Overwhelmed, and ready to work...

SO, now the real work starts. All or Nothing - a historical romance, set in the American west - the story of RuthAnne Newcomb and Bowen Shepherd - the patriarchs of the Shepherd clan - whose story I hope to continue writing.

BUT, here goes. I'm the mother of two little girls. Rachel's 4, and Elizabeth is 2. They are my world. The girls, and my sweet husband - who took us all to Disneyland on Friday to celebrate All or Nothing's recent success. :) Sounds corny, but yeah. I got my first book contract, and I went to Disneyland!

At any rate - I also work full time for a large corporation and spend most of my days attempting to be a professional person. If they could only see me in my home office. We joke about my going to work in my bunny slippers and robe. Some days, it isn't far from the truth. NOW, Rachel goes to Preschool, so I have to get my butt out the door - wearing clothes and makeup and having actual conversations wiht real adults. It's kind of exciting for all of us. Let alone, that she's learning sweet little songs like "Where is Jesus?" and making friends that I've never met. I'm loving it, and hanging on a little tighter to Ellie all the while. Their childhood is not something I want to rush. Four years already, and I feel like life is on fastforward.

Still, in the past year, I've refound my ability to write. Something I lost except in fits and starts since the kids came. Last year, I wrote a shortstory that won an award. I completed www.NanoWriMo.org, and I finished All or Nothing. It's been in revisions every since. And now, after some divine inspiration, stepping out on trust, and the support of my phenomenal writer's group - TWRP has put their trust in its success.

Here's to the future. Here's to a budding career as an author. Here is to RuthAnne and Bowen. For all of her strong will and his hard headedness - they found each other. A story wove around them, and the bandit they worked to capture. And here we are. As my mentor Nancy Taylor Rosenberg said, "Writing is re-writing." and you know what? It's okay by me.

Tomorrow, the contract goes in the mail. I continue to attack the dreaded POV and weather report issues that I'm sure plague my story. I continue plotting WIP #2 "The God Quotient" and WIP #3 "Mammoth Secrets" - we'll see which one takes off first. And, another day goes on. I am so blessed to have a hubby that is behind me, even if all of this process mystifies him to no end, and two little girls who hang on me. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I have never been more nervous or excited all at once.