Releasing my Gold Fish into a Sea of Sharks!

Launching my writing career feels a little like that. No, to be completely honest, it feels a lot like that.  Not only am I releasing my story into the world that I’ve been writing for nearly twenty years, I’m entering into a territory that is filled with a ton of other fish, and a lot of sharks. I’m just one little fish in a very big pond, and though I want to be noticed, I also want to survive.

Scared? Uh…yeah.

Seven years ago when I made the decision to go forward into the daunting, intimidating, and often frustrating process of having my books published, I knew I would have a lot to learn. But I didn’t realize how frightening it would be at times, or just how much I would need to grow on this journey if I was going to stay in the game.

Most of us are familiar with the mega-hit series; The Outlander, based on the books written by Diana Gabaldon.  It’s a fabulous tale set in 18^th century Scotland with Jacobite rebels and a love that will not be denied. Now conjure up your favorite scene from The Lord of the Rings, written by JRR Tolkien, a tale full deception and magic, portals to another realms, wizards, faeries, and dragons.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few decades, you’ve probably seen, or at least heard of these shows, or maybe even read one of these books. Curse of the Chosen One, my first book in the Mark of the Faerie series, is a blend of these two concepts, all rolled into one great story!

But as any artist will attest to, (if they are being truly honest) releasing your art into the world is a scary place to go. But I believe creativity is a gift, and a gift to be shared. Fortunately, I’ve been around long enough that I know I’m not going to please everyone, because let’s face it; fiction fantasy is a genre that you either love, or you think is a big waste of time. It’s all about what you want from a book, and my love for fantasy fiction came at an early age. I love to go on adventures and have experiences that I could never have in my own world. I want a story that leaves me in love with the characters and feeling sad when the book comes to an end, like I’m saying good-bye to an old friend.

Living in the age of COVID, we are all being pushed into a change we didn’t ask for. A lot of people have lost their jobs and are being forced to look for what’s next. There is no denying that this is a scary time. Just like half the population of the world, my day job as a free-lance bookkeeper took a big hit over these last few months. Most all of my clients were non-essential retail stores, and not all of them are coming back.

Change is being forced upon us, whether we want it or not.

When you stop by to view my website and read my blog, you’ll soon discover that all my posts carry a similar premise; facing our fears in the midst of change, especially a really big change that often feels uncomfortable. Because the truth is people; change is the only constant in life.

So rather than cry about my lost income, I chose to take the downtime and work on embracing the idea of releasing my Gold Fish into the literary world. And for an introvert and an artist, putting my work out for the world to review is a huge and scary change. But I’ve worked too hard on this project not to continue forward and see where this road takes me.

I’m sure I’m not the only one wondering what’s next, facing a big change in life, or trying to embrace something new, (even if it’s good for me!) Some days, just putting one foot in front of the other to keep the momentum going is a struggle, like I’m trying to push a bolder uphill. But I haven’t quit. I’m still pushing, still swimming, though maybe only an inch at time, but its forward progress.

Because of this pandemic, it seems we are moving further and further away from human interaction, but fortunately we still have the Internet, and we can still stay connected. Now, more than ever, we need to reach out and be supportive of one another. Lift up our voices for good, encourage each other to take those first scary steps, and embrace the new.

Do you have a Gold Fish you’ve been waiting to release? Maybe now is the time to see if that little fish can swim in the sea!

Pick up your copy of Curse of the Chose One. Don’t be shy. You might just find an adventure waiting to be taken!

Thanks for listening, and never stop believing!

Patti