If I hadn’t had that one book signing, I would have never met, Dan, an author who helped me reach the people of Auburn, NH.
If I hadn’t donated “Memories of Chronosalis” to the Hooksett, NH library, I would have never known about the New England Author’s Expo.
If I hadn’t attended the first event of the Expo, I would have never met the friends I did or gained the valuable experience.
If I hadn’t gone as a spectator to the Derry, NH library event, I wouldn’t have known about ACX, an audiobook service.
If I hadn’t reached out to, Cayce, a book reviewer, and friend, I would have never known about the Silver Dagger Blog Tours.
If I hadn’t attended the second event of the Expo, I would have never met my author friends, Stephen and Killarney.
If I hadn’t attended the third Expo event, I wouldn’t have been interviewed by Stephen for his vlog.
If I hadn’t dyed my hair, I might not have sold as many books at that event or attracted the attention of a TV producer.
If I hadn’t stayed faithful in posting about my adventures on social media, then Killarney might not have asked me to come on her show too.
If I hadn’t joined the NH Writer’s Project, I would have never known about a local writer’s group.
If I hadn’t attended the group, I would have never known about the Keene Comic-Con and that there was space available for me.
These are but a few moments in the last ten months that have made a tremendous impact on my writing career. And if I hadn’t done any of these things, I would still be at square one. But you see, most of these things weren’t by my doing.
In the chaos of the writing world, or really in any art world, the things that happen to an artist/writer aren’t always in their control, as a fellow author put it. Sure, we can market, we can advertise, we can shout it from the rooftops until we are blue in the face. But, there’s only so much we can do.
Sometimes we get super discouraged and think that we’re wasting our time with this passion of ours. But it’s moments like these—those “If I hadn’ts” that really make me feel so blessed to be where I am. No, I’m not going to be the next J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, or George R.R. Martin any time soon. But I can be me, and I can look at all the things that have happened in the last several months and think to myself, “If all that can happen in less than a year, what more could possibly happen in two?”