Wilson's Journey

Alright~I sent off the first half of Wilson Mooney, Eighteen at Last, to the editor. Talk about butterflies swirling in your gut…I am so excited and so nervous all twisted together. I think about it and I feel the muscles in my cheeks tighten, a bubble bounces in the back of my throat, and the space behind my eyeballs glow! I can’t tell you what an amazing journey it has been to write the words that crowd my head and have people who love to read them!

It has been an incredible and life changing journey to create characters that resonate with people. I’ve been given the privilege to introduce you to characters that, not too long ago only existed in a place reserved in my mind, across my computer screen, and pages of a book. I have to admit, I don’t think I ever really knew the velocity in which the characters would find a place to live in your hearts.

Don’t’ get me wrong, I knew with every cell of my being, that there would be thousands of people across this country and in the world that would read Wilson’s story, and fall in love with her as much as I did. But to have people email or approach me and tell me how much Wilson helped them through painful moments and lonely nights; was more than I could have ever comprehended. In my wildest dreams I never imagined how amazing and utterly mind boggling this whole process was going to be. I am humbled by your support, touched by your patience and empowered by the unbridled gratitude that surges throughout my soul each and every day.

Letting Wilson and Max become part of the world was like watching one of my children grow up and interact in society without me; not in a sad or resentful way, but in a moment of pride and realization that I’ve done all that I know to prepare them to be in this world and keep their integrity.

I want to thank you for believing in Wilson and Max’s story, thank you for supporting my creative process as a writer, and thank you for sharing Wilson with your girlfriends when they needed her!

I can’t wait to hand the world Wilson Mooney, Eighteen at Last!

With gratitude and so it is…

 Gretchen 

Tightened, Cleaned Up, and Moving Forward!

Ok, so yes I’ve been really focused on trying to get Wilson Mooney #2 tightened, cleaned up, and moving forward! I’ve sworn off other stories, and have been monogamous to Wilson and Max’s relationship. Even though, other amazing characters from different stories keep tempting me to stray, I’ve committed to be an involved creator of Wilson Mooney, Eighteen at Last. So in keeping focused, I took a couple of days to hash through the story line with one of my betas and I’ve regained that spark that drew me to their story in the first place!

First off let me be the first to admit, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of writing one novel, starting the second and deciding to move onto a completely different story. There’s something sexy and alluring about creating a whole new world filled with totally different characters; characters that haven’t been smeared with the paints of pain, fear, first love, and jealousy.

Sometimes I forget the fact that this story is still brand new to many of my readers. Wilson and Max are addictive, new, exciting, sexy, and re-invigorating. Their relationship creates the bubbles in the back of reader’s throat or gets their hearts pounding and minds soaring. But for me, Wilson and Max have been together for over two years now. They’ve had to have experiences erased from their pages, words twisted and stricken from their mouths and even friends deleted from their lives. There are some back stories I hope I could recall on a whim and others I truly wish I could forget. Wilson, Max, Cindy, Nick and their families all have untold stories behind the written word that the readers will never see; events that clutter my mind and spew from my mouth when I am working through moments that seem awkward or unrelated. 

So when I sat at my computer and hammered out a scene that I needed to develop to drive their story forward, I began to feel the bubble return in the back of my throat. I started to feel the story pulse from my fingertips as they danced across my laptop keys. Suddenly, I was excited again.

Sometimes all it takes is a tiny spark to ignite the creative fire that blazes within.

I can’t promise you it will be done in the next couple of weeks, but I can promise it will be one wild ride so…Stay Tuned!

Thanks, and don’t forget to check out my other blog www.writtenandready.blogspot.com 

I'm just sayin'