Ok, so it might not be as exciting for you all as it is for me, but still... it's pretty freaking exciting.
If you're a follower of my facebook page you might have picked up on the fact that, besides writing, I also work full-time at Target. I wrote both Never Close Enough and Never Far Away while working 40 hours a week, with two small children, and a husband so supportive and understanding that he needs to have his head examined.
I would work a full-day, go home and take care of my kids and house, then when my husband came home (from his own 11 hour workday) I would leave to write at Starbucks until they closed and then go to bed just to get up and do it all again the next day. If I had the day off from work it was likely that I left my kids at daycare or with family for a few hours to get in some writing. My 2-year-old's first sentence he could put together was "Mommy write book?" He would ask me that when I put my laptop case on my shoulder to head out to write. I was absent a lot for a good year.
A few weeks ago my husband and I made the decision that I would step down from my management position at Target to part-time so I could get in one full day of writing. 32 hours at Target and hopefully 15-20ish hours writing. Luckily for me, sales of my books were making it possible for me to take a loss at my full-time job. The very day Never Far Away was released was my first day in my new role at work and I felt like everything was as it should be.
Then March happened.
I could never have imagined the response I got from the release of Never Far Away, and how many people read and loved it. Not only that, but the sales for Never Close Enough were up as well. I was so excited and felt like I had made a great decision.
Then April happened, and holy cow, is it still happening.
We (as in me, myself, I, my husband, my family, anyone who knows me) are so thrilled/thankful/excited/grateful/flabbergasted/blown-the-heck-away by how well the books are doing, and all the support I am getting. I could NEVER have imagined any of this would happen.
So, I wanted to write an official THANK YOU to everyone who has read the books, told someone you know about the books, left a review, left me a message, or in any way supported me in this crazy and wild ride. Thanks to all of you, I was able to officially resign from my job at Target in its entirety. As of Tuesday the 29th of April I will officially be a full-time writer. That will be my job. People will ask me what I do for a living and I will be able to answer "I write," or "I'm a novelist," or "I make stuff up and write it down," and I have no words to tell you all what that means to me. None.
What does this mean for you? More books! I can't wait to get all these books out of my head and out to you readers! I hope you're ready for me, cause you got me!
Honestly and sincerely,
Thank you - so much.
~Anie
Congratulations to you, your family, your friends, and the many characters that get to share their stories with us! I am SO excited to see what you have in store for us. Best of luck and get writing lady! ;)
ReplyDeleteAnie, that is amazing and so very exciting. I talked so much about the first Never book that a friend bought them. I loved them and am excited that you are thinking of writing another. Congratulations and enjoy the ride. Life is too short to not chase our dreams.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Andrea! I am so happy to hear that you liked the books, that means a lot to me!
ReplyDelete~Anie