This week, we’ve decided to take over for Barbara Jean and talk about what we are hearing from a majority of our peers and considering our own thoughts on the writing, promoting, and busy lives subjects.  Life’s been really great — we’ve met so many people that are hugely accomplished and ambitious as well as remaining incredibly kind and encouraging, both in the form of writers and readers.  We still get giddy every time we sell or share STRANGLED BY SILK and hear complimentary praise from new fans.

There are some times, however, when it feels like we expect ourselves to be more the seller of tales rather than the teller of tales, reaching to the point of being overwhelmed and burnt out.  The more we open up to others similar to us, or just a little higher up the ladder, the more we hear our thoughts being mirrored back in their own words.  It seems that there are mutually jaded moments that we all share, with thoughts expressed as, ‘Well, it’s about time I ranked high on that list,’ instead of, ‘hey, I made it — on my first real attempt!’  We’re finding that is seems to be natural to get to a newbie state of mind that we expect and demand to rank with or beat veterans who have been in the business of twenty years or more, then being disappointed when the 15 minutes of fame boils down to 15 seconds, instead of being appreciative, content rookies learning and loving our place in the grand scheme of things.  It’s like trying to graduate from high school while going into grade two.

Don’t get us wrong, we love promoting and get great satisfaction knowing that there are people are actually purchasing our very first Poppy Cove Mystery — for that, we feel blessed and are eternally grateful.  But honestly, the biggest satisfaction comes from completing a scene or a whole book, not the word count or ranking, but the moment the pages are saved and the characters can rest for another day, their voices heard, shared and understood.

Warm Regards to You All,

Andrea & Heather

Aka Barbara Jean