Hug an Author! It's National Authors Day

Thanks to all the beautiful authors whose words have been my therapy and my inspiration, that have driven me to laugh, cry, and filled my heart over the years.

And you, dear readers, who step into our minds and hearts through our works and give us a reason to keep writing.

Since I could first hold a pencil, I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. Stories of all kinds filled my head. I'd be creating fantasy worlds during long church sermons, when I couldn't sleep at night, on the bus ride home, and any time I had moments to myself.

I read voraciously, and was quite young when I started stealing my mom's smutty romance novels. I'd have to hide them under my mattress, because my parents deemed them inappropriate for a child of my age (and probably rightly so!).

I loved books. All books. Reading has been my favorite pass-time, my personal escape, and the key to worlds I could never imagine or might never visit.

In college, I put away my dreams of being a writer, focusing on more practical careers options that have led me to my current career in marketing. However, the dream of being a writer always lingered. Last year, after working with indie authors on a research project for work, my husband encouraged me to do the ultimate research about being an indie author and become one myself.

I took up the challenge, and on July of 2015, I published my first book, dystopian romance REAPER.

The life of a writer is full of ups and downs; of hating my work and the exhilaration of a great review. Of days spent deleting text I'd just written, and other days pounding out chapters I'm excited to share.

Authorship is still more of a hobby than a career for me, but it has gotten into my blood, like heroin, and I need it now. I can't stop thinking about it, and looking for stolen moments to get high on my drug of choice, tucked in the corner of my living room on my laptop, creating the worlds and weaving words that have always lived in my head, and are now begging to get out.

Thanks to the authors who've inspired me, the indies who struggle alongside me, and the most of all, the READERS who voraciously devour the beloved words we've put to paper.

Happy National Author Day! 

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