This is my personal journey through the wild and terrifying world of publishing. Three years ago I sat at a table a friend and answered the question he posed...Why aren't you writing if that's what you want to do? I paused, embarrassed, and said. I guess I'm afraid, and I was. Justin smiled and said it's a blank page, there's nothing scary about that. What do you want to write about, let's map it out. And from that lunch, in a room with a hundred strangers, surrounded by the smell of pizza and French fries we mapped out my first novel. What I learned from this: Sometimes we meet amazing people in mundane settings and they have the power to change our lives.

It's laughable now, how different the story line became, all the changes, advice, and comments I've gotten over the past three years have changed the concept completely. But my lead character Lyla has always been there, evolving with the flow of the story, waiting for three long years to find an audience. In the next few months I hope she will, with the help of some amazing people (both friends and family) I'm working to finally give Lyla Mercer a voice.

I've hired a proofreader, requested some help to create a book trailer, and will be hitting up an amazing photographer for some help on a cover. When it's all done I'm doing it. I'm going to publish my book online. I'm learning everything I can about ePublishing for Kindle, eBook, Nook, iPhone, iPad, and any other format that’s available. I'll keep you posted on my progress and will ask for your input along the way. From blurbs, to covers, to trailers, I'll share it all with you.

Here's the original map, enjoy the chuckle!