Well, I did it. I bought my own name as a domain. I bought a hosting package. I bought a stock photo. Apparently, it's all real once you put your credit card information into the little "buy now" form.
Does this mean I believe in myself a little more? Maybe. Does it mean Matt is still on board with my far-fetched dream of calling myself 'a novelist' after over two years of this journey? Apparently. (Either that or he's entered the stage where as soon as I mention my book, he just starts nodding.)
The Senator's Youngest Daughter by Kelley Rose Waller. There it is.
My first draft of this project, entitled simply "Doghouse" is dated May 22, 2014. Although that file is already 9,000 words... so I must've started before that. Ah, memories. Back before I knew Matt would tell me I was like "a woman possessed" and I stared at my laptop through two family vacations because I had this story bubbling up inside me and it just had to get out of me and into coherent words. Ok, semi-coherent words.
I've written my 'thank you' list for the Acknowledgements section, and I'm already dreaming of how I'm going to promote this project online. I have a lot of plans but no idea if anything will come of them. Yesterday, I sent my sister the final-final-final-final copy which probably still needs a little more tweaking. (By the way, I've come to the recent conclusion that as soon as you label a document 'final', a bunch of new ideas magically appear in your brain, so that is my new trick to solve writer's block.)
So many people have read this project for me, and several others have disappointed me by their lack of enthusiasm to participate. But looking back over this journey... having an idea and pursuing it, I'm proud that I saw it through. It doesn't have to be about sales and readership; it can just be about me still "having it" in me to finish something that mattered to me and no one else.
This stage of life as a mother of young kids is a quick way to have your inspiration and your energy for life sapped. A quick way to forget that you were once creative and fun and had thoughts and opinions and knew about things and could enter adult conversations and talk about current events and people respected you and... Alas.
I'm not trying to complain. But maybe I did need to prove to myself that I still have something of ME left in this heart and brain. That there's a little blonde KELLEY still dreaming in there. That there's something that didn't change or melt away or grow up. Something that still says it's ok to want to be a violin virtuoso or a gymnast or go to Narnia or, in my case, to write a novel.
So this is a website launch for me. But I still hope you enjoy what you find here.
