Finishing my second novel and all the emotions that come after.
assLast July when I decided to finally stop playing it small and go after my dream of being a full time writer, I haven’t looked back. Some of you might know that I initially started my writing journey writing screenplays. I wrote over a dozen screenplays over a ten year span, and fell madly in love with roughly half of them. My first novel The Day I Died Again is based off of one of my favorite screenplays, as well as my second novel Immaculate Deception. Over that decade of trying to trying to break into the movie business, I’ve had several of my stories optioned, and came close countless times of getting them made. Of course, as with any business things change, projects fall apart and you find yourself back to square one. I love movies and always had dreams of winning an Oscar one day. That being said, after my last project fell apart in 2019, I decided to take a break. And then out of the blue, I was like woman, stop pouting and get it together and that’s when I decided to turn a few of my favorite screenplays into novels and I got hard at work on The Day I Died Again, and I haven’t looked back.
Fast forward eight months, I have finished writing my second novel, Immaculate Deception, and I am both in awe and numb. Like, I’m doing it. I haven’t given up. This is my passion, writing for me is like laughter—I need it to breathe, to feed my soul, and it just makes me feel so damn good. That’s not to say that I don’t struggle with imposter syndrome on the daily, but that negative inner voice won’t stop me anymore. I had a blast writing my second novel while being transported back to 1999 with all the nostalgia that came along for the ride. I truly believe the readers with have a blast as well.
In all transparency, I was utterly mentally exhausted after writing and rewriting and editing both novels in under a year and I promised myself I was going to give some distance before starting my third novel. That was until I thought of a new idea. Anyone who knows me knows that I love everything horror. Horror movies are my jam. So, I’m diving head on into my third novel, a horror story. To avoid burnout, I am not placing any pressure on myself to have a finish date… for now. It’s important to spend time doing other things that I love and find a balance between my goals, and life. But, I’m not going to lie, I’m a little intimidated because this is a fresh idea, no screenplay to use as an outline. But, I am up for the challenge and excited for the possibilities.
There’s something else about this journey that keeps me going as well, watching my children not only be proud of me for getting back on the horse and not giving up on my dreams, but also that it’s inspiring them to set their own goals, and pursue their dreams. So, my heart is happy.
