After publishing my first novel, you would think that the firsts would have been all filled for now. But, luckily, not so! Writing, as most of you know, is a taxing, albeit rewarding in the end. Writing and publishing a book is a ton of work and thus it’s important to celebrate those milestones.

I first did this by throwing myself a party. Life has been a bit of a whirlwind lately and I needed something to celebrate and I wanted to have a party, so I used my book as a reason. Two weeks ago, I had 30 people in my little tiny house. We were squished so tight, there was hardly room to move. But it felt so good to have so many important people there. As an extrovert, I was flying sky high. I was once again reminded of how many wonderful friends and family I have in my life. I am so very lucky. And I even received a toast! I’ve never been toasted before. The experience is something that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Last weekend was on par with the party. I got to put my book on a real bookshelf in a store! As many of you know, local bookstores are becoming few and far between. Luckily there are still a few in the Kansas City area and some of them choose to support local authors. I took The Green Lady out to Lee’s Summit on Sunday and spoke with the owner of Reader’s World who eagerly agreed to put my book on the shelf! (Also, did you notice that they put me right next to Orphan Train? Best-seller proximity is a very good thing!)

Originally, I hadn’t planned on doing a printed version of Withered World, the project I’m working on now. I sort of viewed doing a print version of The Green Lady as a vanity project, simply something I did because I really wanted to see my name in print. But after seeing that book on the shelf, I know that I will invest the money again to have a separate print cover and formatting done. It’s absolutely worth it to me. A physical book is just so satisfying.

There are more exciting firsts on the horizon too. Reader’s World asked me about doing a book signing, which of course I gave an enthusiastic YES! I told them I wanted to wait and do the book signing when I release Withered World, so be on the look out for details about this later this winter. In the interim, I’ll be trucking along. I’m at 69,000 words right now and am hoping to have a completed draft sometime in October (sooner if I really buckle down). Then it’s time for beta readers, edits and cover design! I can’t wait to see what the cover will look like this time around.

My advice to you writers out there? Be sure to take the time to celebrate your achievements. Writing a book is a huge undertaking. Pause and mark those accomplishments.

Happy writing!