An ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

No, I didn't get an agent. But sometimes that's not in the plans. See, here's how it happened.

Mother's Day 2013, I found out a new friend of ours has cystic fibrosis. Cute little girl, six years old, full of energy and life. I wondered what the disease entailed so I looked it up and researched it for many days. 

And then the idea for a book dropped in my brain. That's really the only logical way of explaining it. I never before in my whole life would've written a book like this. See...I hate sad stories and I don't like talking about medical stuff. I'm a little bit (okay a lot) of a hypochondriac. I shy away from anything medical because I suddenly think me or someone near me has it. In fact, while writing this book, I worried for months that my youngest had cystic fibrosis even though I knew she didn't. 

Then why did I write it? Because I was supposed to. I talked at length with the mother of the girl and she introduced me to someone else who has lived with the disease for many years...and the story was put together. 

From the very beginning I had a thought that I should self publish because of the type of book it was. Yes, it's also a Young Adult Contemporary Romance, but it was more of the reasoning behind why I wrote it--which was to spread the word about CF and help others get involved. I wanted to do something for the cause and since I didn't have money, I wrote a book instead. 

When I finished, I realized it was some of my best work. I also knew that if it could get me an agent, it would start a lifelong career and not just a one book sale. So I queried 7 agents, one of which was my dream agent. 5 rejections came back, along with 1 full and 1 partial request. A couple months later, another rejection...but my dream agent still had my MS. 

And the voice in my head kept saying, "Self publish." I fought it over and over again. Each time the feeling grew stronger. See, I'm a religious person. And when I prayed about this, I knew what I was supposed to do. But how could I possibly explain that to dream agent? How could I possibly tell her I had to withdraw my book?

I just did it. And I learned something really important. Sometimes the right decision is the hardest one. I was supposed to write this book. I knew that. It just took me a little bit longer to realize that I was also supposed to publish it. Not only do I want to get the word out, but there is some medical material that could be time sensitive. With continuous research in cystic fibrosis, my book could've been outdated by the time it would sale and get published through a traditional publisher.

And that's why I'm publishing this book. I'm not sure I'll do it with any other book, but for this one, it's right. No doubt about it. I may get 1 sale, I may get 1,000. What matters to me is that no matter the number, if someone reads my book, they will be aware of the disease and they might decide to help.

With that, I'd like to announce that my book will be available in the beginning of May through Amazon and Kindle. 

I'm working hard on getting everything ready, but I have to tell you that great things are happening! When you do what you're supposed to do, everything falls into place. I'll keep you all posted but hopefully soon I'll be able to share my cover, head shot, and maybe a book trailer!!! 

I'm so excited. Not just to share my book, but to be a part of something awesome :) 

And if you're still reading this...thank you. 

Have a great week everyone!