Time To Be Thankful . . .

Winner!!!!!!!!!!!!! Chelsea B. Your name was pulled out of the hat. Please email me you snail mail address at christie (at) christie-craig (dot) com

And make sure you come back next week, I'll be running another contest.

CC

Time To Be Thankful—It’s Release day for Another Christie Craig Book

It’s almost Thanksgiving, but today’s the day. Divorced, Desperate and Deceived hits the stands. Today, readers will see my baby looking up from the bookshelves. I’m hoping the cute puppy on the front will reach out and pull the potential buyers in and beg them to take it home with them.

You’d think that after having had six novels—five from Dorchester and my very first from Silhouette years ago—hit the stands, the thrill and the anxiety would have faded. Not quite. Oh, I’m no longer hiding out in the bookstores, wearing a wig and a trench coat, taking notes to how many people pick it up, and blocking people’s path when they try to walk past it without noticing my masterpiece. Nope, I’m over that. (Funny how a couple of restraining orders can take the thrill out of my promo efforts.) Now, I just hang out at the grocery and drug stores and slip it into people’s baskets when they aren’t looking. Much better success. I’m kidding, but it is tempting.

Ahh, but the thrill of a new release hasn’t changed. I still almost have to pinch myself. I think one reason I still feel the high is because I worked so hard to get here. I heard so many “Noes” before I finally got my “Yeses.”

When I do my rejection dump at writer conferences, I often get asked, “How did you do it? How did you keep going?”

The answer is rather simple and I’m afraid I’m not near as wonderful as you might think. I just couldn’t quit. Writing is in my blood, these stories come to me and if I don’t write them, I don’t get to find out what happens to the characters. Writing is a big part of what defines me. However, when I look back, I remember the sting of those rejections, but you know what I remember most? I remember, and I’m forever thankful for everyone who helped me keep going: The contest judges who read my manuscripts and said such wonderful things about my work or gave me a little suggestion. My critique partners who keep saying, “It will happen, Christie. It will.” My family who saw me put hours upon hours into a career that gave nothing back for year, after year, after year, and yet they never lost faith in me.

I’m even thankful for those rejections. They made me stronger, they made me work harder. So today, I hope if there is something you’re working toward, I hope you have people to support you, I hope your dream is so tightly wound around who you are that quitting isn’t an option. Because I’m here to tell you, meeting goals is something to holler about, it’s something to celebrate. It’s downright awesome.

And you guys are awesome, too. Without you, without readers, I wouldn’t have this career. So thank you all. Happy Thanksgiving. Now, it’s your turn to tell me what you are thankful for. One lucky commenter will win a signed copy of my book.

And don’t forget to visit me and read my humorous blogs at these other sites where I’m also giving away books:


West of Mars: (What Song reminds me of my book?)
Romance in the Backseat http://ritbs.blogspot.com/2009/11/ten-questions-for-author-christie-craig.html(10 Questions I get asked most often.)
Enchanted by Books: (Five Things you Didn’t Know About Christie Craig) See I still have a few secrets.)

I also have a humorous feature posted at Dorchester: What it Takes To Be A Christie Craig Character. Along with the feature, we’re running another contest, a short essay contest, "Do You Have What it Takes to be a Christie Craig Character?" and I’m giving away a wonderful cozy Cypress housecoat and a copy of Divorced, Desperate and Deceived. http://dorchesterpub.com/Dorch/SpecialFeatures.cfm?ID=2752