Thank You!

Wow! I would never have dreamed in my wildest dreams that this would happen! Around this time last year I made the decision to stop messing around and take my writing seriously. I mentally prepared myself for a long, long road to publication. My mind cannot even begin to grasp all that is happening now!

This past January I joined Harlequin's writing community. It was in the Work-In-Progress Care Group that I met an amazing group of women who showed me the ropes and encouraged me along the way. Like a sponge, I absorbed every tip and took notes in every online class or chat. I wanted to learn all that I possibly could to enhance my craft. I still have a lot to learn, but as someone who considers herself a life-long student, I'm looking forward to the lessons to come.

The morning of March 6^th a friend reminded me that it was Andy's birthday. It was the first time in sixteen years that I forgotten his birthday. It was a good feeling. It proved I had finally healed, finally moved on. I sat back and thought about it and how he would have been thirty-three. I tried to imagine what life would have been like if he had lived. That's the moment If Only was born.

There will be some that say this is just beginner's luck. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't. Time will tell. But the one thing I am sure of is that my life has been leading up to this. If Only would never have had as much of an impact if I had not gone through what I did fifteen years ago.

Each experience I've had, every heartbreak, every loss, every moment of pure joy will be put to use to better me as a writer. God had a purpose for all of it, and I believe this is it.

I want to thank each and everyone of you who took the time to vote, share, and read my manuscript! I may have made it to the top ten with my story, but you were the ones who took me the rest of the way. I cannot thank you enough!

I only planned on getting my feet wet this year, but God decided it was time to swim the ocean. So here I go!

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” --Eph. 3:20