Sometimes we need a nudge to get moving. This nudge can come in many different ways. After being sick for so long, it took a bit of time and effort to get back into the habit of writing. There was a lot of stuff swirling around in my head in addition to the actual physicality of sitting at a desk and working on the computer. Sales were (and are) miserable. The Christmas book I pushed out did okay but it wasn’t really aimed at my core readers. The thing about writing is this. If you don’t have a big name, a big publishing house pushing the narrative of your book, then you have to do that yourself. Not many writers are true extroverts. The majority of us prefer to hide in our writing caves and churn out words. The way to get around the hype is to find your base and churn out good books for them to read. Well, at least I hope they are good.* Anyway, being out of the habit, I–along with a sister writer who was also out of the habit–did a summer version of National Novel Writing Month that we called Ju-Lo-Wri-Mo. So, for the month of July, my goal was to write, edit, or do something writerly every day. I achieved that but for one day and there were extenuating circumstances and it was back early in the month.

Then came August. Yeah, I got down off that horse and went to sit in the shade. There were a few days that I declared to be “mental health days.” I needed a break. Or so I told myself. See, those doubts were creeping in again. Why bother? No one’s going to buy the damn book anyway. That voice is insidious. Then this popped up in my inbox and the Universe handed me a Gibbs Slap™.

Do you really need someone else’s permission, acceptance, wink, or nod, Silver, or are you ready to give these to yourself?

I say, “Ready. Now.”
  The Universe
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P.S. Action, Silver… take it, make it, bake it, go.

There it was. In black and white and all spelled out. Why did I start writing in the first place? Because I wanted to tell stories. I didn’t share them for a very long time and then I gave myself permission to do so. For a long time, it took “permission” from a publisher to get a book into the hands of the public. Oh, there were vanity presses where you paid them and then hoped you could hand sell enough books to recoup your investment. I eventually found a publisher–two actually: Wild Rose Press and Harlequin. And then Amazon–love it or hate it–threw out a massive bone: self-publishing. I needed no one’s permission but my own. So, I jumped in. With both feet. BLOOD MOON hit the “presses.” It’s been a rollercoaster of good sales and bad but even back then, I knew I had to crank out good words making up good stories about people readers could care about.

So, to answer the Universe’s question, I don’t really need someone else’s permission. I just need to take it, make it, bake it, and go. I mean, what the hell else am I gonna do with my days if I’m not writing? Sitting around vegetating and acting my age? Nope, that’s not the way I wanna go. So back to work for me, full speed ahead! What will you give yourself persmission to do today?

*Psst…there are some authors who sell massive amounts of books and I’m like…how?!?!? *insert muppet flail here* I’ve forced myself to read some of those authors looking for the secret and I’m like…😲??WTF??? Anyway…