It's My One Year Anniversary!

I’m not one for celebrating my accomplishments.

I know that people who know me well will say, “WHAT? You must be kidding.” After all, I celebrate my birthday for a month. I didn’t say I don’t like to celebrate. I said I don’t like to celebrate my accomplishments. There is a difference. My birthday wasn’t any of my doing 😊, but it gives me something to look forward to in dreary January. Possibly the worst month ever for people who hate winter.

But I digress. Back to not being one to celebrate my accomplishments. If it weren’t for the urging of my friends, I wouldn’t have attended my college graduation when I received my bachelor’s degree, and I didn’t attend when I received my master’s degree. I also can’t recall having celebrated any of my promotions at my day job.

For my first couple of books, I did do launch parties, but those were more for getting the word out and marketing than a true celebration. My friends did throw a surprise party for the launch of my first book, complete with cake, but it was a celebration initiated by others. My wife pointed out that I didn’t truly allow myself much of a celebration until I was on to worrying about sales and my next book.

What’s the point of my rambling? I’ve decided that I need to celebrate this milestone. It is my one-year anniversary from the release of my debut novel 😊. WOW! So much has happened since then. Just last month, my fourth novel was released as well as the audiobook for my debut novel.

On top of that, my publisher already has my July and November releases, and my March 2023 offering is with my beta readers. That is a total of seven books, and yet at times I still struggle to celebrate. I’m not completely sure why, but I’m sure it’s some deep-seated psychological thing. As soon as an accomplishment happens, I’m already on to the next.

So, today I need to celebrate and look back at what an amazing journey this has been. I should shout it from the rooftops. I should do a happy dance. Per my mentor Jae’s recommendation, I should eat ice cream. And most of all, I should be grateful and proud.

I’ve never been known for my patience, so the past year has at times been a challenge. I repeatedly remind myself that finding readers doesn’t happen overnight. I have two mantras that I constantly tell myself. First, if I write it the readers will come. Of course, that’s a spin on the line from the Field of Dreams, and it means that if I keep writing good quality books the readers will show up. And the second slogan is, I have to build an audience one reader at a time. My wife reminds me of these often, especially when I’m having an angsty author moment. During these times, I am convinced nobody will ever read another one of my books, except my closest friends who feel obligated to. 😊

Since I’m trying on this new celebration thing, I’m going to ask my readers for an anniversary “gift”. If you’ve read one of my books, especially, Thundering Pines. Please consider leaving a review or rating on Amazon or Goodreads. For newbie authors, it is very hard to get recognized and build a readership, so every review and shoutout on social media goes a long way to introducing my work to new readers.

I absolutely love writing and telling my stories. Hanging out with my imaginary friends is one of my favorite things to do, and the other is hearing from readers. Despite my angsty moments, I’d probably continue to write my stories even if no one other than Terra read them, but it is made more special to know that other people are getting to spend time with my imaginary friends too. 😊

I thank each and every reader for being on this journey with me. I appreciate all your support, so as I celebrate, please know you are a part of it too.

Happy one year anniversary to me! And thanks to you,

Rita