On The Shelf

It's beyond rewarding whenever I see my book, "288 Chances", on the shelf at a Barnes and Noble bookstore.  It's thrilling, but so surreal at the same time.  Even after going through the whole experience of writing, re-writing, editing and finally, submitting a fnished manuscript to be published, to see the end result - out there and available to readers everywhere - is surreal indeed.

There I am! Right there. That' s me.      

I love just being surrounded by books, all books.  I can easily spend a couple hours on a Saturday afternoon, just browsing through row after row, seeing the familiar names that we all know and admire.  I see the names of the already established and much sought-after authors, publishing yet another much-anticipated book, one their readers can't wait to buy up as soon as possible.  You have to respect the years of hard work and the undisputable talent that has afforded them that kind of success. 

But I'm most interested in the first-time authors, or those that are just beginning to make a name for themselves in the publishing world. I believe it takes equal amounts of "courage and en-couragement" for a writer to take that leap.  A leap into the unknown, sharing so much of themselves, opening the door to not just praise and reward, but just the same, criticism and rejection.  Those are the writers I like to look for - and watch.  The ones who have so much of value to say and share, but will never have the fame or recognition of many of the most successful writers and authors of our time. 

Then again, there's a really good chance that's not why they wrote and published a book in the first place.

So there I am, in the very same neighborhood as such distinguished authors as Dr. Phil and Jane Pauley.  Again, may I say surreal?

Signing off for now,

Brenda   :)