From the Bottom of My Heart

I've been thinking a lot lately about how lucky I am to know so many wonderfully supportive people.

When I first began my writing journey, I had no idea what I was doing. (Truthfully, I still don't!)
Breathing life into the characters born of my imagination, the pages began to fill and before I knew it, I had a three hundred and something page manuscript.

Now what?

Once I figured out what to do with it, then came the hesitation.
What will people think of IT?
What will people think of ME?

Fighting past the fear of the unknown, I nonetheless put my heart and soul out there for the world to see. It was almost as if I willingly lanced my gut wide-open, exposing all of the raw bloody parts.

But, I did it, and every day I am thankful God gave me that push.

Now, three books in 'The Brothers Series' completed, I've learned to accept that my writing will never be good enough for some people. I'm okay with that. I could be the best writer in the world and someone would still find something to criticize. However, this post isn't about those people.

This post is about all of the other people.

The people who've made me smile, made me laugh, and made me grateful for the privilege of knowing them; even if some I know only through email, Facebook, or Twitter.

The people who have written to me with words of encouragement, talked to me about the characters in the books, or given me helpful advice.

To all of these people, I bow humbly before you. There are no words I can use to explain how much I appreciate each and every one of you. By reading my story, it has become your story; by allowing my characters to live in your mind for a little while, you've given them a chance to exist outside of mine and be a vast array of faces much different than the ones I pictured.

Thank you for your encouragement, support, and faith in me.

It means more to me than any of you will ever know.
And because of all of you, I'm not finished.
I'm only warming up.

With Love and Sincere Appreciation,
RC