Be Careful What You Wish For...

The intro to my blog talks about living a dream--SIRENZ, co-written with my best friend Natalie Zaman, debuted in June. Yay! But along with the published book, I dreamed of being a 'successful' writer. You know how that goes; doing interviews, having people ask me for my autograph, giving other writers advice, selling lots of copies, and maybe walking the red carpet on premiere night when the movie based on the book debuts. 

Well... in order for that to happen, you have to do the work. It didn't end with the writing of the book. Or the numerous revisions. Or getting the agent. Or selling the next two sequels. Or signing 250+ copies at Book Expo America. Or throwing the launch party with cake by Buddy Valastro, having 'Hades' appear to tease and tempt our guests, and greeting everyone on the line out the door. Or doing radio and TV interviews, blog tours, Twitter and FaceBook posts, and guest posts. Or putting together bags of books and swag. And looking for the next promotional must do.

There's a price to be paid for a dream; the sweat and determination to make it come true, the persistence to stay with it to keep it moving forward, and the realization that it may be more, or less, than we bargained for. SIRENZ may never make the bestseller list or win an Academy Award. Or, it may become so popular that we lose our privacy and normal lives. Dreams take on a life of their own, going where they will, dragging us along. It's kind of like having children, another dream I thought might not be possible. I went through medical tests and procedures, heartaches and pain. What I didn't consider was that the little bundle of happiness would turn into three bundles, argue over cleaning their rooms, damage my car, scare me with broken bones, scream they hate their brother/mother/father/best friend, and graduate with honors, earn a third degree black belt, write something that showed promise, take care of me when I had surgery, and give me a hug without me asking for it. See where I'm going?

When signing the book, I usually write: "Be careful what you wish for..." because you just might get what you want--along with some things you don't, and others you didn't know you wanted until you had them. Like the characters Meg and Shar in Sirenz, we can't foresee the results of being given our dearest wishes.

But that shouldn't ever stop us from dreaming...