Over the rainbow--the writer's life

I named this blog Over the rainbow--the writer's life because sometimes I feel just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz that got caught up in a tornado and whisked away to a whole new world.

I had a dream---and it came true.

Everyone has dreams. Big dreams. Little dreams. Happy dreams. Sometimes bad dreams. But what happens when the dream comes true? Do you stop dreaming?

Does the happiness bubble you had when you first achieved what you always wanted last a lifetime or does it burst?

My "dream" came true when I saw my first book, Midnight Caller, sitting on a shelf in Wal-Mart. My book. My name splashed across the cover. In my favorite store. Oh my!

But it wasn't until I held my second book, Double Identity, in my hands that I realized this wasn't a fluke, a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I hadn't hit the lottery. But I HAD changed my life. Forever.

And then I learned that publication was NOT the end of a dream. It was the beginning of dreams you hadn't allowed yourself to dare dream before. It is the gateway to a whole new world with new rules, new opportunities, and new challenges.

These rules, opportunities and challenges can be physical: Traveling to writer's conferences. Doing booksignings. Leading workshops. Sitting for endless hours at a computer until your eyes blur, your back aches and your knees refuse to straighten when you stand up, creating and revising only to do it again...and again.

The new rules can be stressful: Coming up with fresh, new plots. (What can I possibly write about since I threw everything I knew into the first book?) Meeting editor deadlines. Making revisions when editors see your story going in a different direction than you did.

The new rules can require a crash course in humble pie and tact: How do you reply to a fan letter? (That's right, guys. You get fan mail. Someone out there will actually write to you and gush about your work and someone else will have to pry you off the ceiling because you will be so happy you just floated away). How do you deal with a fan that wants to point out every single thing you did wrong with the story (but they liked the book, honest they did). How do you cope with reviews that are less than stellar with humility and grace?

The new rules require learning whole new skills: For instance, your editor wants your web site address. (Web site? I have to make a web site? Uh-oh, I'm in trouble now) You want me to blog? What's a blog? Twitter? Is that the same thing as tweet? Connect all my social networking sites? What's social networking? I am lucky I can open email.

So are dreams worth the effort? When times get tough, should I continue to encourage others who have the same dream but haven't been swept up in the tornado yet?

Oh, yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Never give up.

I want to thank everyone that helped me and continues to help me along the way. And I want to return the favor by paying it forward myself as I try to navigate in a brand new world, traveling that yellow brick road.

I'm going to devote all my future blogs to the writing journey in the sincere hope that when I can answer a question or teach a lesson or even reveal choices that didn't work whether they embarass me or not, that maybe, just maybe I just might be able to help someone find their own tornado and be swept up into their own dream.

And yes, I am clicking the heels of my shiny red shoes. But my mantra is filled with gratitude and awe and sounds more like "There's no place like here. There's no place like here."