First.
I HAVE EXCITING NEWS!!!
A Heart’s Design, my adult sweet contemporary romance, has been picked up by The Wild Rose Press for publication!!! I am beyond thrilled! And I may have spent the past several days dancing around the house and making my family celebrate with me!
Now, not only do I love the setting and characters of A Heart’s Design, but there is something pretty special about getting the first book you’ve ever written published!
(MY FIRST BOOK IS BEING PUBLISHED!!! (Alright, I’ll quit with the overload of exclamation points. But, did I mention I’m excited?!))
Okay. Reflection time.
As I sat down to sign my contact this morning, I reflected a lot on my writing journey, and a few things stuck out to me. Over the last two years, I took some big chances. And then I took some more. I made connections. Continued to dive into the craft of writing and publishing, and took even more chances. And, I trusted myself.
That last one has come to be a huge cornerstone of my writing foundation. I can pin-point exactly three times since early 2016 when I looked at my bookshelf and thought maybe it was time to put A Heart’s Design there for good (the last being not even a month ago.) After all, it was my first book. So many authors write two, three, even ten books before their words find their way into the world. But each time I dusted off that proverbial shelf, getting it ready to cradle my words, a new opportunity popped up. Each time it was like that shelf shouted, nope. Not now. And I’m so grateful I trusted myself to know when to keep championing this book and when to set it aside. Beyond grateful.
I don’t imagine my journey going forward will look much different than my road so far. There will be lows like those big, fat R’s (rejections) that have added up to well above sixty between querying and submissions, and highs like winning a spot in Pith Wars, signing with an agent, and receiving my first publishing contract. There will be all sorts of cracks in the road to stumble over. But its okay. Because I love writing. I love my writerly people. I love to read and connect with those who enjoy that pastime as much as I do. (Anyone else suffer from book hangovers regularly?!?!?!)
When others, especially my children, talk about their own passions and dreams, I encourage and cheer them on. Could they fail? They’ll definitely find a few cracks of their own (or lots.) Building a ladder to the stars isn’t easy. And staying among them is harder. Sometimes I think we convince ourselves we are content to simply gaze at their brilliance. But I hope more of us will take a chance. And then take another, trusting ourselves to see our dreams come true, no matter how crazy the journey might be getting there. Success, to me, is in the ‘keep on going’ and ‘getting up and trying again.’ I’m so glad I kept going. That I trusted myself.
I cannot wait to share my words with you all! Thank you for hanging with me as I take this next fork on my writing journey. It means more than you’ll ever know!
Natalee Cooper 
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