Over the course of the past five years I’ve gone from reluctant scribe to real-life author. This past week cemented that in my mind as never before.
For some reason we all doubt our identity in some way. Only the arrogant are truly comfortable in saying, “I’ve made it to this level” without some kind of official affirmation from a convening authority. When I went through basic training I was not a sailor until graduation day. Until that point, I was “recruit” to one and all. When I got to my first school command I wasn’t a Cryptologic Technician in the eyes of the powers until I’d passed all of the schools, got my security clearance, and passed the final tests.
Last week I became an actual author. Two events proclaimed that fact, a third will cement it for others. The two events were the contest to design my novel’s cover. Sometime Tuesday afternoon I will pick the winner of the contest. If you’d like to vote on the winning cover, click on this link.
The second item that told me I’d made it was when a best selling author wrote a promotional forward to the novel. It was laudatory. Best of all, when he’d sent it to me I opened a chat session with him. His words, the ones that cemented it for me, were “You’d better write more books, I need something to read.”
The self doubt evaporated at that moment. I am an author.
This week I’ll show you the preliminary cover when we’ve picked a winner. It will change a bit before publication as we add quotes, update the copy on the back, slip in logos, etc. But we’re almost there in my mind. Just under two months until the book is finally published. Assault on Saint Agnes will be a real book, really for sale.
Thanks, God, for making it all possible. I’d appreciate your prayers as I round the corner and head for the finish line.
