I am a PUBLISHED author!
Today is release day for my first published novel - On The Homefront! It is available now on my publisher's website, The Wild Rose Press, and on Amazon, in both ebook and paperback.
A few years ago, I uncovered a "book" I wrote in 3rd grade. I drew the pictures, wrote the story, stapled together the notebook paper, and made it all into a book about being a Brownie Girl Scout. I had fun sharing this book with my daughters' Girl Scout troops, but didn't really think more about it.
I also have a binder full of the poems and short stories I wrote in high school. They aren't very good, but I really liked writing and, although I knew it wasn't the practical career choice my parents wanted for me, I hoped to be able to somehow incorporate it into my life.
Now, just weeks before my 56th birthday, I am finally a published author.
On The Homefront is not the first book I've ever written; it's more like the fourth or fifth book I've ever completed, although I have several more partially-completed works in my files. But, On The Homefront is special to me, not just because it's the first one to be published. When we lived in Germany, we had the opportunity to visit Normandy, the beaches of D-Day, and the American Cemetery there. I have always been a fan of history, have been tracing our genealogy for about 35 years now, and read a lot of historical fiction. So, I was really excited when we went to Normandy.
The beaches were awe-inspiring, as was the whole area. The pill boxes and gun turrets left by the Germans, the deep bomb craters left behind for 70 years by the bombs our troops dropped in the area, the cliffs that the Allied soldiers had to climb after crossing the beaches. It spoke to me.
Then we went to the American Cemetery, with it's row upon row of crisp white crosses and Stars of David headstones, many reading "Here rests in Honored Glory A Comrade in Arms Known But to God." The sun was blindly bright and the blue water of the English Channel sparkled below. I was intrigued when I heard there was only one civilian buried there, one of only four women, and she was an American Red Cross Clubmobile girl - a Doughnut Dolly. The idea captivated me and I started researching.
What took years to research and about nine months to form into a book is now available for people to buy, read, and review. Crazy. I couldn't be happier that a lifelong dream has come true today. But it still feels a little unreal.
Thank you to everyone who has read bits of this book, or my other ones, to help me find just the right tone and plot and to everyone who reviewed it, bought it, borrowed it, read it, and asked me about it. I am eternally grateful and very blessed and I hope everyone finds something in the book that speaks to them.
