This Is It

I have been dreaming about writing this post for so long, and now I find myself stalling.

But here goes the big announcement — yeah, that BIG ANNOUNCEMENT — it’s happened! Cue in background music to dreams coming true.

My first novel, which happens to be the very fist manuscript I ever wrote  is going to be published by a small innovative press, called Namelos.  “Castle of Concrete,” a historical young adult story set in the collapsing Soviet Union, follows a shy Jewish teen on a coming-of-age journey as she falls for a boy whose political convictions make her question her own identity. Namelos is a young publisher run by industry veterans with solid reputations. I aim to blog about them more in the weeks to come.

It took me roughly six years to write this story, then another year trying to sell with a not-right-for-me agency, followed by additional revisions and three more years with a tireless, committed, cheerful Jessica Regel of Jean V Naggar, who made it clear she believed in me.

It took hours and hours of writing, revising, waiting, not waiting, revising some more, not sleeping, writing something new, revising again, trying to move on, reading, learning. It took tons of support and constant cheerleading from family, writing buddies and close friends.

It also took the help of a friend to make that final push that resulted in the match. Thank you, dear Joyce Moyer Hostetter. You are amazing.

It was a winding journey and an incredible learning experience, for which today I am intensely grateful. I now realize that Universe really does always present us with impeccable timing. Every day that I’ve waited I had to learn to toughen up, lighten up, cheer up.

If you are in the middle of this writing journey, the best advice I could give you is: put in your time. Do your work: revisions, writing, learning. Anything else — hopes, dreams, wishes — just let that go. I know, I know, it’s easy to say, right?

But it was only when I have truly let go of all my expectations of immediate — or quick – success, only when I have learned to love my life as it was now, not dream about the way it would one day become, only when I have embraced my identity as a writer by writing every single day, and doing it with joy, as a celebration, only then could I reach out and touch what maybe had been mine all along.

This is a beginning. My editor and I still have much work to do on “Castle.” Only once we finalize all our revisions, I will get a pub date, and of course will let you all know it. But I am not rushing this thing. I am enjoying it all, taking a moment now to celebrate. In a few days, I am going away to Italy and France with family for three weeks, and upon my return, I will get started on those revisions. I will celebrate that.

I still have so much more to learn, so many words to write, so many other stories to share. I am an author now. Wow. But also, I am just another writer. I have been, for a long time, maybe always. And I will always be.

This is it. And at the same time, this is a beginning.

Thank you all for walking along this beautiful scenic route with me. Now let the journey continue!

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