing since I was probably 10 years old. I wrote the class poem for my senior class. I wrote a lot of poetry. Then, I tried my hand at stories. They were always contemporary romances. I've never shied away from sex in my stories, but I've also never considered myself to be extremely imaginative. Paranormal/urban fantasy authors have LOADS of imagination. I simply write what I know, good, wholesome, "normal".

Then, one day, it happened: I had a dream. I dreamt of golden dragons in flight, a shifter in every sort of animal, and a beautiful place that can't be described with mere words (I just hope I did it justice). I tried to ignore the voices in my head, but Anastasia (my heroine) would NOT be ignored. Her and I went round and round. I really didn't like this girl, but I sat down to write out the dream.

It came together and a book began to form. I felt my life falling out from under me, but I kept writing. Then, something happened. Bowie (my golden dragon hero) stepped in and began to tell me his side of things. It all came together and I sent it in. I had no delusions when I submitted it, but Leap of Faith Publishing sent me an e-mail with a contract. Not bad for someone who really had no intention of being a paranormal author, huh? (I love reading paranormal/urban fantasy. Please don't think I don't. This genre is all over my bookshelves. I just didn't think I could do it.)

As of today, I'm working on books 2, 3, 4 and 5's ideas are jotted down. Plus at least one spin-off.

 

So, if you will, please help me celebrate my Christmas in March.