Happy Anniversary!
Ok, not that kind of anniversary 😉
Happy Anniversary to Caffeinated Fiction!! It’s been one year since the launch of this website! (Well, almost. It’s actually not for another few days, but I figured Cinco de Mayo was a day of celebration, so I might as well add to it!)
And yes, I’m totally combining Harry Potter actors in the celebration of the anniversary of my blog and Cinco de Mayo. Go with it.
It was one year ago that my husband pushed (and pushed and pushed) me to create a website for my writing. He’d insisted that people would want to find out more about me, once they got their hands on my books. And although I disagreed with him that people would be clamoring to find me, (at least at this stage of the game) in the end he won out! What began as a simple Tumblr account, quickly integrated with WordPress, and the rest, as they say, is history.
So, how did I come to this point? Many of you have asked over the past year, so I figured I’d take the time to tell my story.
I’ve always written stories. I know, I know – every writer says that, but it’s for real, dude. I really, truly, honest-to-God do have those handwritten masterpieces from when I was a kid and had visions of seeing my “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” book in bookstores. (I am so not kidding. I even made Fashion Plate pictures to go with that one! Fashion Plates, people!)
Even after I got married, I’d wake up in the middle of the night, notebook on the bed stand, to write down the amazing dream I’d just had that would make a fantastic novel. (Admit it, you’ve all done it!) And yes, I was one of those people, who mailed in the flyer for the Children’s Writing Institute to learn to ‘write good’. (Yep. Been there. Done that.)
I’m the nerd who carried around the tiny voice recorder in my purse, so I could get ideas out of my head even while I was driving, before they disappeared into the abyss of the unknown recesses of my mind. And somewhere along the line, I began writing my stories out in full, hiding in a hole for a couple months until a manuscript was completed – abandoning my husband and children to fend for themselves, living on frozen pizza and wearing dirty clothing – only to see it sit on the hard drive of my computer/laptop, collecting dust.
Until a few years ago, when my husband gave me an ultimatum. Why wouldn’t I share my work with the world? he asked. Simple. I was too darned terrified of what everyone would think of my writing!
He gave me one year to get my butt moving. One year and he was going to begin taking my work and querying agents, himself. (Ok, it was totally an empty threat, since he didn’t have a clue how to do that, but the romantic inclination was still there. Swoon. Thanks, honey!)
So, about 18 months ago, I decided to ‘get my feet wet’ by doing something simple: self-publish a series of novellas. (Yeah, right! How naive was that? Soooo not simple!) This took up most of 2014, and basically occurred at the same time as the launch of my new website!
Since that time, I’ve taken on the mantle of ‘Laura L. Zimmerman – author’, casting off the old title of ‘Laura – casual writer, mommy, wife and domestic engineer’. (Yes, I’m still a mom and wife, it’s just not my job title, anymore 😉 )
Will I be successful in actually getting a book traditionally published? I have no clue! But, I’m so happy that God, through the efforts of my husband, directed me down this road and I can’t wait to see what I’ll be saying next year, on my 2nd Anniversary blog post.
Until then, go celebrate.
And happy reading, friends!!