So I published a book

This is a repost of a blog post I shared on my old blog on December 5, 2015, shortly after publishing Beautiful- Book One in The Fragile Line Series.

Since releasing my first book the other day eight years ago, I’ve been getting some questions from people, so I thought I’d take a few minutes to address some of the things you may be wondering about.

1. Is this a true story? or Is this your life story?

Um, well, it’s not my story, but it’s someone’s story. The things Sadie deals with in Beautiful are things young girls deal with every day. We don’t like to think about them, let alone discuss them, but they happen. Maybe you know someone who’s dealt with some of these things. Maybe you’ve dealt with these things.

2. Have you gone through withdrawal like Sadie?

No.

3. Then how could you write about it with so much detail?

I spent three long years with an alcoholic and watched him go through withdrawal many, many times. I have also researched this topic endlessly and read memoirs by recovering addicts.

4. What made you want to write a story like this?

I’m not sure. In my mind, Sadie’s story started at a point much later in her life then where she’s at in Beautiful. From there, I took her forward, but I also had to take her back and learn her past. By the time I had spanned ten years of her life in my mind, I knew I had to write it down. I began writing this series in March of 2010 without any serious plans of actually publishing it. Several friends and family members were my ‘test readers.’ They gave me the push I needed to keep going. They told me I made them cry. They said they stayed up all night reading. They told me their husbands stole it from them and read it. Their husbands got mad because they wouldn’t stop reading. They demanded I write faster. They made bets on how it would end.

People might read my books and look at me a little differently now and I don’t care. Maybe there is something wrong with me to write something that some think of as disturbing. What’s more important to me is that people read this and feel something. That they can have empathy. Because we don’t like to talk about these topics, we never know who might relate to someone like Sadie. That’s why I want everyone to share this book.

I am a survivor of domestic violence. There are incidents that happen to Sadie that are exactly what happened to me. I’ll let you wonder which ones those are. There are so many pieces of my life in Sadie’s, and I am not sure there is one person in my life that would be able to pick up on all of them. But I am not Sadie, and her story is not mine.

Inspiration comes in the strangest places. Once I wrote a whole scene based around an interaction I witnessed between a bus boy and waitress at a restaurant (not in any of the Fragile Line books). The houses, apartments, businesses, they’re all places I’ve actually been. Characters are named after some of my supporters. Music is my biggest inspiration. Everything from Christina Perri to Eminem to Taylor Swift. I have a playlist on my iPod Spotify of the songs that inspire me, and I add more regularly. The words “fragile line” are actually from a Taylor Swift (and also a Halsey song) song that just struck me to the core. Sadie walks so many fragile lines throughout her life.

5. Why did you wait so long to publish?

I had dreams of traditional publishing. I wanted to see my work on a bookstore shelf. For years I tried to get an agent, but that never worked out. That doesn’t mean I have no talent. It means I never connected with the right agent. I have debated self-publishing for a while, just never had the nerve to do it. When I made the decision to take the leap, I felt like I was selling my soul. That’s how much I have put into this. Even so, I knew the time was right. I need to support my family and felt that this would help us get through some rough times.

6. When will the next one be ready?

Oh, it’s ready now. It will be available for pre-order soon and will release shortly after Christmas. My plan is to release a book a month for a while. I have four books in the Fragile Line series ready to go, and two other books ready as well. I have the fifth in the Fragile Line series in progress, in addition to three others.

7. How many books will be in the series?

I’m not sure. I will write until her story is done. My hope is that my readers will stick with me through it all. **2023 update- Hoping to end the series with twelve**

Lastly, let me take a moment to thank some folks who have supported my writing all these years….Jeff, Aubrey, my mom (Cathy), my sister (Joy), Laura, Kathy, Prairie, Misty, Sam, Lindsey, Kristy, Amy, Season, Angie, my Aunt Kim, Nora, Cassidy, Jamie, Hannah, Ellen, Adrienne….and I’m sure I’m forgetting at least 100 people!! I love you all and thank you so much!