An Arrangement of Sorts

I get asked every now and then about this book. It's my first published work, and there are lots of questions about that.So let's talk the building of this first book.First of all, it's not my first book. Hardly. I couldn't tell you when I had my first book idea, but I can tell you when I completed my first book beyond the cute little kids books. I was in college and going through a situation that I could not control, and that bothered me. So I was driving in my car one day and a song came on my playlist, and it was a song I loved. But this time, the song triggered a scene in my head and I knew immediately I wanted to write the story that went with that scene. I could control how that story went, and I wanted to capture it.So I did.It took me months, but I did it. My roommate wanted to kill me, but I did it. That book will most likely never see the light of day, but I wrote an entire novel. And then another. And then I started a third, and life reminded me that it needed me to do some things, so I went along with it for a while.When life settled down again, my imagination went haywire, and An Arrangement of Sorts came about! It was so much fun to get back into writing, and to be able to complete the book without any hiccups. I laughed out loud at times, I made myself swoon [we won't talk about how often THAT happens], and I squealed when I got a turn of phrase just right.It was way too much fun. And I wanted to do it again.So I did.I had no intention of publishing right away. I was just writing for fun, just for me. That went on for years. Then, out of the blue, with several manuscripts [some good, some bad] under my belt, I thought back to Arrangement and it's wonderful characters. And suddenly I wanted to share them with the world. It took some tweaking, some major edits, lots of patience, thick skin, and the stars aligning just right, but eventually... it worked.And now it's out, and I'm so proud. Terrified, but proud. This book will always be special to me because it's my first baby to leave the nest. What a wild ride it's taken me on, and what a fun adventure it's started for me!