New Beginnings | I Wrote a Book!

When you think about it, life is a cycle of fresh starts and new beginnings. Sometimes these are small, like when you open a clean journal and put pen to paper to write a fresh new volume of thoughts, prayers, or ideas. Sometimes fresh starts are much bigger, like packing up your house and two cats and moving across the country to Kentucky. (This new beginning will happen for me in August.) I even get a fresh start sense after our trash is picked up and hauled away before dawn on Wednesday mornings! The regular routine of out-with-the-old-and-smelly feels symbolic in some way. And this first post, a resuscitation of my former website, is a fresh start–a new beginning–and here’s what prompted it:

I wrote a book that I want you to read. To be clear, it's only a manuscript at the moment, but I’m hopeful it will become a book on a shelf in your home, at the library, and in some virtual and brick-and-mortar bookstores someday soon. My manuscript–a historical fiction novel for adults set in the 30s in Tuskegee, Alabama–is the reason for this relaunch of my website with a fresh new look (thanks to Sunee at hillyercreative.com). You see, all potential publishers want to know that I have a growing audience interested in my writing. So, I promised my agent that I would do my part to promote myself (ugh) and my work by “building my platform.”

This brief post is a fresh and official invitation for you to join me regularly and engage with me from time to time. More than building a platform, I’m interested in building a community and having conversations. I’d love to share my projects, experiences, and ideas on writing. My goals are to inspire, encourage, challenge, inform, refresh, and entertain you (and lower my carb intake, but you don’t have to concern yourself). I also want to share my heart and hear your thoughts and ideas through your comments.

So, if you’re willing but haven’t already, will you please subscribe to my blog? Then, open it when you receive the email announcing each new post. That’s all there is to it. And may it be the fresh start of something special between us!

Now tell me, if you will: What is something that is a “new beginning” or “fresh start” in your life? Big or small, I’m curious!

*Spoiler alert: In my next post, I will tell you about my current publishing dilemma. The formidable but understandable hurdle I have to jump over with publishers is that my story is made up of a cast of Black characters, yet I am a white woman. Caucasian since birth. This reality seems to be making publishers nervous. Please check out my next post to find out the origin of my story and what compelled me to write it in the first place. My reason might surprise you.