Debut Author Sherri Shackelford & A Pessimist No More?
My guest today is Sherri Shackelford, a brand new author! She says she’s a pessimist but I don’t know if I agree. She is optimistic about GIVING AWAY TWO COPIES OF HER FIRST BOOK. So read and then leave a comment. Here’s Sherri:
“I’m a pessimist at heart, I can’t help it. When I’m preparing for a new venture, I always ask myself: “What’s the worst thing that can happen?” Then I decide if I can live with the consequences.
When my debut novel was published this summer, I knew I had to prepare for bad reviews. You can’t please everyone all the time, and if you have good distribution, then you’re bound to run across someone who doesn’t like your book.
What I didn’t expect, or prepare for, were the good reviews. I was totally flummoxed the first time someone wrote me a fan letter!
In Winning the Widow’s Heart, the heroine, Elizabeth Cole, has lived a life of heartache and adversity. She grasped a fragile shred of hope when she married her first husband, and her uncharacteristic bout of optimism proved to be a disaster.
When real love finally enters her life in the form of handsome Texas Ranger, Jack Elder, Elizabeth is unprepared. She’s become so accustomed to expecting the worst, she can’t see the blessing before her.
Many people associated strength with autonomy and independence. There’s another side of strength that’s more subtle and often overlooked: The ability to ask for help.
When we let others help us, we give them a gift. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: It is one of the beautiful compensations in this life that no one can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.
Being independent and self-reliant requires strength. Saying “I don’t know” or “I need help” requires strength of spirit.
My heroine, Elizabeth, has to find the courage to trust and love again, and let Jack help her.
The next time you’re feeling overwhelmed and your strength is lagging, don’t forget to honor your friends and family—and ask for help. It doesn’t make you weak, it strengthens you and those around you.
