Happy First Anniversary!!!!!

One Year ago today, Jennifer Lawler editor emeritus at Crimson Romance took a chance on a maverick writer with an atypical love story to tell. Twelve months and four beautiful books later, I am still here with more stories to tell. The journey from aspiring to published author has been filled with twists, turns, false starts and enough rejection letters to wallpaper a bathroom.

I learned that being published is more than simply writing a book. It is enduring criticism and the silences and believing anyway. It is looking at the world around me and realizing that each moment is a gift. It is embracing new friends while treasuring old support systems.

I am humbled and honored by the people that cross my path each day from the powerful women I work with, to the students I’ve had the pleasure of teaching. I am fortunate to have the best research team in the world in Sylvia Coker and the staff of the Enoch Pratt Free Library- Northwood Branch and that amazing group of ladies known as the Yarn Divas. Last but certainly not least is my best friend who keeps me grounded and reminds me daily to ‘enjoy the ride’. Each of the people I’ve listed above in their own way is a ‘splinter of heaven’ for me; that special glimmer of hope on those days when my muse falls silent and the critics begin to howl. It is to them and the memory of my mother Dolores Ann Wilkes Freeman, my first critic and my biggest cheerleader that I raise my glass.

Here’s to many more years of writing and the next leg of the journey!

Happy Anniversary Stephanie! Happy Anniversary Crimson Book Launch Authors!