Guest Post by Kay Bratt

Mean Girls Usually Finish Last
I, along with my twin sister, was born in a tiny, quiet town in Kansas.  Though I am fairly young (ish), I have those stories of walking uphill to school in the snow, of wearing bread sacks over my ragged shoes, and of being singled out for owning the dreaded blue free-lunch-card that labeled us as needy.  After many years of multiple addresses in too many towns to count in various states like Kansas, Nebraska, Idaho, Louisiana, Illinois, and even California, my family and I finally settled in South Carolina.
That feeling persisted through adulthood, even when I met my husband and we began an amazing life together. As you can guess, when he announced that we had an opportunity to move to China, I was an adult without roots therefore was the first one voting "Let's Go!" 
My biggest move—and most exciting adventure so far—gave me the courage to pursue one consistent dream I had silently carried since I was in the third grade. It was a dream that I'd never spoken aloud in front of the other, more-accomplished, (mean) girls.
To be a writer. 
I won't say it was easy. Saying I come from humble beginnings is putting it kindly. Agents and publishers weren't completely receptive to a woman with no author credits to her name, writing about an issue that doesn't even apply in their own country. What they didn't bargain for though, was the tenacity someone with a survivor's spirit like me possessed. 
Each time I was criticized and shot down, I sucked it up and tried harder. Despite the naysayers, in addition to learning the basics of the notoriously difficult language of Mandarin, I wrote my memoir and published it. 
When it took off like wildfire and sold thousands within the first two months, I cried tears of relief. They were wrong—they were all wrong. Somebody was interested in what I had to say. It was a hard fight but sheer will had prevailed. 
When AmazonEncore called me and told me they had been watching my sales numbers climb and would like to be my publisher and relaunch Silent Tears, I thought it was a prank call. When I realized it was real, I pulled over on the side of the road because my heart was beating so fast I thought I would faint. 
Then I snagged an agent.
When my book sold thousands more and was released again this year by HMH, (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) and put in bookstores, I was more than thankful. I was ecstatic. 
However, that little voice in the back of my head kept asking me if I was a one-hit wonder or if I thought I could do it again. For three years I went through the same irrational thoughts of who would want to buy another book written by me? A nobody? The forever new kid?
But I had years of experiences from my time in China; memories of the hardships suffered by the people, and ideas about plots. The stories rolling around in my head refused to be ignored. So I buckled down for eleven months of nonstop research and pecking away at the keyboard, and I did it again. 
I wrote a novel titled Chasing China; A Daughter's Quest for Truth. Again I self-published and sat back and bit my nails and prayed someone—anyone—would buy it. 
I was rewarded again for my tenacity. Chasing China went live on November 26, 2011. During the week after Christmas, Chasing China was downloaded almost 30,000 times and afterwards stayed in the Amazon Top 100 Paid Kindle Books list for 5 consecutive days. If you are not familiar with the publishing world, I'll explain it using my husband's words, "That's big, Kay. That's really big!" Not so bad for a poor kid from the cornfields, right?
These days I am back in the United States, residing in the beautiful state of Georgia. Though I still don't feel like I belong, it doesn't matter anymore because I am happily married to the love of my life and living a dream I fought hard to make come true. And I have learned something important about myself. If I want to make something happen, with enough determination and hard work, nothing can stop me. 
To all of you who are struggling through the trials of life, I've learned something else, too. Mean girls usually finish last.
**Everyone who leaves a comment on Kay's tour page will be entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card! If you purchase your copy of Chasing China before March 5 and send your receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, you will get five bonus entries!**
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Website: http://kaybratt.com/
 
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Twitter: twitter.com/kaybratt