When Dreams Come True

What happens when a dream actually comes true? This week has seen one of my lifetime dreams fulfilled – my first book , Priestess of the Nile, has been released by Carina Press! What I hadn’t anticipated was all the things that came in the wake of becoming a published author. First and foremost, I’ve met SO many lovely people – other authors, the folks at Carina (especially my editor Alison), bloggers, reviewers…and this week, the Readers!

Secondly I never had much internet presence before but now I’ve unleashed the total twitteraholic lurking inside me. Who knew? 11,000 tweets from @vscotttheauthor and counting….Follow me! LOL. And there again, on twitter I’ve made some wonderful friends, learned a lot of things, had thought provoking conversations on a myriad of topics.

If there is any downside to the dream fulfillment, maybe it’s the fact that I still have to slog to the day job. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very good job, interesting, friendly people, worthy work, but now that I’ve tasted the life of a writer, WOW, do I want to be one of those full time. One of my favorite authors reminded me over the weekend that while Release Day is exciting, it’s just one day in the journey and you have to keep writing, keep editing, keep doing promo…and keep doing the day job. At least for now!

Merys, the heroine in Priestess of the Nile, had simple dreams, which she thought were beyond her grasp….until she met Sobek the Crocodile God in his human guise. Here’s a short excerpt:

“There was one man who had some interest in courting me—the new captain of the guard assigned to my village after the Nile floods last year.”

In the ensuing silence some night bird called loudly and flew away from the palm fronds above. The waves lapped at the beach and a breeze arose. Merys shivered. He wondered why she didn’t finish her story.

Bek reached out and put one hand under her chin, gently turning her face to him. He studied her. “But? You didn’t care for this man?”

“He was amiable, pleasing to look at and wellspoken. Educated. I didn’t dislike him.” She shrugged and bit her lip. “It would have been the answer to my prayers to have my own household, maybe children someday—” She broke off. He thought tears glistened in her eyes. She laid her head on her knees, facing away from him again, watching night hunting birds swoop over the river to catch insects. “The truth is I have no dowry.”

Rest assured, meeting Sobek puts new dreams into Merys’s heart…

When one of your major dreams in life came true, were there unexpected benefits? Or side effects that surprised you?