Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Paperback Writer

 Well, it's been a year since my last blog. A lot in my life has changed since I wrote that last post about eagerly anticipating coming home from my eight months in Scotland. My main focuses in life have changed. While living in Scotland I was mainly focusing on getting the most out of my time there and doing as much as I could to build and maintain a positive life experience within that time frame. Obviously, being home, that focus has drastically shifted. I no longer have that feeling of a limited timeline in which I need to experience things. Naturally, I am still focused on maintaining a positive outlook on life and create positive experiences for myself, but I am no longer burdened with the restrictions of time boundaries. The opportunities to create positive life experiences and maintaining an exciting lifestyle seems limitless. When I was in Scotland I was determined to build a life in Scotland. Now I'm just determined to build a life.

Well, I've got my whole life in front of me and I'm ready to start building.

Which brings me to my decision to start blogging again.
When I was living in Scotland I kept a blog so that I could write about my experiences living abroad and keep people updated. As someone who finds comfort in talking things out, I also found it very helpful to write about my ideas having no one close to me present to do so in person.
Once I got home and resumed my normal life, I was without reason to keep blogging. I didn't need to keep people back home updated on my life because I was home and it would be very boring for these people to read about my everyday life experiences.
A blog needs a focus - a certain topic or subject to be centered on.
Well, as I said, my life focus has changed - and so - my blog's focus has changed.

"Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book?
It took me years to write, will you take a look?"
                                                 - Paperback Writer by The Beatles

The new topic of discussion: My writing. Yup, I'm writing about my writing. More specifically, my children's books. Well, as of now, just book. 

The cover of my book
I have written and published a children's book. My lovely friend, Samantha Granger, did the awesome illustrations.

I used a self-publishing, print-on-demand company called AuthorHouse.  This company has published some famous books such as Legally Blonde and has worked with some famous people; my personal favourite, John Mellencamp. The people that work with you in submitting, designing, and ordering your book are very helpful and all seem genuinely interested in creating the best results for you.
As of now, there is only one hard copy of the published book. However, today I purchased 165 copies through the company and they are supposed to be mailed to me within the next two weeks.

"I need a break and I want to be a paperback writer"

I have been working in the food service industry for - what it seems like - my whole life and I although I love a lot of aspects of the work, it is not my passion; not the career I want for myself. I am not sure if I'll be able to make a career out of being a children's book author but I am going to take a stab at it. Who knows, I could become the next Robert Munsch or, even better, J.K. Rowling.

So, I will now be using this writing space to record all of my experiences in the journey towards becoming a successful, published author.

If you are interested in purchasing my book online please visit my book's page on the AuthorHouse website.

Or you can wait until I get the copies I have ordered in the mail and get a signed copy personally from the author!