First, let me welcome you to my official blog. I thought for a while about what I wanted this blog to cover and finally decided - why limit my musings? In the beginning, I will probably focus on how things are progressing with writing and my journey towards traditional publishing. I will admit, this is a bit scary. Not writing itself - that's the easy part, but being open and transparent about the publishing process.
So, why be transparent if it causes such anxiety? Well, mostly to not be a hypocrite. A major theme of my books, of almost all children's books, is to be brave. I am going to be telling thousands (hopefully millions) of kids, tweens, and teenagers to follow their heart, pursue their passions, and to be trailblazers. If they do those things, there may be some disappointments and setbacks along the way; there always are when we are on the path to greatness.
I always sort of hate it when people talk about how hard the road to success was - well after they have already made it. We hear about famous athletes having gotten cut from their sports teams in high school, or tech icons getting fired from companies they started, or music moguls getting booed off stage when they were younger. It can be easy to talk about the trying times after we have come out on the other side. I did this after I completed my Ph.D. I didn't talk about feeling like giving up when I got my first grade of "B" (in grad school, a "B" is sort of like a "C" in undergrad and you can be kicked out of some graduate programs with anything less than a 3.0) until after I had successfully completed my comprehensive exams. I didn't talk about the anxiety attack I had before defending my dissertation until well after my Ph.D. had been conferred. It can feel embarrassing to admit you are scared and even feel intimidated to admit you failed. It "feels" that way, but that isn't the reality.
In the real world, most people are supportive of your efforts (despite the internet being a bit cruel at times). Most people are there with a shoulder for you to cry on rather than ridicule when you miss a mark you are aiming towards. Being open and honest about intimidation, or having your dreams temporarily thwarted, or admitting you really thought you landed that job (or that publisher) only to find out you are getting a rejection letter - that doesn't feel good.
You know what, that's okay. We tell kids every day that failure is a part of life. We tell kids every day that temporary setbacks are important components on the path to success. I don't want to just blow smoke and post platitudes - I want to show kids, and adults, those things are true. I tell people all the time to follow their heart and success will happen for them. I believe it when I say it to other people; I believe it when I say it to myself.
So, here we go, folks. Care to follow me on this journey?
Don't worry, I'm not only going to talk about how I ate two pints of chocolate ice cream because a literary agent told me, "thanks, but no thanks". I'm also going to talk about what gave me inspiration for my various books, some of the research I completed when writing my books, and most importantly - how my writing is 'my' answer (one of many potential answers) to how we can heal racial divisions that have plagued our country for far too long and how to be another voice in the ears of kids telling them, "Yes, you can do this; just like your ancestors before you!"