IT’S HERE!!!

My debut novel is out in the world! HOLY CRAP!

It’s been a wild month. My debut moment has both been everything I hoped it would be and nothing like I thought it would be.

You have to understand that I’ve wanted to be a published author since I was in kindergarten. For a fair chunk of my adult life, whenever I’ve browsed the Science Fiction/Fantasy shelves, my eyes have lingered at that spot somewhere around Orson Scott Card and Gail Carriger where my books would go. Someday.

Well, hey! Someday was last Tuesday! HOW ABOUT THAT?!

I took that picture right before getting my laughing 11-year-old to take a bunch of pictures of me pointing at the books which really didn’t come out well, because, well, laughing 11-year-old. (See what I mean?)

And then I asked the nice lady at the info desk if she wanted me to sign them, all dorky and excited and shy as you could imagine, and she got all excited for me that it was my first time seeing my debut on the shelves and was very nice and got me Autographed Copy stickers and turned them face out and everything. It was lovely.

My friends asked me if I cried, but as I told them, I’m more of a squee-er than a crier. And there has been SO MUCH SQUEEING!

Not everything was what I expected. I spent a good chunk of October focused on trying to get my first round of edits done for THE DEFIANT HEIR (Book 2 of Swords & Fire) rather than on anticipating the release of THE TETHERED MAGE. People would say lovely things like “I loved THE TETHERED MAGE and I can’t wait for the sequel!” and I would inwardly be like “OH GOD I’M WORKING ON IT AS FAST AS I CAN.” But then I turned in edits, and was finally able to just revel in the moment!

I also would never have guessed how much work goes into publicity, even for a traditionally published author. The idea that I someday would have trouble keeping up with my laundry because I had to do a whole bunch of interviews seems farfetched even now that it’s actually happened. It’s been a ton of fun, and I’ve had a great time with every one of them, and hope to do more, but there were definitely some WHAT EVEN IS MY LIFE moments.

Another thing I didn’t anticipate was the wonderful, incredible feeling of seeing my Facebook timeline light up with my friends posting selfies with my book, or photos of it on bookshelves all around the country, or posting about how they’d already finished it the day after buying it. That’s been probably the most magical thing of all, and has really driven home that holy cow, my book is really out there, and people are reading it, and this isn’t a dream. And feeling the love from all my awesome friends and family, both at my release party and online, has been truly amazing.

Right after my release party I rolled straight into a boiler replacement, a broken dishwasher, a visit from my brother’s family, my husband’s birthday, Halloween, and a day job deadline, so it’s been a week that’s been more about HOLY SHIT HOW AM I GOING TO CLEAN THIS HOUSE and WHAT DO I GET THE NERD WHO HAS EVERYTHING AND ALSO IT HAS TO SHIP IN 2 DAYS and FINE SO YOU DON’T WANT TO BE LINK AFTER ALL OK I CAN MAKE YOU A PIRATE FROM STUFF IN MY CLOSET LET’S DO THIS than about my debut.

But those pics of my friends reading my book have been coming in all week, so I’m still in seventh heaven.

You did it, kindergarten-me. High five!