So You Want to Be An Author....Liberty Ann Tells Why

Have you ever really thought you wanted to be a certain thing when you 'grew up' and then once you actually did, you found out it wasn't going to happen?  Yes, hi, um that would be me.  See I lived, breathed and dreamed of living my life in Montana.  On a cattle ranch.  With lots and lots of cowboys.  Then I married someone who, though I love him dearly, doesn't like animals and that was the end of that.

Well, actually it did happen for a brief period of time and it was as wonderful as I always thought it would be.  But here I am, proud mama of 3, happily married and I was stuck.  Stuck in the 'What if".  Ever been there?  Why do I tell you all of this?  Well, you see, this is what led me to want to be an author.

I am not one of those people who was born knowing I wanted to be an author.  Sure I was highly praised in 6th Grade for my creative writing and Grammar has always come easily for me (the first person who points out a typo or some other error in this post WILL BE SHOT AT SUNRISE!) ;)  I have corrected and edited more papers than I can count for roommates and husbands.  The biggest thing that led me to writing throughout my entire life though was my grand imagination.  I grew up 15 minutes from Disneyland, had my first visit when I was teeny tiny and have always thought Maleficent rocked.  Pixie Dust flows through my veins.  Now, I had known that I needed to change my expectations out of life for some time but I had to find a way to do so.  Last year it finally happened.

I realized that I could put my fabulous imagination to work creating the world as I had wanted to see it by writing about it and I could write about it over and over, never the same way twice.  As I started to create my first story both in my mind and in Word, I began to get more and more ideas...story after story started popping up in my brain and I got more and more excited.  My wise friend told me that our Muse is like a muscle ~ the more we exercise it, the more she will be of use to us.  You know what?  She was right! (Thanks Krystal!)

Of course, I had a ton to learn (and still do).  I began devouring books again as I had in years past (Thank you Stephanie Meyer for reminding me of how fun it is to read!)  I began doing a boatload of book reviews and reading other people's reviews as well.  I joined multiple groups - groups on Goodreads, on Yahoo, on Facebook and in real life - my local RWA chapter.  I was excited to be on street teams for multiple authors and thrilled to be allowed to review for sites.  Through all of this, I met Krystal and was included in The Romance Troupe and met Harlie and became her Admin.  I learn from both of them daily as well as the other wonderful authors I have met that I work with.  I started watching the authors that I was on Street Teams for - mainly Carrie Ann Ryan, Kellie Kamryn and Emily Guido.  I learned from them and from the speakers at my monthly RWA and annual conference meetings.  Through all of this, I have seen just how much more I have to learn.

I have also seen however, that I can do this.  I can write what I feel inside, put it in ink (okay 1's and 0's) and I can express my feelings on all sorts of topics.  My characters can be my therapy.  My wonderful husband has told me that if this is what I want to do, who I want to be, he will support me.  And so will my girls.  I am learning to prioritize and make goals and adjust those goals and not give up.  This is a challenging business, a hard business.  But it is also a good business with lots of good people in it.  And I am one of them and that makes me happy.