A fabulous Dog Eared day

Song Stuck on the Brain: Lie by David Cook (I've been listening to him a lot, if you hadn't noticed. Fantastic artist, can't wait for the next album.)

I had quite a fun weekend, and I'm just now getting a chance to blog about it. Darn work and all it's trappings, keeps me way too busy. :)

So, I found out through the e-grapevine that author Mary Connealy was doing a book signing in my hometown this last weekend. Mary, and her author pals, Cheryl St. John, Bobbi Smith and Julie Miller, held court at Dog Ear Books on Saturday.

I wasn't the only one excited, I brought my sister, Angel, as well as two more girlfriends, Julie and Karen, along with me. I'd got them all hooked on the Lassoed in Texas series, Julie even threatened to never give me back my books. She was just going to keep them forever. :) Instead she bought her own set and we picked up the latest, Nosy in Nebraska as well. After buying autographed books from all the authors, I had a chance to chat writer to writer with Mary, and I'm still feeling a little buzzed.

Have you ever wanted to talk business with someone you greatly admire, but figure you'll never have the chance? Welcome to my world. Lucky me, though, I got to do just that. It was very inspiring and insightful. Lately I've been thinking if I could write half as well as Mary Connealy, I'd be doing well. Hearing her share about her road to success made me feel like maybe I'm not so far off course myself. Which, of course, goes a long way toward motivating me on my next book project.

I've always thought of myself as being a very 'glass half full' kind of person. Optimistic, full of silver linings and always able to see the rainbow through the storm. But when it comes to my

personal success, I find my vision gets kind of cloudy. It's easy to see the success in others and encourage them forward, but I tend to forget that when it comes to my own work. Talking to Mary opened my eyes to see things a little differently.

I've entered my novels in four contests, finalling in three. Not too shabby really, but it's easy to lose sight of the big picture. I find that I focus on the things marked that need change, the comments that show where work still needs to be done, rather than the fact that I managed to squeeze past all the competition. Not that finalling in a contest should give anyone a big head. (Heaven forbid, mine's naturally big enough as it is. Who needs ego issues?)

One of the biggest benefits of a contest is the honest critiques we receive from the judges. But I have to remember that seeing the positive is helpful too. Now I know what I did RIGHT. I know that I'm one step closer to success and seeing a possible book contract. It shows that all my hard work hasn't been for nothing, there is a future in the book world for me.

Thanks, Mary, for reminding me that all successes, no matter how small they seem, have bearing on the big picture. I'll be keeping that in mind as I start my fourth novel. Maybe someday, it will see success as well.

Keep the faith,

A.