Guest Post: Crystal Firsdon author of Almost Wrecked

How Writing Transformed Me(From Halfway Sane, to Completely Insane)I was born sane. Now I’m a parent, so of course that means I’m halfway in the nut house. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. I enjoy all the WTF that goes along with parenthood. Our kids make us nuts in the good way, right? And we embrace the nuttiness; it becomes part of us. So there I happily lived, halfway sane.I’ve always spun stories in my head. I’d keep them for a week, a month, six months, then be done with them. But the now half-insane part of me wouldn’t let me drop the stories. No, my brain held on tight to a lot of them, blended them together, and kept adding details. I didn’t notice I was slowly inching away from sanity even more. In a frustrated moment where I couldn’t get a story out of my head, I sat down at my laptop and began writing. Whole sentences began stringing together, making a story—not the brief musings of a Facebook post or a snarky email to friends, but real thoughts. I set out with no intentions, no agenda, no real belief that my writing would go anywhere. Alas, it did.Oh my gosh, I wrote a friggin’ book!The querying process to agents or publishers—completely nerve-wracking. The immediate rejections, the requests for your full manuscript then rejection . . . I was a walking ball of nerves who developed an unhealthy obsession with checking my email every five minutes. It’s a habit I still haven’t broken. And then finally, an offer of publication which I accepted.At this point, I recognized my slow move past the halfway mark to insanity. But, come on, I just signed a contract to get published. I’d go back to the halfway marker, right?Oh. So. Wrong.If publishing, a snail, and molasses had a race, publishing would come in last every time. Molasses and the snail would cross the finish line, have a drink and a nap, maybe go to a victory party. When they’d come stumbling out the front door from their party, they’d look off in the distance and see publishing make its way toward the finish line.I had all this time between signing the contract and beginning the editing process to convince myself that my publisher forgot about me. They changed their mind and I’d get an email asking to void the contract. They regretted accepting my book, and thought daily about what a mistake they’d made. I told a couple of people about my book deal before it hit me:Oh my gosh, I put myself out there!I have confidence in myself as a writer about two hours per day. The other twenty-two hours I’m convinced that I could never have a writing career because I’m simply not good enough. What in the heck was I thinking trying to get my book published? Who knows. But all the while, I plugged away at the second book and began a few other books to get to later. My publication date got closer.Oh my gosh, what if people actually read my book?I pretended not to be a nervous wreck at the fact that I was putting something out into the world that I’d have to take credit for, even if the public hated it. At least with parenting, if your kids do something the public doesn’t like you can blame it on your spouse. AmIright? Nobody but me could claim responsibility for my book being horrendously awful. I am now three quarters insane. And hey, maybe nobody would read it and I wouldn’t have to endure any bad reviews.Oh my gosh, what if no one reads my book?As I write this, only single-digit days away from my release date, I am completely insane because I put myself out there, people might read my book, no one might read my book, I’m close to finishing the sequel and may have another book out there soon, people could like my writing and want me to write more, people will hate my writing and cringe every time they see my name. And on and on and on.I love writing. I’m not sure if I’ve fully embraced insanity yet, but I’m getting used to it. The doubt that overrides my confidence will hopefully shrink one day. If I achieve some level of success, of course I’ll be ecstatic. And if I fail miserably, well heck, maybe I’ll start a support group for writers who were driven to insanity.Oh my gosh, I know nothing about support groups!So what did insanity lead me to write? Below is a blurb. As you read, I’m taking a deep, cleansing breath. Because you might be intrigued and want to read my book. Or you might let forth a disgusted grunt, vowing never to read it. Okay, I’m going to get a grip now and hope that my two hours per day of confidence begins soon. I hope you enjoy the holiday weekend and get a lot of good reading in!
AlmostWrecked 1 creep. 2 bodyguards. 3 men who change Molly’s life forever.Guitar player Molly Davis is taunted with disturbing gifts by some creep she hopes like heck is a harmless, misguided fan. The owner of the bar where her band plays isn’t taking any chances, however, and hires Gabe Cooper and Caleb “Ram” Ramsey to stand guard over Molly and the rest of the band.Cooper is all business and doesn’t mess with Molly’s emotions. She can handle that. Ram is a different story. He’s gorgeous, has a good heart, and is sometimes infuriating. He doesn’t take Molly’s crap, giving him the potential to be the first man to shove his way through her stubbornness and into her life. But a violent attack proves the creep isn’t going away. And that almost wrecks everything.

About the Author:Crystal Firsdon is a former high school teacher, turned stay-at-home mom, turned part time substitute teacher and school volunteer. Of course she loves to read, but any book she picks up must have romance! Crystal lives in Michigan with her husband and children, who are relatively sane.You can visit Crystal at www.crystalfirsdon.com