Who in their right mind ever thought I'd blog? But here goes...
Welcome to my first blog post, where I have no idea what to write so all of you are just going to read what pours out of my head and onto this page. Where to begin? I have no idea.
If you've found yourself STILL here, congrats and I thank you from the depths of my soul for sticking it through and you may be wondering why the heck you've ventured this far into the site. I can't blame you, I've never been one to follow blogs, but I'll subscribe to a vlog or two or fifty. Feel free to follow me though...LOL. You never know what'll come out of this noggin' and frankly, neither do it, so it could be highly entertaining for us both.
But if you're here, hopefully it is because you saw my fan page on Facebook or maybe you even snagged a copy of my first and current release, Behind the Canvas. It's my first baby, my first work of literary genius (I'm joking, of course). Behind the Canvas, or BTC as I like to refer to it when I'm being super lazy, was easier to write than it was to edit. I started it back in 2010 possibly, give or take a year or two. When I first finished it, it was about 187,500 words...which was way too many words. A co-worker read it and loved it and she passed it to her cousin who worked at a famous publishing house. Her cousin enjoyed it as well, but mentioned that it needed serious editing. A novel of that genre was about 90 to 100k. The idea of chopping about 88k seemed entirely too exhausting. It sat on my computer for months untouched, sometimes a year or more. I'd return to it, re-read, edit, chop out scenes, remove people, re-work the plot, and then stop. It was like many of my past relationships, on and off again. *SIGH*
I always fantasized what'd it be like for BTC to sit in a bookstore where people could actually touch it and dare I say, read it. **MIND BLOWN** The idea alone was cool, but I always managed to talk myself out of putting it to fruition. What if people hated it? What if people loved it and wanted more? And what if they wanted more and the other works I had weren't as good as the first? Self-doubt runs deep in these veins, let me tell you. The struggle is real.
Then one day, I was trolling my FB feed and I saw a friend from high school post about a book she was publishing. I sent her a message and inquired on how she did it. From there, it was like a fire was lit inside me. I, not only wanted to see something from start to finish, which I've never done before (I'm a half-assed kinda gal), but I wanted to show my daughter that she can accomplish anything if she sets her mind to it.
I got to work. I went through Page Publishing and decided to invest in myself for once. Holding the finished product for the first time was weird...and then came the nerves of knowing anyone can read it now. If you know me, my skin is thin AF. Was I ready to hear negative comments about the book? Probably not, but I know it comes with the territory. Regardless of the negatives, I'm proud of what I put out. Do I think the book is perfect? HELL NO...but I don't think I'd ever feel like anything I do will be "perfect" and I'm okay with that. It just leaves room for constant improvement and growth.
The moral of this blog...if you love something, do it...make sure it's legal in your state though. If you're still reading this, who's better than you? No one.
I hope you've enjoyed my first blog, as random as it is, and I look forward to doing more. Most will probably be random nonsense, but maybe there'll be some funny additions or serious chatter, depending on mood levels.
The site is still being worked on so stay tuned for new content, maybe some interesting merch...not sure if anyone would be interested in that, but one never knows. Maybe your mom or grandma might fancy a canvas tote that says, "Do you know what's Behind the Canvas?" LOL If they are anything like my mom or grandma, there's yarn in that tote.
Please check back for updates, new blogs, and other content, or throw me a line if you wanna reach out. I'd love to hear about you and what you're currently reading. You can hit me up on here or any social media links from the buttons above, and don't forget to Like and Share with your loved ones and followers. All support is greatly appreciated.
Until next time folks.....
My dear friend: Words cannot describe how proud of you i am. Im sitting here reading this and looking at your page basically sobbing.
People need to read your book, people need to know about you, the kindest soul there is. I love you beyond words and i know you will be successful at anything and everything you do.
I love you....
Kiki