About

Everybody has realistic dreams, ones that start with a seed in the heart, are watered, then grow. Well…I finally published my dream, my young adult novel entitled Username: Bladen. The idea to write it literally struck me in the darkness of the night. I began this project not too long ago, though now it feels like forever. This book, in its original manuscript form, meandered down a typical publishing path in many ways, until it recently settled (Yay!) on the shelves of cyberspace. Soon, I hope it will find a happy home on the shelves of many book lovers, in a real home not just a virtual one. After all who doesn’t like to see their dreams come true? Today, with the technological advances that we enjoy, dreams of publishing are well within a writer’s grasp.

Every mom, much to their chagrin, experiences sleepless nights. With six kids, I honestly can’t remember the last time I slept through the night. Typically, when I wake up and can’t fall back to sleep, I think too much about things, meditate, or pray. One night as I was praying, the plot for Username: Bladen literally flooded my thoughts. I got so excited about it that I decided to sit down and write and write and write.

I spent a lot of time learning about publishing. I joined forums and writers’ groups. When I finished my manuscript, I entered it into The Sandy Writing contest, which was a terrific learning experience. I didn’t win, but one judge loved my story and gave me almost a perfect score. That gave me a lot of encouragement. I also queried it a little, and am amazed by how much I learned and loved the process. I know nobody likes rejection letters, but I appreciated the personal letters I received from agents that gave me insight into why they rejected my manuscript. Then finally, after I learned that publishers don’t have a lot of shelf room for young adult novels with a male protagonist, I decided to stop querying and publish through Westbow. I found an extremely talented editor, and rather quickly finished the process of publishing my book. I couldn’t be happier with the final result. If anyone has a story to tell, are willing to be diligent, and have a dream to be a published author, you can do it! Believe in yourself and make your dream come true!