As of August, 2016, I am officially a published author! My book, a self-help memoir called "Hello, My Name Is..... Warrior Princess" had it's first launch. It was a fun event that I enjoyed tremendously. Writing a book is very similar to having a baby. Lots of planning, excitement, hardship, second guessing and was an emotional roller-coaster. In the end, it's worth it and you'd do it all over again.
The book was written in two months - very fast in book writing time - but it took another couple months to do all the other things that go in to writing a book. Stuff you had NO clue was part of the process. ISBN, LOC#, book cover, back, formatting and scads of other steps that were all new to me. I could now teach a course on writing a book, which is a skill set I never imagined having but I'm glad I know. There is another book planned, although I'm waiting for more feedback on this book to make sure I'm headed in the right direction. I know how I'll streamline things the next time around, what mistakes I can avoid (not many!) and I now have knowledge of each step along the way which makes things easier.
The launch was at a locally owned bar/restaurant called Mellow Fellow of Reno. Kids could be there since it's not specifically a bar, so it was a family friendly event. My daughter Bri set it all up as it's one of she and her boyfriends favorite places to visit on the weekends. Ryan is the owner and just a hard working, down to earth guy who made things easy and fun for me. Naturally, I'll visit again and send people his way even more now that I've had an event there.
Now I'm finishing up the last steps - getting the links for people to order the book in hard copy as well as the ebook. I'll continue having book signings which I really enjoy. I'm looking into local book clubs reading the book and coming to the final discussion to sign copies and answer questions. The blog is still alive and well. My podcast is going very well - the site is under construction and not "live" yet, but the interviews are amazing. I'm also working on updating my momsrunningit.com website, coaching packages and public speaking. And I do have a day job, 13 kids and an amazing relationship I want to keep that way. Life is a process of finding balance and hopefully enjoying yourself.