Are We There Yet?

It’s funny, people who are close to me and my process can tell when I am coming to the end of a story. I start looking for the reassurance that what I wrote isn’t sh*t. I begin to question what I have written. It’s a bizarre feeling when my thoughts begin to morph into different advocates that cheer or hiss in my head.

I have to admit, when I decided to publish Wilson’s story…I felt like I took every stitch of clothing off and ran butt naked down the median on the highway. Every flap of skin, every pocket of cellulite, mole, and gnarly scar exposed for anyone who wanted to look over and point a finger (Pay attention, traffic is stopping up a head!). And yet as I awkwardly tried to run with my hands over my no-show parts, I felt the need to just free my arms and start waving at all of the rubberneckers checking me out.

Because, now that people are taking a chance on me and read my writing; they are beginning to wave back instead of point. They smile instead of scowl, and they actually roll down the window to cheer me on. They don’t notice the flaps bouncing with every step and somehow my moles and scars seem to disappear. Suddenly the shift from apprehension to confidence has taken place. Don’t get me wrong, I live the teeter-totter of cheers and jeers daily.

Everyday I’m learning that being an author is a game of patience and gratitude. I am completely aware that some people search their entire life to find something that drives them and they never discover what it is. I realize how fortunate I am to have found what drives me. There’s something deep in my heart…actually it’s in every cell of my body that tells me that I have to write. It’s almost like breathing. It is so personal, and yet at the same time so communal. 

It’s as if the huge metal claw in the grab-o-matic game hovered over me before it dropped down and snatched me up by the head and waved me precariously over the sea of prizes. And before I knew it, I was in the arms of the people who celebrated who I was and what I wrote. It's been the most humbling experience and continues to be!

So I guess I want to tell you, my wonderful readers…Thank you! Thanks for your support, your loyalty, and your patience as I edit, re-work, and revise Wilson Mooney, Eighteen at Last. Thanks for all the emails and letters you send me about Wilson and how her story has resonated with you in your own life.

From the bottom of my heart I am truly grateful.

Please keep checking back for updates and little teasers as I get closer to releasing the second book in the Wilson Mooney Series.

Want more?

Visit my website: www.gretchendelao.com

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Send me an email: gretchen(at)gretchendelao(dot)com

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