Celebrating Success

It’s official: I’m a published author!

I don’t know if it really has sunk in yet. The day of the book launch, I had mentioned to my coworker how I had a big event that evening. When she asked what, I didn’t cower and mutter some half-baked lie. No, I told her the truth.

Of course, like most creatives who constantly compare their level of success to the heavily-publicized, multi-billionaire artists who seem to be famous overnight (never happens that way except in the movies)—I did tell her, “It’s nothing big; just a small short story,” to which she adamantly refuted. “No! Don’t say that! Celebrate yourself and your successes.”

While I knew that, I didn’t believe it. Not really. Not yet.

I told her as much, too, that it didn’t feel real and probably wouldn’t until I was at the event itself. How right I was. You can see it in my face (even though it’s half hidden) in the video below when it finally sinks in that I’ve done it: I’ve published my writing.

(And like any dreamer who sees their dreams come to life, no matter how tiny that first step seems—I cried.)

Though naturally I am still seeking representation for my full-novel-length manuscript, it’s wonderful knowing (and terrifying) that a tiny piece of this world I created can now be enjoyed and shared with others. That they, too, can escape there with me.

And I hope one day, you can join me there for a bit longer, too. Until then, happy reading!

To learn more about how you can read a copy of my new short story, Rabellah & the Carpenter: A Myth from Ada’mah, read here!