In My Wildest Dreams


Getting my first novel published was a huge accomplishment. That Dreamspinner Press would publish paperbacks in a genre dominated by e-publishers was an added bonus. I’d never become a household name, but at least I’d have a book to autograph for my friends.

To temper my expectations as the release date drew near, I kept telling myself that I’m in this for the long haul. Thanks to my day job, I don’t need the income to pay my bills. No big deal if nobody buys my book. At least it’s out there, and that’s an important first step. Building up a base of readers takes time.

Shortly after it was released, Until Thanksgiving broke into the top 25 on Amazon’s Best Sellers in the Romance category. Without any context for comparison, I have no idea what this means, but it sounds great. Since then, my novel has stayed in the top 100 for Romance, Gay & Lesbian, and Gay novels–barely, but hasn’t made it back up to fifty since that first time I checked.

From what others tell me, the book is doing very well. I’m shocked! Getting published was thrill enough. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine anyone beyond family and friends would buy my first novel.

Then Until Thanksgiving broke into the top 25 best sellers on the Dreamspinner Press web site–at #24. The next day it jumped to #21, and the day after that, to #18. After a brief stop at #17 yesterday, today it’s #15. I was going to wait until it broke into the top ten to do this post, but thought that might be pushing my luck!

I’m stunned.

But the big shock came when I found out yesterday that Until Thanksgiving is the top selling paperback from my publisher. That’s right, baby. Number one. And for that, I have you to thank–my friends, former classmates, colleagues, coworkers, and members of my family. Given you’re all of at least a certain age, your preference for a book you can hold onto has pushed me to the top.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Without my loyal readers, there never would have been a memoir and no reason to join the writer’s group. The novelist would still lay dormant inside me. Thanks for your encouragement and support, and for wanting to read my blog and my books. As Philip Potter would say, “I’m forever in your debt.”

Thank you so much, and happy new year from all of us (me and Toodles) here at…

My Glass House

,

4 responses to “In My Wildest Dreams”