To Read Me Is to Know Me

“To read a writer is for me not merely to get an idea of what he says, but to go off with him and travel in his company.” – André Gide

I want to thank all the readers who have gone on this journey with me. As a writer, I write books not just because there is a story in my head but because I believe the story needs to be heard. I published my first two novels on Kindle not because I had been turned down by every agent I could find (in fact, I didn’t even query that much), but because I realized that finding an agent and then a publisher and getting published could take years, and I couldn’t wait that long. My characters needed to be heard, and I wanted people to read my stories and meet these people who had been occupying my head for so long much more than I wanted to hold a physical book in my hand.

So for all of you who have read my books, starting with the puzzle book Badger Brain Twisters (Trails Media), to the children’s book Solar System Forecast (Sylvan Dell), to The Gathering Storm and Storm Damage I published on Kindle, and even the unpublished novel A Different Sky, which I am going the traditional route with and looking for an agent and publisher … I thank you for reading my blood, sweat, and tears. Writing can seem like a very solitary task, but I never lose sight of the fact that my readers are there, waiting for me to hurry up and finish so they can take the walk with me.

I truly treasure my readers and especially those who have given me feedback on a book or just taken the time to walk up to me and tell me that they enjoyed it. Reading the thoughts and emotions of my characters is like seeing a glimpse into my soul. When you connect with one of my characters, you are connecting with me, because that character came from within the deepest part of me. As a beginning writer, I have obviously not had thousands of people read my books thus far, and you would be surprised by some of those who know me and still haven’t read them. I’ll always have questions as to why some of the closest people to me haven’t read my work: Are they afraid of what they’ll read? Do they not want to acknowledge my achievements or validate my work? And over time, those who have not cared to “travel in my company,” as André Gide says, will find themselves without it more and more. Because if someone you loved gave you the chance to see inside their soul to their biggest fears and greatest joys, wouldn’t you take them up on it? I know I would.