First of all...........Happy 4th of July to everyone and Happy Birthday, America!  The calendar is a gift from my dear friend, Naomi in Los Angeles........she sent it to me last December and it hangs right here, beside my computer, where I look at it every single day and always think of Naomi.  Each month has a gorgeous flower from photos that she's taken.  I think July is especially pretty.

But the subject of this post is "The Writing Life" and that's what I wanted to talk about..........Those of you that know me well know that I've been writing all my life.  No, not professionally.  But still writing.  Diaries, letters to many, many pen pals when I was a kid and young mom, journals when I was in college, and then short stories, travel articles and finally my first attempt over twenty years ago to actually write and complete a full novel.  Which I did.  And that manuscript will stay exactly where it still is.......buried away somewhere in my belongings.

It took me awhile, until age forty to be exact, to realize I actually had a "gift" for writing.  No, it was never a "hobby" with me.  All through those diaries and journals and short stories......I wrote from my heart.  I wrote my feelings and my fears and my joys and my disappointments.  But not as a hobby.  Knitting is a "hobby" but writing I always took much more seriously.  Even though I wasn't sharing a lot of it with the reading public. 

It was a long, hard, disappointing and demanding task to attempt to get published with a traditional New York publisher.  But because I knew in my soul that I had stories to tell that women would enjoy and because I couldn't NOT write............I kept writing.  My point is......First and foremost, I did it for ME. 

Which leads me to ponder the question:  Where did so many wannabe writers come from?  Somehow, I don't remember almost every person that I met twenty years ago telling me, "Oh, I want to write too" or "I've written a book" or "Have I got a story to tell"................and yet, these past few years it seems all of these "writers" are everywhere.  The moment somebody hears that I'm an author, nine out of ten people repeat one of those statements to me.  So what is IT that has drawn them to a career of writing?

The money and potential for riches?  Unless you're fortunate enough to be John Grisham or Nora Roberts, the reality of being an author has nothing to do with money.  Actually, when you're trying to establish your career, it's quite a costly venture.  No......contrary to what many writers may think......your publisher does not give you an expense account to travel the country doing all those signings, paying for your travel, etc.  Nope.  It's the author that pays for all of that, because......hopefully, it's an investment in their career and maybe, somehow, some day.....it will pay off.  Glamour?  I hope a new writer isn't looking for glamour as an author.  I think if you spoke with most authors you'd quickly find out there isn't much glamour involved.  Becoming well known and having people know WHO you are?  Well, that could be part of the reason, however, unless said author is able to establish a large fan base across the country......that also can be quite "ify."

So why, indeed, does one want to be an author?  I truly don't have an answer for that.  But WHAT I can tell you is.........make sure you love and I mean deeply love to write.  Make sure not only do you love to write when YOU want to write, but even if you'd much rather be doing something else than finishing up that chapter or novel or proofing.  Because that's the real world...........once you have a contract, it becomes a business and you must produce.

Which leads me to my final thought on the writing life........I have discovered in the past year that many of my readers don't fully understand the business of being an author.  And they don't have to.  BUT....if you're thinking of taking this path in your life, the best advice I could give anyone would be, learn the business!  For instance...........

I have also discovered that many think just because I received a two-book contract from Kensington and then another contract for my Christmas novella......that it's "death do us part."  Noooo, 'fraid not. It doesn't work that way in this business.  Nope.  Said author must begin all over again.  Which means submitting a proposal for the next project the author has in mind.  Depending on whether the editor/publisher thinks it's a good story and by that I mean, marketable = sales, will depend on whether another contract is offered.  So in the very difficult world of the publishing industry.........nothing is ever certain or definite. 

I submitted my proposal for book #3 in my Cedar Key series to my editor.  She recently read the first few chapters and synopsis (yes, you must have a pretty good idea where your story's going and how it will end) and she'll be presenting it in the editorial meeting next week.  Fingers are crossed and in the meantime, I wait.

With all the ups and downs, joys, disappointments, and everything in-between......I wouldn't change one thing.  Why?  Because as I said earlier, I can't NOT write......it's in my soul and hopefully, if you're thinking of a writing career.......it's in your soul as well and THAT is your number one reason for putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.

I hit the road on Wednesday for my book signings in Alabama.  My assistant will keep you updated on my fan page on Facebook as to where I am and when.  I'll do my best to also get some updates and photos on there as well as here on my blog.

Till then...............enjoy your holiday weekend and I'll see you next time.