GUESS WHAT??

It's one event in a string of events--probable, yet seemingly impossible.

Am I better than I thought or simply lucky? 

Blessed beyond measure? Sure, but I'm no better than anyone else.

It must be dumb luck. If that's all this is, I'll take it and relish every second.

This particular event started on a Monday morning. I was unpacking boxes--the hubs and I bought a house and spent the weekend moving and cleaning. I was very close to pulling my hair out, trying to simultaneously teach online home school without proper internet access. I was frazzled. Utterly exhausted, running on about four hours sleep over the past two days. 

Then, came The Call. The Cold Call.

It was a woman. I remember, she said her name was Elizabeth. I don't remember what I said to her when she told me how much she liked my book,  Between Octobers. I think I was having a minor coronary. 

I mean, these calls are the things you read about on other people's blogs. Usually people you don't know, sometimes even, your own CPs. And you're genuinely happy for them because, if they can crawl from the hellish trenches of Submission and Rejection, and rise up victorious, so can we. 

Back to The Call. 

I remember wishing I could sound as cool and nonchalant as I do in my imagination. I remember my hair, blanketed by sweat and my hands feeling clammy against my cheeks as I incessantly rubbed them. But mostly, I remember Elizabeth, of Take Two Publishing, asking me if I was happy that she loved my story and wanted to publish it. 

The trouble with having an out-of-body experience is that it takes a while to crawl back inside and search out an answer to this unexpected question.
I think I told her, 'Yes, I am very happy.'
The one thing I remember most clearly about that call, is how inadequate and lucky and completely overwhelmed I felt after.
As soon as the mysterious conversation was over, I hung up and called my husband. It couldn't feel real until I shared it with him. 

And every minute since, whenever I think of that short, mind blowing phone call, I see my target--the best-sellers list-- and I hear the emotion and joy in my husbands voice when he told how proud he is of me. And how he knows this is just the beginning of many great things for us.

Please, gather round, and join me in a happy dance!! Because from now on, I am offically calling myself an AUTHOR!!



What do I do for a living, you ask? Why, I'm an AUTHOR. I have a book coming out next year. Women's Fiction, a beautiful suspenseful, love story that rocks!! 

Rivera out.

Here's a link to my fabulous publisher:  http://www.taketwopublishing.com/