a (long) path to publishing
my epic fantasy
I was the kid who quietly went all out on '80s day in high school, raiding her dad's closet to cosplay a bit character from Weird Science instead of Flashdance, then came home to write stories about equally weird (but cool) kids having adventures I'd never be brave enough to embark on.
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This isn't an I'm Not Like Other Girls humble brag. I was shy, dorky, and writing helped me through a difficult time—years I might have regretted if my memories weren't filled with make-believe.Â
In college, I stayed quiet. Never submitted to the school paper or creative writing compilations (even if a teacher suggested it, and exactly one did). I wrote a couple of "novels"Â but had no desire to publish them, even after earning my BA in English Literature. Truth be told, I've never been all that ambitious. I just love writing, so I wrote. And wrote...
Sometimes I took years-long breaks, thanks to writer's block, or babies, or life and its way of stealing motivation during hard times. But I never stopped forever. The Valley of Lies is my seventh full-length novel, and the first I ever seriously considered publishing.
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No queries. No pitches. This one's for me. And you, hopefully. While it took years to write and edit, and I'll probably never feel "ready," I finally know something that used to elude me. My stories (and these characters) are worth sharing. They may not be perfect, but they matter. I hope they'll matter to you too.Â
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CHEERS!