I love the number three, which also includes the various
multiples of three. Six is the number of the honeybee. Nine is three times
three, what could be better? Stories come to me as trilogies, trinities,
trifold, triplets…
This year I celebrate my third anniversary as a published
writer. On November 26, 2013, eHuman Dawn was published in Kindle form by Story
Merchant Books. This was also when I wrote my first blog on technology and
consciousness titled, "Somebody's Watching Me." It appears that while everything has changed in the world, some important issues remain the same, and the American civilian surveillance/Snowden saga is still unresolved.
But my life as a writer started six years ago, when I decided to
leave my job and use the time I had been gifted to pursue my lifelong dream of
writing. Since then I have written and published a sequel, eHuman Deception and both are now available in paperback, Kindle and in book
stores! In addition, I re-edited eHuman Dawn to remove all the various typos as
well as began work on the screenplay adaption. Lastly, I just completed a
brand new trilogy, traveling back in time to the Great Egyptian Revolt of 200
B.C. to tell a story that Greek historians literally chiseled from history, one
monument at a time, in order to hide the fact that native Egypt almost ripped
control from the Ptolemy Empire. Researching and writing this saga was one of
the best experiences of my life.
2016 was quite a year for unexpected plot twists. It began
with the passing of David Bowie, saw the Cubs win the World Series and ended
with Donald Trump as our president-elect. It feels like all the rules of life
have vanished and now anything is possible. I’m filled with both horror and
elation in such a world. Perhaps writers are well suited to the destiny of
uncertainty. For six years I’ve been chasing a dream that most would call
impossible. But is it? Six years ago I had an idea about a dystopian world
where everything is a device on the network, including humanity, yet I had no
concept yet of Ankhmakis, the last native Pharaoh of Egypt, nor his story. I
stumbled upon it while researching something else and suddenly I found myself
in a whole new world. The imagination works that way—you never really know
where the muse will take you next.
There are many people who will try to sell you a straight
path to publication, to writing that best-selling novel. My journey has told me
otherwise. From the plotline to the acquisitions editor, and every step in
between, the path of storytelling is one of twists and turns, moments of inspiration,
and weeks of nothing. Several rejections followed by a chance meeting at a
conference or a friend who mentions your work to a colleague who happens to have
a list of editors seeking historical fiction. Hell, last September, I sat down
at the computer with every intention of writing the final eHuman book when
Pharaoh Ankhmakis demanded I tell his story instead. What followed was a year
of work totally unplanned, but wholly worthwhile.
Nothing in life is linear and in a world where the Cubs can
win the World Series and a Twitter troll can win the presidency, honestly, I
think anything goes. That said, I do have a plan for the next year, and of
course it is threefold. First, I hope to finish the screenplay for eHuman Dawn
and actively pursue selling it. Second I will finish eHuman Deliverance, the
last in that Trilogy. And lastly, I will to sell the Egyptian Trilogy to a
major publishing house. If you know any agents or acquisitions editors looking
for historical fantasy/fiction/romance, send them my way. I’d be eternally
grateful.
Mostly I’m thankful for the life I’ve been given. Living as
a storyteller is vulnerable but it is also perfect. I wouldn’t want to spend my
days any other way. To those of you who have helped me on my journey, especially
my cheerleaders (specifically my dear friend Regan and my husband), editor (the
great Stephanie Diaz who helped me shape the Egyptian Revolt into three solid
novels) and of course every single reader, I send you thanks and gratitude. Without you, my stories would just
be for me. You’re the reason I’ve been a published author for three years and I’m looking
forward to sharing my stories with you for at least thirty more.
